Strings for J-45 (I miss the Masterbuilt Premium 80/20 Bronze Lights so bad!!!)

[rollypolly]

I put DR Rares on my J-45 standard and it sounds pretty great. Definitely on the fundamental side, but plenty of good tone. They seem easier to play than other strings too, but that could just be the short scale and good set up of the Gibby playing tricks on me.

[Charitard]

Originally Posted by mimmo

I don't know the exact year of production, serial number is 20443043. I tried these strings because I asked Gibson about the factory stings on my guitar.

Thanks for your suggestion, I will definitely try the non coated version and see which one I like best.

Should be a 2023 based on the s/n (build on the 44th day of the year). Let me know what you think!

PS I was talking about non coated 80/20 strings, not the PBs. I have no experience with the Gibson PBs

[Charitard]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

I put DR Rares on my J-45 standard and it sounds pretty great. Definitely on the fundamental side, but plenty of good tone. They seem easier to play than other strings too, but that could just be the short scale and good set up of the Gibby playing tricks on me.

Never used DRs before! Another one I should check out.

Seems like this months money is going to be spend on strings lol what am I doing to myself

[Sasquatchian]

On my 2020 Southern Jumbo, I've gone through several types of strings from whatever came on it which might have been dead from day one to D'addario Nickel Bronze to Martin Retro and then finally bouncing between Stringjoy 80/20 Bright 12-54 Lights and GHS Bright Bronze 12-54's.

By far my favorites are the Stringjoy's. I went from them to the GHS and the GHS were dead by comparison but I left 'em on for a month and went back to the Stringjoy's and once again, it was like a new guitar, and the guitar I always wanted to hear. The Stringjoy's elevated the tone from pretty good to ****, this is great. And they seem to last a lot longer than the GHS but maybe not as long as Santa Cruz.

At $14 a set, they ain't cheap, but at least they're not in Santa Cruz territory, and not everyone carries them, but keep your eyes peeled for a 25% off sale and then stock up. Pair those up with a Blue Chip TAD 40 or 50 and you'll be good. Or at least I am.

[LiveMusic]

Originally Posted by Charitard

Hello everyone,

First time poster on Acoustic guitar forum.

I visited this post a few times because I was on the same quest as most people on here to find a replacement for the discontinued Gibson masterbuilt 80/20 medium set. Over the last few months I took it upon myself to check out different brands to approach the wonderful sound these strings gave to my 50s original J45 (2020 built).

Strings tested (all 12s): Elixir 80/20 Nanoweb; Ernie Ball 80/20 Earthwood; D'addario 80/20 EJ11; GHS Bright Bronze and the new Gibson 80/20 set.

From worst to best:

- Elixir 80/20 Nanoweb: Extremely trebl-y. I remember putting these on just before recording and they were just way too bright, scratchy and produced an almost unmixable result. Verdict: Don't like these at all and definatly are not close in sound to the old masterbuilts. They may work on superdark sounding guitars but I wouldn't buy these again and wouldn't recommend them to anyone honestly. I've had OK results with Elixirs on electrics when touring but these are just a no for me.

- D'addario's: Were OK, pretty balanced, somewhat "scooped" sound as I would expect from 80/20. For the money they are OK and I can see some people liking them. Verdict: Wouldn't mind playing them live if the local music store has no other 80/20 sets in stock. No problem to record in busy mixes, Pretty close to the Ernie Balls in overall experience although they have a less vintage sound.

