Phosphor Bronze vs. 80/20

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

In my experience Phosphor Bronze brings out more overtones than 80/20's, and tends to sound more lush. 80/20's on the other hand have more emphasis on the fundamental and have a more direct punchy sound.

As the above. I generally prefer PB on everything, but found that 80/20 can sound ok on small bodied mahogany guitars.

[FoxHound4690]

Thanks for your answers guys, I can always count on this website to tell me what I need to know =P

I'm very keen to try these phosphor bronze strings now to see how they compare to the 80/20's. I'm looking forward to getting it restrung with them in the near future.... i've had my 80/20s on since January so not sure if the strings have reached their peak yet. I guess i'll just keep playing until they go dull on me.

[rokdog49]

Gibson used to put their uniquely specified, GHS made, Masterbuilt 80-20’s on many of their guitars including my J45 which is Spruce and Mahogany.
The fact that some people like 80-20’s on Rosewood is just personal preference IMHO. Maybe they provide less overtones, maybe they don’t.
I love the sound of those strings on my J45. I’ve tried a lot of other types including a variety of many Phosphor Bronze ones.

[L20A]

My vote go to PB strings on almost every guitar that I like, play or own.
I have guitars with Rosewood, Mahogany and Maple.
All of them sound best to me with Medium Gauge Phosphor Bronze strings.

I'm a strummer and seldom play finger style.
My guitars are Dred or Jumbo in most cases.

If I were to ever use Elixir strings, it would be PB Med in Nanoweb.

[Wade Hampton]

General Dreedle, writing from deep inside his command post, wrote:

Originally Posted by GeneralDreedle

Then there's the question as to which type sounds better on Maple!

Then Goodallboy replied:

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

That’s really THE question.

In my experience, a nickel alloy of some sort. I used John Pearse Pure Nickels on the maple Guild jumbo that I used to own.


whm

[Jobe]

I love Phosphor Bronze. A word of caution if they are new to you and maybe not what you expected: They can be very 'bright' and lively up front but give them a chance to settle in and they will be your friend. Just my opinion of course.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

In my experience, a nickel alloy of some sort. I used John Pearse Pure Nickels on the maple Guild jumbo that I used to own.


whm

Wade suggested I try these on my maple Huss & Dalton MJ Custom - they are excellent!



p.s. I'm not a fan of 80/20's but I did try a set of John Pearse 80/20 baritone strings that were very clear.

[Jobe]

I love Phosphor Bronze. A word of caution if they are new to you and maybe not what you expected: They can be very 'bright' and lively up front but give them a chance to settle in and they will become your friend. Just my opinion of course.

[Wade Hampton]

Well, the tonal response of different phosphor bronze guitar string sets varies from one manufacturer to another. For example, John Pearse phosphors have a much more complex lower end and lower midrange response than D'Addario phosphors, and not as much treble response.

As a rule, I try to avoid using words like "bright" to describe sounds because that word gets used by different people to describe many different things. But D'Addario phosphors conform more to your description as "bright" than the John Pearse phosphors do, if by that you mean a more prominent treble response.

So, again, whether a phosphor bronze string set is "bright" depends on the brand and alloy formulation that that company happens to use. Not all phosphor bronze strings on the market are alike.


whm

[dreamincolor]

I realize I’m probably the outlier here, but I almost always prefer 80/20s to PBs. I hear a metallic tone in phosphor bronze strings that doesn’t appeal to my ears. Maybe it’s an overtone — I don’t know. Most of my acoustics wear John Pearse New Mediums (80/20), but I do prefer medium gauge on a couple of guitars—especially ones used for drop tunings.

I too like JP Pure Nickels With maple. I’ve liked these on other guitars too.

[poopsidoo]

Originally Posted by Pnewsom

In my experience Phosphor Bronze brings out more overtones than 80/20's, and tends to sound more lush. 80/20's on the other hand have more emphasis on the fundamental and have a more direct punchy sound.
I prefer Phosphor Bronze on my mahogany back and sides guitars, and the 80/20's for Rosewood back and sides.

This! 80/20 on my hd-28, phosphor on my j-45.

[Robin, Wales]

This may be completely mad thinking. But I sort of see 80/20s as ground zero for dreadnaughts (and possibly other models but haven't really considered that). They were the primary string type available when the Dread really surfaced in the 30s/40s, and became popular with country bands. So they are sort of my baseline string beyond which I experiment. I've been using D'Addario NBs lately (a very new invention, and very different) but have slipped on a set of Martin 80/20s at my last string change and am enjoying playing those again. They have, as others have mentioned, a nice bottom end, scooped mids, and not too many overtones so a bit cleaner than PBs in the strum. I may venture out in future to other pastures, but it is always quite nice to come home.

[Jobe]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

This may be completely mad thinking. But I sort of see 80/20s as ground zero for dreadnaughts (and possibly other models but haven't really considered that). They were the primary string type available when the Dread really surfaced in the 30s/40s, and became popular with country bands. So they are sort of my baseline string beyond which I experiment. I've been using D'Addario NBs lately (a very new invention, and very different) but have slipped on a set of Martin 80/20s at my last string change and am enjoying playing those again. They have, as others have mentioned, a nice bottom end, scooped mids, and not too many overtones so a bit cleaner than PBs in the strum. I may venture out in future to other pastures, but it is always quite nice to come home.

Well said. It is always nice to find your home. The world offers many pastures to graze upon and that is fine. But you still have to find 'your' home.

[Guilty Spark]

FWIW, Neil Young exclusively uses 80/20s..

I'd like to try some of the D'Angelico strings he uses just out of curiosity, but they don't seem to be very common. I don't see them much.

[GeneralDreedle]

Originally Posted by poopsidoo

This! 80/20 on my hd-28, phosphor on my j-45.

I have 80/20 on my Martin and phosphor on my Southern Jumbo and really like that too