Just put new strings on the HD28. First time I've had anything but elixirs on an acoustic in at least a decade. I've gone for Martin SP Lifespan 12-54's, on the assumption that Martin's own strings are a good place to start. I also have a set of EB Paradigms to fit next, once these start sounding dead.
At the risk of sounding naff, but mostly so I don't forget, I want to write this down as I go along so I can't look back at past posts and read what I thought at the time of fitting each set. Happy to have input from anyone else who's done similar too!
Onto the strings... these SPs are a bit fuller than the Elixir 1's I had on until today, but also compared with the set of Elixir 12's I had before that, but also have a good bit of sparkle which I'm desperately hoping won't fade after 2 hours! They feel a little less slippery, but not drastically so, so I'll get used to them within a day or two. Will wait and see how long they last; I'd generally get 3 months from Elixirs, so if these are still here come Christmas I'll be a happy camper.
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Good luck
I can believe they suit some guitars and some players, but to me they just sounded like putting electric guitar strings on an acoustic.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
That said, the plan strings are already starting to feel a bit "draggy" at the first few frets, so I guess they're already starting to "go off" just a little. For someone who's used elixirs for 10+ years I'm not sure I'll get used to that, but we'll see.
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First impressions of the EBs are they're not as sparkly in the top end, but have a little more bass and midrange. I'm not sure if I'm imagining that. They're also more draggy from new than the Martins were at any point, which is a little odd.
Will update when I've played them a bit more.
I've not played Martin strings in a while and tend to use Daddario exp phosphor bronze as theyre available locally and I'm so used to them.
One of my guitars currently has DR dragon skin phosphor bronze, though I've only just put them on so it's too early to tell how I'll get on with them.
Newtone Heritage Series - Low Tension .012 - .051
They have the ‘piano’ wind on wound strings - so only the core wire rides over the saddle.
They use a ‘good’ quality bronze alloy for the wind, possibly zinc free which will not last as long as long as yer typical 5 quid a set if you’r a string corroder.
http://www.rotosound.com/super-bronze/
Im a big fan of rotosound electric strings. I would like to try the super bronze out.
After 3 months of the Ernie Balls, they were getting quite "grabby" to the touch, and losing a bit of sparkle, so I've just put some Elixir Nano 12-53s on. I don't like em. The slippery feel is nice, but they haven't the depth that the Martins or even the EBs had.
So now I have to find some other strings to try first, then I'll go to another set of Martin SP Lifespans and compare/contrast. If I have the time & energy I might even make some sound clips to see how much is actually audible outside my own head.
Sometimes I get a guitar comes back from repair with a new set of non-Elixirs on and I am immediately horrified by how bright they are. I bought a recommended set (I forget which) last year, and took them back off after one day. Then again, I play a bit with my nails, perhaps if I had no nails I'd like brighter strings.
The other issue for me is the maintenance aspect. If you have "too many" <cough> instruments, some of which are not played frequently, coated strings help with cost and time