- Earthwoods: In the same ballpark as the d'addario's albeit a more traditional vintage 80/20 sound. What I do miss with these and the others mentioned before are the overtones for some reason. Pretty good strings actually, used them on some recordings as my local music shop has these in stock as their only 80/20 set. Verdict: Nothing wrong with them, just do not produce the same overtones as the original masterbuilt strings. But in pop/rock mixes these aren't heard anyway. Reliable and last the longest of all strings tested (except the elixirs if you like that tone)

- GHS Bright Bronze: These come very close to the original masterbuilts. Same tone "profile" maybe just a tad bit brighter/clearer which leads me to think they have more going on in the presence range compared to the old masterbuilts which are a little more scooped. I have these on my guitar now for about a week and still sound very new/fresh which is a good thing as they sounded great out of the package. They produce almost the same overtones/harmonic content as the original gibson masterbuilts and I expect them to last a little longer. Verdict: These come extremely close, but are a little stiffer to play (maybe I need to give them more time). I expect these to last longer but I can't tell for sure. They are pricier than the Gibsons though (in Europe at least)

- The new Gibson 80/20 strings (uncoated): I believe these to be nearly identical to what I remember the old masterbuilts to sound like. The minute I put these on I felt the relief that my J45 had it's voice back with which I fell in love when I bought this guitar. They produce the same angelic harmonics/overtones, they are really comfortable to play and the overall sound is just right for my J45. Verdict: IMHO, these are the ones you want to buy if you just loved the old masterbuilts like I did. Compared to the other strings on this list, they are also one of the cheapest so it's clearly a winner. Fear not, the masterbuilts are back, just under another name . Only downside: They wear the fastest out of any of the aforementioned sets. I remember the old masterbuilts wearing fast as well so I expect these strings to have the same formula or metals or whatever (real technical, I know).

OVERALL > If you don't mind changing strings often (Every 2-3 weeks), the new Gibsons are my choice and are basically the same as the old masterbuilts. If you don't want to change strings so often, the GHS Bright Bronze set is a very viable alternative and has 95 percent of the tone of the gibsons. The Earthwoods last the longest and have a perfectly fine tone but miss the overtones the GHS and Gibsons offer. Don't mind the D'addarios if nothing else is availible, they are fine really. Only bas experience are the Elixirs

I hope to have contributed on this topic and give back to the community as I have gotten a lot of info from this thread. Thanks to everyone here on their thoughts and recommendations. Let me know what you think are the best replacements in your opinion.

@Charitard, thanks for your detailed reviews. These new Gibson strings you describe above, what is the model number? I am in USA.

[bobster7]

Try the GHS vintage bronze!

[mimmo]

Originally Posted by Charitard

Should be a 2023 based on the s/n (build on the 44th day of the year). Let me know what you think!

PS I was talking about non coated 80/20 strings, not the PBs. I have no experience with the Gibson PBs

My bad, I misread your message.
Anyway, I will check your strings!

[Charitard]

Originally Posted by LiveMusic

@Charitard, thanks for your detailed reviews. These new Gibson strings you describe above, what is the model number? I am in USA.

Very sorry for my late reply! I'm unsure about the model number but I can provide you with this link:

https://www.gibson.com/nl-NL/p/Mini-...-BRW/SAG-BRW12

Hope this helps!

[Murphy Slaw]

Originally Posted by bobster7

Try the GHS vintage bronze!

I've been stuck on those for a while now.

[abn556]

I am getting the beginning of arthritis in my fretting hand index finger - first joint above the nail is the bothersome one. Due to this I have switched to Custom Lights to make it easier on my hands. My luthier put the E26 D’Addarios on the guitar when he did the set up. I have both XS and Elixir strings that are next up for the J-45.

[nitram]

D'Add XS.Great, full sound and last for over 6 months in my hands.

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by nitram

D'Add XS.Great, full sound and last for over 6 months in my hands.

Yep my new go-to string. A bit more expensive but worth it because I'd rather spend my time playing than changing strings and I find the XS's keep their tone roughly 2x longer than my previous go-to string. Sorry GHS but take heart, I may change my mind.

[Charitard]

sounds like I need to try me some XS's

[Pickcity]

Originally Posted by nitram

D'Add XS.Great, full sound and last for over 6 months in my hands.

I like these as well on my spruce/mahogany dreads. I was using the exp16 coated strings by D’Addario for a couple of years but haven’t seen them lately, when I came across the XS. Very happy with them.