Thanks 🙏 for including El Maestro Lenny Breau . He’s an innovative in how to approach “acoustic Spanish guitar as electric jazz guitar” the level of feeling this man used to put on every note he choose to play on the guitar is absolutely brilliant. Also the knowledge of the fingerboard was extremely high level. None other guitar player delivered the way Lenny did (except for Wes who also played with lots of heart and feeling).
Sorry but I think you made a mistake with Metheny, first he turns the tone knob down, but not all the way. Second, he said in an interview that he uses DÁddario Flat wound 11th on his ES175.
Very interesting and informative video! Kudos Ricky! 👏 I have been switching back and forth between flat-and roundwounds for many many years. Then I discovered the GHS Nickel Rockers (don't let the name fool you) several years ago and I am totally happy with them. They are made of pure nickel wrap that is slightly flattened with rollers in the winding process, making sliding effortless and squeaks nonexistent. The best of all worlds so to speak. They come in many gauges from extra light (9s) to true medium (13s) gauges, with or without a wound 3rd. Another plus: they are very affordable...$7.79 to $8.49. I can highly recommend. On another note: once asked, Pat Metheny said in an interview a looong time ago that he's using D'Addario "Deadwounds", roundwounds that were so old that they sounded like flatwounds! 😄
This was a very good listing that will satisfy anyone who has wondered which gauge, and brand of strings used by history's most well regarded players. I hope you do produce an amended episode to this list. I was surprised that these names were missing: George Van Eps, Charlie Christian, Emily Remler, or Tal Farlow Et al.
Thanks, very educating, as a fingerstyle player this convinced me to stick with round wound. I would just note that a "wound 3rd" is also an important criterion in a jazz sound (I always use wound 3rd).
Nice. I take a set of flat wound .013's and swap out the two plains for .014 and .018. It surprises me that Reinhardt preferred slinky strings. I really like George's Thomastik set but the two middle strings are on the light side for the overall gauge of the set.
A friend of mine turned me on to Thomastik .013's for my hollow and semi-hollow axes, and I haven't looked back. Using them in conjunction with the neck pickup and rolling back the guitar's tone knob a little bit gives me such a warm and rich tone.
Great video, thank you. I play a couple of vintage acoustic jazz guitars and am using Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum Acoustic strings on them for several reasons. Firstly they sound great, and intonation is near perfect when set up. The silk steel construction makes them low tension and feel easy under finger, and easy on the vintage guitars neck joints. The fact that most of the wound strings are flatwound, make them smooth and squeak free to play, with the bass E string being round wound to add a little brightness. The right set of strings makes a huge difference, and thanks for producing such a thoughtful and informative video.
I have some strain in my hands after working in a factory years ago so I pretty much go as light as I can, I prefer round wounds and the only I would add to your thoughts I have a guild with a bigsby vibrato and that usually works better with an unwound 3rd string, I have a couple of jazz guitars with the same pickups Gibson P94s and one has flats and the other has round wounds, my acoustic arch tops get lighter silk and steel more Django style strings
Thanks for your comments. I too much prefer roundwound strings as a fingerpicking guy. I actually never use flats unless I absolutely need that hallmark jazz sound on a home recording.
Awesome content Ricky, thanks so much for sharing! I've played rock and metal for a long time, it's been a great adventure to learn about jazz. Thank you very much!
It's great that you include the incredibly underrated Tuck Andress in this video as one of the greats. He is an absolute finger-style jazz guitar master. My suggestion would be to start by listening to Tuck and Patti's first album, especially his solo version of Wes Montgomery's "Up and at it."
@@rickymolina7390 It’s my personal favorite. His solo album is amazing. There’s live footage of him playing “Up and at it” on TH-cam. Not only is he a world class guitarist, but he’s also one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I had the good fortune of getting an online lesson with him.
Great review of strings!! Thank you. The other thing that is as important, is the pick you use. I found that the pick can make all the difference to get a jazzy tone, even on light gauge strings, like .10-.42. At least 1mm gauge, and some players use the blunt edge. I tried it and it worked!
