STRINGS AND TONE???

[TONGA]

OK I’m pretty new around hear so just slap me if this has been beat to death already.
I am someone who will experiment with almost anything but for some reason not strings. Back in the day I just used fender lights, and now I just seem to buy whatever is on sale at GC D’Addario or GHS or whatever.
So I am just looking for some opinions on different gauge ,different manufacturers and how they effect tone? Like singing single note lead tone and rhythm as well.
Any and all input welcome and like I said if this has been beat to death already just point me in the right direction and then execute me.

[NY Chief]

Pyramid. You can get them from the toneman.com

[jester]

If you are looking to get a slighly warmer tone then go nickel wound steel or pure nickel roundwound fender150L or XL, steels are alittle brighter. I tried everything from d addario to everly and the best for my setup is fender 150s but I really like snarling dawgs nuclear nickel!

[Guitar-Sam]

I use GHS 9-42 Boomers.they seem to have a mellower tone than other brands.Ernie Ball Super Slinky is my 2nd choice.
I hate D'Addarrio they seem to bright to me and I've had them come unwound at the ball befor.
But that said I like dead strings so after about 3 weeks they all sound about right to me.

[Roe]

depending on the guitar, I prefer pyramid nickel roundwounds 9-46 or 10-52 or snake oil rockers 9.5-46

[fillmore nyc]

I hate D'Addarrio they seem to bright to me and I've had them come unwound at the ball befor.

+1000 on the D'Addario's.
Whether its nickel electric strings, or bronze acoustic strings, I've never heard a set of D'Addario's I liked at all. Plus those multi-colored ball ends are too "Toys-R-Us" looking.
I've used Ernie Balls on my electrics forever, and Martin strings on my acoustics (and lately on my Nationals), and never had a problem with 'em.
(I used to use a set of 14 gauge nickel wounds on my Nats, but lately have been liking phosphor bronze Martins. Gives 'em a little extra zing.)

[TONGA]

So steels are brighter / nickel warmer
As for the pyramid strings? I have never heard of them but I have been out of the loop for some time.

[fillmore nyc]

So steels are brighter / nickel warmer
As for the pyramid strings? I have never heard of them but I have been out of the loop for some time.

I've never tried Pyramids either, but you're right about that steel/nickel assessment. Nickels are warmer than stainless steel.

[Doug H]

I've put d'addario 11s on my strat since the dawn of time. Everytime I try another brand they are either way too bright and then dead or just way too dull.

Cause of this thread I'm going to check out some erny balls, never tried them before.

+1 on the dead strings, half dead strings suck, but totally dead string have the right kind of thump to them.

[Froumy]

Never heard of pyramids.... hmmm.

Been using Ernie Balls forever. Probably because my father used them. I can kill a set of strings in no time, so any extra brightness will be gone within an hour of real playing.

For me, the bigger the gauge, the bigger the tone. Especially with cleans and half grind. Seems like some EVH guys like the lighter strings for a springy quality. Both arguments make perfect sense to me, just depends on what your fingers can do, and what your after.

[fillmore nyc]

Been using Ernie Balls forever. Probably because my father used them. I can kill a set of strings in no time, so any extra brightness will be gone within an hour of real playing.

Isnt it weird how everyone plays differently? Strings on my guitars seem to last forever, and in over 30 years of playing, MAYBE I've broken strings 5 or 6 times (not counting the time I ripped a full set of strings off a total POS Charvel that wouldnt stay in tune if I paid it to... )
I actually just broke a high E last month while checking out an amp, and it was like "Holy shit!! I cant even remember the last time that happened!!"
/

[Froumy]

If I played anyone else's guitar before a gig, they'd only let me try if for 5 -10 minutes top. Couldn't blame 'em. Strings would get dull and dirty. They called it GACK FINGER. My fingers destroy steel. It's like a really gross super power....

Not so bad now that I don't play much, so your strings are safe. For now....

With lighters strings, I used to break a few strings a week. That's an added bonus for using a heavier gauge.

[fillmore nyc]

They called it GACK FINGER. My fingers destroy steel. It's like a really gross super power.....

[TONGA]

“GACK FINGER”? “gross super power”?
Are you sure it’s not an STD you catch from unprotected playing of cheep guitars from 3rd world countries? Sure some of them look clean and sweet, but do you really know where they have been?
This is almost as disturbing as the big outbreak of “DISCO BALLS” back in the 70’s!

[basile865]

I've done the dance around to try as many different strings as I could. I've tried fenders, dean markley's blue steel, ernie ball, d'addario, GHS boomers, and DR.

D'addarios have a reputation for being the most consistent every pack, and I'd agree with that, but they just have no life about them to me. Just lack tone. Feels good, but just is dull in my opinion.

Fender's I've tried their 250's, 250 bullets, 150's pure nickel, etc. I love fender strings they have really great tone, but they seem to die a good bit quicker than most strings. Sound great on my strat not enough life.

Dean markley's I tried their blue steel which is cyrogenically frozen or some shit to increase life. Overpriced and nothing special. Enough said.

GHS boomers - pretty good strings, but I suppose nothing grabbed me about them.

DR I used for a long time. At first I bought a black set which I thought would look cool on my black/maple strat. It certainly did look cool, until I broke the high E like 3 hours later, and this pack was like 10 bucks because it was coated to last long! I swore I'd never try them again. Then about a year later I read that Derek Trucks uses DR strings. So I got an itch to try them again but this time I got their pure blues set. Which is pure nickel. Not only that but they compression wind them. Basically if you need a 42 gauge string or something, it starts life as a 43 or 44 gauge hand wound string, then its compressed in a machine to the 42 gauge. The result is more metal in a smaller gauge. I truly feel they do feel different because of that. I think they're great strings. Maybe derek likes them because with a slide on a short scale guitar that extra solid feel helps. I stopped using them for a while now just because price and I'm broke.

Ernie Ball. Pure nickels, super slinkys. I was all about pure nickel for a while because that was the "classic sound" then one day, in an effort to save money I just got a purple pack of power slinky 11's ernie ball which go for like 4 bucks. They had a shine about them. I realized I grew up on nickel/steel not pure nickel and thats what I was used to. They sound fresh and feel good, not to mention they seem to outlast every other string I've tried. Great string, great price. I've been using them for the past 6 months. Now I've got a box of them.