Just strung my 125T with Pyramid Nickel Flats 11-50 and they sound horrible. They have a banjoesque ring to them that I'm really not liking at all. I put them on approx 16 hours ago; question is - are they going to improve, is there a settling in period?
I had D'Adarrio Chrome Flats on it previously and I really liked them. It was my first time using 12-52 gauge on an electric and it's resulted in a huge change in playing style (and minimum pedals, hurrah!). I should have stayed with D'Addario's but thought I'd give Pyramids a try. I should have learnt from last time - I strung my fretless bass with Pyramid flats and the E was faulty. I thought it was the bass initially as it was an instrument I've only recently acquired but after trying everything else I could think of I contacted Pyramid and they eventually sent a replacement that cured the problem.
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I think i’ll go back to the D’Addario chromes, they not only sound better (richer and fuller with a pleasing nasal quality on the unwound strings that’s lacking in the Pyramid set), they feel better under the fingers - much smoother. Flats are too expensive to make bad choices with,
I don't think they every really break in as such, they just get duller with time
I've gone back to the D'addario Chrome Flats 12 - 52. They work really well with this guitar acoustically and plugged. Using a heavier gauge has been something of a revelation. I'd assumed that a heavy set would require a stronger touch to work - more suited to strumming style but in fact they allow a soft touch and a wide dynamic range.
Like you said, less pedals, but I still favour the merest hint of gain - those old jazz recordings are not pure clean anyway as those small valve amps clipped and compressed a touch, which is part of the tone
I believe jazz players like Martin Taylor use 1/2 wounds