Strings experiment and revelation !

[iSoft]

Hi everyone,

So i'm the happy owner of an Eastman E10SS for few weeks now and god, i love it so much !
Went to a local music shop to try few premium brands and had heard about Eastman few times but never tried some before... Just felt in love with the brand and got out with this beauty which is one of the most amazing guitar i ever tried

At first, there were D'addario EXP coated strings factory installed on it (i personally hate coated strings, no offense ) and when playing it in the shop, i felt that it wanted to give more, lows were a bit muted and something was wrong in the overall tone and projection, but loved it cause i knew it could give more.
As i intended to buy a guitar in the shop, loved fews, i asked the dealer to change strings to standard strings (Ernie Ball Earthwood 12-54 Phosphor Bronze that he had enough in stock).
There guitar came alive, that's when i knew it was the one ! Strong lows, sweet highs, and marvelous projection and volume.

Came back with it and installed my preferred Phosphor Bronze Strings set, the Martin Authentic 12-54. Loved the guitar even more but wanted to give some experimentations.
As last time i tried different strings materials it was on more modern guitars (Taylor), i stood with the Martis Phosphor-Bronze but as the E10SS is more of vintage type and tone, i gave a try with the Nickel strings.

First i put D'addario Nickel Bronze 12-53, which was a pretty improvement on this guitar (again), love the type of tone but lacking a bit of lows precision/projection.

Then came the Martin Retro Monels 12-54... Jes' what a slap !
I've found the perfect strings for this guitar, love the feel (they feel smoother than any other uncoated strings i've tried), the inner are different gauges than usual 12-54 sets and i don't know if it has major impact on the feel and tone but they feel so good under the fingers (feeling and tension). Tonewise i've never heard something like that, lows growling and precise, amazing projection and note separation, can't explain it but this guitar is absolutely killer and the best sounding i ever had to my ears (also owned Martin, Gibson and Taylor high end acoustics).

Those Martin Retro are a revelation to me and this E10SS ! It's the first time i have this on an acoustic, before there were few improvements in different strings but nothing major, here it's really above everything !

Have you ever had a "revelation" with string brands experiments on your guitars ?

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, interesting read!

Firstly congrats on the Eastman - I run a club and see more and more replacing Gibsons, Taylors, budget Martins and other budget far eastern makes.

When there wa a n Eastman owners Yahoo list which included the marketing and development folk from Eastman, they asked us which direction they shold go, (it was originally just archtops). I suggested that they left the Martin clone market alone as it was saturated and focussed on the old Gibson flat-tops. Well they've done both, and seems they've now mastered the tonality and presentation.

Of course, as you change different sets of strings on your Eastman you are opening it up to differnt nuances and encouraging its resonance.

Strings ? Yup, I've been settled on D'addario P/Bs for decades, but readng on the UMGF about Martin reducing it's manifold offerings of strings , I bought some remaining SPs and have enjoyed the difference, most notably on my Waterloo and Collings 0002h.

Sadly the SPs have now been used up and there are no lights left in the country (UK).

A threepack of d'addario EJ16s came throgh the letterbox yesterday, so I'll go back to thm, but I think that there may be somethnig in what tommy emmanual says that a change of brad ocasionally "wkaes up" a good guitar.

[rokdog49]

Retros have been my "string of choice" on my Eastman E10 00 SS. It is a guitar very similar to the Gibby 00 at least in execution. Mine has an Adirondack top with Mahogany back and sides and is a very sweet sounding guitar with great sustain and a lot of punch. Many who have played it have said it is an amazing guitar.
I would highly recommend somewhere down the road you give the Curt Mangan Monels a try. They are basically the same thing as the Retros but IMHO even a little better tonewise. They have all the "ease of play" as the Retros as well, maybe even better. They feel very smooth and have virtually zero string noise. They do cost just a bit more, but give 'me a try sometime.
Congrats on your Eastman. They are great aren't they!

[vindibona1]

I've found that every guitar has a set of strings that just makes it stand out. Just last night I put a set of Gibson Masterbuilt PB's on my Taylor 614ce (2011) and I've never heard that guitar sound so good. I had a similar experience with DR Sunbeams on my D35.

I'm going to have to try a set of Monel strings on one of my guitars some time in the near future.

[steelvibe]

Never played an Eastman- I should do something about that! A small Eastman dealer just opened near my house so that can be my shot.

I do love Retros though. Ive had them on a guitar for nearly 4 months before and they sound even better as they age when most get dull and thuddy. They are the backwards strings- magical!

[backdoc]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Never played an Eastman- I should do something about that! A small Eastman dealer just opened near my house so that can be my shot.

