Best strings for telecaster?

tonystone82

Hi all, I wondered what your preferences were for strings for a custom 1960’s telecaster?

I’m looking for longevity and snappy tone with good frequency response across the spectrum, but mainly I like the country twang and clean highs. 

I’ve been using Ernie ball 10’s for the last 25 years on strats, but only recently started playing a tele and the Ernie balls just don’t cut it at all, they sound dull and lifeless. I’m on a rosewood board on the tele whereas on the strats I’m on maple so that probably makes a difference overall. 

Anyway just wanted to know of your experiences please…. Thanks
Tony

richardhomer

D’Addario. I switched to them from EBs in the mid-90s. They start (and remain) brighter than EBs and generally last much longer.

rze99

Longevity

I've got loads of Teles many of which I've made. I hate changing strings - so boring - so I use Elixr. I don't care whether they are the "best" or not but they work for me. 

snowblind

Going to say GHS because they are good on the bends.


... or was that Michelins........?

mudslide73

Newtone roundcores on my avri 52.

Fishboy7

I've always used d'addario but recently switched over to Stringjoy and they feel really great. 12s on Gibson and 11s on Fenders for me.

Strat54

Still using Gabriel Tenorio Super 10's on mine. 

Loobs

Ernie Ball are pretty bad, IMO. Rotosound even worse. D‘addario or even better, Curt Mangan. 10-52 is great on a tele, or 11-52 if you’re not a bender. D’addario have a lovely presence. EB always sound dull to my ears. 

Mr_Claw

I used Newtones and Pyramids (Monel and Nickel). Both really good and you can't go wrong.

I did try a set of Thomastik-Infeld flats on there, and they sound pretty cool with fuzz, but a bit too 'plunky' for general Telecaster use.

Think I like the Pyamid Monels best on a tele. Bit more snappy than nickel.

tonystone82

richardhomer said:

D’Addario. I switched to them from EBs in the mid-90s. They start (and remain) brighter than EBs and generally last much longer.

Yeah I’ve tried them before but a while ago now, and that was on a Strat, which set would you recommend Richard? 

tonystone82

Loobs said:

Ernie Ball are pretty bad, IMO. Rotosound even worse. D‘addario or even better, Curt Mangan. 10-52 is great on a tele, or 11-52 if you’re not a bender. D’addario have a lovely presence. EB always sound dull to my ears. 

I’m currently trying out the rotosound, and yes I’m not that impressed, although they do sound a little better than the EB’s to my ear. Still not as good as they could be though.

Voxman

D'addario's are the strings I mainly use but on my Tele & Strats I like GHS Boomers - brighter & snappier. 

HAL9000

+1 for D’addario. I use 9s on my Fenders but from reading your post I’d guess 10s for you.

timmypix

Again, D'addario. I use them on all my guitars anyway, but when I had my Tele I had some Rotosounds lying around so figured I'd give them a go. Now, they may have been a dud couple of sets, but my Tele just sounded papery acoustically and not right - I started looking at the nut, the saddles, wondering what the hell was going on...
Switched back to D'addarios and it sounded exactly like it always should have done. No idea why but it has put me off trying Rotosounds for a while.

CarbonCopy

A friend borrowed a Strat from me and when it came back, it seemed to sound brighter and snappier. I had been using Ernie Ball, but he had restrung it with GHS Boomers which seemed to work really well with that guitar. I only use GHS on that guitar now as a result.

Dave_Mc

Voxman said:

D'addario's are the strings I mainly use but on my Tele & Strats I like GHS Boomers - brighter & snappier. 

I thought round core strings were meant to be warmer?

Not saying you're wrong, I mean I've tried them both myself and not sure how much difference I noticed!

mo6020

Stringjoy nickel wound 10-52s on all my teles (and Strats). 

distressed

EB or Thomastik Infeld 10-52.

Paul_C

I've got 10-46 Legacy strings you can get from Strings Direct on a number of mine (some I haven't changed what I got with them so I don't know what they are) and they're perfectly good for my needs.

Lestratcaster

I don't play my Tele much but I've always used the Ernie Ball 10's. Don't like the feel of D'Addario or Elixir, they're not as smooth to play. They may last longer but a nice set of newly strung up Ernie's played in is the nicest feeling.

Voxman

Dave_Mc said:

Voxman said:

D'addario's are the strings I mainly use but on my Tele & Strats I like GHS Boomers - brighter & snappier. 

I thought round core strings were meant to be warmer?

Not saying you're wrong, I mean I've tried them both myself and not sure how much difference I noticed!

Well, they sound bright and snappy to me, and it's pretty much what GHS say too:

"GHS Boomers Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings (Light 10-46) have been the power string and continue to set the standard for musicians in nearly every genre of music. Nickel-plated steel wound over a round core brings a bright tone with a powerful attack that lasts for an extended period. Each string is individually sealed in the GHS Nitro-Pack envelope ensuring they’re as fresh as the day they were wound at the Battle Creek factory."