Way back when I played gigs I found I was using light gauge strings at home and heavier ones when gigging. I think the higher volumes weren't holding as well with my light gauge strings.
Good video, good subject. Strings are very important, particularly for players who don't use massive signal chains. The point is to communicate as clearly as possible. While I've never taken to flat wound, I can appreciate them for what they are. I tend to use round wound, either Ernie Ball or D'Addario, depending on what's available, usually gauge 9-42 or 10-46. I play instrumental prog/space rock and this works for me. It comes down to the player and the characteristics of the guitars they play.
11:37 - I read somewhere that Pat Metheny uses 0.10 D'Addario roundwounds for his Roland G303 Synth Guitar. I'm blown away but not surprised that Pat Martino used 0.15, so heavy....Sco started w/ 0.10s up until the 1970s and worked his way up to 0.13s by the early 2000s, but by circa 2008 had gone down to 0.11s as you mention here.
I know, can't get into those heavy strings either. Forget fingerpicking on 'em, or bending strings. Even hammer-ons and pull-offs are tricky on that cable wire. While the sustained sound can be amazing, there are practical disadvantages in terms of playing heavy strings. Meanwhile BB King and Billy Gibbons are at the other extreme!
I have been using those same 11 gauged D'Addario roundwounds on my Gibson es175 and 330 for years and have always been happy with them. Recently picked up a Gretsch hollow body with a Bigsby and had tuning stability issues with the 10's that it came with. Did a little work on it and switched to the 11's and am having no more tuning stability issues. I think those old guitars were built for heavier gauged strings and sound better with them. I am going to try some flatwounds to compare. I have flatwounds on my Hofner bass and love the feel and sound.
Hello! I play blues and some rock. Learning to play Jazz and just bought myself a beautiful Gretchen G2420 (streamlined). Trying to be careful and handling it delicately😊. The factory fitted strings are awful. I am afraid to change to flat wounds as heard they might cause neck tension…..or I will again have to take to a Luthier for neck adjustment 🙁. Would 11’s round wound by addario or Ernie be correct? Thanks for your kind opinion.
@@obhikthepencilsharpeners2482 I use the D'Addario round wound 11's and they work great for me. I tried the flat wounds on my ES-175 and actually like the round wounds better, but that's just my preference, probably because I have played those for years. The 2420's are great to play and really sound nice for jazz. Enjoy!
recommended Roundwound Strings Thomastik JAZZ SWING? As far as my knowledge and experience is, the JAZZ Bebop are roundwound, contrary to the JAZZ SWING which are flatwound strings? I am quite confused now, maybe this is wrong info in the video? As i played and play both of these (and the signature Benson flats also) i have some experience with the thomastiks.
I think you are correct... the Jazz Swing (.011 - .047) are flat wound (according to the packaging). Please tell me, since you have played with these different strings, do you find much difference in playability and tone between the Benson flats and the Jazz Swing flats (11-47)??
First set of strings I bought as a kid were flats, by mistake. I did not know any better and I wanted to play rock. Fifty years later I tried a set of Thomastik flats on an epiphone 335 and wow, the "jazz" sound is very apparent. Also a cool thing about flats is a lack of string noise, particularly when sliding between notes, playing acoustically. Acoustically the darker sound is fine and without the string noise, very pleasant . I came here for ideas on what I might put on a 17" jazz archtop; I think the stock 10-46 rounds are too tinny and noisy for my purposes,. I will try the lighter thomastik flats first. Thanks Rck, you also mentioned some players I should hear more of.
Hello! I play blues and some rock. Learning to play Jazz and just bought myself a beautiful Gretsch G2420 (streamlined). Trying to be careful and handling it delicately😊. The factory fitted strings are awful. I am afraid to change to flat wounds as heard they might cause neck tension…..or I will again have to take it to a Luthier for neck adjustment 🙁. Would 11’s round wound by addario or Ernie be correct? Thanks for your kind opinion
Congrats on your new Gretsch G2420. Sweet guitar. Yeah, personally I would stick to round wounds vs flats because I find it really hard to solo with flats (bends are practically impossible). If you're a "fast" guitarist, I'd stick to rounds. Can't go wrong with eith D'Addario or Ernies. Try them each out over time to find which sounds better with your guitar. Cheers.
