Anyone fancy a thread on STRINGS?

[NickHorne]

STRINGS are fundamental, pretty obviously.
Strings are also a major marketing, snake-oil and general BS hazard area.
Could it be instructive to pool some thoughts?

I like Pro Steels on my Z-coils, and then take the edge OFF at the amp; I like the balance this gives.

I seem to have been allergic to loud G's for always, and I struggle to play a vintage-staggered pup set with a plain G. Leo raised the pole for a wound G, for heaven's sake.....

Sets with louder wound strings help me (though not quite enough), and almost flat poles. But I'd be really interested to compare with other folks' experience.

So what do we like, and why?

[Craig]

STRINGS are fundamental, pretty obviously.
Strings are also a major marketing, snake-oil and general BS hazard area.
Could it be instructive to pool some thoughts?

I like Pro Steels on my Z-coils, and then take the edge OFF at the amp; I like the balance this gives.

I seem to have been allergic to loud G's for always, and I struggle to play a vintage-staggered pup set with a plain G. Leo raised the pole for a wound G, for heaven's sake.....

Sets with louder wound strings help me (though not quite enough), and almost flat poles. But I'd be really interested to compare with other folks' experience.

So what do we like, and why?

Here's a starter for you of past string posts: strings.

Hope this helps.

[NickHorne]

Craig, thank you.
I was also hoping to get a little chat happening about volume balance of strings; maybe an underresearched aspect of electrics, but significant to finger / hybrid pickers like myself.
I get into compromises when trying to balance wound strings with G's and B's. Raising the poles much causes volume to rise excessively as strings get closer when fretted up the neck, and I've concluded that balancing by string characteristics, and leaving the poles lower, works much better. Ideally, the wound strings would have the same output as a G!
I know Jerry Donahue uses stainless for this reason. Though I don't much care for the feel / noises of these.
Just wondered what other experience there might be out there, along these lines.

[louis cyfer]

lower the pups a lot farther down, and most of these issues disappear. i really like kcurt mangan strings and the fender bullets. what gauge strings do you use?

[NickHorne]

What I'd call "regular" electric duty gets D'addario nickel-steel of 10/13/17/28/38/52, on 25.5" scale guitars (I don't have anything shorter-scale except for a Dano for slide, which is a different setup altogether).

My B-bender (and overall very bendy) WR, for Clarence White territory, wears D'Addario Pro Steels of 9.5/12/15(yes)/26/36/50

Actions are pretty much 2mm at 17th fret, probably a tad less in the trebles (capo @ 1st).

Slide strings (for open D) and action are significantly bigger, but can't remember; I'd have to go home and get a set out and measure up!

I hear good things about Mangans too; I'll have to see whether they can be got here in UK.