I thought I'd get some new strings for the first time for my accoustic, the old ones came with it and although it sounds nice to me, I reckon some nice strings are just what the poor neglected thing needs. I wanted to do away with the horrible scratchy base strings, they seem to grip your fingertips when sliding (not too common on an accoustic but I play a lot of Jack Johnson).
I decided to try the Elixir polyweb strings, but since was ordering anyway I bought a triple pack of D'Addario EJ Series as a backup.
I was going to try some Half-Flatwound strings, but the reviews were pretty bad. I'm a guy whose been playing 1.5years, has three guitars (2 elecs and 1 accoustic), and sticks totally to Ernies Slinky 10s. I've changed my strings a total of 3 times, each time I seem to screw it up in some new and exciting way, so whether or not I'll notice the difference is something I'll find out.
Anyone tried these strings or got any advice? (other than practice to stop the squeaking)
Never tried the Polywebs, I just put DR strings on my Yamaha and they sound like bright buttery rainbows.
flatwound, half-round -- anything less than a full round-wound -- and/or coated strings will suffer some of spank, edge and clarity. that may or may not appeal to you. you will need to try them yourself to assess the timbre, especially your particular your guitar.
as for string noise: bronze and similar alloy wound strings will be noisier under finger - they also are brighter and harmonically rich in timbre. some think of this as the character, bad and good. nickle plated/wound strings will be quieter for you, but the tone may not be to your liking -- gotta try them.
but all that aside, you probably should spend some practice time learning to lift your fingers off the wound strings for changes and slides. even learning to lighten further (than you already do) your fingering force while still maintaining contact will result in less finger noise. if you want to get some slide sound (a la Jack), try to do it mostly with the treble (G and unwound) strings. the higher notes are where the ear is most likely to pick up the slide effect anyway.
-=tension & release=-
So suck it and see really :)
you probably should spend some practice time learning to lift your fingers off the wound strings for changes and slidesI'm assuming you think that I'm brushing against the wound strings whilst sliding on the unwound strings, which is not the case. If you need to slide 3/5 on the low E, then you need to do it! lifting my fingers off wouldn't be a slide. In that case it seems a more firm pressure seems to stop the screech.
I thought you might be doing a five or six string slide between chord changes -- it's a common playing technique. IAC, your problem is obvious diff, and the resulting noise also will be very dependent on what type of callouses you've developed. slightly soft will be worse than quite hard, as they will "take" a string impression and grip a even more. you could try to roll your fingertip to a different, much softer area for the slide, but eventually you will develop callousing there. honestly, many of us choose the strings we like for timbre and feel and then just live with the finger noise. there are string lubricants (e.g., string ease) that may help your problem, but some else should comment on those -- not a fan.
-=tension & release=-
String noise never bothered me. But I play with a community chorus and it bothered someone who mattered. So I switched to Elixirs about two years ago. They don't totally eliminate squeak, but they help a lot. I'm happy with the somewhat bright sound and they feel fine. There are threads everywhere about how the wound Elixirs break. That has never happened to me. I play mostly fingerstyle. When I do use a pick, I'm not a shredder. I use these on my Gibson LC-1 acoustic:
11025 Custom Light .011 .015 .022w .032w .042w .052w
I liked the Elixirs so much that I started using Nanowebs on my electrics.
It all depends on whether you like the sound and the feel. Elixirs are not cheap, but for me they really do last a lot longer than other strings.
Before I went to Elixirs I tried Finger-ease. There was no way I was going to spray it on my guitar. I sprayed it on my fingers and then rubbed it on the strings. It smelled suspiciously like WD-40 and I can't say that it helped the squeak much. It costs about $5 U.S. for a 2.5 ounce can. I can't recommend it, but maybe it would work for you.
Renee
should have mentioned gauge. Hobson uses lights. along with the coating, that may help reduce the finger/string noise (smaller windings) relative to medium uncoated strings. I also suspect the light gauge is the reason they are "bright", as new Elixirs commonly are described as slightly duller than the same gauge new bronze or p-bronze. but as everything ages, Elixirs will not dull as quickly as the uncoated, so end life (relatively) brighter.
as for the breakage threads: I use Elixir 11s on my Taylor T5, and can be quite brutal on them -- no breakage.
geez Hobson, anything close to WD-40 shouldn't be near human or guitar. sounds nasty.
-=tension & release=-
Cheers for the input guys. I use Fast Fret, but only on the electrics. It seems a little overkill for the accoustic when I'm not trying to play fast riffs. It doesn't smell like WD40 either!
I guess the problem with string breakage is there, as a %, but was apparently improved a while ago. Thats the problem of the Internet...you never get mild average views because that doesnt motivate people to post! If you search for something online you'll always get the polarised extremes (Awesome vs. Absolutely Crap).
I doubt I'll break a string as I'm in no way a shredder, but I suppose my bad technique could :)
Offtopic: I went to see UB40 with my brother, and when we got back my mother asked if WD40 was good lol.
I use both polyweb and nanoweb Elixer strings on my guitars. I think they last a long time and I haven't had much trouble with breaking. I'm using 9s. on my electrics. I bend but I have hard-tail and blocked tremolo guitars.
Right on. Interesting to see how this thread is doing.
I like Elixirs a lot, but can only have them as a rare treat.
I think I use slightly more Nanowebs than Poly's too, but just barely.
They feel smooooth & classy, sound decent, and I've never had a problem either. Just a good deal! 8)
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
I've managed a nice clean string change to the Polywebs. Somehow I got two packs instead of one, so I'm happy :) The bass strings definitely have a different sound, but its still very nice to my untrained ear. The treble strings sound no different to me. Sliding is very nice on these, apparently the coating is essentially Teflon. Teflon is supposed to be a material with the 2nd lowest coefficient for friction (diamonds are first). The G string problem was apparently down to the way they heat the strings to stick the Teflon on. There was some marketing blurb suggesting it was fixed.
If it keeps this new tone I'll be happy enough!
The G string problem was apparently down to the way they heat the strings to stick the Teflon on. There was some marketing blurb suggesting it was fixed.
Wow, that's some interesting news. Lots of folks went elsewhere due to string breaks. Thye did lose lots of followers from what I understand.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Wow, that's some interesting news. Lots of folks went elsewhere due to string breaks. Thye did lose lots of followers from what I understand.
Like I said, I've never had a problem with Elixers. However if they fixed the above problem and got the word out, then I think they can recover lost customers. :)
