unwound strings?

axisus

I'm a bit of a heathen in that I just change individual strings on my electric guitars as and when they break. I keep a box with strings in and a few days ago I took out my last D string (24). I whipped online and ordered 4 new ones, but plonker that I am, I seem to have ordered some unwound ones. Are they going to feel weird? are they going to sound weird? 

thermionic

Put them on and let us know.

ICBM

axisus said:

I'm a bit of a heathen in that I just change individual strings on my electric guitars as and when they break. I keep a box with strings in and a few days ago I took out my last D string (24). I whipped online and ordered 4 new ones, but plonker that I am, I seem to have ordered some unwound ones. Are they going to feel weird? are they going to sound weird? 

Yes, very. The main difference is that they will be *very* heavy in terms of tension if you tune them up to D - a plain string is roughly equivalent in tension to a wound string of about 25% larger, so they will feel like a 30-gauge string. They will also sound very loud, strident and clangy.

If you wonder why they exist at all, they're intended as 3rd strings for players who tune down a long way.

Funkfingers

Plain .024" as a D is going to feel wrong to the touch and the intonation will probably be out. 

Do you have any friends who play either pedal steel or a Rickenbacker electric twelve string?

Sassafras

Personally, I'd try not to break strings.

axisus

I guess I'll just order the right ones! I'll probably try one at some point.