Strings for Golden Eagle - Flats?

[RJLII]

Greetings to all,

 

God willing and the creek don't rise I'll be the proud owner of a Blonde Golden Eagle next week. Thanks again to Kuz for agreeing to meet and letting me play her a bit first.

 

This will be my first Spruce Archtop and I'm curious about what others use for strings. I've fooled around with a couple L-5's that had heavy flatwounds and low action. I really liked the playability but I didn't get a chance to plug them in. Any Golden Eagle players out there that would care to offer their input?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

- Rob

[Gitfiddler]

Rob~ First of all, Congratulations on scoring one of the most beautiful Golden Eagles I've ever seen! If I didn't already own an early edition, Old Style Burst G.E., I'd have been all over Kuz's. I'm a real sucker for blonde gitfiddles.

 

As for strings, go with flats. You select the brand that you like most (Tomastic Intfeld, D'Addario, etc.), but keep in mind that Ren recommends no higher than 12's. Some jazz players go for 13 or 15 gauge strings, but at some point, you simply get more 'thump' than tone. Plus flatwound strings minimize some of the sweet overtones that only roundwounds can provide. It also depends on the style of music you play. Old school traditional jazz, standards and chordial melodies sound fantastic with the heavier strings. Most of the more modern jazz, smooth jazz, RnB, and Blues on a big archtop sound phatt and delicious wth the lighter (11-12) strings IMHO.

 

Another big deal with big-bodied archtops is controlling feedback when amplified. Remember to turn the bass way down on your amp and use only enough mids to liven up your tone. Too much of either will result in boomy, honky feedback as your Spruce top over vibrates. Golden Eagle tops are braced for the best possible arhtop tone, but Spruce is going to vibrate which can be good or bad, depending on your volume and note frequencies. Another anti-feedback tip is to aim your headstock at an angle off-center of the amp, and never stand directly in front of the speaker cone. Each amp and guitar is different, so you will have to find the best sweet spot for your own setting and venue.

 

Again, congrats on a sweet archtop. After your honeymoon night with your new bride, please check back in with a full report on how she performed, er, um played, um, well, you know what I mean!

[RJLII]

Thanks for the input. This Eagle will be used primarily for rhythm on Jazz and Swing stuff, most of which I need to learn. I'm on a Louis Jordan kick right now, most of which features traditional comping with the occasional solo. As I improve I'm sure I'll branch out a bit. I'm looking forward to the heavier strings and I'm sure .012s on a long scale guitar will be plenty stiff. Combined with the low action they should help me improve my left hand technique and keep things from turning into a bend fest. I have other guitars better suited to RnB and Blues anyway. I use a Deluxe Reverb that doesn't move a ton of air so I think feedback should be manageable. In any case I don't gig at this point so I can get things figured out without an embarrassing Ted Nugent impersonation.

[backline]

Using flatwound strings (I like TI "Swings") feels great to me, gliding around.

 

But on some guitars I've noticed that if I set the trebles where I want them to sound, sometimes the bass strings get pretty whoofy and muddy sounding.

Pyramid Golds are brighter and can help the bass stay snappy.

 

I've also had good results with TI "Be-Bops," which are nickel roundwounds, but still feel pretty good.

 

Also, there's halfrounds, groundwounds, etc. I've used GHS Nickel Rockers, which are roller mashed nickel wound for a nice feel, but I prefer TI "Be-Bops" 13's on my H-575 with HRW pickups, as it's a slightly darker sounding guitar (especially with its wood bridge) than most spruce-topped hollowbodies.

[ingeneri]

As has been noted, it depends on what sound you're going for. If it's the classic Wes or Kenny Burrell tone, then you'll want flat wounds. Thomastik Swings are the best and these are what I always use on my Super Eagle. Some may balk at the cost (close to $20), but 1) they last very long, and 2) you just spent how much on a guitar and now you're going to buy cheap stings? I prefer the .13 gauge.

