Nickelplated steel strings

[linkous]

Is there anyone who has experience with this set of strings on a steel body Reso?


daddario.com/EJ22_Nickel_Wound__Jazz_Medium__13_56

In my opinion they sound like a strong voice that sounds a lot more honest than phosphor bronze.

[creolian]

I've used D'ad flatwound nickle strings I had laying around and I really like them for all downstroke rhythm playing. Not articulate enough for the fingerpicking I've gravitated toward IMO... i went back to PBs. I did buy a set of nickle half rounds to try and will use them eventually. I had not considered full rounds, but you may be onto something.

MM Newtones are tough to get here, are relatively expensive and on the recommendation of Steve I tried DR sunbeams and am happy with them.

All best,

Jeff

[jazzbass12]

Mar 27, 2018 9:20:47 GMT linkous said:

Is there anyone who has experience with this set of strings on a steel body Reso?


daddario.com/EJ22_Nickel_Wound__Jazz_Medium__13_56

In my opinion they sound like a strong voice that sounds a lot more honest than phosphor bronze.

I am using these lately. I swap the 13 out for a 15 or 16. I am happy with them. They also come thru nicely with my National magnetic pickup.
Last a good amount of time as well.

[karlos]

Hi,

Perhaps you could also try EPN22 - pure nickel. Wound strings have deeper stronger and warmer tone than just nickel plated steel ones imo, while giving slightly weaker signal from magnetic pickup, because of nickel. They also have higher tension (because of thicker core) - 86kg on 648mm scale compared to 80kg of steel EJ22.
I cannot say how it would sound on steel reso, but I use them on brass body biscuit as well as on wood body spider and I'm happy with them. I swap 13 for 15 too.

cheers

Karlos

[Michael Messer]

I don't want to turn this into an advert, but I would like to mention that Newtone Strings have made nickel strings for resonator guitars under a well known brand name since 1992.

Shine On
Michael

[bonzo]

Hi linkous et al, Michael won't mention but I will, Newtone do MM nickel strings which are thought of by many of us as excellent.
Check out the Newtone sight for more information, I'll think you'll be impressed!

No connection other than that I am a happy user of Newtone strings and the MM range in particular. They do seem to cover all requirements.

Best wishes to you all, John

[linkous]

Thanks for the tip, Karlos!

Are these Newtone strings pure nickel or nickel plated, Michael?

[karlos]

Hi Linkous,

Newtone are pure nickel too, the difference is they have a round core (unlike daddario hexagonal) and probably lower tension perhaps similar to EJ22.
Michael will be probably of different opinion but I tried both and daddario won.

cheers

Karlos

[Michael Messer]

Karlos, nice comment to put on my forum! Thank you.

Shine On
Michael

[Pickers Ditch]

Hah - and that lower tension is why I prefer and use the Newtones.

....and all of that has reminded me to contact Neil about Monel strings again........

[Michael Messer]

I was so annoyed that I forgot to answer the question

Newtone Nickel MMs are nickel-plated steel wrapping wire (winding), on tin-plated steel cores.

They have been fitted to tens of thousands of guitars since we started making them in 1992. Some people only use nickel MMs on their resonator guitars.

Shine On
Michael

[bonzo]

MM Newtones are strings purpose built for resonators. Designed and made by guys at the top of their game.
I've used D'addario strings, nothing wrong with them but IMHO the Newtones sound and play better.
The fact that they come to pitch at a lower tension also gives me more confidence when using them on vintage guitars.

It's all subjective of course, but I think the amount of positive comments on this and other forums says a lot!
Best wishes to you all, John

[linkous]

Before the D'Addario nickel plated EJ22 set, I had Martin Monel Retro strings (medium .013 - .056) on the steel body reso. The same 'strong voice', but I prefer the Monel's just because of the higher tension (easier slide an a bit louder). Maybe the D'Addario -high tension- pure nickel's could be a good alternative for Monel (also a kind of nickel)?

[karlos]

Linkous,

let us know which strings win anyway

[slide496]

Mar 27, 2018 13:59:55 GMT creolian said:

MM Newtones are tough to get here, are relatively expensive ...

All best,

Jeff

Just to add, since the quote is from awhile back, the MM's are currently fully stocked at juststrings.com in the U.S., I picked up some PB for a recent project and inquired also about the nickel. The problem in the US was they were flying off the shelves with the demand but I got the impression the issue has been resolved. Juststrings does not have automatic inventory update capabilities, so its best to call them to double check.

As a comment on the thread separate -perhaps this over the top - and if so admin feel free to delete, personally I'm all for sensitivity in posting to the fact that this is MM's forum and his active participation in it, given his stature, success in the music world and long standing expertise with regard to resonators, is not something IMHO to be taken lightly. Alot of factors can go into string testing and choices, and there are a number of brands, it's good to know what's out there, and certainly I have learned from discussions, but I'm not sure I would want to hear it phrased as a competition of brands where the actively participating forum leader's brand was referred to as the loser, that's kind of cringeable to me.

Harriet