Bluegrass strings for acoustic

milamber · August 2016

Any recommendations for some strings to give a slightly more twangy, bluegrass sound? I've tried the EJ19 D'Addario Bluegrass strings, but frankly they don't sound any different to my normal phosphor bronze D' Addario strings. I've only tried phosphor bronze and, just lately, some EXP 80/20 bronze. Just looking for a few pointers so I don't spend a fortune filling the house up with strings. Thanks

thermionic · August 2016

Martin Retro Monel are definitely worth a try. Hard to explain the difference between these and phosphor bronze, but they are endorsed by a big name in bluegrass circles (I forget his name now).

Winny_Pooh · August 2016

I would never think of bluegrass tone as twangy. Its usually big strings played hard. If you really want twangier then try nickel strings or buy a smaller bodied acoustic

Lewy · August 2016

By far the most prevailent string used by bluegrass players is the straightforward D'Addario EJ17 set. Virtually nobody, from pedestrian festival campsite pickers through to the very elite players use anything other than .013s and pretty much all of them have been using PB since it became available. I'm not sure how the .056-.012 gauge acquired the "bluegrass" label but it's not due to them being embraced by bluegrass players, that's for sure.

As Winny_Pooh says, the sound of bluegrass guitar...or more the point the timbre....is a dreadnought guitar with .013s being played with a pretty sturdy pick. Where any twang would come from would be more down to the technique of heavily relying on open positions...hammers and pulls using open position scales can sound pretty twangy, but thats regardless of string choice. Another thing that might be perceived as twangy is the fact that bluegrass players tend to prefer fresh strings and change very regularly, often only getting one or two gigs out of a set.

thermionic said:

Martin Retro Monel are definitely worth a try. Hard to explain the difference between these and phosphor bronze, but they are endorsed by a big name in bluegrass circles (I forget his name now).

Tony Rice. Tragically does't play any more due to ill health but pretty much the guvnor. Suspect the martin string endorsement is more a way for Martin to give him a bit of income from his name. He's sold a LOT of D28s......

milamber · August 2016

That's great thanks. I haven't tried the EJ17's so will try those. Yeah, I have the 12-56's labelled as bluegrass and was thinking about going a little heavier on the bottom so that's great. I've got the dreadnought and a sturdy pick! Appreciate the advice.

AliGorie · August 2016

Tony Rice used daVinci medium gauge strings - he says so here -

site here -
http://www.thomasvincistrings.com/www-thomasvincistrings-com-s/2087.htm

The strings he used on his golden era recordings were Vinci / D'Aquisto nickel-plated steel strings yes nickel-plated steel strings.

Tony discussed his initial relationship with D'Aquisto in an interview:

"I started using strings specially made for me by D'Aquisto. I had been using the Vinci strings. It was the best in the world and I really liked them. The company disappeared when the president, Tom Vinci, retired. When that happened, Dan Duffy who was the manager at Vinci, moved to D'Aquisto as the general manager. He called me up one day and I asked him if he could make a nickel-wound steel string. A few months later, he sent me a set and it was a really wonderful string. I mean, nothing ever sounded that good. It's wound with nickel plated steel, not bronze. The gauge goes 0.013, 0.017, 0.026, 0.035, 0.045, and 0.057. It feels good to touch and the sound is gorgeous."
And a while later he began endorsing them.

He turned to ‘monel’ strings only when he could not get the nickel plated steel strings any more.
yeah, if it means TR gets a few buck - sure, why not - but I fear Martin have their shareholders in mind.
The whole Martin Retro, Vintage back to the future Ol’ School vibe is manufactured by marketing departments, look at their use of the word 'Authentic' whilst they sell new built 1930's reproductions / copy's of authentic 1930's guitars. The Americans love all that imitation stuff.

Tone - D28 / D'Aquisto strings and a very important aspect is WHERE ya play - 1 to 2 inches behind the sound hole, grassin .

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Bluegrass strings for acoustic

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