string preference for intonation

[guitarzan]

I took one of my non-anderson guitars to have the tuning tempered today and the tech mentioned that, in his experience, X-brand of strings have "intonation issues" versus other brands. The brand he was mentioning was a high-end string, so it's not for lack of quality. Does anyone at the Anderson Compound have any feedback on this? I never really preferred one string over another until recently and this particular brand is all I've used for the last few years. And then I get THIS information today...


Now my Up is Down... my Right is Left...

[bruce]

Well I guess I'm sot supposed to mention any names here but the one string brand that I know that blows (intonation wise)claims they are handwound... Handwound??, I'll believe that when I see the guys hands that does the winding after just one string.

[joe1962]

Originally posted by bruce
Well I guess I'm sot supposed to mention any names here but the one string brand that I know that blows (intonation wise)claims they are handwound... Handwound??, I'll believe that when I see the guys hands that does the winding after just one string.

That's the same brand I've had trouble with. I had a couple of friends tell me how great they were but after trying 3 sets on 2 differerent guitars and not being able to set the intonation I gave up on them.

[bruce]

Can someone please take a shop tour and get video of the human string winder?

[guitarzan]

oh yeah, I've done it. It's pretty cool... the guy's name is Igor... and they run him ragged, what with all the string winding and brain-fetching for Dr. Frankenstein and all...

[tmihm]

Originally posted by guitarzan
oh yeah, I've done it. It's pretty cool... the guy's name is Igor... and they run him ragged, what with all the string winding and brain-fetching for Dr. Frankenstein and all...
I have a set on order for my 12 string. They said I should see them mid-July or so. ;) :D

[Frank Drebin]

I think we all know the handwound thing is hogwash! Pretty silly indeed. It would not make me think they are better! Anyway I am the fool who uses these.

By the way joe1962, I think I was one of those friends who recommended the string brand to you. I have feiten guitars and use the peterson 490st strobe tuner and have wonderful intonation.

Now I have an open mind about experimentation...maybe someone has more experience in the variations of string styles and the effects on intonation.

Can someone(probably Tom or Bruce) give me some reasoning behind the variations of pure nickel, nickel plated steel, round core, hex core and the effects they have on intonation? I have read up on this, I just want to hear your take on it.

For my mileage strings with coatings of any kind tend to have strange and inconsistent intonation, however I may try those again as well. Sorry for the longest post of all time!

[tom]

frank, like the flame post, if you like them and they work for you, i don't see a reason for you to stop. not being a metalugest, or however you spell that, i have not seen an intonation related consistancy with the material, only the brand. people ove the years have advertised that a hex core makes the wrap string stay put better than a round core. pure nickel will certsinly sound different than nickel plated, because the iron content will be less, and that's what pickups hear. for years we used SIT strings, and had very consistant results. i treis their pure nickel strings a few times, just to see what the difference was. they were not as loud and brilliant sounding but intonated the same. as i only tried a few, i would not judge a material on those results. we had NO problem with SIT, they were wonderful strings made and sold by wonderful people. it was very hard for me to switch to the elixirs.

[tom]

we did however change, and i love the consistancy and tone they give me as a player, and how they make our gitars sound even when the guys in the stores don't change them as often as they should.

[joe1962]

Originally posted by Frank Drebin
By the way joe1962, I think I was one of those friends who recommended the string brand to you.

Do I know you? I don't recognize the name. Actually I have a friend who teaches at the local store here, and another friend I played in bands with in the late 70s/early 80s and both of them like DR strings. I tried them on a couple of my guitars a while back and out of 5 sets on 3 different guitars I never had them intonate correctly. The A string in particular in two of the sets wouldn't intonate no matter where the saddle was placed. I'm not going to say I didn't just run into bad sets, but it was enough to make me wary of the brand.

Like Tom I really like SIT strings. I used them until recently as my string of choice. I didn't think I'd ever warm up to coated strings but when I got my new Anderson recently I decided to give them a try since they were already on the guitar. I've had it for a month now and the strings are still going strong. That's with at least an hour a day playing it and two 4 set gigs! Normally ANY strings go dead on me after a week, and I can only get two gigs at best. Even then the second night of a weekend the strings seem to have lost something. I think I'm going to be an Elixir convert now too.

[bruce]

Here's what I've found over the years:

"Handwound" strings : Won't intonate consistantly

Elixir's : Intonate consistantly

[Frank Drebin]

Tom, Bruce, and Joe1962, Thank you all for your input on this subject. Let me first say I did not want my post to seem like a rough edged "flame" kind of post. It is merely discussion...

