Rainsong Parlor and Shorty Owners - what strings have you tried?

[SprintBob]

My new (to me) Parlor came with Elixir Lights. If you own one of these guitars which are similar as small body guitars, what other string sets have you tried that you liked?

Thanks!

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

My new (to me) Parlor came with Elixir Lights. If you own one of these guitars which are similar as small body guitars, what other string sets have you tried that you liked?

Thanks!

Rainsong Shorty

Elixir 80/20 Lights: Ok, but kind of thin and tinny sounding.
EXP-16's: Warmer, but not enough brightness, quieter than the stock Elixirs

Elixir PB Nano Lights: Nice compromise between the melowness of the EXPs and the too trebbely stock strings.

[Captain Jim]

I tried Martin and d'Addario strings on the Shorty, but have settled in with Elixir PB Nano lights.

Jim

[jdinco]

The first set of Elixir Poly's I put on sounded really good, when it was time to replace, I used the Poly's again and they did not sound so good. I never thought Elixirs varied that much, but these 2 did, enough so that I wonder if the second set was really Poly's. Put on SP's and it sounded decent again, but not the best I have heard the Shorty sound. Let us know what you find that you like!

[SprintBob]

When I got my Parlor (it was a year old), I was not sure if the Elixir Lights were 80/20 or PB, Poly or Nano so I decided to change. I like the Thomastik Infeld strings which are pricey. I currently have the Plectrum .010 - .041 strings on the guitar and like the sound. I'll clarify that when I received the guitar earlier this week, I was frankly disappointed with the sound but I assumed that could be due to the strings not being fresh (and I really did not know what they were). Also, the action of the guitar was quite high (9/64" on the E). I lowered the action and adjusted the relief and I like what I hear now. Initially I could hardly make a first position barre chord but now the guitar is as easy to play as my Taylors.

[futboljim]

Wondering about this myself.

I did not like the stock Nano 80/20s, too bright and almost shrill at times. Love them on my RK, which tends to sound muddy with PBs.

Using Pearse PB lights, and I like them, but not completely convinced.

Gonna try Pearse Nickel on them soon. Also thinking about Nano PBs, have a hunch they just might be the answer.

[BillDuck]

I like Martin Monel strings on my Rainsong Parlor. There is another thread about these strings. I appreciate my Rainsong for most of the carbon fiber advantages, but I do like to try to mellow it out a bit with my string choice.

[dkoloff]

Polyweb light/mediums are the ones I have found bring out the tone the best versus the straight lights.

[futboljim]

Well, I got the chance to try John Pearse Nickels on my APLE. Definitely less overtones than the PBs, I think similar volume, maybe a little less bass.

Anyway, I will let you all decide what you think. I did a quick recording (apologies for the clunky play!) before I took the Pearse PB lights off, and then after I put the Nickels on. The PBs were half way through their life, IME, while the Nickels were obviously new. I might try to add another recording to each of these when the Nickels are a bit played in.

Recorded with my Zoom H2n, into Garage Band, no compression, EQ, reverb, or anything else. Mic on X-Y setting, about a foot away from the 12th fret. I did four different types of playing - strum with my fingers, a fingerstyle blues, a fs pattern to support vocals, then a melodic fingerstyle. Wish I would've grabbed a pick and tried a little flatpicking as well as strumming with a pick, for more comparison. It's not really my thing, but I'm hoping to add a little more pick work to my game.

I'd be pleased to hear thoughts from anyone. I might try Elixir Nano PBs next, although I'm not sure. I really like the nickels, and have another set of Pearse plus a set of Monels, so it might be awhile before doing that.

[Captain Jim]

My preference, based on those sound clips, is for the Pearse PB lights. (the first set) Both sound good, but I like the crisper sound.

[futboljim]

... and that's why so many different strings are on the market!

I do like both, for sure. I prefer the nickels right now, but I have to wait until the newness wears off to be sure!

[JohnnyDes]

I have a Rainsong S-OM and after trying many different string sets I finally settled on the Martin SP 80/20 light-medium set (12.5, 16.5, etc. gauge). The added thickness brings out so much more in the guitar and the difference in tension isn't very noticeable to me.

FWIW, I also loved what a Obbligato hybrid/mesquite saddle did for the tone.

JD

[drjond56]

I have a recently arrived parlor and it came with Elixir lights. They are fine for strumming, but in my hands I am going to need a brighter string for all the finger style I play ( which is 90% of what I do). DR Sunbeam. Martin FX. Have not yet come to a final conclusion--right now the Sunbeams are in the lead.

Jon

[yellowkid]

Originally Posted by drjond56

I have a recently arrived parlor and it came with Elixir lights. They are fine for strumming, but in my hands I am going to need a brighter string for all the finger style I play ( which is 90% of what I do). DR Sunbeam. Martin FX. Have not yet come to a final conclusion--right now the Sunbeams are in the lead.

Jon

I just ordered a Rainsong Studio Parlor, strictly acoustic. I'm having it set up with custom lights as I've found I can barre better with them on my other guitars (Swollen knuckle from arthritis) I'm strictly a fingerpicker. I'll check back in here next week and let you know how it goes.

[ChunkyB]

Originally Posted by dkoloff

Polyweb light/mediums are the ones I have found bring out the tone the best versus the straight lights.

+1. Like the polys, and the light medium is perfect for the short scale.