Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Nov 27, 2023 23:30:12 GMT -5
I just put a new set of Earnie Ball Slinky Flatwound strings on my Telecaster (#2590, 11-14-18p-28-38-48) and BOY do they sound great. They aren't rattley like 9s or 10s, they feel wonderful to play and sound like a Telecaster should through my Yamaha G50-112 II amp. Jazz, country, blues, rockabilly, it's all there. So far I am very pleased. I had to change the setup and still might make some adjustments but it sure feels great to play. These are cobalt wound. I'd never used them before.  |
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Post by Marshall on Nov 27, 2023 23:43:07 GMT -5
Cool. Stevie Ray Vaughan played a Tele with 13s. But he also tuned it down a half step.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Nov 27, 2023 23:54:47 GMT -5
Cool. Stevie Ray Vaughan played a Tele with 13s. But he also tuned it down a half step. Is this the “Telecaster” you’re thinking of?   |
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Post by Marty on Nov 28, 2023 0:30:32 GMT -5
Dick Dale plays a 16 high E on a left handed Strat strung right handed and tuned down.
Until the early-mid 60s all Fender guitars left the factory strung with flatwound strings.
I like GHS Burnished Nickel Rockers in .011- .052. Semi smooth pure nickel wrap, warm fat tone.
One of fav Surf groups Messer Chupps from Russia. Albums are vampire and monster themed. Guitarist Oleg uses a second Fender Reverb unit to stomp on for sound effects. Bassist Svetlana has Bettie Page down to a T.
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Post by howard lee on Nov 28, 2023 7:07:49 GMT -5
I string my solidbody electrics with D'Addario EXL-115W (.011-.050) with a wound third. Love that gauge, and it is still a vacation from the .013s on the acoustic guitars!
ON EDIT! The EXL-115W strings are .011-.049 with a wound third.
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Post by drlj on Nov 28, 2023 8:31:40 GMT -5
I have .011-.050 on my electrics. Wound or unwound 3 doesn’t matter that much to me. I have been using unwound lately. It used to matter, but I changed my mind.
I don’t like like flat wounds. I don’t want .013-.056 on anything much anymore, either. .012-.016-.024 on top feels best to me.
Tim Lerch is a jazz guitarist who prefers Teles.
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Post by theevan on Nov 28, 2023 8:34:31 GMT -5
I just put a new set of Earnie Ball Slinky Flatwound strings on my Telecaster (#2590, 11-14-18p-28-38-48) and BOY do they sound great. They aren't rattley like 9s or 10s, they feel wonderful to play and sound like a Telecaster should through my Yamaha G50-112 II amp. Jazz, country, blues, rockabilly, it's all there. So far I am very pleased. I had to change the setup and still might make some adjustments but it sure feels great to play. These are cobalt wound. I'd never used them before. Is that Amp an oldie? Back when I played out, late 70s, I had a G100 212. It replaced a horrible Gibson of the same era. |
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Post by Cornflake on Nov 28, 2023 9:22:56 GMT -5
Every time I see the thread title my mind hears the BeeGees.
Oh oh oh oh
Slinking around
Slinking around
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Post by Marty on Nov 28, 2023 9:27:36 GMT -5
Is that Amp an oldie? Back when I played out, late 70s, I had a G100 212. It replaced a horrible Gibson of the same era. A little different than your series I Yamaha. I used a G30 112 series I for years, nice amp but the series II amps were even better. I also have a G50-112II sitting in the closet. These are great amps and if you see it or a G50-210II snatch it up. They are Yamaha's solid state versions of the Fender Deluxe and Vibrolux amps. Both series of those amps came in 50w and 100w versions and I always thought the G100s a little over powered. Oddly enough the series III amps did not meet the same tone standards as the I & II series. |
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Post by majorminor on Nov 28, 2023 9:40:09 GMT -5
I put 11's on all my electrics. Other than feel is there a tonal difference between round and flatwound on an electric? I have a set I plan to try on a Gibson 330 some day.
