shitty guitar strings. I can't find a set that I like enough to buy a hundred of so I can stop going to fucking Guitar Center every other day for strings. I've frankenstiened sets, I've bought "specialty" sets, I've tried all kinds of shit. Coated, uncoated, colored, thicker gauge, lighter gauge. Nothing sounds good in B, too floppy, not clear enough.
I just ordered a bunch of different shit from juststrings.com, I'm going to go through all of them and see if I find any I like.
.68 -.14 Baritone strings are my prediction for what I'm going to end up wanting. I've got the top 6 of a 7 string set on all of my guitars, right now, and they play like shit, and sound like shit. Fucking sucks. I'm frustrated.
tuned down to B? as in "B"ass? ;D
When I tune to B or Drop A I like Daddario Chrome Flats 12 to 52 they have been awesome!
I've been using D'Addario 14-68's for nearly 10 years in a standard B tuning and I love them. I'll go months without changing them, I can't do that with smaller strings. I was starting to think that I wasn't that picky about strings anymore till I started experimenting with other strings and I just hated their tone. The D'Addario's aren't for everyone but I think there is a good chance they'll work out for you.
try bass strings dude! i was rocking a bass string on my low E string playing in B and it lasted me like 2 months compared to my usual 1-2 weeks(if im lucky) with the d addario strings i buy.
Long as they give me the desired clarity, im down for them.
ive always like d'addario string on my bass. im using medium guage flat wounds now and they have been great. ive used an upright bass bow on them many times with rosin and they still sound great, maybe even better..i think the rosin is the secret..
I have no other insight besides the fact that I love juststrings.com (http://juststrings.com) and buy strings exclusively from them now.
Mortin, bowing the bass sounds half-assed authentic? I have a beater bass i am considering repurposing as a bowed instrument exclusively. It is fretless, also. In othee news, i am cutting the bright cap out of my jcm800.
Clipping that brite cap is an excellent move. I did it on my '81, and it made all the difference.
Quote from: Jake on July 27, 2011, 10:26:57 AM
I have no other insight besides the fact that I love juststrings.com (http://juststrings.com) and buy strings exclusively from them now.
Word. Except I wish they'd stop giving me those crappy picks every time I buy something there. Those things are useless.
Quote from: Jake on July 27, 2011, 10:26:57 AM
I have no other insight besides the fact that I love juststrings.com (http://juststrings.com) and buy strings exclusively from them now.
If people wouldn't have talked about that site here, I'd thought "Woah! That's some spam site or it hasn't been redesigned since HTML was invented".
I am a Webstrings guy myself. They are cheap and they don't break any more often than I'd like them to. I like a string to break every now and again. You gotta think on your feet. If you can't finish a song w/ a broken string, well, that song is stupid and so is your mom.
Quote from: RacerX on July 27, 2011, 12:32:01 PM
Quote from: Jake on July 27, 2011, 10:26:57 AM
I have no other insight besides the fact that I love juststrings.com (http://juststrings.com) and buy strings exclusively from them now.
Word. Except I wish they'd stop giving me those crappy picks every time I buy something there. Those things are useless.
Those things suck...either just skip them or spend the extra nickel for something decent. The only good free pics I've ever gotten were from Dr. Scientist pedals. Lots of shapes, colors and a cool logo.
Quote from: SunnO))) on July 27, 2011, 10:41:15 AM
Mortin, bowing the bass sounds half-assed authentic? I have a beater bass i am considering repurposing as a bowed instrument exclusively. It is fretless, also. In othee news, i am cutting the bright cap out of my jcm800.
it really does but you're limited at what you can do. since there isnt a curved fretboard like on an upright its hard to attack the strings properly. i run my bass through a bunch of fx and bow it. i can make some pretty cool whale sounds.
i was shredding bow hairs for awhile until i got smart and switched from rounds to flats and started to use rosin.
Tried the Dunlop "heavy-cores"? I don't use them but they are supposed to have a thicker core for more clarity in low tunings. I know they make them in 12's, not sure if that is the heaviest though.
Quote from: Jake on July 27, 2011, 10:26:57 AM
I have no other insight besides the fact that I love juststrings.com (http://juststrings.com) and buy strings exclusively from them now.
