D'Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings

[Jim in TC]

Originally Posted by wguitar

Hi,

What are your thoughts about (experience with) D'Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings ?

Thanks!

They have become my go-to string after a recommendation at our local shop. I tried D' PB last time, just to see if I was right to do that. The nickels last noticeably longer and though different, sound as good or better to my ear. And I think I get more "finger squeak" from the PB's.

[Silly Moustache]

I haven't tried them on a flat top, but only recently taken them off my mandolin, on which they worked well. I usually prefer Dunlop nickel strings on it but they are increasingly difficult to get in the UK now.

Also used them on two of my archtops. Been on for some time and as they don't seem to corrode and still usable - OK.

I don't mind paying the extra for strings on instruments I don't use frequently, but wouldn't want them on my flat tops.

[Oldguy64]

I personally really like the Nickel Bronze strings.
My go to are actually EJ16’s. But the Nickel, and I’ve found this in Retros, Nickel Bronze, and Curt Mangan Monel, have a more “straightforward” tone.
Less overtones, but similar sustain. Same bass response.
I’ve had a set on my Takamine P3DC for almost five months. It isn’t my “daily” player. But they’re also on my Journey Instruments that is my daily player, and they are at 4 plus months as well.
But...I’m getting 3-months or so out of EJ16’s also.

[docwatsonfan]

Originally Posted by wguitar

Hi,

What are your thoughts about (experience with) D'Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings ?

Thanks!

I had D'Addario PB light gauge on a small body guitar, and felt they were too muddy

So I switched to the Nickel Bronze, and I think I hear alot more clarity

I'm liking them alot

[shufflebeat]

My experience with NBs echoes most of what has been said here. They are less "in your face" which can be underwhelming at first depending on what you're coming from but after a little bit of playing I discovered a more detailed, softer top end which lent itself well to finger picking, flat picking and gentle chord playing. This nice top end disappeared when I played harder rhythmic stuff and a more metallic sound like nasty old PBs that haven't been cleaned or maintained in any way.

I inferred from this that the NBs would sound well on a guitar with a lively top and the capacity to resonate in the lower end. This would imply not small bodied "baby" styles or cutaways but maybe a finger picked dreadnought or a particularly lively parlour guitar like the Tak ef407 Koa.

NBs were great for recording rhythmic parts that might otherwise be a bit clangy.

[TBman]

I think they are pretty decent strings. I have used them often on my J-45 and I like them on my Guild D-120 as well.

[Robin, Wales]

I’m an experienced amateur musician but fairly new to flatpicking guitar so my comments on nickel bronze strings need to be taken in that light.

I’m using D’Addario Nickel Bronze strings in 12-56 light/medium on my Seagull S6 Coastline Spruce. I use the guitar for flatpicking style accompaniment of bluegrass and Americana songs. It is a great guitar: it is well built, and it was easy to get a perfect set-up (and I have done literally hundreds of guitar set-ups). With these nickel bronze strings my Seagull has quite an ‘earthy’ voice and loads of lively kick. The cherry laminate back and sides and spruce top work well together and the guitar really resonates; in fact, the darn thing is absolutely alive in my hands! It certainly has the poke for single mic bluegrass (and a pragmatic choice too given its price!).

Anyway, I have to say that I have tried many different string types and different string brands on that Seagull guitar (PB, 80/20, monel, etc) and the D’Addario Nickel Bronze sets are, at the outset, the absolute worst strings I have ever fitted. They are metallic and clashy with no bass whatsoever, just dreadful. And then, after an hour or so, they start to settle in.

What a difference! The rich bass end appears and the clash and clang mellows to be replaced by individual string clarity, a great ‘boom’ and a shimmering and beautifully balanced ‘chick’ when playing classic bluegrass boom-chick rhythm styles. These strings have somehow made my right hand playing easier and added variety – bass runs are precise and strums natural. I seem to have a wider tonal palette at my disposal that’s easier to access by varying my right hand technique. I can dig in, I can back off, I can mute, I can play open strums, I can play quick attacking fills, I can play resonant bass runs – it is all good. Most importantly, it is simpler for me to sing across these strings as I can more easily work up a balanced and varied accompaniment. They are making the whole package of guitar and voice together easier for me. Normally, there is only a subtle difference between various string sets on a guitar but fitting these D’Addario nickel bronze strings has made a big change to my Seagull compared to PBs, 80/20s and monels. I feel that I can really ‘work’ the guitar and be more physical with it, like I’m more in charge of the timbre – there’s more of ‘me’ in the sound I produce. It is as if my guitar has become more of a fiddle and less of a piano, if you get that analogy?

I can see that nickel bronze strings are not going to work for every guitar or playing style. They are not ‘rich’, mellow strings, they don’t have the lush overtones of PBs or 80/20s and, although some aspects of the tone are similar to monel and other pure nickel strings, I think that the balance when strumming these nickel bronze strings works way better on my guitar than other sets I have tried. I’m not going to say “buy these, they are the best thing since sliced bread” as I think each of us needs to experiment practically with our own guitars and playing styles to make that string choice. What I can say, however, is that I have found the D’Addario nickel bronze strings very different in tone and playability from any other string set that I have tried on my Seagull S6 Coastline Spruce guitar and they have helped me leap forward in the direction I want my musicianship to go. Best of all, they are making working with my guitar a lot easier and lot more fun!!!

If you do try them, just remember to allow yourself to get past the hideous first couple of hours or so before passing judgement. I can’t recall ever fitting sets of strings where the difference between ‘brand new’ and ‘settled’ is quite so marked as it is with these.

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by wguitar

Hi,

What are your thoughts about (experience with) D'Addario Nickel Bronze Acoustic Strings ?

Thanks!

Versatile strings. Durable. Mature. Easy on the fingers. Warm. GREAT.

[transm]

To bring back a thread from the dead... the D'Addario Nickel Bronze is the best sounding string I've found for my Rosewood/Sitka Taylor 816CE... I've tried them on my Mahogany/Sitka Blueridge BR-140CE as well, but the best string I've found for it is the Martin Tony Rice Monel MTR13.

[Brucebubs]

Since this thread started I've acquired a SJ-200 and I've had NB's on it now for about 2 months - a little bright straight out the pack but they settled down quickly and sound great, no signs of them dropping off in any way yet.