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Post by andyhowell on Sept 6, 2021 13:26:42 GMT
It seems odd to review strings. I did think of doing a video review but I'm not sure that would have made any more sense!
Strings are a very personal thing. Lighter gauge or heavier? Nickel or Phosphor Bronze? Coated or Un-coated?
For most of the last decade my first choice have been Newtone but the only problem with these is availability. You have to be prepared to snap up as many packets as you can while they are available, certainly when it comes to mediums. Occasionally, I find myself with a single packet left. A couple of years ago — leaving for a guitar weekend— I realised I was down toa single packet. Popped into the local store and bought a packet of Elixirs.
I don't really get on with Elixir's but thought i should try again. But the coating thing doesn't work for me. And the third string broke pretty quickly which is not much use for me as i wind this up and down often through various tunings.
A few weeks ago I was down to one packet again and couldn't find any Newtone's available. I decided to try the D'Addario XS strings, their new coated offering which have received some decent compliments.
D'Addario make some big claims for these:
I went for XS over Xt because of extended life (important in these COVID poverty times). XS are for longer life and XL for a more natural feel apparently!
"Led by Chief Innovation Officer, Jim D'Addario, the team incorporated D'Addario's proprietary manufacturing processes and well-known innovations—like NY Steel high-carbon cores in the wound strings and Fusion Twist technology in the plain steels—to give XS incomparable break strength and tuning stability".
Setting XS apart from other strings is the new, impossibly thin film coating (1/10 the thickness of a human hair) that completely protects the wound strings from corrosion, without dampening the tone. This new film covering is combined with D'Addario's proprietary dispersion coating, used in our XT line, to protect the plain steel strings as well".
I was a little skeptical — these are not cheap strings. But I have enjoyed using them. They certainly don't feel like many coated strings under the fingers. Thy took a little longer to get up to a stable pitch than the Newtones but once there they are pretty rock solid. At first I thought these very loud but I think, in reality, they have a better dynamic range which might really suit the celtic Martin Simpson brigade, this being despite the claims that they have a smoother feel.
Certainly the strings are standing up well especially in this hot and sweaty weather. I'll report back after a few months of use.
But so far, these are probably worth trying. They seem to have the benefits of a coated tring without the downside.
Has anyone else tried these?
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 6, 2021 13:09:42 GMT
You could always keep the Carlton for re-seale value and move to a Hiscox for basic movement?
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 6, 2021 13:06:12 GMT
Heavier is probably better for slide but it ignores the obvious question — why play slide (the devil's technique ....)
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 6, 2021 7:45:50 GMT
You should be OK goi g from say 12a to 13s - I’ve never had a problem with this.
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 1, 2021 7:42:45 GMT
I had a great capo for my uke, a pencil held on with an elastic band. It worked pretty well! Careful. You might get banned ;-)
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 30, 2021 15:30:43 GMT
It is weird when songs connect with real life.
Played a small local festival yesterday. One of my songs was my Kinsale Comets song which includes the character:
‘It was on one Friday evening he got chatting T the bar To a fne young lass from Poland Who worked at the hotel and spar Now Lena she was a farm girl and she missed the life of the land …’
After the set a woman with an accent came up to me and started chatting away - I couldn’t understand what she was one about for a minute.
“I’m Polish and my name is Lena and I’ve never heard my name in a song!”
I know have firm instructions to send her a recording.
Later I had two people want to talk about The Half Moon in Putney which featured in another song. Worlds colliding!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 29, 2021 10:27:59 GMT
G7 Performance 3 is good and handy. I prefer the G7 Newport to the Schubb but you can’t go wrong with either!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 29, 2021 10:26:48 GMT
I dabble once every few ye s - but it is always good fun!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 27, 2021 7:52:28 GMT
I can gauge my skill level very effectively each time I play in front of an audience. Always a humbling experience!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 25, 2021 7:49:06 GMT
It depends.
As a player I would always encourage people to but the best guitar they can afford but only if it inspires them in its sound a playability. But remember the guitar that inspires may not be the most expensive - but this holds in many areas of life.
Collectors will buy for other reasons including uniqueness, history, range across the selection and so on.
For me the best guitar is the one that makes me smile while I play, whether I play something well or not.
At the end of the day this is not rocket science. But it is simply about having fun :-)
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 21, 2021 8:37:21 GMT
I feel the same about many Larrivee necks!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 20, 2021 10:21:47 GMT
This has been done with classical guitars for a while - often you will have two, one either side of the neck joint. I seem to remember something being said about the pressure inside the box but can’t remember what that meant.
Adrian Lucas has built classical guitars with sound holes there I think.
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 18, 2021 7:21:47 GMT
Thnaks very much for that — I plan to watchthe Nic Jones this evening!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 18, 2021 7:13:47 GMT
Very informative curmudgeon, excellent videos and nice guitars too. Good point above re scale length - I really need to play some of these to get a kind of steer. Practical input from andyhowell (which strikes me as odd because he plays a fan fret). Spoke to the man at Mak's (would that be Mak?) about a few he has, may plan a visit. Meantime I will likely just buy a used worker (eBay, Reverb whatever) as I'm not really getting along with the Faith - sounds good with a pick but loses focus across the bass side on fingerstyle. I have three guitars — only one is a fan fret ;-)
The 12 fret has a lot of benefits (even with a fan fret) and especially around comfort I feel but this changes with the size of the guitar. A jumbo is more of a beast to manage than a 000 and the first fret saddle can seem a lot further a way, which might be an issue with say the stretching associated with something like DADGAD. For me a lot depends on thr design. I've played some 12 fretters that just feel too short to me and the neck too thick at some points. But that is probably jsut me.
I do thnk we need to be cautious about sweeping statements about tone and sound. Luthiers and manufactueres often have a sound in mind when designning their guitars and they can get there in different ways. Luthiers often achieve similar aims through different construction techniques. And luthiers often have a distinctive sound despite the woods they are working with. All of this though adds to the mystique and the 'magic' of it all. I guess that is the beauty of wood and maybe why all of the carbon guitars I've played — despite being good — don't seem to have that natural edge.
I'm currently speccing a new guitar. It will probably be a 12 fret with cutaway but with a longer OM scale — and probably a fan fret as well! And some other little bits and pieces. We will see!
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Post by andyhowell on Aug 17, 2021 12:08:35 GMT
Many bluesmen had impressive stage names like Lightning Hopkins or Barbeque Bob. Perhaps the least impressive name was Little Willie John. I've always had a soft spot for Peg Leg Howell.
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