Do you buy the name brand sets, or the juststrings strings?
68-14, unmatched clarity, a lot to grab, sounds kickass with fuzz, distortion, overdrive, and most of all, in open A, clean... it's awesome.
fuck yeahhh. Had to file out a few nuts, my tele and SBG200.
Quote from: Worthless Willie on July 30, 2011, 05:40:58 PM
Quote from: Jake on July 27, 2011, 10:26:57 AM
I have no other insight besides the fact that I love juststrings.com (http://juststrings.com) and buy strings exclusively from them now.
Do you buy the name brand sets, or the juststrings strings?
Earnie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom
Quote from: SunnO))) on July 30, 2011, 05:45:31 PM
68-14, unmatched clarity, a lot to grab, sounds kickass with fuzz, distortion, overdrive, and most of all, in open A, clean... it's awesome.
fuck yeahhh. Had to file out a few nuts, my tele and SBG200.
14's on a tele. Day-um. What a mighty grip you must have. Though, I suppose you're down tuned.....still...
I haven't played a guitar with anything under 12's in forever... I'd probably bend two steps when meaning to bend one..
Quote from: blackkrosses on July 29, 2011, 06:17:59 PM
Tried the Dunlop "heavy-cores"? I don't use them but they are supposed to have a thicker core for more clarity in low tunings. I know they make them in 12's, not sure if that is the heaviest though.
I use these, tune B standard on an LP. Best I've found yet.
Speaking of coated strings, do any of you like any brands besides Elixir? They don't make anything between 56 and 68 and I'm looking for something around 60. I want to go a little thicker but hate string squeak and changing strings often which is what I read you have to do with coated strings that aren't Elixirs.
From the You Ain't Gonna Wanna Hear This dept: All* steel strings are the fucking same. Look elsewhere to solve your dilemma, grasshopper.
* In my long experience. LOLpinions ! Anecdotes ! LOLs!
Hey, it's Logical Frank !
Elixir Nanowebs squeak a lot less than nickel plated strings. They sound darker but I'm okay with that.
I don't even notice squeak. Never. Get more calluses.
I've got what I've got.
I used to do the superglue trick
I'm running a Flatwound 12 - 52 set on the bottom three now and a round wound 10's on the top, I'm really liking it.
the ridiculous packaging that comes with everything. I have a small mountain of cardboard collected up for the recycle place just from that shit.
all the oddball plastic, Styrofoam and tie-wraps makes another nice pile too. what a waste.
you guys and your girlie strings ;D
(http://media.musiciansfriend.com/is/image/MMGS7/H3045-Heavy-Gauge-Bass-Boomers-Bass-Strings/100554000000000-00-750x750.jpg)
It's like you're playing with tooth floss. My bass has a .180 on it. Guitar has a .072.
I like flatwounds. Real mellow.
And they last for a long, long, long time.
They slow me down too much. Rubbery isn't cool.
Quote from: Jake on January 06, 2015, 11:52:12 AM
It's like you're playing with tooth floss. My bass has a .180 on it. Guitar has a .072.
guitars are for girls. more info on the bass.
Much of the things that are complained about here I either never experience, have a work around, or just plain ignore. Not sure what my point is..
But on the flatwound thing. Can you even do decent bend? I guess they're ok if you just strum.
Sort. They're booty for actually playing unless you want a dull clean tone, and a dull dirty tone. Some people go for that.
String noise? Meh, don't ever notice it.
I get a lot more string noise from my acoustic & resonator guitars.
Electrics? Not so much.
I had a set of flats on my old SG about 10 years back. Cool sound but too dark and this was around the time I literally had a blanket over my cab for awhile :D
Flats are what I like but I've always liked things very dark and muddy.
I tried flatwounds once to get rid of string squeak. they were dead and lifeless. worse than the squeaks so I got rid of them.
I buy the pre-boiled.
Of course.
Quote from: Chest Rockwell on January 06, 2015, 01:49:50 PM
guitars are for girls. more info on the bass.
This thing makes poop involuntarily happen.
