5 Guitars, Same Strings?

[Ncbandit]

I have tried a lot of different brands and now use Ernie Ball Earthwood Phosphor Bronze medium lights. They sound great and I like the gauges 12,16,24,32,44,54.

[Silly Moustache]

your guitar selection would indicate to me light gauge.

My choice of winding alloy is phos-bronze, and I have no need of coated strings and I tend to use D'addario.

Your choice is up to you.

[Pura Vida]

I used to place the same strings onto all of my guitars, but some sounded better than others. So, I went in the opposite direction and ended up with different strings for nearly every guitar. Today, my default strings are GHS... PB light for most guitars, and Vintage Bronze for Mahogany bodies (they bring out the wood a little more) and a couple of guitars that benefit from being tamed down a little. I played the Americana (aka Signature Bronze) on a couple of guitars that needed some additional ZING!, but none of my current lineup really need those strings anymore.

Good luck with your experiment!

[Parlorman]

Obviously, different string materials and construction will give differing sounds on a given guitar. You have to find the combinations that work best on your instruments to your ears. That may or may not be the same string brand and composition.

To me another very important factor is string tension. Heavier gauge strings = higher tension. Different guitars need different tension strings. Too high a string tension can overdrive a guitar top while too light a tension can leave a guitar sounding weak and flat. Most of my smaller parlor guitars come alive with very light (.10 high E) strings. The same strings on the bigger guitars leaves them flat and dull sounding.

[Aspiring]

I have different strings on my acoustics right now but when they were newer I tried to keep them similar to compare.

Now I have found some string sets that bring out the differences between them and which seem to suit each one so that I have more differences between them and have reasons for picking each one up.

[Golffishny]

I think starting with the same strings on all to hear the differences is a good starting point. You will probably find some that don't live up to your expectations. Those will be the ones to try other strings on.

[cliff_the_stiff]

I like a little variety- But not too much.
The Santa Cruz Parabolic strings I like the Mid tension, not the light tension.
Thomastik Plectrum strings are spendy, but I cannot get over how great they feel.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by Drak

...Is there Any good reason Not to use the Same Strings on All of them?....

Not if you believe you are getting the most out of every guitar by doing so. Every guitar is different so different strings will make each guitar sound different. The first thing I do after purchasing a guitar is identify the strings on the guitar for a baseline so I can come back to those if I need to. Then I try my favorite 4 or 5 strings and settle on the ones I believe bring out what I want with each guitar. I keep notes and find that with 5 guitars, I'll probably end up with 3 or 4 different brand/types in the end. Your guitar, your choice.

[rstaight]

On my acoustics I have 3 different manufactures for strings.

Indiana Scout and Lotus have Earthwood lights.
Indiana Madison has Daddario lights.
Takamine GJ72CE 12 string has Daddario.
Takamine GD93 has Elixar light polyweb.

I will play around with different strings on each guitar till I find what I feel sounds best for that instrument. What I have listed is what I settled on. At least for now.

[mr. beaumont]

Me: Every guitar has a string type and gauge that makes it sound best

Also me: Before I started joining internet forums, I thought there were 2 types of strings, "acoustic" and "electric," and I was never unhappy with my sound.

[DesertTwang]

The question I'd be asking myself would be this one: is my objective in owning guitars to perform side-by-side comparisons or to make music? The answer would determine my decision regarding string choice.

[mawmow]

Different guitars will deliver different sounds though strings would be the same brand & type.
Even two samples of the same brand & type of guitar could sound different.
I also change brand/type of strings to get different sounds on a given guitar.

[Christian Reno]

Experimenting with different string alloys and gauges etc. can be eye opening. As many have said, one guitar may sound great with 80/20s and another better with PB for one example.

Merle Travis used the same strings on all of his guitars. When asked what kind of strings he used, he reportedly said “ well, I use gee-tar strings.”

[B. Adams]

I use the same strings on all 5 of my acoustic and it works great. I only have 2 types of guitars though, 3 GA shape Taylors and 2 Emerald X20's, which probably makes it a little easier for me than some people.

[Jaden]

Might as well start at the beginning with the baseline pre-1974 acoustic standard D’Addario 80/20 EJ11 lights - they won’t muddy up your guitars with added colour but rather provide clarity, string and note definition, and shortly after installation, roundness and warmth - one or more of your guitars might do best with these - with the rest - change up to find the right match.