Trying out new string types to discover the best balance on a new guitar is a convoluted affair. The new flamenco just built by my brother is a very good example. Sound bytes to follow.
If you build guitars it can be a difficult choice and can make a huge difference in some cases. This particular guitar, the one on the left seems to come alive with what most players might consider weak sounding bass strings. Savarez Alliance normal tension strings.
On the steel string side of things I find, particularly for fingerstyle, the choice of strings can make a huge difference on a new guitar build. This guitar was a good example. It sounded best with John Pearce 12-53 silk and steels which are not exactly easy to obtain anywhere in Canada except by special order from mail order string houses. But they made this little gem of a guitar sound really great. Sound bytes are in the linked page.
D'Addario straight 12-53 light bronze sounded OK to my ears but no where near as sweet as medium gauge silk and steels which are very hard to find. The guitar was not built for light gauge strings it was constructed to easily take mediums so it really sings in the mids to highs but has a soft sweet bass voice. So it is not a typical "smoke on the water" steel string special like most new acoustics that have weak mid to upper register but lots of boom below A 220.
What is your choice of strings and why?
If you build guitars it can be a difficult choice and can make a huge difference in some cases. This particular guitar, the one on the left seems to come alive with what most players might consider weak sounding bass strings. Savarez Alliance normal tension strings.
On the steel string side of things I find, particularly for fingerstyle, the choice of strings can make a huge difference on a new guitar build. This guitar was a good example. It sounded best with John Pearce 12-53 silk and steels which are not exactly easy to obtain anywhere in Canada except by special order from mail order string houses. But they made this little gem of a guitar sound really great. Sound bytes are in the linked page.
D'Addario straight 12-53 light bronze sounded OK to my ears but no where near as sweet as medium gauge silk and steels which are very hard to find. The guitar was not built for light gauge strings it was constructed to easily take mediums so it really sings in the mids to highs but has a soft sweet bass voice. So it is not a typical "smoke on the water" steel string special like most new acoustics that have weak mid to upper register but lots of boom below A 220.
What is your choice of strings and why?