(http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k32/jakeh_02/P1090618_zpsa688eac0.jpg)
^ Double E string??
edit: that doesn't make sense but the light makes it look like 2. It's certainly huge.
how does heavier gage strings affect the neck?? I assume the heavier = more tension??
Quote from: mortlock on January 07, 2015, 11:23:00 PM
how does heavier gage strings affect the neck?? I assume the heavier = more tension??
Yes assuming you stay in the same tuning. A truss rod adjustment is sometimes necessary.
Quote from: blackkrosses on July 29, 2011, 06:17:59 PM
Tried the Dunlop "heavy-cores"? I don't use them but they are supposed to have a thicker core for more clarity in low tunings. I know they make them in 12's, not sure if that is the heaviest though.
I'll have to check these out, I use 12's for low tuning (A#), I use a D'Addario with a wound G string. I love the wound G string, and even when I tune down to C, I use an 11-49 set with a wound G string.
Todd, the guitarist from Warhorse, used to use 11-49 strings, tuned down to G. Figure that one out....
I don't like to go heavier than 12's, so I will check out those Dunlops for sure.
Quote from: Dylan Thomas on January 08, 2015, 11:25:54 AM
Todd, the guitarist from Warhorse, used to use 11-49 strings, tuned down to G. Figure that one out....
I have a hard time believing this. Some cool tones can be had when your strings are super floppy but sustain is generally very weak and it's hard to get and stay in tune for a whole song. I use a 68 for the F# string on my 27" scale baritone and even that is kind of floppy to the point where I have to be careful not to press it too hard when fretting or I'll sound out of tune.
Quote from: liquidsmoke on January 08, 2015, 01:05:57 PM
Quote from: Dylan Thomas on January 08, 2015, 11:25:54 AM
Todd, the guitarist from Warhorse, used to use 11-49 strings, tuned down to G. Figure that one out....
I have a hard time believing this. Some cool tones can be had when your strings are super floppy but sustain is generally very weak and it's hard to get and stay in tune for a whole song. I use a 68 for the F# string on my 27" scale baritone and even that is kind of floppy to the point where I have to be careful not to press it too hard when fretting or I'll sound out of tune.
This was what he actually told me, and live, he bent the crap out of notes and such.
He also used a small, Crate solid state amp for recording As Heaven Turns To Ash.
Been using Beefy Slinky's for about the last 8 years. But I get into ruts where I get used to something and stick with it. Been using the same old dumb guitars and the same big old dumb amps forever too though. ;)
Ever since SRV I've been hearing people brag about string gauges. Whatever it is someone will take it to extremes. To each his own but bragging about it is a bit silly. 16-72 in C standard bra.
The worst recent trend is this quest for "clarity". Some guitars are sounding like a Lars Urlrich bass drum. All pick attack and no meat. Just as scooped as the 90s but just at a different frequency to go with the lower tunings.
Are they going to start putting tweeters on guitar cabs so you can get that ice pick clarity on your low F string on your 29" scale 9 string guitar. Yuk.
I guess some people are already running full range cabs with their fractals so any tone is possible. Bad and good.
It's sometimes hard to tell sarcasm over the internets, but I'm fairly certain that no one is actually bragging about their sting gauges.
Haha... tweeters in guitar cabs. Up next, treble drops to go with all those bass drops.
Maybe not in here but I've seen it. Whatever makes it possible to make the music in your head is cool with me.
In bike riding there has been some crazy extremes, fixed gear riders chopping their bars down to under a foot wide while MTBers run bars up to 32" wide or more. Extremes in either direction and no one's shoulders are getting any wider or narrower overnight.
Same with guitars. Some people with light strings and super low action, some people running super huge strings, some people in the middle.
I learned on 10s in E standard. So now I'm stuck at that tension. 13s in B or whatever feels not too tight with a bit of mush but not too much twang.
Edit: sometimes I'll go even lighter if recording something to get that Doppler-like bloom that you get on down tuned guitars because I like that sound. Just like a low tuned bass drum or floor tom when you hit it really hard.
I think if you are having a string flapping problem you could be picking too hard. I've had to soften up my pick attack over the years and I actually really like it now.