Strings for Acoustic Archtop

[CarolinaGetaway]

I have an almost 20 year old Eastman AR804ce; oval sound hole archtop; maple and spruce, all carved. It has a Kent Armstrong floater but I rarely plug it in. Any suggestions for strings for an acoustic archtop that will focus on the acoustic qualities rather than on the amplified sound?

[fpuhan]

I use Thomastik-Infeld George Benson GR112 (roundwound) on my custom Holst archtop. Like yours, mine has a Kent Armstrong pickup, but I mostly play it unplugged. It's my dream guitar and it sounds and plays just awesomely.

[Mandobart]

I have a carved Eastman with F holes. I always use 13's on it. I've used Newtone, Martin Retro monel, Ernie Ball aluminum bronze (I do like their twanginess) and Curt Mangan roundcore monels.

I also have a Kent Armstrong floating neck pickup, and a twin head JJB passive piezo under the soundboard. Wired to a TRS jack I run a short TRS cable to a Baggs Mixpro. I blend the two pickups or go all piezo or mag, but I usually play unplugged too.

They're all pretty good, but overall I favor the Mangan strings. Monel is good with the magnetic pickup when I do plug in.

[Steve DeRosa]

Another vote for Martin monels...

[RomanS]

For pure acoustic tones: Martin Retro monels (but allow for some break in - they sound tinny and harsh for the first couple of hours - but after that they last forever). Unfortunately, they sound rather unbalanced through a magnetic pickup, high E and B will be way too loud.

If you do want to plug in occasionally, I recommend GHS White Bronze strings - a good compromise between acoustic tone and balanced volume through the pickup.

[CarolinaGetaway]

Thank you all for your thoughts on this. I have been using Curt M monels for years; I find the Benson strings a bit too heavy and am not a fan of Martin strings. I will give the GHS strings a whirl.

[mr. beaumont]

For purely acoustic, I like 80/20's on an archtop.

They'll be unbearably bright at first, but once they break in...yeah.

[PineMarten]

On my Kalamazoo KG21 I like either Martin monel or 80/20, both mediums. The 80/20 seem a little more versatile and balanced sounding, but the monels have a dry, punchy character that really works with how this guitar sounds. Phosphor bronze I never quite warmed to on this guitar.

[ssstewart]

Originally Posted by fpuhan

I use Thomastik-Infeld George Benson GR112 (roundwound) on my custom Holst archtop. Like yours, mine has a Kent Armstrong pickup, but I mostly play it unplugged. It's my dream guitar and it sounds and plays just awesomely.

agreed! probably the best archtop strings out there, imo as well.

[Dave Richard]

I mostly have been using 80/20s on my acoustic archtops. Has anyone tried GHS Vintage Bronze(85/15) on theirs?

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, I have a 2007 Eastman AR805 (no "e") a '34 Gibson L-4 and a Harmony H1325.

I've been using D'addario NIckel Bronze mediums.

I don't use my archtops much but these strings just go on forever, so I don't change them much at all.
Nice feel, nice tone.

[rollypolly]

I have flatwounds on a couple archtops and I think they sound good and more importantly play easy. They sound like well worn in monels, maybe a little muted. My archtops are all laminate so they may be why I like them.

[CarolinaGetaway]

So. I decided to try TI Plectrum AC111. We shall how they sound in a few days but having just put them on I really like the warm semi-bright tone. Have to see how they sound plugged in.

[Peoriapicker]

I have a Peerless Manhattan I use Martin MA535 phos/brz on.
They really brighten it up and add volume over flats. Sound great electric too. My guitar leans to the gypsy/jazz sound acoustically.

[CarolinaGetaway]

Originally Posted by CarolinaGetaway

So. I decided to try TI Plectrum AC111. We shall how they sound in a few days but having just put them on I really like the warm semi-bright tone. Have to see how they sound plugged in.

The TI Plectrums sound like nothing I have ever used before. Soft warm sound but very clear. My wife, who pays no attention to such things, said to me out of the blue while I was playing the AR804, how much she liked the sound of it. I have had the guitar almost twenty years and have never heard a comment from her about it before. So, there's that. We shall see longer term.