Magma Flat Strings

[121]

I dislike any amount of string squeak and flat wound strings are the only string type I've found, so far, that actually eliminates string squeak.

Much of my playing style involves fingers pressing down on the strings and sliding up or down the neck, a string squeak nightmare on any other strings I've tried except flat wounds.

Recently I became aware of Magma Flat Phosphor Bronze Acoustic guitar strings.
They are advertised as Phosphor Bronze Round Wound that are ground and polished and the smooth surface eliminates finger noise and squeaks.
I was wondering if anyone has knowledge of these Magma Flat strings
and do they actually eliminate finger noise and squeaks ?

These Magma Flat strings look like they might be similar to D'Addario Flat Top Strings, but the
picture on the Magma package indicates they are very flat.

In my search for strings with no string squeaks I tried D'Addario Flat Top Strings.
They are advertised to reduce unwanted finger noise, are precision ground, producing a smooth, flattened playing surface, without sacrificing tone and sustain associated with round wound Phosphor Bronze strings.
The D'Addario Flat Top Strings did reduce string squeak but it was still too much string squeak for me.

[rstaight]

I used to use Ernie Ball Flat Wounds on my electric's. To my ear anyway, flat wounds had a tendency to sound slightly old even when new.

Strings that are 10's tend to be brighter, sometimes to bright. But if the Magma behave as the Ernie Ball did this may balance out.

Worth a shot.

[121]

I just received some of these Magma Phosphor Bronze Flat (GA120PBF) strings and liked them so much I ordered more.
I thought they might be manufactured like D'Addario Flat Top strings, (round wound, ground down then polished).
From what was stated on the attached video, these Magma start out as round wound and are polished down to a flat surface.
Compared to an old set of D'Addario Flat top strings I still have, these Magma Flat strings are much smoother. I would get string noise (squeaks) when playing D'Addario Flat Tops strings, there is absolutely no string noise (squeaks) with these Magma Flat strings.
I really like these strings, they have a full and balanced sound, a little less bright than the 80/20 Bronze Flat wound string from both Galli and Dogal I've been using.
These Magma strings are a nice change, they certainly don't sound old and dull as some folks believe flat wounds sound, nor do the Galli and the Dogal flat wounds I use.

This attached video is in Spanish, so for me to understand it, I first activated the closed caption, then under settings, select the closed caption to be translated to English.
Unfortunately those settings did not remain with the video when I posted it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozs25En1VXs

[lar]

Thanks for the tip. I like flat so I'll give them a try.

It's interesting that most (all?) string manufacturers don't show a close-up photograph of their strings. It sure would be simple to do, and helpful.

[121]

Originally Posted by lar

Thanks for the tip. I like flat so I'll give them a try.

It's interesting that most (all?) string manufacturers don't show a close-up photograph of their strings. It sure would be simple to do, and helpful.

I got my Magma strings from the following website,
they were running a sale.

https://magmastoreusa.com/collections/acoustic-guitar

[lar]

Originally Posted by 121

I got my Magma strings from the following website,
they were running a sale.

https://magmastoreusa.com/collections/acoustic-guitar

Stringsbymail.com also sells them I noticed (and their regular price is the Magma sale price. Magmas regular price of $46 for 1 set of strings is blood curdling high - Yikes!
Then they discount them from $46 down to $15?).

[dwasifar]

I'm sorry, but I can't see or hear that word without thinking of Dr. Evil.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by 121

I just received some of these Magma Phosphor Bronze Flat (GA120PBF) strings and liked them so much I ordered more.

Other than the lack of squeak, what do you like about them? Also, what about their lifespan?

[121]

Originally Posted by phcorrigan

Other than the lack of squeak, what do you like about them? Also, what about their lifespan?

I have no idea what the lifespan might be, only had them for 2-3 days.
Magma claims the duration of these Flat strings is higher than the traditional round wound strings.

Besides the lack of squeak, I like the Magma Phosphor Bronze Flat because they are less bright than the 80/20 Bronze flat wounds I've been using (Dogal Nightclub V25 and Galli AJF1047, AJF1150, AJF1252). I'm not claiming they'll be replacing the 80/20 Bronze, it's just a nice change to have another squeak-less flat string set to choose from.
The Magma do seem to have a little stiffer feel.

Acoustic guitar flat string choices are slim, especially ones that don't squeak. The Galli flat wound string sets I've used, where not completely squeak free. The 3rd string (G) windings are not quite as polished and I would get slight squeaks. I remedied this by rubbing fine grit sand paper over the 3rd string windings before string installation.
The Magma are less expensive at about $15 per string set, Galli are about $16 and the Dogal are about $27.

The Dogal are still my preferred acoustic guitar flat wound but too costly,
so I wait for rare discount sales.

[Mike McLenison]

Doesn't look like they make my preferred gauge (13's).

[OKCtodd71]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MYAFfeNO00

[SleepyAudi]

Not to many bass players here i see.

Typically flatwounds cost more. But, they also lost a very long time. Years vs weeks or months. The brightness of a round wound comes from the rounded wraps. When they get the dips filled with your skin and dirt and get worn down by oils and mechanical wear it turns basically flat.

Flat wound strings don’t have round wire to wear and don’t have treble to lose.

[SleepyAudi]

Also, in my experience, with less high end the inherent tone of the guitar shake and scale length is much more out there and the string gauge will affect tone much more. Choose wisely

[121]

I contacted Magma String in Miami, FL.
E-mail: [email protected]
and thought some AGF folks might have interest in
Magma String customer serve's response.

I asked if their Magma Phosphor Bronze Flat string were manufactured
similar to how D'Addario Flat Tops are manufactured.
I also mentioned the Magma Flat strings felt much smoother
to me than the D'Addario Flat Top.
I also asked about the string tension values of the
Magma Phosphor Bronze Flat string sets.

Here is their response.

Our Acoustic Flat Strings are not exactly wound flat,
they are round one. But then, we polished it but not
the simply way like Dadarios one. We have special
process that allowed us to achieve a flat string with
volume and bright. Tensions are similar to the traditional sets.
They donÂ’t have any variations.

For your reference, tensions are similar to:
Magma Set GA120PBF similar to Dadario EJ15
GA130PBF similar to EJ26
GA140PBF similar to EJ16

[phcorrigan]

I just put these on my Martin HD-28V and so far I'm happy with them. The sound is very similar to that of the Martin PB Lifespan mediums I've been using, minus any string squeak whatsoever!

The Magma medium gauges are different from the Martins: 12-16-24-34-44-54 vs Martin's 13-17-26-35-45-56, but the feel is about the same.

Of course, since I just put them on, I have no idea how long they'll last. My Lifespans were on for four months and were only getting slightly dull.