Strings and Carbon Fiber Guitars

[121]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

I’m curious about these strings. What style do you play 121?

Not sure I can put a name to what style I play.

I use a flat pick and play tunes like Satin Doll, Girl From Ipanema, Summer Time, early Beatles, early Stones and some blues.

I strum chords and ad lib lead parts in between vocals parts.
One part of my lead playing style is slide blend picking.
Maybe slide blend picking is not the proper term but it's sliding the fret fingers with pressure on the strings from note to note, slide blend.

When using round wound, ground round or coated strings, finger pressure on these slide blends causes that annoying string squeak.
Reduced finger pressure can mitigate or alleviate string squeak but it also mitigates or alleviates the slide blend effect.

I like flat wound strings because there's never any irritating string squeak.

I favor the Dogal strings over the Galli because in all three of the Galli string set sizes I've tried (AJF1047, AJF1150 and AJF1252),
the 3rd string (flat wound G) the surface has been rough enough that the very slightest string squeak can be detected.
It's more noticeable in the AJF1150 and AJF1252 sets I've tried.
I did contact Galli (in Italy), but I don't know if the issue has been solved.

[steelvibe]

Thanks 121. Was hoping to hear more from your experiences. And i thought TI Plectrums were pricey!

Martin Retros, but think they need a few days to break in, then they sound great!

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by jdinco

Current favorites are the TI Plectrums on my Emerald X7

Another TI Plectrum fan on my Rainsong but want to try D’Addario Nickel Bronze strings based on fantastic result with these strings on my Froggy Bottom H -12.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Another TI Plectrum fan on my Rainsong but want to try D’Addario Nickel Bronze strings based on fantastic result with these strings on my Froggy Bottom H -12.

It might be just me as I'm a slight nail and flesh fingerstyle player, but I like mellow and lighter tension strings. I tried the D'addario NBs on both my Shorty and OF660 but they were way too bright and stiff for my tastes. I didn't like them at all and may be my least favorite on CF that I've tried. I'd love to hear your thoughts though.

[gabones]

Rec'd the Outdoor Uke Baritone body size carbon fiber 6-string guitar with D'Addario Pro-Art Nylon Core EJ43 Silverplated wound clear nylon light tension Classical. They sound dead and boring. Don't even try them.

[RCW]

Today I replaced Martin Retros that had been on my Rainsong H-DR1100 - the carbon/glass hybrid dreadnought - for about two months. I'm a flat-picker new to Carter style accompaniment strumming, and do not play lead. The Retros had plenty of volume, but were too bright/brash for my taste, and I've started a search to see if a set of mellow strings will warm up the Rainsong. Today I installed a set of Ernie Ball Earthwood Silk and Steel Soft Acoustic Guitar Strings - 11-52 Gauge, and so far I like them much better than the Retros on this guitar. It has a bit less volume now, but not as much as I was expecting. It still has a nice low end for bass runs, but the B and high E seem a little thin - probably because they are 15s and 11s instead of the Retro 16s and 12s. And given they ae silk and steel, they are noticeably easier on the fingers. We'll see how long they last. I'll leave them on a few months and try the next set - GHS Strings Vintage Bronze.

[seannx]

Santa Cruz Low Tension, in addition to my carbon fiber guitars, I prefer them on my Martin 00-18, too.

[Jim in TC]

Originally Posted by jdinaz

Current favorites are the TI Plectrums on my Emerald X7

+1, found the Plectrums more different (in a good way) than any other set I have tried on my X7. Liked nickels on the Cargo, as others have pointed out, but D' silk are nice too.

[RP]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

I'm very happy with D'Addario Nickel Bronze on my Emerald X20.

As an bonus, they look really nice with CF too

I followed your lead and put a set on my X20. I was dragging my feet in anticipation of my first attempt at changing strings with a painless bridge, but it wasn't bad.

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by RP

I followed your lead and put a set on my X20. I was dragging my feet in anticipation of my first attempt at changing strings with a painless bridge, but it wasn't bad.

Painless bridge

How do you like the NBs? I’ve got Elixir PB Nanos on mine right now, and the darn things won’t wear out fast enough to get back to Nickel Bronze.

[RP]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

...How do you like the NBs? I’ve got Elixir PB Nanos on mine right now, and the darn things won’t wear out fast enough to get back to Nickel Bronze.

I just installed them this morning, but so far so good....