Going Back to a Bare G String

An earlier post talked about selecting the wound G (third) string in a string set that offers a choice of wound or non-wound (bare) G strings.  I just switched to the bare, non-wound G string in the Dean Markley 2505 Nickel Steel electric guitar strings on a Les Paul, after giving the wound string a try. I liked the way wound G string played, for a while; but now I’m glad I switched back to the regular bare G string.  

 I had to reverse the guitar set up adjustments I made for the wound string. The intonation had to be adjusted to suit the wound strings, which meant the third string saddle had to be moved forward a bit, instead of being nearly all the way aft.  Also, the pole piece screw for the third string (G string) had been raised to better detect the wound string, and match it’s volume to that of the other strings. After putting on the bare string, I made both adjustments with a flat tipped screwdriver, in just a few minutes. The bare string has a stronger magnetic signature than the wound string, so I had to turn the neck pickup’s pole piece screw in one and a half turn, to reduce the bare string’s volume relative to the other strings.  As for intonation, obviously the bridge saddle had to be set back (moved aft) to bring the 12th fret first harmonic and fretted pitches together.  Both adjustments were no trouble, and the new bare string now plays in harmony with the other five.

Overall, the choice of using the bare or wound G string depends on how you want to play and sound, and to some extent on the type of guitar.  The wound string is okay for chords and strumming, but it sounds a little weak for leads.  The bare string seems to have no deficiencies.  It works for chords and leads, and is excellent for bends.  The guitar body type also matters.  I think solid body guitars deserve the bare string, since solid bodies tend to reflect individual notes and tones back to the strings they came from.  So you can bend a single note and hold it a long time on a solid body. It’s not quite the same with a hollow body guitar, which mix the string vibrations up.  They sound great for what they do, but if you want to hear those single notes clearly, you need a solid body.  The wound string is fine on hollow body and semi-hollow guitars, where you can get the acoustic response of the guitar top to add some woody overtones and warmth.

 Conclusion:  When given a choice of a wound or bare third (G) string, I’d choose the wound string for a hollow body guitar and the bare string for a solid body or a semi-hollow.  These string choices seem to be consistent with the character and sound that comes naturally out of these types of guitars.

That’s my opinion.  Let me know what you think.

Rancher 110

To see Dean Markley and other brands of electric guitar strings, click on Electric Guitar Strings at www.guitarstringdepot.com.

SOLID STRINGS YOU CAN DEPEND ON

At last…it’s good to get back to some solid sounding strings,  that sound like they’ve got some meat on their bones.  I just put these on my Les Paul after testing a set of Famous 351′s, and it’s like coming home to mashed potatoes and gravy.  What a difference, and how good they sound and play.  They don’t look fance, but they surely sound good. They are just good old nickel plated steel round wound strings and tinned plain (non-wound) strings; but made the right way.

Set Description: Dean Markley 2505 NickelSteel Electric guitar strings, which are round wound and have both a wound and bare G string in the set.  The windings are nickel plated steel, or NPS, even though Dean Markley makes one word out of “NickelSteel”. They are designated as “mediums”, with string diameters:   0.011  .013  .018(bare)/0.020(wound)  0.030  0.042  0.052 inches.   I put the wound G string on first, to see how it would sound and play, and will swap it out for the bare string later.   Each strings in the set is individually packaged in a straight forward paper envelope, with the string data on the front; with the exception of the two G strings being in the same envelope.  All of the strings had a consistent appearance and finish, with no spots or visually detectable concerns.  The ball ends were snug and neatly twisted and wrapped.

About The Design: Dean Markley didn’t cut any corners on design, but wanted to make these strings something special.  NickelSteel’s are designed to produce a magnetic signature that electro-magnetic guitar picks will listen to, and hear them loud and clear.  They are precision made with 8% pure nickel plated steel wrap, over a tinned inner core wire. This results in an easy playing string with high output and great durability.  The bare strings are also tinned, and have a smooth finish to them that makes them look like the quality strings they truly are.  Even before installing them, you can tell just by looking at a lot of care and pride went into these strings.

Installation: They were a snap to put on my guitar; easy to handle.  I found they all tuned up immediately with little or no followup adjustments required, which means there’s essentially no extra stretch to work out.  The best surprise was their sound, which was can best be described as powerful.  They seem to have very good magnetic properties, and I even lowered my neck pickup to smooth out the sound.

Harmonics? You bet!  Plenty of them, and they sustain a long time.  This is due to string consistency and uniformity over their entire string lengths, which means there are no variations, defects, or changes in string characteristics over their entire playing lengths.  If you can hear a lot of harmonics, it means vibrations travel with consistent velocities in any given string, and don’t get scattered or distorted by changes in string diameter, stiffness, strength, density, or winding tightness. I think this is a credit to Dean Markley’s techniques and quality control.

Intonation: One minor adjustment was needed, but only for the wound G string.   Since my guitar was set up for a set with a bare G string, I had to adjust the bridge saddle for correct intonation with the wound G string.  Checking intonation at the 12th fret found the G string to be a little flat when fretted, compared to the 12th fret open string harmonic. I simply moved the G string’s bridge saddle toward the neck in small increments, until the wound string gave me “proper” intonation at the 12th fret.  I actually ran out of travel on the adjusting screw, since the Tune-O-Matic bridge on my Les Paul was probably designed for a bare G string.  This isn’t a problem, because I got it “close enough”.

