Need Recommendations for Wound 3rd sets

D'Addario makes several sets with a wound G, right down to a 10-46 set. That's what I usually use.

https://www.daddario.com/products/g...w-nickel-wound-regular-light-wound-3rd-10-46/

 

I use d’addario and when I have the money elixirs

D’addario XL 12-52 “light jazz”

D’addario is one of the few companies that make em (at least easy to find)

The set I mentioned is perfect if you want to have the same feel between an acoustic and electric, I use the exact gauges on both

 

You can buy Ernie Ball 0.18 wound G strings in three-packs on Amazon. I use them with Ernie Ball Slinky’s (which come with a 0.17 plain G string) and they work fine.

 

I've never had a problem with the .018 string, but I don't gig or anything so I'm not too hard on my strings. Another option would be to just buy some wound strings individually, at your preferred gauge, and replace the plain G strings in a regular pack.

 

I've had good results, with these sets.

 

I've never really thought about a wound third until a few weeks ago. I guess, I've always slipped into a plain 3rd and never thought about it. Until recently when I was listening to Jude Gold's 'No Guitars are Safe' podcast. I've listened a bunch of them so I can't remember who exactly said it, I think it was Nile Rodgers, but whoever it was Jude agreed wholeheartedly. They were talking about how a wound 3rd string is the worst string you can put on a guitar because, as the fear is mentioned above, the inner core solid string is so puny that it kills all goodness. They were talking tone and not holding tuning or anything like that. I had never thought about it until then but I went home, I checked my guitars and all have an unwound 3rd.

 

Don't overlook the Martin Monel strings.

They work well with pickups, last forever, won't sound harsh for fingers and the extra light set is 10-47 with a wound G at 23.

 

Do you have a preference for the gauge of the treble E string?

 

I have been using both the D’Addario 10’s and 11’s with wind thirds for many years. Use the 11’s on my semi-hollows and Jag, Jazzmaster and Mustang, the 10’s on most of the others. To me they sound much better than the unwound thirds strings which always seem to sound different than the other strings.

Also helps with intonation and with Strats with the vintage staggered pickups which were designed for a wound third. Balances the string to string balance much better.

 

I've always used a wound 3rd...I get a harshness with an unwound I just can't control.
I've use D'Addario & Ernie Ball...the EB's IMO were the better of the two brands.

Now I buy them from String Joy. They're a couple of bucks more per set, but to my ears retain than brighter, new string sound longer...and you can buy sets where you pick the gauge of EACH string. The problem of most sets w/ a wound 3rd is your choices are limited. Like light top, heavy bottoms...heavy light string, light bottoms? No problem...
I've been using them for several years now & love 'em.

http://stringjoy.com/

 

I've always just used D'Addario 10s with a wound 3rd. Affordable, reliable. Nothing fancy, but they work.

 

The D'Addario Chromes have a wound G too, but it's flat wound. I have a set of .010 on my Tele and it sounds a great. I had to switch out the compensated saddle for a regular barrel saddle to get it to intonate, and I didn't like the heavier B string so I changed that to a .013. I've used far more expensive flat wounds, but the Chromes feel nice and sound nice.

 

I use the Chromes too. I use a set on my Danelectro Baritone and I had a set on a Squier Strat for a while I had setup for slide in C tunings (open and standard).

I also buy individual string from String Joy or JustStrings. Since I have several cigar box guitars, buying single strings works great for me when putting together oddball sets. It's also handy to have extra high strings around when an aggressive bend snaps one.

 

I'm pretty heavy handed with my fretting hand so I've usually gravitated towards heavier that 10's on a few of my electrics.

I have two sets that I like and the only thing I'll use on Stratocasters with vintage staggered pickups and my 76' Mustang are the D'Addario's EXL115W set. 11-49 with a 21 wound G string. I love those! I also play a lot more acoustic these days than electric so that's maybe why I like em'.

Another option that I use on my Godin 5th Avenue jazz box are the D'Addario EJ21 12-52 with a wound 24 G string. Basically a light acoustic set for electrics.