Newtone Masterclass strings-any user reviews out there?

[M19]

PB Mediums on my Lowden. Best I've tried so far (inc Elixir PB m, Thomas-Infeld B m, J Pearse new Medums). Still haven't tried Wyres Pierre Bensusan (they're next) or DR DragonSKins.

[Michael T]

I like the New-Tone sound but had more than a few duds which tipped me into trying DR Sunbeam "both are round core" and the Sunbeam sound just as Nice, feel good and are 1/2 the price, plus nary a dud in the past couple years.

Here's some other opines:

http://www.maurysmusic.com/dr_sunbea..._todd_s_review


http://www.maurysmusic.com/dr_sunbea..._todd_s_review

Please don't take this as a knock on New-tone, I especially liked their double wound series and if I hadn't fallen across the DR's at the price point I'd likely still be playing them.

[songlife]

I put the medium gauge Newtone Masterclass Becky Langan Signature on my Yamaha Transacoustic LL-TA. Becky had them use an E .62, it only fits halfway in the nut slot & plays almost like a bass string, lol. I like them a lot, the heavier low strings give a more bassy & midrange sound, but they're very rough on a fingerpicker. I used to use Newtones exclusively on my McPherson 17 years ago and I remember how they tore up my fingers back then too. I think they sound great, but I find myself using a pick more often due to the pain. If you play a lot with your thumb like I do, Newtone mediums will turn your thumb purple pretty quickly. They also have significantly less volume than TI Plectrums, although it's kind of a toss-up which sound better. The Newtones have a warmer tone and instantly solved the problem of the pingy B string noise I was getting with the Plectrums.

I'm going back to medium Plectrums which have silk in them and are much easier on the fingers of both hands, and I like the volume increase. But there are some issues with them: the low E .61 just barely fits in the tuning peg hole and gets permanently caught about 6 inches in (whereas the Newtone E, while thicker at .62, fits fine); the G string winding broke after only a week; and the B had nasty, unsolvable ping. I've only had one set of the Plectrums so I can't say if these problems will persist with every set -- though I've seen several web posts saying the G string breaking way too quickly is a serious issue with the Plectrums.) If so, I'm going back to Becky's Newtones (though I'm leery of the company now since they took a month to ship, and shipped to the wrong address.) I prefer both Plectrum & Newtone to DR Sunbeams, though they'll do in a pinch. I just found them to be slightly overbright for my taste, and they only have standard gauge E & A.

[Hoyt]

Used to like the round core Newtones, but now I have a slot-head Martin and they are a pain to change efficiently because cutting them before tuning just doesn't work unless you are lucky.

[Scolaguitar]

PB lights on the Northwood IRW 000. Love them. Immediately sound good and still sounding good.

[Wrighty]

I use them a fair bit on both of my OM’s (Furch spruce/rosewood and Webber spruce/sapele) and love them - they are my favourite round wound strings. I favour the PB masterclass (Not the double wound as they are a little too warm for my tastes) Great strings..

[Wild Bill Jones]

The HD DS I had loved the Masterclass strings. I don’t like the Heritage strings at all. Seems 1/2 the time I get a dud low E string.

[colins]

I've used Newtones for several years on multiple guitars, with one dud string in that time. I’ve experimented a bit to see which strings suit each guitar and currently I have:

• PBs on a guitar that is Italian/ziricote
• PBs on a guitar that is Kauri/Tas blackwood
• PBs or 80/20s on a guitar that is Italian/African blackwood – tried the 80/20s to get a bit more brightness but wasn’t happy with them, or a couple of other 80/20 brands I tried.
• PBs and Double Wound on a guitar that is Engelmann over Maddie – the PBs sounded great and the double wounds sounded even better!
• Heritage on a guitar that is Italian/walnut – for some reason this guitar responds well to the low tension strings. Preferable to the PBs I had on it before.

My guitars are all close to OM size, no dreads or parlors.

[mattwood]

Where are you finding these strings for sale in the U.S? Strings by mail states they are no longer for sale in the U.S. and I'm not finding them available on several other sites.

[rmoretti49]

Order directly from the website in England. Takes a couple weeks but you'll get them. Not expensive.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by mattwood

Where are you finding these strings for sale in the U.S? Strings by mail states they are no longer for sale in the U.S. and I'm not finding them available on several other sites.

Here ya’ go

https://newtonestrings.com/

[mattwood]

Thanks guys.

[TBman]

I used them on three guitars (roundcore) back in 2019. I had intonation problems with one set, but I really liked the double round strings. I wasn't overly inclined to buy them again, not sure why. I'm not sure if you can buy them now in the USA.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Michael T

I like the New-Tone sound but had more than a few duds which tipped me into trying DR Sunbeam "both are round core" and the Sunbeam sound just as Nice, feel good and are 1/2 the price, plus nary a dud in the past couple years.

Here's some other opines:

http://www.maurysmusic.com/dr_sunbea..._todd_s_review


http://www.maurysmusic.com/dr_sunbea..._todd_s_review


Please don't take this as a knock on New-tone, I especially liked their double wound series and if I hadn't fallen across the DR's at the price point I'd likely still be playing them.

I like the Sunbeams as well, but they don’t sound as good...at least on my guitars. I’ve been buying Newtones for three years and never had a “dud” string.
I believe somebody made an installation boo-boo even if they don’t think they did.

[MC5C]

WRT intonation issues... Intonation compensation on the guitar is primarily down to compensating for the added tension from stretching the string down to the fret. The amount of compensation needed for correct intonation is always down to the diameter of the core wire of the string, it's action height, and the pitch it's tuned to - not the wound diameter of the string. Since some of the Newtone low tension strings (which I've used and loved) are double wound, the core wire can be smaller than the core wire of single wound strings, even if both are round core strings - that's how they get the lower tension. Smaller core = different compensation required to intonate correctly at the 12th fret octave. I would say this is going to be more evident if you tend towards higher action. I play archtops so I just adjust the bridge saddle location and never noticed a problem, but people with flat tops and fixed location saddles might. There are ways to fix it.