Acoustic String Suggestions (Flat Top Guitar)

[23skidoo]

I've recently started playing an electric and I put flatwound 12s on it and I really like them.

Going back to my Taylor acoustic, my trusty old Martin phosphor bronze rounds seem very bright and squeaky..... is there an alternative similar to flats for acoustics?

I've ordered some D'Addario Flat Tops EFT16.... any other recommendations or suggestions? Looking for something to reduce squeaks and mellow the tone.... many thanks....

[spiral]

I've tried at least a dozen different acoustic strings. I had the same issues you did with them: too strident and/or too squeaky.

I ended up coming back to the strings i used forever ago: Elixirs. The coating makes them a little more slick and reduces the finger noise, and of course has the benefit of longer string life. The Polyweb coating is pretty thick and will be much more slick than the Nanoweb coating. Adjust to suit. I also like Ernie Ball Coated, but they are a little brighter and squeakier than Elixirs. D'Addario Chrome 13's can also sound fun if you want a mellower sound.

Let me know how you like the Flat Tops. I've always been curious but never have tried them.

[taxman]

Skip the phosphor bronze. They are too bright. Get the regular, old fasioned, 80/20 bronze. D'Adario makes them as do others.

[Eddie Lang]

23skidoo, I know exactly how you feel.

I have used Newtone Master Class Series (custom .012 - .054) in the past and I can still recommend them, but nowadays, my favorites are Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum Bronze Series .012. I may explore and go with the .011 next time to see how I like them with flatwound fourth and fifth strings, but I fear that I will find them slightly too light.

I've never heard from anyone using the D'Addario EFT16 Flat Top Guitar Strings, so I cannot say anything good or bad about them.

EDIT: The plectrum Series are my favorite for flat top guitars, of course. For archtops, I get the TI Swing Series, usually in .013 for acoustic archtops and .012 for my electric archtop.

[Tom Karol]

I use Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 Bronze .012-.054 on my Martin. They're cheap, and they sound good. I prefer 80/20 over phosphor. They do need a few hours of playing time to lose their initial brightness. And they do squeak a bit, but anything that doesn't (including Elixers et al), gives up some of that acoustic clang that I want to hear.

I put a set of Chromes on a cheap plywood flat-top that I bought for my son a while back. They're fun - they have a dull thud that sounds sort of bluesey in an old-timey kind of way.

[SamBooka]

I always found 80/20s brighter than pho. bronze but I havent really played acoustic (flattop anyways) in 15 years or so.

I use a little finger ease to kill some of the squeak.. only needed it the first couple of times on new strings.

[oldane]

I've never heard from anyone using the D'Addario EFT16 Flat Top Guitar Strings, so I cannot say anything good or bad about them.

I use D'Addario EFT 17 Flattops (13-56 phosphor bronze, feels like between roundwounds and flatwounds) on my acoustic archtops. They work well for rhythm playing and dampens the squeaking finger noise quite a bit. As others have said, they are a bit too ringing when new, but a few hours of playing dampens the metallic ring a bit. The two unwound strings of the set has a bit less fretting resistance than the wound ones but it doesn't bother me.

BTW, one can actually with practice learn to lift the fingers from the strings when changing position and thereby avoid a lot of the finger noise. Listen to George van Eps. He was a master at that. No squeaking from him.

[23skidoo]

Thanks for all the input.....

I've been thinking of trying the TI plectrum strings..... they'll be the next the I try...

I just put the D'Addario flat tops on last night and they're not to bad. Still enough brightness to sound like an acoustic but virtually no squeak..... definitely a little rougher feel, especially on the thinner strings, but nothing prohibitive. I've played them for a few hours now and they sound nice and warm, the initial metallic brightness is rounding out, but still getting that percussive 'acoustic' sound with a heavier pick..... I like them, so far.... seems like a good compromise in feel and tone..... I play a weekly bluegrass/country/rock jam and they'd sound fine in that context, I think.

Sambooka- never tried the finger ease.... might have to give it a shot....

oldane- I like to play with lots of slides and bends, so the squeaks are kind of unavoidable on the brighter strings.... just a rough transition going from the Chromes on my electric back to the brighter acoustic strings.

[DanFan]

The Elixers are the only stings I've liked on my Taylor so far (7 years). I can't name everything I've tried off the top of my head, but I know the Phosphorous were on it at least once. FWIW my Taylor is rosewood/red cedar and any of the sparkle or chime that sounds good on a spruce top is not very complimentary to that guitar's sound. On the other hand, if I put the Elixers on my spruce top Jasmine dreadnought it reduces finger squeak, but it sounds dull to me.

[cmajor9]

+1 on the Elixir Nanowebs. I've used them on my Taylor consistently and like the results. I'm sure there are other good choices, but the Elixirs sound good, minimize the 'squeak', and last. I've liked both the Phosphor Bronze and the 80/20 but prefer the warmth of the Phosphors a bit.

