Super slinky, Strat-suitable strings (that get stable after stretching)?

[RoscoeElegante]

Hey, all. Hope this finds you well.

So I'm about to take a funky fave into the tech shop. It's a Tradition SP1 Strat copy, as per link. (Not affiliated w/ seller.)
https://reverb.com/item/3548748-tradition-sp1-red-burst-electric-guitar

Fantastic guitar. I've had it for a couple of years, but the jack went bad. (At least I hope it's just the jack.)

It's still got the strings that were on it when I bought it. Dummy that I am, I never asked the seller what they were, but should have. They've been great. Amazingly slinky and smooth, while also returning to pitch really well. But they're showing their age. Noticeably dull-sounding before the jack went out, and about dead when played unplugged now.

So what do you-all recommend as super slinky strings suited to a Strat thing? I like heavy gauges since I like a string that I can feel under my acoustic-decades callouses, and that resist a bit even though also slinkily cooperative.

I can see the first reply: "Super Slinky, 11-52, dummy." If these are best, that's fine. I don't need anything exotic. Just want the replacement set to match what's on there, if that's possible, and have not paid enough attention to the strings I was slapping on my electrics.

Thanks!

 

[dmitri]

Honestly, Ernie Ball does make a great string. I always come back to them for my Strats.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Fretting out]

What do the ball ends look like?

 

[Nick Fanis]

All strings are fine and stay in tune as long as you put them on the right way ,have a nicely cut nut and replace them regularly (all ,uncoated,strings basically die and loose their intonation after 10-12 hours of actual playing)

 

[RoscoeElegante]

What do the ball ends look like?

Will have to check in a few days. Bogged down with quiz & paper grading. But thanks for that hint.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

All strings are fine and stay in tune as long as you put them on the right way ,have a nicely cut nut and replace them regularly (all ,uncoated,strings basically die and loose their intonation after 10-12 hours of actual playing)

Really? That fast? I sometimes leave 'em on for six, ten months at a time, if I like how they sound and feel....

 

[kookaburra]

Ernie Ball works for me, although EB Super Slinkys are light, 9-42. They have heavier sets.

 

[53Strat]

Wow! Two years and still got the strings it came with.

If I were you I'd head down to my local fishing tackle store. They have rolls of wire trace at varying diameters which approximate the various string gauges.
A few rolls of that and you got a lifetime of strings - just chop 'em off at around 30", tie a knot in one end you don't need any fancy strings. Reckon they'll sound as good.

 

[rolandson]

Really? That fast? I sometimes leave 'em on for six, ten months at a time, if I like how they sound and feel....

It isn't the time "on" the instrument, it's the time spent "in use." And 10-12 hours of playing time is actually quite a bit.

When I was working I'd put new strings on before every engagement. Sometimes I'd change strings halfway through, especially if I was in studio.

I prefer D'Addario. For a while I split it up with Thomastik-Infeld on archtops and D'Addario's on planks, but over the years I found the D'A's crisper and less prone to failure (the ball would pop off the T-I's I had unless I soldered the string braid).

But any good quality string should be acceptable.

 

[drmmrr55]

It boils down to whether or not you like your strings...even very old ones. Just ask Neil Young's guitar tech how often Neil want's his strings changed on his Les Paul, (the answer is only the one that broke! As for the strings that are on the guitar, just measure with a micrometer, or dial calipers, what gauge the #1 string is, then go from there. I'm with the keep em on 'till they are dead crowd, I'll go for many months with the same strings, unless they just don't sound right anymore, or one string breaks. (of course I wipe the strings and fretboard after playing...ALWAYS)

 

[DougM]

Ernie Ball are the original and still the best IMO. A few others agree with me
www.ernieball.com/artists

 

[Nick Fanis]

Really? That fast?

Yes.
In fact 10-12 hours of ACTUAL playing is a LOT.
In the studio I change them every 3 hours and when I gig before each show.
If you play with a lot of distortion you might tolerate a bit of "age" and lack of intonation on your strings but if you play CLEAN and want the WOUND strings to TWANG this "age" is unacceptable.

Brand wise I have found that GHS Boomers are the most consistent and I like the fact that they are roundcore so they feel looser and more flexible that hexcore strings.

But all brands are fine, nobody produces "bad" strings these days and most brands are packaged in air tight containers so they stay fresh for a very long shelf time.

 

[41144]

I use 9s on my Strat. Slinky or Rotos preferred.
But, as I said in another thread recently... On a Strat set-up is everything to stay in tune.

 

[rze99]

I use 9 on most of my strats one has lower tension and I use 10s on that. One has 9-46 to stop the bottom string being too floppy. I get plenty of tone from 9s plus it’s easy to pull off those tricky fast runs. Don’t forget some will be brighter than others so you could choose a mellower string for a very bright guitar.

 

[marc2211]

I like Stainless Steel strings (particularly Rotosound British Steel), and these days don't use anything else (even if I do see a touch more fret wear).

Over 6 guitars I now change strings once a year on each, or at most every 6 months if I've played it a lot, and that's with the guitars out all the time on a stand.

They always feel pretty alive. I got a new guitar last month that came with EB nickel. They were dead in about 2 hours of play time.

 

[mkdaws32]

Any set of 9s feel pretty slinky to me - too much so, actually - on a strat with a floating trem.

 

[Cesspit]

Whilst gigging I'd put on a new set every show. When not, the guitars get a new set every month. I play religiously at least two hours a day and use Ernie Ball strings, have done since the seventies.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

I must be doing stretch-out wrong, and I must like really de-trebled tones, since I've long found that new strings take several days to settle in and can sound kinda harsh until they do.

Tone tastes are what they are. But how to get strings to be happy in their new homes I gotta work on. Thanks for the advice, all.

 

[Jakedog]

All strings are fine and stay in tune as long as you put them on the right way ,have a nicely cut nut and replace them regularly (all ,uncoated,strings basically die and loose their intonation after 10-12 hours of actual playing)

I’d give anything to get 10-12 hours of playing time out of a set of strings. It’s 1-2 hours for me. Coated or not. The third set at a typical gig sucks because the strings are garbage by then. And coating does zero for me. My problem is that after an hour or so the wound strings all start to get flat spots where they contact the frets. After two hours they’re pretty much useless. And sound like old dried out rubber bands. Brand doesn’t matter, material doesn’t matter.

The only difference is if I use something like a stainless steel wrapped string. Then they last longer. But the frets sure don’t.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

I’d give anything to get 10-12 hours of playing time out of a set of strings. It’s 1-2 hours for me.

Dayam! Now I wanna check the expiration dates on the cans of SpaghettiO's in my cupboard.

I've got strings on one acoustic that must be two years old, and I play it daily. Have I been mistaking worsening tinnitus for treble? Wait, there's the doorbell.....