Revolutionary guitar strings rock the guitar world

a reply to: Vroomfondel

It is intriguing! This is kind like an announcement, "Hey look what we have done!" But yeah. Got my check book (that's still a thing, right?) ready!

Now watch the government come in and buy the tech! TPTB can't have musician being happy! That would disrupt all the years of building up tensions!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I could bend strings in my arch top with a wound g! Flats could really be a great string if they can do it it them. Have you tried the ghs bright flats. They are pretty cool comfortable strings. They go down to .09's.

a reply to: luthier

I used GHS flat wounds for guitar at 12s and tuned down to D a looooooong time ago. They were too tight anywhere close to normal E even though their package said the tensions were around the same. It should have been easier on 24.75" scale but it did not work out that way. I think I even went down another half step to C#. All I could really think of playing was Sabbath. I should have stayed there! Would have beaten Metallica and Nirvana and Crowbar all to the punch!

Speaking of weird tuning. Have you ever tried the Sonic Youth tunings? They do pairs of strings like (below E) A-A, E-E, A-A (that is Silver Rocket). I even think it is A (below baritone B) - A (regular A string). Kind of like a 12-string. I saw that in Guitar Player years ago! I had fun with that one! People would pick up that guitar, strum a normal chord, and this WTH?! look would come over their face! Then I would show them the one finger chord and how it worked. I think those were purchased single string pack and were Ernie Balls. Seems there are always single Ernie Balls in a box somewhere in all music stores! Like the pick jar!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Yeah. It is like those coated strings! I don't want to feel strings that are covered in plastic snot! So I took a back seat until the nano coatings came around. But that is half the fun of playing... trying new things! I mean, strings!

My favorite guitar strings are Elixers. They have a very smooth sound and allow you to control the sound much better through your hand, not just the electronics.

As for the bass guitar, which I play the most, it depends on the style I am asked to play. If it's just 4/4 rock or faster blues, GHS boomers have a good sound. But if I am playing groove or slap/funk, I like Ernie Ball Slinkies in a fretted bass and flatwounds on a fretless.

a reply to: introvert

I tried the Cleartones and have not gone back to D'addarios. All 9, 10, and 11 guitars have them. The copper string acoustics have them. My 4 string bass and 6 string bass do not (yet!). And I use medium Savarez on the classical which I switched to back in the 80s (geez, has it been that long?). The baritone has Everlys on them because that was the only string that fit that scale (28"). I think they are "long wear" because I have not changed them in over a year.

My reason on switching to coated is not having to change strings so often! When you have one or two guitars it is no problem. Anything over five becomes a full time job!

I hope these can get the Cleartone treatment. Like you said, got to try them first. This is one of those, "I haven't heard anything about guitar strings in a while", strange coincidence when I read this announcement this morning.

The Green Russian Muff Pi sounds cool too! Like I don't have enough distortion pedals! lol. That collection grew faster than my delay collection! I think I'm happy with a Mod Sparkle Drive, Carl Matin Hot Dive-n-Boost mkIII, and ADA MP-1. The Sans Amp Classic is usually my travel stomp box (I don't always needs the mkIII tone but it does sound good).

Most of the time I don't even plug in. I strum things out on my acoustic first. I wonder if they do the same with acoustic strings? Might help with struggle between open E and the G chord. First things first, need to try a set. May even put the tremolo arm in (if I can find it!) and do my best Chris Isaak impersonation!

originally posted by: luthier
a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I could bend strings in my arch top with a wound g! Flats could really be a great string if they can do it it them. Have you tried the ghs bright flats. They are pretty cool comfortable strings. They go down to .09's.

I love ghs flats. Nice clean slide on the dobro with out the nasty grind. I use them on my arch top as well for comping; And super expensive Pirastro guts on the upright. The strings cost more than the Chinese bass.

a reply to: olaru12

I put mine an ES-355 knock off. I was playing (and listening to) a lot of jazz at that time. I was trying to mellow the tone down but it was like playing an acoustic guitar with 13s. It was a struggle. Then transposing everything.

Got together with some friends and needed a rock and roll sound. Traded it over for a new guitar and back to D'addarios at that time. I've tried Boomers, Slinkys, and Rotosound but never found the balance of length of life and tone. Then I got a Charvel and went tremolo happy. Might be why I'm not buying guitars with trems any more.

An upright?! That is cool! I inherited a Sears bass. The neck was flat in certain areas. Being a guitar nerd, I read in a magazine how to remove the frets with a soldering iron... yep; did it. I filled the fret cuts with wood paste, sanded the whole thing flat and enjoyed the fretless thang for a while! I don't even remember what happened to that one!