Typically flat wounds have more tension than round wounds of the same gauge, but I'm not entirely sure why that is. Also consider half rounds - they have more tension because they have a proportionately thicker core. My understanding is they start off as oversized round wounds and are ground down. I've had a Gretsch G2420 for a little while and I'm learning to play jazz as well. When I bought the guitar used from Guitar Center, it had 11-50 gauge round wounds (I had the tech measure them with calipers). Soon I installed 11-50 flat wounds (D'Addario Chromes Jazz Lights) on it. Then a few months later I put 12-52 round wounds (D'Addario Jazz Lights), and most recently, I changed to 12-54 gauge "half-rounds" (GHS Brite Flats). I needed to adjust the intonation each time I changed string gauges, but I haven't noticed any changes in neck relief despite the guitar having significantly more tension on it now. Certainly taking it to a luthier is a good idea if you are uncomfortable doing it yourself, and it may well need a truss rod adjustment if you go from, say 10 gauge round wounds to 13 gauge flat wounds all at once. Additionally, you may want to adjust the height of the pole pieces on the pickups to balance out the volume response of each string, especially if you are changing from a plain G string to a wound G string. I found the transition from a wound G to a plain B and the jump in volume very unpleasant sounding on some of the sets of strings I've tried. Playing feel is important, and I think a wound G (round or flat) is perfect for jazz, especially on a hollow-body which I often use to practice unplugged at night. I don't care about ease of bending on that guitar and the action is fairy low, so it isn't difficult to play unless I try bending or holding down one chord for a long time (and how often do you see one sustaining chord in jazz?). But pickups and amplifiers make the biggest difference - I get a jazz tone more easily from my Epiphone Les Paul and 11 gauge round wounds, lol. Eventually I want to buy some new pickups and potentiometers for my Gretsch.
Strings generally used by Gipsy jazz guitarists, like Django Reinhardt are generally Savarez (a French manufacturer who started in , yes, 1770) Argentine. They are available in .010/.045 or .011/.046. Here in Europe, a set is approx. 10.00 / 12.00 $
As for the "Viennese price tag" it's important to keep in mind that the Thomastik-Infeld's _last a long time_, at least twice or three times as long as most other brands, in addition to their great tone. They're similar to the (German) Pyramid brand in this respect--you're getting what you pay for: fantastic, sonorous tonality that lasts!
btw, it's not Sandowsky, it''s Sadowsky. Roger Sadowsky's known for his guitars and basses. Walter Becker's (Steely Dan) sound. He does make archtops (Jim Hall, Jimmy Bruno and others) as well and is based in New York.
This was interesting, but I'm not really any wiser. You said roundwound suit fingerstyle, but I find they're awful. If you play solo chord-melody, with a walking bassline like a lot of Joe Pass' work, each shift along the bass strings just squeaks like mad, especially with new strings. There is a middle way called groundwound. D'Addario calls them "Half Rounds", and ghs call them "Brite Flats". These start out as roundwound, but the peaks are ground down so they are half-way between flat and round. They keep most of the brightness of roundwound, but with much lower string noise. They tend to be more expensive than either round or flat, because of the extra manufacturing step, but if you're playing jazz and want a bright sound, they can save you from the dreaded squeaks. I know the Thomastik strings are expensive, but they do last. The two things that require most guitarists to regularly change strings are 1) crud in the grooves of wound strings, and 2) wear on the frets. Jazz players rarely bend strings, which is the prime reason for wear, and with flatwound strings, there's nowhere for crud to accumulate. Obviously, there's a third reason, which is corrosion, but with flatwound strings, it's really easy to wipe them down after a session and keep them sounding fresh. Flatwound are also kinder on your frets,
I heard Robert Lowe, a jazz guitarist from Detroit who played with his thumb, say in an interview that Wes played .17's. I heard Pat Martino say in one of his instructional videos that he used .17's. I heard that George Benson actually plays .15's.
