GHS Strings - Favorites?

[Kh1967]

Hi All,

I am a regular user of GHS Vintage Bronze Strings. I like them on most of my guitars. However, I would like to give some other GHS strings a try.

What are some of your favorites and why?

Thanks so much!

[Misifus]

When I received my luthier made guitar, he had put GHS 80/20 on it, and they sounded quite good. I used those exclusively for a couple of years. Later I switched to another brand of 80/20s, but there was nothing wrong with the GHS.

[mawmow]

I tried P/Br but I preferred ernie balls because GHS P/Br oxydized too fast.

[noledog]

* I used to really like the GHS LJ Signature Bronze mediums years ago, but really prefer 80/20's especially EB Earthwood's. They just seem to have more defined clarity and presence without being tinny or bright, very fat sounding.

** Since I play full-time in the Florida salt air and humidity, I've come to like the EB Paradigm in 80/20 med because they sound like the Earthwoods yet are treated to last longer (I normally don't like coated strings but the Paradigm do not feel coated at all) I've also recently tried the EB Aluminum Bronze and really like them a lot tone-wise, but am waiting to see how long they last. They have the punchiest tone I've heard a string produce with great definition. Like the Earthwoods and Paradigms, I hear more of the guitar and less of the string characteristics so to to speak... the AB's, if they last, may become my fav, plus they sound wonderful on my D-18.

*** That said Darco 80/20's also sound great on my guitars, but don't last... all my descriptions are unplugged and translate the same when amplified which is most of the time performing with cedar-topped/sapeale guitars.

[Goodallboy]

I like GHS PB strings and I like GHS strings for my electric guitars.

[jaymarsch]

I am also a fan of the GHS Vintage Bronze and have also used the Americana's on a guitar or two which are the same as their Signature Bronze. I find that those strings give me warmth and clarity without too bright of an edge. They can strike a nice balance between what PBs and 80/20s each offer depending on the guitar.

Best,
Jayne

[jpd]

currently enthralled with GHS thin core 13/56 PB on my l-00. great bending, great bass and mids, good trebles...

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by jpd

currently enthralled with GHS thin core 13/56 PB on my l-00. great bending, great bass and mids, good trebles...

Same here. I have switched all my guitars to GHS Thin Core strings.

Steve

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by jpd

currently enthralled with GHS thin core 13/56 PB on my l-00. great bending, great bass and mids, good trebles...

I have been meaning to try the Thin Cores. Thanks for mentioning them.

Best,
Jayne

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by jpd

currently enthralled with GHS thin core 13/56 PB on my l-00. great bending, great bass and mids, good trebles...

I've been looking for a set that are close to the meat of mediums but without the added tension. Just ordered a set of these- thanks for the heads up!

[jpd]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

I've been looking for a set that are close to the meat of mediums but without the added tension. Just ordered a set of these- thanks for the heads up!

hope you all are liking them too!

[AusTexMurf]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I am also a fan of the GHS Vintage Bronze and have also used the Americana's on a guitar or two which are the same as their Signature Bronze. I find that those strings give me warmth and clarity without too bright of an edge. They can strike a nice balance between what PBs and 80/20s each offer depending on the guitar.

Best,
Jayne

I like both the Americana's and the Vintage Bronze GHS strings.
I find the Vintage Bronze warmer, less jangly than most PhB. Helps temper a bright guitar.
The Americana's are great on my Dreadnought Jr 2 all sapele and are a nice match on solid mahogany guitars. IMO, help brighten a darker guitar.
Added bonus is the Americana's seem to last much longer than most untreated strings. They settle in and stay that way for what seems like forever. I'm always wondering whether or not I need to change the Americana's out because they still sound about the same but have seen lots of time and play...get more mileage from them than most treated/coated strings I have used.

[The Growler]

I like their strings and use the Doyle Dykes Signature strings for my vintage archtop and my Godin Mulitiac Doyle Dykes Limited Edition. Very nice. If you're looking for a light set, give them a try.

[rmoretti49]

I, too, am a frequent user of GHS Thin Cores. I use the 12's on several guitars. I wrote them to ask if they might offer a set for 12 string guitars. I'm sure if they hear from enough people, they will do it. For now, I believe they will assemble a set upon special request.

I also use Vintage Bronze on my Taylor to tame the brightness a bit.

[Wade Hampton]

Kh1967, back when I was making a full time living as a professional musician the strings I usually used were GHS Bright Bronze. Those sounded really good on the rosewood Mossman dreadnought I was gigging with at the time. I'm pretty certain that their Bright Bronze strings are an 80/20 alloy.

They sounded great but they didn't last me all that long. I could keep a set of strings on for about two nights before I started breaking strings.

This was before there were really any good acoustic guitar pickups, in my opinion. The ones that I heard were really nasal-sounding, so I played my guitar into an instrument mic onstage, and in the loud, rowdy places where I was playing, that meant that some strings met a sudden, violent death.

After I'd moved to Alaska and started playing more casuals, I got a magnetic soundhole pickup for my guitar and plugged it in. So I started using GHS "White Bronze" strings, which were some sort of alloy that worked with the soundhole pickup.

The technology kept advancing, though, and after Martin and Fishman came out with their second version of the Martin Thinline undersaddle pickup I got one. It wasn't ideal, but I thought it still sounded better than the soundhole pickup had sounded. So I switched back to using GHS Bright Bronze strings again, though not exclusively.

During all of my years of gigging out I used a number of different string brands, even though the GHS Bright Bronze strings were my first choice. But I used Martin strings and other brands, too. All of them were pretty good.

It was when I read an interview with Doc Watson in Frets Magazine where he described how much he liked John Pearse strings, that I decided to give them a try. Once I tried them, that was it, they became my all-time favorites, which they remain to this day. They last me far longer than the GHS, Martin, Ernie Ball Earthwood or any of the other brands I'd tried, and I like the sound of them better, as well.

But I do have a great deal of respect for GHS strings, and think that they make an excellent product.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller