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  #16  
Old 11-15-2021, 03:23 PM
nomey nomey is offline
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I also went on a string odyssey with a banner era l-50 I picked up recently. Tried a lot of strings. Ordered from all around the planet. Settled on daddrio nickel bronze medium balanced tension. I wanted a bit less tension because this guitar is one of those gibsons without a truss rod and found them to be a really nice mix of comfort, sparkle and mellowness without too many coloured harmonics.
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  #17  
Old 11-15-2021, 03:53 PM
jrb715 jrb715 is offline
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Since the builders of my best guitars send almost all of their guitars off with D'Addario EJ16s or 17s, I've assumed that they think they sound pretty great with their guitars. (It's incomprehensible for me to imagine that Collings or Huss and Dalton are pinching pennies on strings, when it is the sound of their guitars in the shop that determines most sales.) I've tried a couple of other string choices--and I understand we play differently, hear differently and have different expectations of the sound of our guitars: and a lot of folks like John Pearse strings on their Collings--but found the D'Addarios in a way optimized what I found the guitars best at.

I'm still open to trying new strings, but am hesitant to spend even a few days without the sound that I find most convincing.
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  #18  
Old 11-15-2021, 05:04 PM
Tube Sound Tube Sound is offline
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Any guitar new to me, I always put EJ16's on. They are my point of reference strings and 9 out of 10 times, I use them on that guitar going forward. I was talking strings with a local guitar shop owner and he said "there is a reason they are the best selling strings and it's not because they are cheap". I'm not sure if "best selling" was accurate but they work for me.
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  #19  
Old 11-15-2021, 07:26 PM
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Brent Hutto Brent Hutto is offline
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There are slightly cheaper Phosphor Bronze strings out there but the D'Addario EJ's are close enough to cheap that it's not really worth a lot of experimenting trying to find the same sound for a dollar a set less or something like that. The boxes with three sets always seem to be $20 or thereabouts.

Right now there are a few places running 10% off the usual $63 price for the boxes of ten sets (EJ16-10P) so if one wanted to stock up that would work out to under $6/set (dollar a string?).
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  #20  
Old 11-15-2021, 07:35 PM
LakewoodM32Fan LakewoodM32Fan is offline
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My personal experience is that I don't hear too much difference in various phosphor bronze strings with the same cores (i.e. hex for hex, round for round). There's a pretty audible difference to my ears, and tangible to my fingers, when you compare hex vs. round cores. So if I'm staying PB hex cores, I'm likely just staying with EJ16s because I'm familiar with them, but I'm not going to turn away the Martin, Ernie Ball or DR equivalents.

I find the most tonal and feel differences for me outside of hex vs. round core are 1) when something is low tension (so Straight Up Strings, SCGC Parabolics, and Newtone Heritages), and also various coated/treated strings. While I'm relatively non-choosy about standard PB hex cores, if we're talking low tension, or treated/coated I definitely have my go-to brands and my stay-away from brands.
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  #21  
Old 11-15-2021, 07:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan View Post
My personal experience is that I don't hear too much difference in various phosphor bronze strings with the same cores (i.e. hex for hex, round for round). There's a pretty audible difference to my ears, and tangible to my fingers, when you compare hex vs. round cores. So if I'm staying PB hex cores, I'm likely just staying with EJ16s because I'm familiar with them, but I'm not going to turn away the Martin, Ernie Ball or DR equivalents.

I find the most tonal and feel differences for me outside of hex vs. round core are 1) when something is low tension (so Straight Up Strings, SCGC Parabolics, and Newtone Heritages), and also various coated/treated strings. While I'm relatively non-choosy about standard PB hex cores, if we're talking low tension, or treated/coated I definitely have my go-to brands and my stay-away from brands.
Yeah, round core is a whole 'nother thing.

I remember a decade-plus ago (before my long pause away from guitar) trying some round-core DR's or Newtones or something and they were so different I thought it was amazingly cool...for about a week. Then I got tired of that sound and wanted to get back to the normal PB/hex tone.