Thanks for suggesting. I know about Rosenwinkel but not Hekselman (will check him out). Certainly Rosenwinkel is a great jazz guitarist...although honestly he is not one of my all-time favs. Totally subjective.
The Thomastik Swing flats are worth the extra couple Starbucks runs. They are smoother and lower tension than the D’Addario’s, which are higher tension, you can feel the wraps, and don’t sound as good.
@@normanholder6072 Which video? I've only seen him use either his ES-175 or his Ibanez signature model, but never the Epiphone in instructional videos.
Lenny Breau would joke about using fishing wire for the hi A, but actually he used a 08 gauge. They had been already been developed. Funny how this joke has become folk lore. I use Labella flats and also Labella whites which are tape wound. Bucky and John Pizzerelli use these and they have a great throaty sound.
Nice try, but many inaccuracies. Joe Pass did have a L-5 sitting in the corner of his den, but he obviously built his career around an es-175. There is no such thing as Sandowsky. It's Roger Sadowsky, builder for many respected players. It's great that you're a fan, but you have to be more careful with your comments.
Thanks for clarifying. I guess I was driving more at the playability and sound of flats vs rounds issue than anything else in that video. No wonder that the best fingerstyle players used rounds while the soloists use flats. That was the key point I was trying to make.
On Django: You forgot to mention that Django played a long scale guitar, which gives a much heavier feel compared to the same gauge on a typical Fender 25-1/2" or Gibson 24-3/4" scale. Size DOES matter!!
I don't think it's correct that Sco uses flatwounds, it doesn't sound that way at all. I also think Metheny used flats for many years, which to me sounds quite obvious if you listen nto albums like Bright Size Life or 80/81. Rejoicing sounds very much like flats to me, even though his sound is very dark on that album, and it's not as obvious as the two albums mentioned above. I think he even used flats on his 175 on the most popular PMG albums from the eighties. I remember reading an interview many years ago where he told he was changing his sets very seldom, and he joked about branding his strings D'Addario Deadwounds. I think he must have switched to rounds in the late 90's or something. I also don't think it's correct that he rolls his tone control all the way down. I think he uses his tone control quite actively, and on some of the early albums like Bright Size and 80/81 he actually has a quite bright sound, much brigther that a typical jazz guitar sound. Rejoicing is obviously very dark sounding, but even on that one I very much doubt it's rolled all th way down. If my memory serves me right, he mentioned in an interview that the reason for switching to rounds on the jazz guitar, was to get the richer overtone spectrum. I'm not sure, but I even think Benson have used rounds on some of his albums, and I think Dr Thomastik even has a Benson round wound signature set.
Why do you say "anywhere from" 10-46 or 12- 53 etc........when it is the range in one set - not an option of different sets/gauges? And also a confusing bit - "playing with fingers is better with rounds, and playing with pick is also better with rounds"?
One should be very careful whenever using the word "never." Scofield has actually played flats quite a bit; more recently his 3rd string is noted as being unwound. Here's a reference to one of the sources I used when I made the video www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/656-john-scofield-guitar-rig-gear-and-equipment
There are so many mistakes and misconceptions here that are quite misleading. Please do your research before posting! Most of the guys you name check here would laugh about string nerdery but string choice can shape a player’s entire approach. Not trolling here, I applaud your intentions but please do the homework and get players’ names right too! Percy Faith on bass??? 🤭
I agree. Didn't know the facts About Tuck's strings. He uses single strings because the gage are not bundles as a set. And 50 is wrong. So why include him if you're not going to research his string choices. Dissapointed
About Django ( gipsy guitars in general ) they have a 670mm scale length while Gibson is 630 mm. For that reason the 0.10 string in a Gipsy guitar have the similar tension that a 0.11 has on a Gibson. ( and a 0.11 is similar to a 0.12 in a Gibson )
Oh and he never played the Epiphone or any Gibson with a rounded cutaway. No L5 ‘s either. Just 175 And Eastman and peerless and heritage make a Pass model? Don’t thinkkkkkk so.
