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Post by forestdweller on Jul 9, 2023 7:43:40 GMT
Hi, I've used Daddario EXP 16s for many years although always tried different ones. These are the only coated ones I liked. They stopped making them and have tried their new ET versoin and found they became dull very quickly. Like the Newtones but never as much as the old EXPs. Have just tried a set of these Dragon Skins; Hard Coated PB Lights and really like the balanced sound. They were recommended by someone I follow on You Tube. I'll see how they go and update after a couple of months. Sensible price too. FFJ I would quite like to try DR Sunbeams at some stage. I tried these dragon skins many years ago when they first came out, but being a fingerstyle player their rough coating ripped my nails up!! I suppose the clue was in the name really! Robbie
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Post by forestdweller on Jul 9, 2023 7:57:00 GMT
Perhaps try Santa Cruz Parabolic - I have the mid tension on my Sobell and low tension on my 00... they really sound great and have a coating of some sort, so should last a while. I usually hate coated strings as they are pretty dull in comparison with uncoated, but these seem clear and responsive. Sadly not cheap. Jonny Hi, Just shows that everyone has dfferent experiences with different strings and the only rule seems to be 'use what you think suits you'. There are so many factors involved. I'm sure Johnny is much more knowledgeable than me. Here's my take on Santa Cruz strings. I tried them after a recommend by someone on the forum for 'low tension' and ease of playing as fingers get older. Bought 2 sets; as Johnny says, not cheap. I bought 'low tension'; Santa Crus say string guage is not relevant, it's the tension. But out of interest I found somewhere something which said the low tensions were 12 16 23 32 44 56. Put one set on my Taylor. Sounded great first on. Took them off after 6 weeks as they sounded very dull. My Taylor is 310ce dread and my main 'strummer'. Put the other set on my Turner Koa, I have this tuned permanently in open d and play it 80% fingerstyle. Just replaced them after 12 months Santa Cruzes still sounded OK but you could see the wear on them on fretboard and lost some of their 'ring' and sustain. So, it may well just be the usual horses for courses. I won't buy SCs again because cost is high and I didn't feel any real benefit from the 'low tension' theory. No doubt others have come to different conclusions! (Replaced them on Turner with my first try of Dragon Skins which early days sound great) FFJ I've heard this said before from Sanata Cruz that gauge is irrelevant, it's tension that is important. Sorry sanata Cruz, but thats rubbish. If I buy a set of their strings and then find they don't fit my nut slots then yes, gauge is everything. I can easily adjust a truss rod (well maybe not so easily on my huss & dalton- why do they make it so difficult to access?) But widening a nut slot to accomodate a gauge 61 string or an 18? No thanks! Thats the only thing that has put me off trying them Robbie
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Jul 9, 2023 8:15:50 GMT
Hi, I've used Daddario EXP 16s for many years although always tried different ones. These are the only coated ones I liked. They stopped making them and have tried their new ET versoin and found they became dull very quickly. Like the Newtones but never as much as the old EXPs. Have just tried a set of these Dragon Skins; Hard Coated PB Lights and really like the balanced sound. They were recommended by someone I follow on You Tube. I'll see how they go and update after a couple of months. Sensible price too. FFJ I would quite like to try DR Sunbeams at some stage. I tried these dragon skins many years ago when they first came out, but being a fingerstyle player their rough coating ripped my nails up!! I suppose the clue was in the name really!Robbie Interesting point; I'll keep an eye out for this. I also find that some coated strings sound a bit 'scratchy when strumming; I don't use a pick so it's fingers only; I need to watch this as well.
