Wyres Strings
Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 6:41 pm
First time here so hi!
Have been on the quest for some acoustic guitar strings lately and it just so happens that two of the contenders happen to have strong links to Gordon Giltrap, which is a name that, in all honesty I haven't heard for many years until my string search began (I recall watching Mr Giltrap put on a fantastic one man show at the Witchwood in Ashton sometime in the 1980s after a mate, who had been a fan for years, and myself had been listening quite a lot to his 'guitarist' album).
Anyways, the strings I had found myself looking at were:
Newtone Heritage - their website has a GG endorsement when describing these.
Wyres 80/20 acoustic guitar strings 11-52
The reason I'm here is that I've ruled the Newtones out as I don't like the idea of the strings being too slack (although I might be wrong there?) although I am still considering their Masterclass 80 /20s.
And just for the purpose of clarity, I want to try 80/20s as I have an OM shaped guitar with cedar top and rosewood back and sides which I feel would benefit from brighter strings. I also have the onset of arthritis in my fretting hand following a minor accident years ago, hence the lower gauge strings and a preference for slightly lower tension strings.
I recently tried Elixir 12-56, which I thought were great and punchy, but a little too difficult for me to play. I'm currently using Thomastik Infeld Spectrum Bronze, which are fantastic strings but are, to me at least, a little too lifeless, woody and 'transparent' - the latter two not necessarily being bad qualities but I want to be able to hear a little more from the string itself if that makes sense?!
So I'm really curious about the Wyres as, ultimately, I would prefer a good sounding coated strings (I have very acidic hands) and I've heard good things about these. It was during my search that I noticed the Gordon Giltrap signature series and was particularly drawn to the 0.014 gauge of the 2nd string, a minor, yet significant improvement with hands like mine.
The only thing stopping me from ordering a set at the moment is that I can't tell what material they are, phosphor or 80/20 bronze? The thing is, I've managed to convince myself 80/20 would be better on my particular guitar but there's something confusing me having read an old Bert Jansch interview in which he said he doesn't like bright strings which was why he used 80/20 bronze. What's confused me is that I always thought 80/20 was the brighter of the two, and if so why did he not just use phosphor bronze?! What am I missing here?
So, I guess I'm looking at trying either Wyres 80/20 acoustic strings (with the 0.015 2nd string) or the GG signature series (with that much preferred 0.014!), depending on what they are made of AND which material I decide is best suited to my needs!
And does anyone know what the coating is like on the Wyres? I know they don't coat the plain strings (because Nick from Wyres told me), which is a shame, but not necessarily a deal breaker.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Have been on the quest for some acoustic guitar strings lately and it just so happens that two of the contenders happen to have strong links to Gordon Giltrap, which is a name that, in all honesty I haven't heard for many years until my string search began (I recall watching Mr Giltrap put on a fantastic one man show at the Witchwood in Ashton sometime in the 1980s after a mate, who had been a fan for years, and myself had been listening quite a lot to his 'guitarist' album).
Anyways, the strings I had found myself looking at were:
Newtone Heritage - their website has a GG endorsement when describing these.
Wyres 80/20 acoustic guitar strings 11-52
The reason I'm here is that I've ruled the Newtones out as I don't like the idea of the strings being too slack (although I might be wrong there?) although I am still considering their Masterclass 80 /20s.
And just for the purpose of clarity, I want to try 80/20s as I have an OM shaped guitar with cedar top and rosewood back and sides which I feel would benefit from brighter strings. I also have the onset of arthritis in my fretting hand following a minor accident years ago, hence the lower gauge strings and a preference for slightly lower tension strings.
I recently tried Elixir 12-56, which I thought were great and punchy, but a little too difficult for me to play. I'm currently using Thomastik Infeld Spectrum Bronze, which are fantastic strings but are, to me at least, a little too lifeless, woody and 'transparent' - the latter two not necessarily being bad qualities but I want to be able to hear a little more from the string itself if that makes sense?!
So I'm really curious about the Wyres as, ultimately, I would prefer a good sounding coated strings (I have very acidic hands) and I've heard good things about these. It was during my search that I noticed the Gordon Giltrap signature series and was particularly drawn to the 0.014 gauge of the 2nd string, a minor, yet significant improvement with hands like mine.
The only thing stopping me from ordering a set at the moment is that I can't tell what material they are, phosphor or 80/20 bronze? The thing is, I've managed to convince myself 80/20 would be better on my particular guitar but there's something confusing me having read an old Bert Jansch interview in which he said he doesn't like bright strings which was why he used 80/20 bronze. What's confused me is that I always thought 80/20 was the brighter of the two, and if so why did he not just use phosphor bronze?! What am I missing here?
So, I guess I'm looking at trying either Wyres 80/20 acoustic strings (with the 0.015 2nd string) or the GG signature series (with that much preferred 0.014!), depending on what they are made of AND which material I decide is best suited to my needs!
And does anyone know what the coating is like on the Wyres? I know they don't coat the plain strings (because Nick from Wyres told me), which is a shame, but not necessarily a deal breaker.
Any help would be greatly appreciated