You don’t seem to know your guitar greats or what they played. Montgomery the greatest? Mr slide around chords?? 😂. And Joe Pass who was the greatest used a Gibson ES175 most of his career then the Ibanez JP 20 then the D’Aquisto you couldn’t pronounce then the one Gibson made him toward the end of his life. And doubt he used 14’s either. Do your research
Thanks 🙏 for including El Maestro Lenny Breau . He’s an innovative in how to approach “acoustic Spanish guitar as electric jazz guitar” the level of feeling this man used to put on every note he choose to play on the guitar is absolutely brilliant. Also the knowledge of the fingerboard was extremely high level. None other guitar player delivered the way Lenny did (except for Wes who also played with lots of heart and feeling).
Joe Pass rulezzzz and Breau? Hell he never really put anything out. He was to mental and strung out. Ted Greene was the master of chords and feelings.
Sorry but I think you made a mistake with Metheny, first he turns the tone knob down, but not all the way. Second, he said in an interview that he uses DÁddario Flat wound 11th on his ES175.
Very intersesting video! I think for Joe Pass and Pat Metheny you should replace in the description Gibson L5 with Gibson ES 175.
Thank you for your comment and input! I'll keep the model number in mind next time around.
Very interesting and informative video! Kudos Ricky! 👏
I have been switching back and forth between flat-and roundwounds for many many years. Then I discovered the GHS Nickel Rockers (don't let the name fool you) several years ago and I am totally happy with them. They are made of pure nickel wrap that is slightly flattened with rollers in the winding process, making sliding effortless and squeaks nonexistent. The best of all worlds so to speak. They come in many gauges from extra light (9s) to true medium (13s) gauges, with or without a wound 3rd. Another plus: they are very affordable...$7.79 to $8.49. I can highly recommend.
On another note: once asked, Pat Metheny said in an interview a looong time ago that he's using D'Addario "Deadwounds", roundwounds that were so old that they sounded like flatwounds! 😄
Great to know this...have to try out those GHS strings... wasn't aware of that Metheny fact...thank you so much for sharing!
SIT strings are better. And tomastick are the best
This was a very good listing that will satisfy anyone who has wondered which gauge, and brand of strings used by history's most well regarded players. I hope you do produce an amended episode to this list. I was surprised that these names were missing: George Van Eps, Charlie Christian, Emily Remler, or Tal Farlow Et al.
Thank you for your comments and suggestions. I will keep those names in mind.
A real "no nonsense" view on strings for jazz guitar, thanks a lot!
You're very welcome!
Thanks, very educating, as a fingerstyle player this convinced me to stick with round wound. I would just note that a "wound 3rd" is also an important criterion in a jazz sound (I always use wound 3rd).
Thank you for your comment and suggestion. Didn't know that made flatwounds with round 3rd strings...
Nice. I take a set of flat wound .013's and swap out the two plains for .014 and .018. It surprises me that Reinhardt preferred slinky strings. I really like George's Thomastik set but the two middle strings are on the light side for the overall gauge of the set.
A friend of mine turned me on to Thomastik .013's for my hollow and semi-hollow axes, and I haven't looked back. Using them in conjunction with the neck pickup and rolling back the guitar's tone knob a little bit gives me such a warm and rich tone.
Djangos Selmer had a scale length of 68 cm. So the tension is high on these guitars .😊
Great video, thank you. I play a couple of vintage acoustic jazz guitars and am using Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum Acoustic strings on them for several reasons. Firstly they sound great, and intonation is near perfect when set up. The silk steel construction makes them low tension and feel easy under finger, and easy on the vintage guitars neck joints. The fact that most of the wound strings are flatwound, make them smooth and squeak free to play, with the bass E string being round wound to add a little brightness. The right set of strings makes a huge difference, and thanks for producing such a thoughtful and informative video.
I have some strain in my hands after working in a factory years ago so I pretty much go as light as I can, I prefer round wounds and the only I would add to your thoughts I have a guild with a bigsby vibrato and that usually works better with an unwound 3rd string, I have a couple of jazz guitars with the same pickups Gibson P94s and one has flats and the other has round wounds, my acoustic arch tops get lighter silk and steel more Django style strings
Thanks for your comments. I too much prefer roundwound strings as a fingerpicking guy. I actually never use flats unless I absolutely need that hallmark jazz sound on a home recording.