I'll go check out Pirastro strings!

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

I got to the point of using an 08 on 1St string, unwound 3rd(G)... Up to a 0.38 on 6 on my Strat just to get bendability...

You guitar players know how that 08 worked out! Loss of volume and how I had to raise-lower placeup placement to compensate...

Ended up with 09's to 0.38..Ill have to give these new ones a go.

Thanks for the heads up

I know I always very slightly detune my G string on my Strat to compensate for a sharpness tendency up the board, and it's not really noticeable in an open chord at all. I use fairly light guage, and tuning is otherwise not a problem, although with Fender strings there was an awful lot of duff articles, especially the bottom 'E's, so I've use mostly D’Addarios or Ernie Balls for years, D’Addarios though hold their tone quality much longer.
It's not hard to see a problem string though against the light.

originally posted by: BASSPLYR

I too hate that slippage on new strings. Especially the day of a gig. I usually put new strings on a week prior so theyve settled in. Hope this new string making process eliminates that.

I try to prevent that by overtuning higher up for a short time when putting new strings on, that works for me, with no apparent long term effects on the guitar, which close to 50 years old now...

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Agreed. You just have to get a set and try em out to see if they fit your flavor.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

No problem!

I'm kind of excited to try a set myself. Now it is a question of when. I hope I didn't jump the gun on this one (like, "New guitar strings to be released December 2019" or something!

a reply to: smurfy

Every Fender I have purchased, first thing I do, change strings. Then I adjust the pickup height. I purchased a "previously owned" SRV strat. The guy before said the tone sucks. He owned for 3 days! The pups were too high, like right below the strings so the magnets pulled on them. Sounded horrible. Swapped strings, lowered pups, and began playing Scuttle Buttin'. Sounded spot on! Still sounds spot on!

The Fender tremolo is typically set up off the back of the body. Bend a string, and the whole thing moves. Hence the Tremsetter which actually works real well. Having both might be fun because the Tremsetter returns the bridge back to where started when use the tremolo. A return to zero with 4 pitched stings might be pretty cool! Kind of like the B-bender teles. Now I'm starting to think evil thoughts!! Delay + looper + tremolo bar = awful noise (which might be a good thing!)

Thanks!

originally posted by: smurfy

originally posted by: BASSPLYR

I too hate that slippage on new strings. Especially the day of a gig. I usually put new strings on a week prior so theyve settled in. Hope this new string making process eliminates that.

I try to prevent that by overtuning higher up for a short time when putting new strings on, that works for me, with no apparent long term effects on the guitar, which close to 50 years old now...

New strings do need to be stretched out a bit before you can trust them on stage. I have a piece of felt that I lay under the strings, and over the neck/body, then I tune the guitar and "pop" the strings manually for a couple minutes each string. The strings are ready to go in no time. I do it a bit longer for my basses due to the size of the strings and if you plan on playing something such as aggressive slap/funk, they need to be "loose" and ready to go.

I also make sure that the nuts on each guitar allow just enough play for the strings so that the string does not grab on to the groove in the nut. That can also cause a "pop" in the string if it was not sitting properly.

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Revolutionary guitar strings for Revolution9.

Liking this. Invented in SCOTLAND I see. Well done for your innovation at St Andrews.

For sure the music is a blessed thing. These strings should be interesting. I have been playing guitar and bass for over thirty years now. I am a great fan of the American guitars. I m a Gibson man myself. I have a Gibson 2014 Les Paul Junior Electric with the automatic tuning. Some say they don't like it, but a lazy stoner like me digs it deep. I have a 2016 Gibson J-35 Acoustic. That's my baby. I play her every evening. I have a nice Fender Rascal Bass, too. It's lovely. Has a sound all of its own. I can go well deep on the subs with my Sadowsky Bass Pre Amp DI (made in NYC) and some EQ tricks. This bass is good for getting that lovely dull thuddy double bass sound. It's wicked and very unique sounding, be assured, very pretty, too.

Gibson and Fender are maintaining their sound, but the quality isn't quite what it was in the old days. May be the raw materials are so much harder to procure now? There are minor issues, but I have never owned a guitar (even when I played Martin) that did not have a minor issue. I guess to get rid of these "minor" issues we would have to spend more money than I ever could. May be Bob Dylan's guitars don't have "minor issues". Then again, this poor boy with his "minor" issues has the Blues melancholy edge of realism, walking the walk as well as talking the talk?

