The New Tone Thread

[Telegram Sam]

The BIG Corner.
Bubba's sleeping on the job.

 

[Greg_L]

I'm kind of like Lt Boob. I change mine when they stop tuning well. I actually prefer the sound of worn in strings, but it's their inability to stay in tune that makes me change them.

I like 10's on my Gibson scale length gits, 9's on the Strat.

I kept the same set on my bass for 8 years once.

 

[Telegram Sam]

At 7 gigs a week that'd be 112 hours on a set in a month.

I use 10's on my 25.5 scale gits and 11's on my 24.75 scale gits.

I change them when they lose their intonation.
Once they start being out of tune at an octave then they get replaced ......... a week later!


Or when I break one ........... but that rarely happens.

Great info Bob.
It's great having someone who works their fingers to the
bone playing professionally contribute to the tone thread.

 

[Telegram Sam]

I'm kind of like Lt Boob. I change mine when they stop tuning well. I actually prefer the sound of worn in strings, but it's their inability to stay in tune that makes me change them.

I like 10's on my Gibson scale length gits, 9's on the Strat.

I kept the same set on my bass for 8 years once.

I didn't know that idea about using different gauges for different scales, but it makes perfect sense.
Thanks Greg!

 

[Seeker of Rock]

I think he was just saying what a bunch of Pussies the 6100 owners are on the Marshall forum.

Exactly.

Elixers don't lose their sparkle as fast as others but part of that is they have less sparkle in the first place.

Exactly. And I HATE the sound of new uncoated strings, except maybe on acoustic. But even then, if you have to retrack or are recording several tracks in the same session, the tone is going to change as they break in. Not with Elixirs. They sound perfect (to me) right out of the package and keep that sound for many hours of playing. I have another set of Gibson Vintage Masters series that I ordered because I like the first set. I may put those on to get them out of the way before I break into my Elixir stash.

 

[Bubba po]

I didn't know that idea about using different gauges for different scales, but it makes perfect sense.
Thanks Greg!

Yeah, I use 10s on my strat and tele, and 11s on my Jag. It's really needed on the Jag because of the 24" scale length.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Exactly. And I HATE the sound of new uncoated strings,

I agree 100% ...... the first two days on a set of strings is too irritatingly bright for me. The third gig is when they start to sound good for my taste.

And I must chime in and say that the one set of Elixers I tried, I liked them a lot. They were nanowebs ..... I have a set of the polywebs (that was the first type right?) which I haven't tried. I'll probably put them on my 'beach' strat this week.
I've read that they're a bit duller than the nanowebs.

 

[Lt. Bob]

I'm kind of like Lt Boob.

Finally he admits it!

I didn't know that idea about using different gauges for different scales, but it makes perfect sense.
Thanks Greg!

Longer scales have higher tension at the same pitch. So for me 10's on the 24.75 scale felt rubbery. 11's are a little stiff actually, but much better than 10's for me on the Gibson scaled gits.

Actually, I'm playing so much right now I'm starting to feel like I'm overpowering the strings I'm using and they bend farther than I mean to sometimes.
By the end of the summer I may have to move up a gauge.

 

[Greg_L]

Longer scales have higher tension at the same pitch. So for me 10's on the 24.75 scale felt rubbery. 11's are a little stiff actually, but much better than 10's for me on the Gibson scaled gits.

Actually, I'm playing so much right now I'm starting to feel like I'm overpowering the strings I'm using and they bend farther than I mean to sometimes.
By the end of the summer I may have to move up a gauge.

I kind of have the same feeling. I currently have 9's on the SG and 10's on the LP. I'm so used to the LP now that when I grab the SG and bend a note, it feels like I'm gonna rip the string off the guitar and I go about 8 steps too high with the bend. But on the Strat with 9's, it feels relatively the same as the LP. So for me, 10's on a shorter scale and 9's on a longer scale is just right. I'm just gonna stick with that.

 

[Lt. Bob]

yeah, you're doing the same thing as me but a gauge lower.

I used to use 9's on a strat. They're just too light for my powerful fingers now!




choice of string gauge is VERY much a personal choice sorta thing. I always laugh when I see guitarists in the interviews tell younger players definitively that one set is better than the other.
You gotta use what feels 'right' to your fingers.

 

[Greg_L]

yeah, you're doing the same thing as me but a gauge lower.