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Post by Marty on Nov 28, 2023 9:50:22 GMT -5
I put 11's on all my electrics. Other than feel is there a tonal difference between round and flatwound on an electric? I have a set I plan to try on a Gibson 330 some day. Flats have less brightness and a little less sustain but make up for it in warmth. Flatwounds come with a wound 3rd and replacing that with a plain 3rd is a mistake as chord voicings will always be a very dominant 3rd string. If you switch from a plain 3rd to a wound 3rd you will need to move the 3rd string saddle towards the pickups quite a bit to get the intonation correct. On a 3 saddle Tele this is an improvement because the original Tele bridge was never intended to have a plain 3rd. |
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Nov 28, 2023 10:38:58 GMT -5
Is that Amp an oldie? Back when I played out, late 70s, I had a G100 212. It replaced a horrible Gibson of the same era. Marty already answered your question but let me echo his enthusiastic view of the amp. I think these were made in the early to mid '80s. I bought mine over thirty years ago in a Cedar Rapids pawn shop along with my FrankenTele. It was just dumb luck, I wanted an electric and didn’t know anything about them. These were cheap and the only ones in the shop that seemed playable. Since then, everything on the Tele has been replaced but the wood and the Grover tuners. The amp is as I found it. Very nice sounding and versatile. My other “good” amp is an Ampeg R-15-R Supereverb. I think these were only made in 1963. |
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Dub
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Post by Dub on Nov 28, 2023 10:56:35 GMT -5
I put 11's on all my electrics. Other than feel is there a tonal difference between round and flatwound on an electric? I have a set I plan to try on a Gibson 330 some day. Flats have less brightness and a little less sustain but make up for it in warmth. Flatwounds come with a wound 3rd and replacing that with a plain 3rd is a mistake as chord voicings will always be a very dominant 3rd string. If you switch from a plain 3rd to a wound 3rd you will need to move the 3rd string saddle towards the pickups quite a bit to get the intonation correct. On a 3 saddle Tele this is an improvement because the original Tele bridge was never intended to have a plain 3rd. What Marty said, except… I’ve used flatwounds quit a bit on both my Tele and my Kennedy archtop. I’ve used most brands from Pyramid and TI-George Bensons to D’Addario Chromes in several weights. Right now the Kennedy has D’Addario Half-Rounds, it’s less happy with the dull sound of a flat wound bass E string. These cobalt Earnie Ball flats are a lot different than any flats I’ve tried in the past. If GC had carried a heavier gage than the 11-48s I bought I’d have purchased those, but now that they’re on, I think they’re perfect. A heavier set wouldn’t have sounded as good. And it turns out these 11-48s are the heaviest they make in this line. Evidently the cobalt winding has a great deal to do with the tone. This is my first cobolt set and so far I’m very happy with them. The plain G doesn’t seem to be the problem I thought it would be. Like others here, I’ve always preferred a wound G but I may have to change my mind in this case. As Marty said, I did have to adjust the action and intonation. My Tele has three compensated brass saddles and seems to play pretty much in tune when properly set up. |
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Post by RickW on Nov 28, 2023 19:14:45 GMT -5
Funny, dub, I was just bemoaning the sound on my strat. I should try a set of those.
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Post by John B on Nov 28, 2023 19:33:25 GMT -5
I like the Cobalts. I was working at GC when they "invented" those strings, or the coating, or whatever. They seem to be just a little "more" - more tone, more volume, more response, more fun.
I used to use fairly heavy gauges (SRV was an early hero), but frankly I think lighter-gauge strings can be just as responsive and full of tone as heavier sets; but you need to know how to ease up. Billy Gibbons uses 7-38.
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Post by howard lee on Nov 28, 2023 20:27:54 GMT -5
I put 11's on all my electrics. Other than feel is there a tonal difference between round and flatwound on an electric? I have a set I plan to try on a Gibson 330 some day.
I've used both on the same guitars and find the round wound strings to be brighter and satisfyingly jangly, kinda like my favorite rock songs sound.
I put .012-.052 D'Addario Chromes (flat wound) on the arch top.
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Dub
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I'm gettin' so the past is the only thing I can remember.
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Post by Dub on Nov 28, 2023 21:36:20 GMT -5
I put 11's on all my electrics. Other than feel is there a tonal difference between round and flatwound on an electric? I have a set I plan to try on a Gibson 330 some day. I've used both on the same guitars and find the round wound strings to be brighter and satisfyingly jangly, kinda like my favorite rock songs sound. I put .012-.052 D'Addario Chromes (flat wound) on the arch top.
That's the cool thing about these cobalt flats, they don't sound like flats but still deliver a full tone. |
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