[jazzrat]

Just put on some NewTone Heritage series Low Tension strings....
I like these a lot. Great tone and sustain and easy on the hands.
11-47 Heritage Newtons--- 135 pounds
11-47 D'Addarion Pb's ---165 pounds

[63Bigsby]

John Pearse makes great sounding and long lasting strings. I've used his .013 jazz set on my Epi Emperor, extra bonus for me is the long D string that's needed with the Frequensator tailpiece. Not sure how easily available they are over your side, my luthier stocks them so Im in good hands
http://www.jpstrings.com/brstring.htm

[hot ford coupe]

John Pearse makes great sounding and long lasting strings. I've used his .013 jazz set on my Epi Emperor, extra bonus for me is the long D string that's needed with the Frequensator tailpiece. Not sure how easily available they are over your side, my luthier stocks them so Im in good hands
http://www.jpstrings.com/brstring.htm

I put some Elixer Nanowebs onto my 35 L7 but it still seems way too bright for a good acoustic rhythm sound. I'm trying to get the Freddie Green sound which I can get easily with the D'Addario .013 Chromes but that still thuds too much. For the record, I'm using the correct voicings for Green's sound. 63Bigsby, what kind of sound do you get out of the John Pearse strings on your Emperor? Are you using it for the big band type pulse? Thanks in advance.

[kamlapati]

Mr. Ford,

I'm not a Freddie Green expert but for the big band chunk sound on my L-5 l like GHS Vintage Bronze mediums, which are an 85/15 alloy.

[hot ford coupe]

Mr. Ford,

I'm not a Freddie Green expert but for the big band chunk sound on my L-5 l like GHS Vintage Bronze mediums, which are an 85/15 alloy.

Thanks. I'll give that a try. My L7 is basically a stripped down L5 so the sound should be about the same.

[63Bigsby]

I put some Elixer Nanowebs onto my 35 L7 but it still seems way too bright for a good acoustic rhythm sound. I'm trying to get the Freddie Green sound which I can get easily with the D'Addario .013 Chromes but that still thuds too much. For the record, I'm using the correct voicings for Green's sound. 63Bigsby, what kind of sound do you get out of the John Pearse strings on your Emperor? Are you using it for the big band type pulse? Thanks in advance.

No not really for a big band stuff, although I did make a recording with it playing rhythm a'la Green and Homer Haynes and the sound came out pretty good. I use a DeArmond Rhythm Chief on the Epi and play mostly lead so I have to sacrifice the acoustic tone a bit with the nickel strings, but then again, I find the tone being "sweeter" with those ( acoustically ). Pearse strings are very well balanced and not too bright ( IMO ), really bring out the best in a carved top guitar. With those strings, the Epi sounds more like a Johnny Smith's D'A than a big band rhythm box. Some of these days I'll try a heavy set of bronze strings and higher action and see how it sounds like that.

[hot ford coupe]

Thanks for the info, 63Bigsby. I'll see if my local store has those. I'd normally put .013 Chromes on my L7 but I've decided to use it strictly acoustically without a DeArmond thus the use of the bronze. The string to top distance is just too short for me to get the pickup at the end of the fretboard where it would sound its best.

[Kenneth]

Greetings. New to the forum. I just picked up a Yamaha APX thinline acoustic/electric for practicing. The bronze strings I've tried are all to bright, sparkley, and noisy (fingers scraping the strings). I've taken a long break from playing, like 15 years long, but I used to use flatwounds on my electric.

Coated strings, like Elixers, are a bit 'duller', but still not what I'm looking for.

Any suggestions for strings? I'm thinking about trying the DA Flat Tops semi-flatwounds. Or, should I try using electric, nickle, flatwounds?

[oldane]

The bronze strings I've tried are all to bright, sparkley, and noisy (fingers scraping the strings).

Bronce (and phosphor bronze as well) IS bright, but they will be somewhat dulled/mellowed after 1-2 weeks of plying time (depending on how much you play). So give them a change for that amount of time before giving them up. Also remember, the brightness and noises are heard most by you. It will be heard less by other people just some meters away. That's worth taking into considereation if you play for other, but if you only play for yourself at home, it's of course less relevant. Chances are that your sound will project too little as heard from an audiences position, if it sounds nice, round and mellow to yourself while playing.

As for sqeeking finger noise, you can practice lifting your fingers from the string when changing hand position. It's a bit awkward to begin with, but it reduces finger noise considerably. George van Eps was known not to sqeek with roundwounds. I'm not that good at it, but at least the noise has been reduced to a tolerable level after I practiced that finger lifting.

Coated strings, like Elixers, are a bit 'duller', but still not what I'm looking for.......

.....Any suggestions for strings? I'm thinking about trying the DA Flat Tops semi-flatwounds.