Tom, we know you are the man! Bruce you are man who does setups etc. so you obviously know alot. Anderson guitars are very good without a doubt. I merely wanted your take on it. I am open minded, I will be trying elixers next time I string up. Joe1962, I am the teacher in the local store.

Thanks everyone!

[joe1962]

Originally posted by Frank Drebin
I am the teacher in the local store.

Cool! Great to see you here. But who is Frank Drebin? :confused:

[Stan Malinowski]

But who is Frank Drebin?

Isn't Frank Drebin Leslie Nielson's character in the Naked Gun movies?

[joe1962]

Originally posted by Stan Malinowski
Isn't Frank Drebin Leslie Nielson's character in the Naked Gun movies?

That's right! I knew it sounded familiar.

[Frank Drebin]

Yes it is true...Frank Drebin is the character in the naked gun and airplane movies, and police squad tv show. Neilsen is brilliant...my hero. Anyone who can make a career acting like that is cool!

[John Price]

I've been using D'Addario for years with no problems! I'm in the process of trying a new brand of strings by Curt Mangan and so far I've been real happy with the results! I need to use them for a few more gigs to really get the true results but I really do like what I'm hearing!!!!
If your interested in checking them out go to Curt Mangan Strings! (http://www.curtmangan.com)

[Frank Drebin]

Well everyone it has been a little while and I wanted a happy ending to this thread. I have converted over to elixir strings. I did not have problems that I noticed with intonation with my old strings. I have a peterson 490st tuner (with feiten offsets) and the brand we have been hinting at in the previous posts seemed straight up the middle to me, however what I did find is the elixirs sound better to me and that is important news since I have not changed string brands in a long while. About every year or so I have done what I call the string shootout. I try to do this with an unbiased outlook. I am unbiased when I say I changed to elixirs for sound...they sound better to me now. It also ends up being cheaper so that is a good side effect.

[tmihm]

Well everyone it has been a little while and I wanted a happy ending to this thread. I have converted over to elixir strings. I did not have problems that I noticed with intonation with my old strings. I have a peterson 490st tuner (with feiten offsets) and the brand we have been hinting at in the previous posts seemed straight up the middle to me, however what I did find is the elixirs sound better to me and that is important news since I have not changed string brands in a long while. About every year or so I have done what I call the string shootout. I try to do this with an unbiased outlook. I am unbiased when I say I changed to elixirs for sound...they sound better to me now. It also ends up being cheaper so that is a good side effect.
How long do you keep a set on, Frank? How many hours a week do you play? (about...).

I had only used them on my acoustic prior to getting my TA. I really like em...and probably would be a decent investment for the guitars I don't use a lot. Seems like after just once or twice (with my regular strings - on guitars I don't more than once or twice a month)...and wiping down...they will start to darken and get dull.

I wish they weren't as pricey as they are....but I wish that about a lot of stuff...guitars...cars...beer :D

Terry

[Frank Drebin]

Hey Terry,
Here is how I see this. For me a set of strings(slight variation depending on brand of course) typically last a week to a week and a half with a pretty good amount of regular playing, not gigs. I have to test them on gigs before I can comment on that part. Each set runs from $5.99-$7.99. In a four week period I am paying at least $24.00. A set of elixirs last right at about four weeks at $15.99. I also like the sound better which is why I changed over recently. I do keep my strings insanely clean. I usually use finger ease to clean and fast fret when they rest(it keeps the overnight corrosion down, also good between sets at gigs) I discovered that I have a minor allergy to funky, rusty strings so I do keep them clean, with more attention on the plain strings without the coating. Now that I am in this habit, I can't see how I could have stood the funky strings before. This problem is a little annoying if you play someone else's instrument and forget. It is an easy habit to start, just wiping the fast fret over the strings right when you are done playing. I don't think I have OCD but someone else may disagree!

[tmihm]

Thanks, Frank. I just bought a fresh set of Elixiers....I'll make a note of long they last. I don't play that often (maybe 15-30 minutes a day...and I have pretty light touch), and a set of D'Addarios lasts me about a month. I think the Elixiers I have on the TA are at least 2 or 3 months old now...and they still got a little spunk! :)

[andersonguy]

I just gotta do it...

SOS strings, I'll never be the same. ;)

AG

[Frank Drebin]

Hey Tombo,
Thanks for the reply, however I do not actually pay $15.99 for elixir nanoweb strings. I just used list price as a way to keep the numbers consistent for the readers in the forum when comparing brands.