You wanna see them? Here they are:


My Gibson 2014 Les Paul Junior.


My fender Rascal Bass


My Gibson J-35


The hub of my studio. It's all inside the PC now. No need for all the crap. I am writing to you from the desk in the pic right now.

Here's a little pic of Amy and her niece Dionne paying their Gibsons. Don't they both look sooo beautiful! I miss Amy's music and her like crazy still. She was very special, very subtle. Amy and Janice Joplin are my fave girl singers. Try listening to a song like "Piece of My Heart" by Janice these days. It is SOUL WRENCHING big time!




I make electronic house music these days in terms of recording and composition. I started out as a folk protest singer. I still play and sing with my acoustic, sometimes jam with the electric and play me some Dub reggae Bass. I also dabble in Dub reggae from time to time.

On the acoustic I sing Eddie Cochran, Elvis, Bob Dylan, American Country and Folk, Blues. Man, i know thousands of songs. I am big on Elvis and Eddie right now. Elvis is my hero and has been since I was a little boy. I love him so much for his faith as well as his music. He was a beautiful man among men.

a reply to: Revolution9

Nice photos! I like the offset bass with the lip stick tube pickups! Sweet!

(So envious of your studio set up...)

Uh, oh yeah, I've got a Les Paul Jr. but it is like a Les Paul but with the pick guard flat on surface. Everything else is like a LP (2 humbuckers, same control layout, same bridge). It is in TV Yellow. Gibson put them out when they got raided by the Justice Department over the neck wood. So this has a maple neck but they treated it so it looks more like pao ferro. It is one of those oddities that I like in a guitar. The thing is solid. The cool thing is, the more you play it, the darker the fret board gets.

I have a 70s re-issue Strat. Just comparing weights with my other older, not as nice (or even expensive) strats, it is the lightest. You can tell a lot about a guitar on how it sounds not plugged in. What that one lacks in body weight makes up in how the whole thing vibrates. Plus it looks like Edge's black strat from the 80's with the same fat head on the neck!

I've taken to building my own strats! you get to control some of the features you want. Like it is really difficult to find a flat mount strat (no trem). Buy it that way! Put in pickups you want to play. I have two (three?) guitars in parts waiting for the spark of inspiration to hit. You can get quality parts and pieces from various places but I use Warmoth for necks and bodies now. Plus they can pre-drill your tuner head size for you; or add your tremolo posts into the body (I had to! Had a Fishman Powerbridge lying around looking for a home). That is a nice touch. I can put a great strat together for about 600 (maybe up to 700 depending). Nice heft, chosen bridge style, my pups, decent neck. If I want something prettier I can make one for under a grand that feels like a signature model. Or go the other way. Buy over stock on the down low and still get a good guitar.

One day I will take the plunge and purchase a real nice acoustic. I have rosewood Martin D-15 "previously owned" (several times) which is the nicest one (by name. Physically, it is a mess). But I like my 80's Takamine for playing. Bet your Gibson is righteous!

I did a count. I have over 15 guitars (purchased and built) that will benefit from some cool stay in tune strings! Well, the electrics will!

After joining this thread this morning, I restrung my Strat and did my first youtube cover.

The strings I put on were D'Addario NY XL. First time trying them.
I cashed in some of my frequent flyer miles for a GoPro Hero 5 Black. Iv'e been itching to try it out.
Now I feel like a dork for posting it.

It's good to see so many musicians on here. I am quite surprised.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

You might want to try a baritone guitar..if you don't already have one.

a reply to: abago71

So'k.

We've all been the noob at one point or another! At your one year mark, go back at look at your dorky intro! Man! I was such a noob! I remember typing it up and being excited and kind of scared. I had no idea what I was doing! It is a great way to keep some perspective.

I tried the NY XL and they were not my cup of tea. Let us know what you think of them.

I knew that there are a bunch of musicians here on ATS! There are a few that have not replied (*taps foot*). It is all good! Nice to find Zappa fans and Belew fans. Talk shop for a bit. Discuss strings and scale length and other nerdy guitar talk!

To all a big...

a reply to: introvert

I play acoustic and I bought a three pack of Elixir 12 to 53, kinda regret it now, hammer ons and offs are just not sensitive and barely audible on my Martin, while d'addarios sing out. I know this is a solid body discussion but does anybody have any preferences for acoustic

The marketing of this type of string by the famous guitar players will be whether these strings catch on, and the article says they are to be priced about the same with standard strings. Do hope they come in 8's though. My Les Paul needs some new strings.