I used to use 9's on a strat. They're just too light for my powerful fingers now!




choice of string gauge is VERY much a personal choice sorta thing. I always laugh when I see guitarists in the interviews tell younger players definitively that one set is better than the other.
You gotta use what feels 'right' to your fingers.

Yup. Not that it matters too much for my kind of playing, but I feel like I can whip powerchords up and down the fretboard better with the gauges I use. And it sounds better to me. 9's on a strat/10's on a shorter scale are perfect for my kind of playing. SRV used 12's or something like that on his Strats? That's crazy to me. That's like stringing your guitar with rebar.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

I agree 100% ...... the first two days on a set of strings is too irritatingly bright for me.

I have to be honest here, and it does depend...the guitar I play in this band is the Epiphone 335 and mainly in the middle toggle since most of the stuff is jazz or non-rock. I found some D'Addario 10's I had in my string set pile (D'Adds were my string of choice back in the playing days...I forget why but they were) and the brightness was good in that semi-muffled position with those semi-muffled sounding pickups. So I'll amend my previous position and say that I hate the sound of new wiry strings if I'm playing rock guitar in the treble/bridge position with most guitars I own or have played until the brutally metallic brightness wears off.

 

[Vhyle]

Hey guys, tone test #2 is uploaded. Same song as before, plus some additions and new riffs.

I used a 4x12 Bassman cab sim through the Digitech processor this time.

As a refresher: BC Rich Platinum Beast > Line 6 Spider II direct out > Digitech RP150 (Bassman 4x12 cab sim, no other effects) > laptop; Reaper

My thoughts: it's an improvement over the last tone test. I was worried about losing some clarity in the highs, because I need a good balance of meaty saturation, and note and chord clarity. Algarothsyum's atmosphere relies HEAVILY on chord blending and stuff, so I always keep that in mind with this stuff.

Here's the new clip: Algarothsyum - untitled track [tone test/sneak peek] by Vhyle on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

 

[minerman]

I used Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9's in my gigging days, for 10+ years, but now, I use Elixr's, I don't play as much as I used to (really as I want to...), so they sound fresh most all the time......

4 more shifts guys, & I get a week off from the hell hole in the ground.......

 

[rayc]

I remember buyinmg some blue packaging with "cryogenic" strings. The strings were pretty good actually - don't know about all the temperature stuff though.

 

[Lt. Bob]

I remember buyinmg some blue packaging with "cryogenic" strings. The strings were pretty good actually - don't know about all the temperature stuff though.

that would be those 'Blue Steel' strings ..... Dean Markley I think.

 

[Lt. Bob]

vhyle that sounds ok to me ...... but it's really hard to judge the git tone with the drumber going nuts constantly.
Really should put up guitar by itself.

But regardless ..... that doesn't sound bad. Hate the drumbs though ................

 

[Bubba po]

Hey guys, tone test #2 is uploaded. Same song as before, plus some additions and new riffs.

I used a 4x12 Bassman cab sim through the Digitech processor this time.

As a refresher: BC Rich Platinum Beast > Line 6 Spider II direct out > Digitech RP150 (Bassman 4x12 cab sim, no other effects) > laptop; Reaper

My thoughts: it's an improvement over the last tone test. I was worried about losing some clarity in the highs, because I need a good balance of meaty saturation, and note and chord clarity. Algarothsyum's atmosphere relies HEAVILY on chord blending and stuff, so I always keep that in mind with this stuff.

Here's the new clip: Algarothsyum - untitled track [tone test/sneak peek] by Vhyle on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

I can't really say anything about that tone because I don't consider metal tone to be a good tone. That might be a good metal tone if such a thing exists - but someone else will have to judge.

 

[Greg_L]

Amen. I'm not a fan of the metal either.

 

[minerman]

Vhyle: It doesn't sound bad, maybe some of the low mids are a little "woofy", but I listened in 'phones, so it may just be me.......I'm not a fan of new metal, but I did grow up listening to the 80's metal stuff. While I still like that stuff, my favorite guitar tones are albums like Cry Of Love - Carnival - YouTube, The Four Horsemen - Nobody Said It Was Easy - YouTube, bluesy based hard rock stuff.......

I've read that the bass guitar has a lot to do with a metal guitar tone, that it blends with the guitars to create that massive, chunk you're looking for....

Try the Ultimate Metal Forum for tips, there's a wealth of info there on metal dude.....


Here's the "Sneap Search" for the UMF that will take you to posts related to keywords you searched for (IE: making my guitar tracks sound bigger):
Google Custom Search - Sneap Search

Hope this helps.......