1948 Gibson L5 strings?

[blackbird86]

I have a vintage 1948 Gibson L5 with a period DeArmond pickup. What type of strings?

I've been told flat wound and I've been told round wound and was wondering which.

Thanks!

[RomanS]

Well, what sound are you looking for? If you want some snap and bite on the low strings, use roundwounds, if you want smooth, woody tones, use flatwounds.

Hard to say what strings this one came with originally, as it is from the beginning of the era when flatwounds became popular. Flatwounds were invented in the early 1940s (by LaBella, AFAIK; and the very first ones were actually ground/polished roundwounds), but it took some time before they caught on; they were really popular in the 1950s and '60s.

If you like the tones of early electric jazz (Charlie Christian), Western Swing, or early Chicago blues, you want roundwounds (you might even try monel strings, which were still the most common type then).

If you want the smooth, dark tone of 1950/60s jazz, go with flatwounds (Thomastik Infeld makes the best ones, by far - don't let the high price deter you, they last for a very long time).

I presume you didn't buy that type of guitar for rock... 😁

[Steve DeRosa]

Another vote for Martin Retro Monels (MM13 in your case) - best-of-both-worlds period-accurate tone...

[blackbird86]

Originally Posted by RomanS

Well, what sound are you looking for? If you want some snap and bite on the low strings, use roundwounds, if you want smooth, woody tones, use flatwounds.

Hard to say what strings this one came with originally, as it is from the beginning of the era when flatwounds became popular. Flatwounds were invented in the early 1940s (by LaBella, AFAIK; and the very first ones were actually ground/polished roundwounds), but it took some time before they caught on; they were really popular in the 1950s and '60s.

If you like the tones of early electric jazz (Charlie Christian), Western Swing, or early Chicago blues, you want roundwounds (you might even try monel strings, which were still the most common type then).

If you want the smooth, dark tone of 1950/60s jazz, go with flatwounds (Thomastik Infeld makes the best ones, by far - don't let the high price deter you, they last for a very long time).

I presume you didn't buy that type of guitar for rock... 😁

The guitar was a gift years ago. I had it worked on a few years back and the action is really really low now. It has some sort of flatwounds on it now I think. If I were to put roundwounds on it now, would I need to get the action raised up a bit?

[RomanS]

That's impossible to say from afar...
Just try it!

[jadguitar]

I personally prefer rounds with a Dearmond pickup as I feel it really nails that 30s-50s early jazz sound. I like the Monel 13s as folks have mentioned before or pure nickel strings of basically any brand if you are not super concerned about the acoustic volume.