Playing Them:  It’s  been a joy.  Their strong sound means I can ease up a little and still get full tone and volume. I found I could pretty much level out my amp EQ settings, with mid positions for bass, middle, and treble ranges; and didn’t have to compensate for any variaitons.  My Fender Blues Junior seems to like even settings.  Chords sound very smooth and balanced, especially when played with my fingers or thumb.  I don’t use a pick so much these days, as I’m learning to get good sound without one, and I love the effect of playing the bass line with my thumb, while plucking or stumming the chords with my fingers on alternate beats.  I think the wound G string works fine for chords and finger style.  I can definitely tell it a wound string when I use a pick, though, because it sounds a lot softer.

Next, I think I’ll put the bare G string on and see how it sounds.  I’ll also have to re-do the intonation for the bare string, but that’s not trouble.

Finger Noise:  Yes, I noticed this set is not what you’d call a “low noise” string set.  Though they are not overly loud, when it come to finger noise from the fretting hand, I noticed they were louder than most.  I don’t think this is a problem, because I quickly got used to it and adjusted my fretting hand movements to get rid of the problem.  It’s just a small adjustment in my playing style I make when I pick up this guitar, after playing flat wounds, nylon, or some other strings.   This is definitely not a detriment to the quality and sound of these strings, but one things that makes them different and probably a little better than most nickel plated steel strings.  

Conclusion: I’m going to keep playing them until they wear out, and may put on another set after them.  I really like these strings.  I’d recommend DM2505′s with a wound G string for hard tail electic guitars, such as Les Pauls.  They make the body vibrate, and that’s a good thing.

Where to get Dean Markley guitar strings:

• Dean Markley NickelSteel Electric, includes DM2505 11-52′s as discussed here, many gauge choices on this page.
• Dean Markley Electric Guitar Strings, these and other’s by DM
• Guitar String Depot Home Page
• Guitar String Depot Electric Guitar Strings, for Dean Markley’s and many other brands

That’s all for now.  I’ll follow up when I try them with the bare G string in the mix, in about a week.

Rancher 110

Have you ever been just half listening to a Blues tune, and within the first three or four bars said to yourself “That sounds like BB King”, only to learn when your hear his voice that you were right, that is BB King?  What your were hearing before his voice was his guitar, Lucile, singing out that distinctive BB King tone.  That sound of his is the combination of himself, his guitar, and his strings.  Not just any strings, but a specific set that transfers his Blues inflections and soul so clearly and sweetly, that they are part of his unmistakable sound.  When it comes to strings for Lucile, BB King has some pretty specific preferences.   

His first and second strings have to be light enough for easy bending, but heavy enough to drive his pickups to cry out those elongated bends with the soul he’s known for. He likes a bare, non-wound G or third string because it sounds purer and  better when he bends it than a wound string.  That purity and intensity of the tone is something he can’t get from a wound G string, because the bend actually stretches and stresses the core wire of the string more than the wrap.  This difference in tensile forces between the core and the wrap creates internal stresses between the core and the winding, which distorts and impedes vibration in the string.  Wound G strings are fine for Jazz and strumming chords, but they just don’t give him the sound he likes when he stretches them in a long bend.  That’s why he chooses a bare G string.

He likes moderately heavy bottom strings, to give him a deep and rich bass accent, in counterpoint to his screaming highs.  That’s why his low A and E strings are so much heavier than what you find in a standard set.  The D string is sized to make a smooth make a smooth tonal transition form the bare high strings to the wound bass strings.  These strings are not only heavier in diameter, but carry pure nickel windings.  The nickel winding has the double effect of contributing to higher string density, which strengthens the lower register voice of the strings; but it has a soft magnetic tone when heard through the pickups.  This produces a full toned bass that doesn’t sound too boomy or over powering, yet has plenty of volume and ample clarity for a heavy string.

Over the years, BB had been loyal to Gibson for Lucile’s guitar strings, but switched to Ernie Ball when Gibson started winding his third strings.  Gibson picked up on this right away, and collaborated with BB to create his own special signature strings.  These Gibson strings have all the tone and qualities BB liked in the first place, and they are available to anyone to try out.

The BB King Signature Electric Guitar String set from Gibson is made up of bare first , second, and third strings; and pure nickel wound fourth, fifth, and sixth strings, with the following diameters (in inches):

String diameters:   .010, .013. .017,  .032w, .045w, .054w.

The “w” indicates wound strings.   These are truly  well made and great sounding strings.  They have the right magnetic properties to produce the BB King tone, and the elasticity and feel to bend and respond to his style of playing.  They always return in tune form a hard bend, ready to support a full six string chord or dive into another bend, thanks to Gibson’s high standards and quality controls.

The End Has Come: Now, alas, I must let you know that Gibson has stopped making BB King’s strings.  They are officially out of production.  I offered them for sale on my website (www.guitarstringdepot.com), until just recently.  Now I can’t offer them to you, any more.   I’m so sorry.  I’m sure Gibson has some cold, hard business data to support their decision, and we’ll just have to make do with D’Addario EXL140′s.

Alternative:  D’Addario EXL 140.  EXL140′s are just a little lighter, and have nickel plated steel windings.    Diameteres:  .010,  .013,  .017,  .032,  .042,  .052 inches.  The G-string is bare, also.