Then give flatwounds a try. Stainless steel flatwounds are usually brighter and more ringing than nickel flatwound (D'A and La Bella are stainless steel, T-I is Nickel).

In my experience, there is that that big a difference in brightness between ordinary round wound an flattops / semi flat, so it's my guess you'll find them too bright too. I tried them out, but have ended up with the cheap Martin Darco bronze for my acoustics and to my ears they are no worse than the three times as expensive D'A phosphor bronze. If anything they are less liable to buzz in the tailpiece.

[jorgemg1984]

I recently tried La Bella Golden Alloy and found them to be much more mellow than regular bronze strings (which I have grown to hate also). Next try on my other acoustic will be John Pearse nickel acoustic strings. I would order some different strings and just mess with them untill you find the right for you... it took me some years to find the best strings for my archop and 335; I hope JP will end the search on acoustics.

I would be very careful with "finger lifting". It might give you less squeak but it can change your single-notes lines sound - one of the hardest things on guitar is exactly learning how to maintain the left hand fingers always close to the strings so that there's no "silence" between two notes on eight note runs...

[Jamie Colpitts]

I have used daddario ECG25 for many years but recently switched to Thomastic JS113..Expensive but excellent

[oldane]

I would be very careful with "finger lifting". It might give you less squeak but it can change your single-notes lines sound - one of the hardest things on guitar is exactly learning how to maintain the left hand fingers always close to the strings so that there's no "silence" between two notes on eight note runs...

I think that this, like everything else, is a matter of compromize. You want fast and precise execution of your notes, and you also want to avoid distracting unmusical noises as much as possible. Loud sqeeking from 4 medium gauged round wound strings when moving from, say, the 3rd to the 8th fret can be very distracting, also to the listener. And if it gets on your nerves, you know what it means. You'll will want to adress it, whether that will be by honing the technique or choosing another kind of strings. It's not easy to play fluently when lifting fingers to avoid sqeeking - at least to begin with - but it can be done. I figure nobody would say that George van Eps didn't play fluently though he did indeed lift his fingers to avoid sqeeks. The kind of lifting the fingers, that I talk about, should only take place when moving the hand to another position. It's ought not be necessary when playing in the same postion. So ... when possible it's wise to avoid those position slides when playing fast runs and do the position shifts when there is a suitable pause in the flow of tones. That could be the guitaristic equivalent to the wind players breathing pauses.

[Doctor Jeff]

You don't mention if you fingerpick a lot, but consider D'Addario silk and steel strings.

Amazon.com: D'Addario EJ40 Silk & Steel Folk Guitar Strings, 11-47: Musical Instruments

I put them on a vintage Kay archtop I have and it really mellows out the sound. They are also lower tension than bronze strings, which may be helpful if you have neck problems like my old Kay.

I have also used nickel strings which are mellower than steel or bronze.

[jorgemg1984]

I think that this, like everything else, is a matter of compromize. You want fast and precise execution of your notes, and you also want to avoid distracting unmusical noises as much as possible. Loud sqeeking from 4 medium gauged round wound strings when moving from, say, the 3rd to the 8th fret can be very distracting, also to the listener. And if it gets on your nerves, you know what it means. You'll will want to adress it, whether that will be by honing the technique or choosing another kind of strings. It's not easy to play fluently when lifting fingers to avoid sqeeking - at least to begin with - but it can be done. I figure nobody would say that George van Eps didn't play fluently though he did indeed lift his fingers to avoid sqeeks. The kind of lifting the fingers, that I talk about, should only take place when moving the hand to another position. It's ought not be necessary when playing in the same postion. So ... when possible it's wise to avoid those position slides when playing fast runs and do the position shifts when there is a suitable pause in the flow of tones. That could be the guitaristic equivalent to the wind players breathing pauses.

You're right Oldane - it can be done. I just pointed that you have to be careful to prevent the creation of "gaps" between the notes which are one of the most common issues in the left hand (and maybe because the finger noise of roundwound strings doesn't actually bother me that much).

[oldane]

You're right Oldane - it can be done. I just pointed that you have to be careful to prevent the creation of "gaps" between the notes which are one of the most common issues in the left hand (and maybe because the finger noise of roundwound strings doesn't actually bother me that much).

Isn't that what makes playing music so fascinating. One can always evolve and become better. One is never "there", one is always on the way. There are so many different ways of doing things, so many approaches, so many ways of handling challenges.

Half way OT:
As for the wind player approach to playing, which I mentioned in my post above, I have recordings with soloes by the wonderful bassist Oscar Pettiford. Like many others, he phrased like a wind player, but often one can hear that he actually also breathed syncronously with the phrases as a wind player would do - breathed in deeply in the pauses between the phases. He truly was totally immersed with "body and soul" in the music he made.