Type of strings

[philtheman]

What kind of strings should I use for my Martin 000-X1. I am curently using Martin SP light 80/20, but whjat do you suggest I use for a great "Dave" tone, or "john Mayer" tone?

[jsgksu]

Daves Strings: http://gear.dmbtabs.com/accessories.php

I prefer Elixir Nanoweb Light/Mediums myself, but its all personal preference, try a few of the popular styles out and pick what you like.

[checkii]

Daves Strings: http://gear.dmbtabs.com/accessories.php

I prefer Elixir Nanoweb Light/Mediums myself, but its all personal preference, try a few of the popular styles out and pick what you like.

i love them.

and to add, your strings are not going to change the sound of your guitar from having the dave sound to the mayer sound. different guitars, different set ups, different styles, etc...

[MakoMako]

Daves Strings: http://gear.dmbtabs.com/accessories.php

I prefer Elixir Nanoweb Light/Mediums myself, but its all personal preference, try a few of the popular styles out and pick what you like.

i love them.

and to add, your strings are not going to change the sound of your guitar from having the dave sound to the mayer sound. different guitars, different set ups, different styles, etc...

He's right, strings do little for giving you the overall sound. Although they may make a slight difference, it will be unnoticed by someone who doesn't have relativly trained ear, at least from what I've seen.

The Elixir strings are really nice, but I've been using D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Lights. I've also used a set of Martin Bluegrass strings, which seemed like the only set of strings that you could actually notice a difference, though mostly only when I single-picked across the strings.

[philtheman]

Ya, those all all great inputs, but Im thinking of using the Elixer Phosphorus Bronze stirings. The only thing is that Guitar Center stopped selling Elixer's. Those bastards!!!!

[lakerhoc1121]

use the d'addario phospher bronze mediums... i have them on my martin and they sound nice
EDIT: if your already using lights go with the lights

[Teego Time]

I've got D'Addario EXP phospher bronzes and they're absolutely horrid.

I'm playing them so hard so I can break em quicker and switch to something else. Good lord they suck!

anyone wanna buy a pack of mediums off me? 10$?

[Appfro]

I've got D'Addario EXP phospher bronzes and they're absolutely horrid.

boooo.; i love those strings. they sound great, just not out of the box. i play them for a week before i play them on stage. they sound amazing after you dirty them up a bit

[T714]

What kind of strings should I use for my Martin 000-X1. I am curently using Martin SP light 80/20, but whjat do you suggest I use for a great "Dave" tone, or "john Mayer" tone?

since tone is so subjective, a certain brand of strings can't produce a Dave Matthews or John Mayer "tone"...it's more like a combination of many things, but not limited to, technique (i.e, right hand attack, left hand fretting), level of experience, the guitar you are playing, etc.

I highly doubt you are going to get any of the Dave Matthews or John Mayer tone out of a guitar made of HPL, high pressure laminate...it's the same stuff that countertops in your house are made of.

You can, however, emulate STYLE and SOUND...so in that case, strum, flatpick and fingerpick the crap out of your guitar...and basically, use the strings that sound the best TO YOUR EARS.

I wouldn't put anything higher than lights (.12 gauge at best) on that guitar...if you put anything heavier, you're going to be pulling pretty heavily on the bridge, body, and neck.

Anyways, if I could recommend a brand of strings, I would suggest Elixir Polyweb lights. I use these on my guitars and customer's guitars as well. They last longer and the tone is pretty nice to my ears.

On a side note, I'm really surprised (and I sort of doubt that) Dave Matthews uses light gauge strings on his Dreds. The 28v and the DM3MD are certainly braced for mediums. I would NOT be surprised to see him using lights on his 714 or 914 and extra lights on his 12-strings.

Good luck experimenting with strings and finding your sound! Enjoy!

[philtheman]

Wow T714 that helps. But no offense, even though my guitar has HPL on the back and sides, I personally think that it sounds better than some of the real wood guitars out there. Even better than some of Martin's real wood guitar. Honestly, I would take the 000-X1 over the HD-28 any day. One of my friends has one and it OK. But even he said that the 000-X1 sounded fantastic. Maybe I got lucky with a good tree for the Spruce top, but I love it.

[sfmartins]

Wow T714 that helps. But no offense, even though my guitar has HPL on the back and sides, I personally think that it sounds better than some of the real wood guitars out there. Even better than some of Martin's real wood guitar. Honestly, I would take the 000-X1 over the HD-28 any day. One of my friends has one and it OK. But even he said that the 000-X1 sounded fantastic. Maybe I got lucky with a good tree for the Spruce top, but I love it.

I don't know what you mean by that. Would you prefer to have a X1 than a HD?

I believe your X1 sounds great and it can even be above average, but better than a HD-28...

[bpongo09]

Wow T714 that helps. But no offense, even though my guitar has HPL on the back and sides, I personally think that it sounds better than some of the real wood guitars out there. Even better than some of Martin's real wood guitar. Honestly, I would take the 000-X1 over the HD-28 any day. One of my friends has one and it OK. But even he said that the 000-X1 sounded fantastic. Maybe I got lucky with a good tree for the Spruce top, but I love it.

I don't know what you mean by that. Would you prefer to have a X1 than a HD?

I believe your X1 sounds great and it can even be above average, but better than a HD-28...

... seriously

[Teego Time]

I've got D'Addario EXP phospher bronzes and they're absolutely horrid.

boooo.; i love those strings. they sound great, just not out of the box. i play them for a week before i play them on stage. they sound amazing after you dirty them up a bit

I dunno, they just sounded dead after about a day of playing on them. The only way I can get them to sound good is if I play the fucking shit out of them really hard. I can see where Dave style may benefit, but not my fingerstyle.

[cowenchr]

Cleartone mediums on my 000-28EC are the best sounding and feeling strings I have ever played. I really recommend them. Dean Markley GoldPhos are great strings too, but the cleartones definitely last longer and sound just as good.

[DaveyeahMatthews]

earthworms? or earlworms or somethin. yeah i used to use those and my fingers would bleed everyday. elixers are where its at boo ya