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Post by martinrowe on Jul 9, 2023 11:07:44 GMT
Thanks Robbie forestdweller I'll look into that. There are so many variables aren't there: strings, technique, plectrum grip, thickness and material, musicianship, that it can be hard to know what is affecting what. Yes, my Davidson (I got it for a very good price, which helps) is the sort of instrument that makes me only look at other instruments out of interest. I did get an f-hole Pava for a good price on ebay over lockdown though and have an basic Jimmy Moon that is going to be for sale sometime or be turned into an ADAD tuned instrument. I tried an Eastman in ProjectMusic once and it didn't really do it for me. hey ho thanks Martin
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brianr2
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Post by brianr2 on Jul 9, 2023 16:17:55 GMT
Thank you for all the additional suggestions. Santa Cruz have long been on my radar, but the thing that stops me trying them are the gauges- they are extremely confusing. I would love to try the dadgad ones as I think these would be ideal, but....do I go for low tension, given that my guitar is short scale, or the higher tension ones? And if the higher ones the actual gauges are quite big- I think its something like a 60 for the 6th string. Given that my nut width is on the narrow side I would worry about having some work done on the nut to accommodate these and then find things are a bit cramped. During my practice session last night I began to enjoy the Newtones a bit more. I certainly don't miss the over zinginess of the D'Addario XS strings for instance. But its just that 6th string- its like plucking a double bass string and so much less sustain than the other strings. I don't feel compelled to take them off yet, so I will give them time to settle in. In the meantime I will investigate Santa Cruz, but could those that have mentioned them already perhaps chip in with what gauge I should try? I am ultimately going to leave this guitar in dadgad and cgdgad tunings, or possibly dropped D and dadgad with the possibility of another guitar that I might be able to borrow that would handle CGDGAD and CGCGCD. Gosh, this all sounds a bit complicated doesn't it? Robbie This thread is a fascinating and thorough analysis. Thanks. My own favoured Newtone Heritage low-tension strings also take a while to blossom. My aged joints benefit from the reduced tension and it’s evenness across the strings. If you wanted to carry out and share a controlled comparison, I should be happy to donate a set for you to trial.
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Post by forestdweller on Jul 10, 2023 6:33:16 GMT
Thank you for all the additional suggestions. Santa Cruz have long been on my radar, but the thing that stops me trying them are the gauges- they are extremely confusing. I would love to try the dadgad ones as I think these would be ideal, but....do I go for low tension, given that my guitar is short scale, or the higher tension ones? And if the higher ones the actual gauges are quite big- I think its something like a 60 for the 6th string. Given that my nut width is on the narrow side I would worry about having some work done on the nut to accommodate these and then find things are a bit cramped. During my practice session last night I began to enjoy the Newtones a bit more. I certainly don't miss the over zinginess of the D'Addario XS strings for instance. But its just that 6th string- its like plucking a double bass string and so much less sustain than the other strings. I don't feel compelled to take them off yet, so I will give them time to settle in. In the meantime I will investigate Santa Cruz, but could those that have mentioned them already perhaps chip in with what gauge I should try? I am ultimately going to leave this guitar in dadgad and cgdgad tunings, or possibly dropped D and dadgad with the possibility of another guitar that I might be able to borrow that would handle CGDGAD and CGCGCD. Gosh, this all sounds a bit complicated doesn't it? Robbie This thread is a fascinating and thorough analysis. Thanks. My own favoured Newtone Heritage low-tension strings also take a while to blossom. My aged joints benefit from the reduced tension and it’s evenness across the strings. If you wanted to carry out and share a controlled comparison, I should be happy to donate a set for you to trial. Wow thats very generous of you Brian. I would take you up on the offer but the only thing is I think my guitar, being short scale, would struggle with strings that were any lower in tension than what is on now, especially as I don't play in standard tuning that often. I've really enjoyed the whole process this week of analysing in detail my sound and trying to dig down into what is contributing to the sound. Ideally I would be able to compare directly with the XS strings I have been using up to now, rather than relying on memory Robbie
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brianr2
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Posts: 3,071
My main instrument is: Brook Lyn guitar
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Post by brianr2 on Jul 10, 2023 8:45:04 GMT
This thread is a fascinating and thorough analysis. Thanks. My own favoured Newtone Heritage low-tension strings also take a while to blossom. My aged joints benefit from the reduced tension and it’s evenness across the strings. If you wanted to carry out and share a controlled comparison, I should be happy to donate a set for you to trial. Wow thats very generous of you Brian. I would take you up on the offer but the only thing is I think my guitar, being short scale, would struggle with strings that were any lower in tension than what is on now, especially as I don't play in standard tuning that often. I've really enjoyed the whole process this week of analysing in detail my sound and trying to dig down into what is contributing to the sound. Ideally I would be able to compare directly with the XS strings I have been using up to now, rather than relying on memory Robbie That’s fine. I know how frustrating the search for the Holy Grail can be. Good luck with yours. Brian
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Post by forestdweller on Jul 11, 2023 11:22:20 GMT
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Post by peterh on Jul 12, 2023 14:54:46 GMT
I do think they sound distinctly nice on that tune...
