A Comparison of 5 String Sets by MaineGeezer
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 3:39 pm
I had surgery on my right hand at the end of July. Needless to say, it's made it rather difficult to test strings. MaineGeezer, our fellow member, graciously offered to do an extensive comparison of 5 different sets of strings, then write a review on his findings.
It's with heartfelt thanks, that I present his review for your consideration. Thank you my friend! Diane
"A Comparison of 5 String Sets"
by MaineGeezer
As guitarists, we all face the prospect of choosing just the right strings to bring out the best in our instruments. I got together with my friend, guitarist and singer/songwriter Jud Caswell (http://www.judcaswell.com), to test and compare five sets of strings, in the hope that I could find the best strings for my recently-completed OM.
The type of strings makes a huge difference and the only way to find out which strings are best on a particular guitar is to compare and contrast several sets. It’s quite an undertaking, but very worthwhile.
We tested five sets of light gauge steel strings, four from GHS and one from D’Addario. Although I usually string my guitar with GHS strings, Jud suggested that I test a set of his favorite D’Addario strings as well.
Here are the strings that we tested:
From GHS we tested:
Bright Bronze
Americana Cryogenic Phosphor Bronze
Vintage Bronze
Laurence Juber Signature Bronze
From D’Addario we tested the Phosphor Bronze strings.
Jud has his own recording studio, with very high quality microphones. He recorded each test, but we found that the recorded sound did not readily convey the differences that were apparent listening to the sound "live." The difference in the sound between our most favorite and least favorite strings, which was quite apparent as we played the guitar, is hardly discernible in the recordings.
Bear in mind that these results apply only to my guitar, and my personal preference in sound. You may prefer a different type of string on your guitar. So try some!
What were the results? Not to keep you in suspense, on my guitar and to our ears the Laurence Juber Signature Bronze strings were clear winners. They sounded cleaner, the sound was richer and more complex, they played well.
We both liked the GHS Vintage Bronze the least. We used the words "abrupt," "shallow," and "one-dimensional" as we tried to describe what we heard, remembering that on your guitar they might be just the thing.
I've included a sound clip of the Signature Bronze strings being played, but keep in mind the statements made about the recordings: it's very difficult to detect any differences among them, however striking the differences may have sounded as we played the guitar, and even though the recordings were made with professional-quality sound studio equipment.
We both liked the bright Bronze. I liked the Bright Bronze a bit more than Jud did.
Differences between the GHS Phosphor Bronze and the D’Addario Phosphor Bronze were subtle. I think they did sound slightly different, but I would be hard pressed to say how. Jud preferred the Phosphor Bronze over the Bright Bronze; I preferred the opposite.
As mentioned previously, the D’Addario Phosphor Bronze strings are Jud's string of choice. After the day's testing, however, he may try the GHS Signature Bronze strings on his Martin OM-18 to see how they sound.
Here is a sample of Jud playing my OM, strung with the GHS Laurence Juber Signature Bronze strings. The strings can be found at https://www.stringsbymail.com/acoustic- ... juber-586/
It's with heartfelt thanks, that I present his review for your consideration. Thank you my friend! Diane
"A Comparison of 5 String Sets"
by MaineGeezer
As guitarists, we all face the prospect of choosing just the right strings to bring out the best in our instruments. I got together with my friend, guitarist and singer/songwriter Jud Caswell (http://www.judcaswell.com), to test and compare five sets of strings, in the hope that I could find the best strings for my recently-completed OM.
The type of strings makes a huge difference and the only way to find out which strings are best on a particular guitar is to compare and contrast several sets. It’s quite an undertaking, but very worthwhile.
We tested five sets of light gauge steel strings, four from GHS and one from D’Addario. Although I usually string my guitar with GHS strings, Jud suggested that I test a set of his favorite D’Addario strings as well.
Here are the strings that we tested:
From GHS we tested:
Bright Bronze
Americana Cryogenic Phosphor Bronze
Vintage Bronze
Laurence Juber Signature Bronze
From D’Addario we tested the Phosphor Bronze strings.
Jud has his own recording studio, with very high quality microphones. He recorded each test, but we found that the recorded sound did not readily convey the differences that were apparent listening to the sound "live." The difference in the sound between our most favorite and least favorite strings, which was quite apparent as we played the guitar, is hardly discernible in the recordings.
Bear in mind that these results apply only to my guitar, and my personal preference in sound. You may prefer a different type of string on your guitar. So try some!
What were the results? Not to keep you in suspense, on my guitar and to our ears the Laurence Juber Signature Bronze strings were clear winners. They sounded cleaner, the sound was richer and more complex, they played well.
We both liked the GHS Vintage Bronze the least. We used the words "abrupt," "shallow," and "one-dimensional" as we tried to describe what we heard, remembering that on your guitar they might be just the thing.
I've included a sound clip of the Signature Bronze strings being played, but keep in mind the statements made about the recordings: it's very difficult to detect any differences among them, however striking the differences may have sounded as we played the guitar, and even though the recordings were made with professional-quality sound studio equipment.
We both liked the bright Bronze. I liked the Bright Bronze a bit more than Jud did.
Differences between the GHS Phosphor Bronze and the D’Addario Phosphor Bronze were subtle. I think they did sound slightly different, but I would be hard pressed to say how. Jud preferred the Phosphor Bronze over the Bright Bronze; I preferred the opposite.
As mentioned previously, the D’Addario Phosphor Bronze strings are Jud's string of choice. After the day's testing, however, he may try the GHS Signature Bronze strings on his Martin OM-18 to see how they sound.
Here is a sample of Jud playing my OM, strung with the GHS Laurence Juber Signature Bronze strings. The strings can be found at https://www.stringsbymail.com/acoustic- ... juber-586/