This time around I also briefly was dazzled by some (round) Thin Core PB's from GHS. Amazingly easy on the fingers and ringing, sustaining sound. But not something I wanted to hear every day.
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  #22  
Old 11-15-2021, 08:45 PM
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I tried Thomastik Plectrums for a while. Now I think they might be too soft (feel) and warm (sound, not enough attack) for me. Which is great, because they’re kind of expensive. But they don’t ring like the strings I’ve always played. They sustain OK, but the sound is a bit muted. Not as bright. But sometimes the brightness is NOT what I want.

I have a Gibson J50 and just bought a Larrivee 00-40, so I put good old EJ16s on the Gibson to get an apples to apples comparison, assuming the Larrivee came strung with something very much like that. (Swapping out the Thomastiks that had been on the J50).

And now I’ve ordered some Newtones and GHS round cores, want to check out more “low tension” strings.

But who knows, maybe I’ll come back around to EJ16. When I put them on the Gibson they were so brash, too many metallic overtones, which is why I’m checking out other things. I like the EJ16s 3-4 days to a week after I put them on. The brightness has dulled down, they sound good.

But check with me next year, I might be over the low-tension thing. And back to EJ16s / EJ17s because the Gibson and Larrivee might want 13’s.
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Last edited by standup; 11-15-2021 at 08:51 PM.
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  #23  
Old 11-15-2021, 09:14 PM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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Ah, EJ16s. I guess they are the industry standard for a reason. Must be something wrong with me because I can't stand them. I love their XT series though.
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  #24  
Old 11-15-2021, 09:20 PM
Tnfiddler Tnfiddler is offline
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I said it earlier that EJ17’s have a “pop” on my Bourgeois, that no other strings I’ve had on it, do. The XS mediums are loud, but with the EJ strings, the sound seems to leap out of it and it’s louder all across the sound, from bass through The mids and highs. I’m done experimenting, it’ll be EJ strings only on that guitar.
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  #25  
Old 12-03-2021, 05:08 AM
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I've got to say it's nice the EJ16's are so inexpensive (especially when you buy the 10-pack on sale). This Tuesday I noticed my guitar was sounding normal when I started playing in the morning but something was a little lacking by the end of the day. Figured I was just tired from playing a lot that day.

But even less tone Wednesday and by Thursday I was really trying to dig in with my pick to get my usual sound, to no avail. I did a couple quickie recordings to confirm it was sounding dead.

So by my reckoning that was only 24 days (3-1/2 weeks) of daily play before the EJ16 tone started dying off. At five or six bucks a set that's no big deal, in future I think I'll change 'em out every three weeks while they're still sounding good.
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  #26  
Old 12-03-2021, 05:30 AM
EZYPIKINS EZYPIKINS is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugar Bear View Post
I do the string test every few years.
I used to do this. I settled on my Rotosound's about 15 years ago.

Never looked back/
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  #27  
Old 12-03-2021, 06:18 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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There IS noting wrong with D'addario EJ16s, or EJ17s.
I've used them for years, decades probably.

ej17 for dreads, reso, jumbo, Ej16 for 000 and smaller.

However, when complaining to D'addario about how the cheaper outer packaging damages the hermetically sealed inner packaging on ten packs - their "Customer Relations" guy suggested I go buy another brand - so I've changed to Martins - MA540s and MA550s.

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  #28  
Old 12-03-2021, 07:00 AM
koko61 koko61 is offline
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I have always used the EJ16 on my guitars, but for a few years now I have been trying other strings (John Pearse pb, Newtone Masterclass, Wyres, etc.) but in the end you go crazy with so much change. My new Dreadnought Loef guitar comes with EJ16 and it sounds great . I think I'm going to continue stringing my guitars with this D'Addario string, which are also the cheapest.
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  #29  
Old 12-04-2021, 12:42 AM
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Really great thread. Thank you. I've chased tone by trying a vast amount of strings. I returned to the same conclusion, but for me, its EJ17's. I stock up in them now. I also get around 3-4 weeks. I'm good with that life span. I string my Martin dreads with EJ's and prefer then over Martin strings.
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  #30  
Old 12-04-2021, 06:38 AM
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Many custom luthiers send their instruments out the door with EJ16s. And I suppose if it’s good enough for them to put on their handmade guitar, then who am I to question?

For me, the big difference in strings is not sonic as I’ll accommodate to the sound of most any set of strings pretty quickly. But I need the surface roughness and overall tension of a set of strings to be in a certain range for my comfort.

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