 

If you're looking for a brighter Johnny Smith, Benson, or Joe Pass tone, you'll want round wounds. Again, Thomastiks are the best bet. The Be Bop series are rounds but not as bright as rock or blues trings. They're brighter than flats, but still very much produce a classic jazz tone. I use these on my H575 with P-90s for a punchier and bluesier sound.

 

If you're looking for a more acoustic tone, you may want to try the Sadowsky Jimmy Bruno signature strings. These are round wounds that have a coating to ruduce all the string squeaks. They tend to sound more acoustic to me than the Be Bops. I use them on my D'angelico NYL2, which has a a floating pickup, I believe like your Golden Eagle. These may also be your best bet if you're looking for a modern plugged in version of the Freddie Green sound for a big band. The Sadowskys tend to have thicker lower strings than the Thomastiks, so I use the .12 guage for the Brunos.

 

Don't buy chromes. IMO they are cheaper for a reason. I've instantly hated every guitar I've ever used them on.

[pressure]

I use GHS Nickel Rocker 12s on my Johnny Smith thru a Victoria Deluxe with Klotz cables.

In my limited opinion it sounds pretty dam good both acoustic and electric.

I tried flat wounds but they were too dull for me.

[Jazzpunk]

Greetings to all,

 

God willing and the creek don't rise I'll be the proud owner of a Blonde Golden Eagle next week. Thanks again to Kuz for agreeing to meet and letting me play her a bit first.

 

Congrats on the sweet score! Hope it all works out for you and Kuz.

[Kuz]

Congrats on the sweet score! Hope it all works out for you and Kuz.

 

I am do have a little cold feet about selling but having the 525 helps.

 

If/when Rob decides to get the Eagle he won't have to worry about the action- she is a low rider tone machine!

[Andy R]

Another vote for flats. My favorites are La Bella. I have a medium gauge (13) set on my Golden Eagle, and it's butter. The thing with flats is that they take a long time to really break in and get the rich mellow tone. I put this set on my GE about 3 years ago, and they're just getting right. I have a set on another guitar that are 5 years old and great, and another guitar has a ten year old set (really!) that are incredible. You do need to change the trebles occasionally though.

[morg21279]

I'm more in the Benson/Pass camp. I like the Thomastik be-bops (12s) a lot, but if I'm going to be playing mostly acoustically, I'll put on DR Zebras. The Zebras and the Floating #3 aren't the greatest match, so I'm swithching to a Kent Armstrong to see if I can get better plugged-in performance with the Zebras.

[backline]

I'm more in the Benson/Pass camp. I like the Thomastik be-bops (12s) a lot, but if I'm going to be playing mostly acoustically, I'll put on DR Zebras. The Zebras and the Floating #3 aren't the greatest match, so I'm swithching to a Kent Armstrong to see if I can get better plugged-in performance with the Zebras.

 

 

Zebras seem like a great idea, but I've never thought they gave a very bronze-string-like acoustic tone.

The concept seems wonderful. I like bronze acoustic strings on archtops, but electrically only the core is read by the pickup, so having a blend on there to add magnetic ferrousness (I made that word up) is genius. Unfortunately the Zebras I've tried still sounded pretty much like electric strings, acoustically. Maybe I should have gone up a gauge or two.

[morg21279]

Zebras seem like a great idea, but I've never thought they gave a very bronze-string-like acoustic tone.

The concept seems wonderful. I like bronze acoustic strings on archtops, but electrically only the core is read by the pickup, so having a blend on there to add magnetic ferrousness (I made that word up) is genius. Unfortunately the Zebras I've tried still sounded pretty much like electric strings, acoustically. Maybe I should have gone up a gauge or two.

I use the 12 - 54 set, and they work well. I've tried the 13's also, but they were a little beefy for me ..... getting old and lazy.

[backline]

...I've tried the 13's also, but they were a little beefy for me ...

 

 

Yeah, the 13 TI's work on my H-575 with the short scale, but TI's feel softer anyway. I always wanted an L-5. When I finally scored a trashed one and restored it I realized that though it sounded wonderful, that long scale was just not for me. So I sold it to a friend. I have visitation rights now, but can't gig it. Waaah...