I've tried them on all my guitars and they seemed to work better on Gavins old Falstaff, rather than my old Orsino.
But hearing that tune, I gonna try them again, and maybe try nickels or Brass too
Kind regards to all.
PeterH
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Post by forestdweller on Jul 14, 2023 6:41:35 GMT
Well, just to add a post script to this thread, I had a VERY disappointing session last night, where the 6th string was all but dead- I mean completely lifeless. So disheartening as these strings have barely lasted 9 days Oh well, a long wait (2 weeks) now until I get paid at the end of the month, then I will get some coated strings! Robbie
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Post by peterh on Jul 14, 2023 16:02:51 GMT
Sorry to hear that.. BUT in case you didn't know, that they are famously worth cleaning: so you can wake up round core strings by
by using bartowel's or similar, do it under and on top ...
It works with DR sunbeams too, as I did it a few days ago.!
Which means you shouold get longer....
Regards to all.. Peter H
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Post by ocarolan on Jul 14, 2023 17:28:32 GMT
... Fastfret helps too, though the effect tends to be short lived.
K
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Post by Phil Taylor on Jul 16, 2023 9:15:00 GMT
Well, after an evening of playing them in here are my thoughts so far - very fundamental tone, very few harmonics
- the strings blend together nicely, but 6th string on its own sounds dull and a little too thuddy
- they remind me of D'Addario Nickel bronze, but even less harmonics
- they don't sound good in CGDGAD (which is a shame as this is one of the reasons I bought them as I thought the basses would be a bit heavier)
- Any lower than a D and that 6th string sounds like an elastic band
- On the whole I have always had a problem with Newtone 6th strings sounding dull and with little sustain- this 6th is no different
So I will probably keep them on for a month, or less if they sound any deader than they are. Newtone describe the tone of these as unique- they aren't wrong! With my string experiments overs the years I think I have come to one conclusion: the only strings that I have liked consistently and with reasonable longevity are Elixir. I don't know why I have such an aversion to buying them though- I suppose, like guitars, its the thought that there might always be something better out there that I haven't tried yet. Robbie I tried them once and also didn't like them. Perhaps try Santa Cruz Parabolic - I have the mid tension on my Sobell and low tension on my 00... they really sound great and have a coating of some sort, so should last a while. I usually hate coated strings as they are pretty dull in comparison with uncoated, but these seem clear and responsive. Sadly not cheap. Jonny I'm experimenting with my McIlroy at the moment. I have just took Elixir's off to try the Newtone Heritage low tension to try to counter the longer scale effect (I'm used to short scale) and they seem ok in standard down a semitone and dadgad but not tried them on low C tunings yet. The thing I don't like about uncoated strings is the noise/squeak which I don't get with coated. I'm thinking of trying the Santa Cruz but since they don't give any gauges did you have any troubles fitting them on the nut? Also knowing your playing like I do Jonny I assume they are ok with all alternate tunings in your experience? Phil
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Post by Welshruss on Jul 16, 2023 10:54:53 GMT
Phil, I use a few tunings with Santa Cruz Low Tension, to me they feel similar to 12s. I keep one guitars in D standard and my Bashkin spends most time in CGCGCE. They are fine in DADGAD too. I played an excellent East Guitars baritone recently which was strung with Santa Cruz baritone strings.
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Jul 16, 2023 12:30:58 GMT
Phil, I use a few tunings with Santa Cruz Low Tension, to me they feel similar to 12s. I keep one guitars in D standard and my Bashkin spends most time in CGCGCE. They are fine in DADGAD too. I played an excellent East Guitars baritone recently which was strung with Santa Cruz baritone strings. Thanks Russ So for clarity you use the low-tension on 650mm scale length guitars? I've found this that gives the actual tension figures to compare with Elixir and Newtone Heritage which may be of interest to some linkPhil
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