I do love Retros though. Ive had them on a guitar for nearly 4 months before and they sound even better as they age when most get dull and thuddy. They are the backwards strings- magical!

Eastman guitars have just blown me away. I have three now. With my new Gibson, I think I need to get rid of the rest of my guitars, including Martins.

[Kycatzrock]

I recently bought an Eastman E10OM and couldn't get the EXP-16's off of it fast enough. I replaced those with Joh Pearse slightly bronze that I wanted to try. They are good, but I'm going to replace them with my favorite strings, the Martin Retro MM-12. I look forward to her sounding even better, thanks for the post.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by iSoft

First i put D'addario Nickel Bronze 12-53, which was a pretty improvement on this guitar (again), love the type of tone but lacking a bit of lows precision/projection.

Then came the Martin Retro Monels 12-54... Jes' what a slap !

Those Martin Retro are a revelation to me and this E10SS ! It's the first time i have this on an acoustic, before there were few improvements in different strings but nothing major, here it's really above everything !

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Retros have been my "string of choice" on my Eastman E10 00 SS. It is a guitar very similar to the Gibby 00 at least in execution. Mine has an Adirondack top with Mahogany back and sides and is a very sweet sounding guitar with great sustain and a lot of punch. Many who have played it have said it is an amazing guitar.
I would highly recommend somewhere down the road you give the Curt Mangan Monels a try. They are basically the same thing as the Retros but IMHO even a little better tonewise. They have all the "ease of play" as the Retros as well, maybe even better. They feel very smooth and have virtually zero string noise. They do cost just a bit more, but give 'me a try sometime.
Congrats on your Eastman. They are great aren't they!

Very embarrassingly I have never tried monels.

I am a huge Newton Masterclass fan, which are Round core Phos Bronze. They are my perfect string for my Rosewood Dread. Upon reading Rokdog49's recommendation, I looked up Curt Managen and they have a lovely description.
"Monel has been around since the early 1900’s and consists of 67% Pure Nickel, 30% Copper, 3% of the magic juice that contains magnesium, zinc and other elements making Monel resistant to salt water (sweat). Monel also has a very unique “earthy” tone and is used on both acoustics and electric instruments. It has built in natural resistance to tarnish and corrosion yet it feels great to the touch and has its own unique tonal color. Monel provides a very rich tone on the neck pickup and this great little growl on the bridge pick up. For acoustic instruments it seems to bring out more the wood sound"

I think I will have to order a set of Monels to try out. Will probably go with Newtones as I can order a custom set of gauges to my liking.

Has anybody tried them on Walnut Back and sides Guitars? That is the guitar I would like to try them on?

And I would love to hear exactly how they differ from Round core Phos Bronze?
* Frequency wise? Tone Wise? Feel wise( I know that typically nickel strings will feel a bit lighter? Comparing Round core Monels to Round core Phos Bronze

And has anybody compared Martin Monels or Curt Manegan Monels to Newton Monels?

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Knives&Guitars

Very embarrassingly I have never tried monels.

I am a huge Newton Masterclass fan, which are Round core Phos Bronze. They are my perfect string for my Rosewood Dread. Upon reading Rokdog49's recommendation, I looked up Curt Managen and they have a lovely description.
"Monel has been around since the early 1900’s and consists of 67% Pure Nickel, 30% Copper, 3% of the magic juice that contains magnesium, zinc and other elements making Monel resistant to salt water (sweat). Monel also has a very unique “earthy” tone and is used on both acoustics and electric instruments. It has built in natural resistance to tarnish and corrosion yet it feels great to the touch and has its own unique tonal color. Monel provides a very rich tone on the neck pickup and this great little growl on the bridge pick up. For acoustic instruments it seems to bring out more the wood sound"

I think I will have to order a set of Monels to try out. Will probably go with Newtones as I can order a custom set of gauges to my liking.

Has anybody tried them on Walnut Back and sides Guitars? That is the guitar I would like to try them on?

And I would love to hear exactly how they differ from Round core Phos Bronze?
* Frequency wise? Tone Wise? Feel wise( I know that typically nickel strings will feel a bit lighter? Comparing Round core Monels to Round core Phos Bronze

And has anybody compared Martin Monels or Curt Manegan Monels to Newton Monels?

Hey Knives&Guitars,
I havent tried the Newtone Monels but I will for sure.
One thing that kind of stands out between the Mangan's and the Retros is their appearance and the feel. The Mangan's are shiny and they feel smoother.
That is not to say the Retros are bad in either aspect because they are great.
Since the Mangan's cost more, the difference might not matter to some. I'm going to keep buying both.