Nickel strings on an acoustic guitar

Bob Holo

Well...

Somehow I missed the fact that Newtone strings are Nickel. On the surface one might say "OK, that's for the Stimer" or "That's for 1950's GJ on an Epi Regent or a L5/7 as nickel strings are the traditional choice of people who play magnetic pickups.

But here's the rub. I started using GHS "White Bronze" strings on my acoustic archtop a few years back and liked them so much that I've stayed with them. They sound a whole lot like "Bright Bronze" and in fact, their hardness is similar - the difference is that they last for flippin ever whether you clean them or not... whether you let your friend with the acidic sweat play them or not... they just last. My suspicion is that "White Bronze" is marketing speak for Nickel... who knows. They LOOK like Nickel strings... they SOUND like nickel strings... but apparently they're "White Bronze" ... go figure. So, I'm wondering whether anyone has used the Newtone Nickel on an acoustic Petit or Grande Bouche and how they like them.

I'm going to try the GHS White Bronze and report back. My strings have been on my guitar since Djangofest and are so thrashed that they looked up at me the other night and screamed "Please sir, don't strum on us - take us off and let us die in peace" Pitiful little buggers - thrashed beyond reason. So, at any rate - as I think that I still have a couple packs of GHS White Bronze 11's from when I was trying different gauges... I'll try them and report back.

Heretic

Bob:

I use the Newtone Gitane Jazz 0.11's on a petit bouche guitar. I very much like the tone, and they last ever so much longer than the Argentines. I have a tendency to wear out the G strings ( jokes prohibited), so I buy extra Argenties G's in the heavier gauge and fit them on when needed.

Funnily enough, they sound fine when mixed in with an older set of the Newtones. I like the warmer more complex tone the Newtone Gitane Jazz strings produce.

pmh425

Bob Holo wrote:

....So, I'm wondering whether anyone has used the Newtone Nickel on an acoustic Petit or Grande Bouche and how they like them.
....

I use the Newtone Gitane Jazz Nickel on my Grande Bouche (Dell'Arte Sweet Chorus) and have been very pleased with them. I have found they last far longer than the Saverez and prefer the tone as well. I use the Nickel but they also make a Phosphor Bronze version of the same line.

Elliot

Are they as elastic as the Argies? I've tried Pearse but they were much too stiff...

pmh425

Elliot wrote:

Are they as elastic as the Argies? I've tried Pearse but they were much too stiff...

The Newtones do not come in 10's, only 11's. I did not find a problem going from the Argentine 11's to the Newtone Gitane Jazz 11's.

Ken Bloom

On my Selmac 7 string I'm using Argentine 11's and a nickel wound Rotosound .065 bass string for the low A. I go through ab out three sets of the Argentines to one of the low A's and the tone I'm getting out of that low A string is very rewdarding. I might have to try the Newtone nickel strings and see how they do.

Ken Bloom

Bob Holo

Interesting - this thread almost sounds like a confessional... people admitting to using nickel strings. I applaud you on your open mindedness. I actually apologized to people for a couple of months when I started using white bronze on my acoustic archtop. Stay tuned - hopefully I'll get time to string up with the GHS White Bronze this weekend and I'll want to play them for a few hours to take the newness zing out of them...

just the bassplayer

A few months ago I purchased my first set of Newtone nickel wound strings, as recommended by Ian Cruickshank. I was looking for a warmer tone than the Argentines produce. After I adjusted to the difference between the Argentine 10's to the Newtone Gitane Jazz 11's, I became quite taken with them. They do sound warmer, and they do last longer. I'm using them on my Gitane John Jorgenson model with a 5 mm Wegen pick. I like a thick, but clear sound. I think Django would smile upon the combination.

If nothing else, it's worth trying them for variety.

Colin Perry

GHS White Bronze strings are nickel, and like the D'Aquisto Tony Rice strings, they are simply nickel strings being marketed to acoustic players. In the 20's and early thirties, there was no such thing as bronze strings, so some traditional jazz players and espescially traditional blues players will use nickel strings for a more "authentic" tone. It's important to point out that most nickel strings made today are actually nickel plated steel, and are unlike the strings found back then. For nickel strings to sound good on an acoustic they really need to be pure nickel (like the newtones, thomastik's, and DR's). What a lot of people tend to overlook, is that the bronze string was developed by D'addario in collaberation with John D'Angelico in an attempt to find the perfect acoustic string for his guitars. Nickel may be more authentic, but that doesn't make it better. Of course it's all a matter of taste, but everytime curiosity gets the better of me and I try nickel strings on my Epi Broadway, I never like them as much.

artillerie_lourde

I use the Newtones as well and could not be more pleased with them.

-Neville

just the bassplayer

Just another observation about using nickel Newtone Gitane Jazz stings, I find that I can dramatically change the tone and loudness of the sound of my guitar, when using these strings, by simply changing from using my Wegen 5mm Fatone, to a AK pick. It's much louder and brighter with the AK pick than with the Fatone. The Wegen 3.5 mm produces a tone and loudness somewhere in between. Changing picks while using these strings is as if I were changing guitars! It's that much of a difference. The difference seems more pronounced with these strings than with the Agrentine strings, which gives me a greater range of tone.