My H575 revelation

[MartyGrass]

I have Matt Ingeneri's old H575 that he put Lollar P-90s on. While I had owned a Gibson 175 for quite a few years, this H575 was my first one.

 

Matt got some great sounds out of this guitar, and the sound files are on his website.

 

Somehow the guitar never clicked with me. It had T-I flats, 13-56. They just sort of thudded in my hands.

 

Today I went through a couple of sets of strings. Now it has D'Adds Nickel 12-52s RW. That makes all the diffence. It sounds brighter with a slower decay. Yes, it squeaks a bit moving over the strings, but that will die down as the string get dirty.

 

The guitar simply sounds great. It is warmer than the H525 with the 2 3/4" body and the H530 and has a distinct P-90 tone but very little hum.

 

I know it is bad to not like flatwounds. It's a bad I just can't overcome. I've tried and tried.

 

Well, it's just big flatwounds. I have a couple of guitars with 10s and 11s chrome flats that I like just fine.

 

So I thought I'd share this little story sinced it sucked up much of my afternoon and cost me a couple of sets of strings. Happy ending though.

[schundog]

Glad to hear you were able to kiss-and-make-up with that beauty; I couldn't believe you had it up on the sale block. Your old (mine now)525 feels dissed....

[MartyGrass]

Glad to hear you were able to kiss-and-make-up with that beauty; I couldn't believe you had it up on the sale block. Your old (mine now)525 feels dissed....

 

 

Your H525 had/has a brighter sound (like my memory is that good!). It always sounded good. But it had roundwounds, too.

 

The FWs with a wooden bridge have that quick decay that allows for such good articulation of notes. I could never get it to work for me.

 

I try again each year.

[big bob]

just play that thing, you will eventually bond with it.

[lifewithasong]

Mark,

Glad to read about you and that guitar. Nowhere is it written that you have to use and love flatwounds. I gave them up years ago and will not look back. Got tired of that bass string "fart."

[jazzrat]

I'm with ya Mark....I like roundwounds.

Now...I like *good* roundwounds.

TI BeBops are pretty quiet and are warm sounding but not dead like flats.

[Gitfiddler]

Just goes to show that trying different strings will always be the cheapest way to 'mod' a guitar's tone.

 

I did not like roundwounds on my 525 (P90s) or 575 (HRWs). D'Addario 11 chrome flats gave me my tone.

 

However, I doubt if I will ever try flats on my 530 (P90s). It sounds just killer with 11 roundwounds.

 

Strings will always be cheaper than new guitars.

[kbp810]

I also found myself to not be a fan of flatwounds; but then again I'm also more inclined to play blues and rock on my 575 and I guess I've always associated flats with jazz (perhap naively).

 

Though... there is just something about a 575 that can put smile on your face:

(especially while standing inside a Barn in Paw Paw)

 

[SCF]

Next string change you may want to try D'Addario Half Round Wounds, I found them to be a perfect solution to a similar problem. I play a Gibson ES175CC, the Charlie Christian pick-up is not very clear/articulate, was never completely satisfied with the tone using flatwounds. Recently put on a set of 12 gauge half round and absolutely love the tone and playability, found it to be the perfect solution for chord melodies and single notes, with or without a pick.

[ingeneri]

Hey man, nothing wrong with rounds. Joe Pass, Jimmy Bruno, Johnny Smith, and George Benson use them all the time. I suspect Grant Green used them too to help get that bright biting tone even after he switched from teh 330 to the big 18 inchers like the Epiphone Emperor and the D'aquisto (on display at the Met btw).

 

I've tried rounds several times, including when I first got that 575. But always come back to flats since I prefer that deep and dark Burrell/Wes/Kessell tone. I like the TI BeBops best when I've tried rounds. You may also want to check out the Sadowsky Bruno's that are non-squeak rounds. I stick with the .13's but going down to .12s on the TIs might work really well for you.

[NoNameBand]

I've never been much of a Flatwound guy. Not crazy about the tone. Seems muddy or dead to me. I like pretty Jazz too, in living color, not black & white. Les Paul used roundwound strings. I think the choice for flatwound has more to do with the sound of the sliding of the fingers on the strings than the tone.

[tsp17]

Flats and rounds all have their place in the tonal spectrum and can all be great. My experience- Rounds definitely give you a little more bite. More of a Grant Green sound (although i don't remember whether he used flats or rounds). He also played a ES- 330 (thinline 335, no center block, i think) with P-90's. What a sound! Gotta dig it.

[tsp17]

Since i mentioned Grant Green: here is a good link if you are interested.

 

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Get%20That%20Tone_%20Green%20Street-er/

[Gitfiddler]

Since i mentioned Grant Green: here is a good link if you are interested.

 

http://www.gibson.co...en%20Street-er/

 

 

 

Thanks for the link, TSP17. I'm also a fan of Mr. Green and Rudy Van Gelder's amazing studio work.

[big bob]

575's and smiles

[MartyGrass]

Some H575s have TOMs, some roller bridges, but now they are all rosewood.

 

Is there a story there?

[sheetsofsound]

you might try thomastik rounds. They are in between flats and nickel rounds in terms of tone.

[MartyGrass]

you might try thomastik rounds. They are in between flats and nickel rounds in terms of tone.

 

 

Is that your recommendation? What do you like about them? Do you think the extra charge is justified? What do you use?

 

Now I'll shut up! Thanks.

[tsp17]

MG- TI's are by far the longest lasting clearest sounding strings i have ever played. Their longevity easily makes up for the extra cost in my book. i've used both flats and rounds.

 

t

[MartyGrass]

I'm starting another thread on the topic of how do you know when your strings are dead. It's in the Family Tree section.

[sheetsofsound]

Is that your recommendation? What do you like about them? Do you think the extra charge is justified? What do you use?

 

Now I'll shut up! Thanks.

 

I use their flats on all my archtops. i've tried their rounds too. The rounds are duller than daddario rounds and a bit harder to bend which is odd because the flats have distinctively less tension than the daddario chromes. However, the rounds seem to use a thicker core and a thinner outer winding. This seems to give them a tone that is somewhere in between a flat and a round and the strings are not as abrasive as the daddario rounds. This is good because there is less string noise and less friction on the pick.

 

However, for getting bright/clear tones, I think the daddario rounds are spankier and sound better for blues/rock/fusion...

[Kuz]

MG- TI's are by far the longest lasting clearest sounding strings i have ever played. Their longevity easily makes up for the extra cost in my book. i've used both flats and rounds.

 

t

+100000000000000

[Anothersixstringer]

Something similar happened to me. I tried TI .13s flats on my Eagle and the tone dissapeared. Went back ti Chromes .12s and it came back. Took it one step further and tried Chromes .13 and it was even better. Three days ago, i was wondering around downtown and got into a music store that turned out to be a Pyramid strings dealer. Having heard about them, I bought a package of .13-.56 flats (Gold vintage). Maybe it was the expensive price, but I feel that this is the best set so far. The Eagle with the PGV has a tone right out from jazz heaven