I've got some questions regarding strings and the materials used to make them.
I took my Tele in to have it setup last week. I had bought some Fender 250L nickel plated strings to have put on as well. According to Fender, those are what came on it from the factory. The guy doing the setup told me they wouldn't sound very good on my guitar because nickel strings were mainly for single coil guitars. I said string'em up anyway since I already had them. This is a somewhat different Fender in that it does have dual humbuckers on it. Anyway, this got me thinking because I do have some Gibson strings that say they are "specially designed" for humbucker guitars using some special alloy (I haven't strung them up yet though).
So, what does the material used in the string do to the tone exactly? I also bought some pure nickel strings (150L) for my Fender. Will those sound bright or dull on humbuckers? Am I over thinking this whole thing since tone is so subjective? I guess I'm just a bit confused.
I did notice that my guitar does sound a tad bit muddier with these new strings on.
Jason
"Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"
That's baloney that you have to have certain string materials for certain pickups. You can read on the string makers sites, like D'Addario's, what the different winding materials are purported to sound like, but in the end the best test is to try 'em yourself and see what you think. My favorites are the usual nickel-plated steel wound electric strings, which I've gone to using on my nonelectric tricone resonator as well. I like the very bright tone they have. Most folks think the pure nickel ones aren't quite so bright, they don't give quite as strong a signal through magnetic pickups (which may or may not be a bad thing, depending on your desired sound), and they're a bit more expensive nowadays. Everybody's tastes are a little different, so play with what you like best.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Magnetic pickups work by creating a magnetic field... when the string vibrates, it disturbs the field, generating a current. The more 'magnetic' the strings, the more energy they'll put out.
In descending order, the typical electric guitar strings for output are:
1. Stainless steel
2. Nickel plated steel (NPS) windings
3. Pure nickel windings
4. Chrome windings
The order will be the same for all pickups. Yes, Gibson has a string they've designed for their humbuckers... I haven't tried them, and don't know how they sound.
The difference in tone will be on the WOUND strings - as far as I know, every manufacturer uses Swedish steel for the plain strings, and for the core of the wound strings. Gibson may be an exception to this, as their advertising says 'special composite core'.
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Gibson has a string they've designed for their humbuckers... Marketing gimmick.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
That's my gut feel too, Ric... but they do say it's a new composite core, and everybody else uses Swedish steel, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, Gibson's the same company that claims to have invented metal strings "in 1927" in some literature I've seen - but metal string guitars have been around about 250 years longer than Gibson has. So maybe I'm being overly charitable :)
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Yeah, I just don't see how any particular string can be suited to one type of pickup. It's just vibrating magnetic material in a magnetic field.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Interesting. Thanks for explaining guys.
When the tech started saying that I was a bit skeptical. However, I am bit curious about those Gibson strings I have now, so I think I'm going to string them up today and see how they sound.
Jason
"Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"