Well done and informative Rick! I learned a lot. Really nice format and content.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Awesome content Ricky, thanks so much for sharing! I've played rock and metal for a long time, it's been a great adventure to learn about jazz. Thank you very much!
Joe Pass and Gibson L5? I don't recall ever seeing him with L5. Perhaps I missed it,
Early on in his career I guess...
It's great that you include the incredibly underrated Tuck Andress in this video as one of the greats. He is an absolute finger-style jazz guitar master. My suggestion would be to start by listening to Tuck and Patti's first album, especially his solo version of Wes Montgomery's "Up and at it."
Thank you for your suggestion. I'll have to listen to that first album again.
@@rickymolina7390 It’s my personal favorite. His solo album is amazing. There’s live footage of him playing “Up and at it” on TH-cam. Not only is he a world class guitarist, but he’s also one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I had the good fortune of getting an online lesson with him.
Great review of strings!! Thank you. The other thing that is as important, is the pick you use. I found that the pick can make all the difference to get a jazzy tone, even on light gauge strings, like .10-.42. At least 1mm gauge, and some players use the blunt edge. I tried it and it worked!
Use your thumb. Build up that callus
@@rickberry4477 Never works for me, it's very uncomfortable, and gets tired very fast. Wes Montgomery must have had a bionic thumb installed LOL.
Wonderful video with great references.
Thanks so much.
I liked this video I believe you left out one of the great jazz fusion virtuoso, AL Di Meola.
yes..you're right. Love the Casino album in particular.
Way back when I played gigs I found I was using light gauge strings at home and heavier ones when gigging. I think the higher volumes weren't holding as well with my light gauge strings.
Good video, good subject. Strings are very important, particularly for players who don't use massive signal chains. The point is to communicate as clearly as possible. While I've never taken to flat wound, I can appreciate them for what they are. I tend to use round wound, either Ernie Ball or D'Addario, depending on what's available, usually gauge 9-42 or 10-46. I play instrumental prog/space rock and this works for me. It comes down to the player and the characteristics of the guitars they play.
Pat metheny played flatwound daddario 11s for years until about 15 or 20 years ago
Exactly.
I'm your 1000-th subscriber! Congratulations! ✌
Woohooo! Thank you so much!!!
thanks, I was looking for this info. Very useful!
you're quite welcome
Great video, thanks!
you're welcome!
11:37 - I read somewhere that Pat Metheny uses 0.10 D'Addario roundwounds for his Roland G303 Synth Guitar. I'm blown away but not surprised that Pat Martino used 0.15, so heavy....Sco started w/ 0.10s up until the 1970s and worked his way up to 0.13s by the early 2000s, but by circa 2008 had gone down to 0.11s as you mention here.
I know, can't get into those heavy strings either. Forget fingerpicking on 'em, or bending strings. Even hammer-ons and pull-offs are tricky on that cable wire. While the sustained sound can be amazing, there are practical disadvantages in terms of playing heavy strings. Meanwhile BB King and Billy Gibbons are at the other extreme!
I have been using those same 11 gauged D'Addario roundwounds on my Gibson es175 and 330 for years and have always been happy with them. Recently picked up a Gretsch hollow body with a Bigsby and had tuning stability issues with the 10's that it came with. Did a little work on it and switched to the 11's and am having no more tuning stability issues. I think those old guitars were built for heavier gauged strings and sound better with them. I am going to try some flatwounds to compare. I have flatwounds on my Hofner bass and love the feel and sound.
Hello! I play blues and some rock. Learning to play Jazz and just bought myself a beautiful Gretchen G2420 (streamlined). Trying to be careful and handling it delicately😊. The factory fitted strings are awful. I am afraid to change to flat wounds as heard they might cause neck tension…..or I will again have to take to a Luthier for neck adjustment 🙁. Would 11’s round wound by addario or Ernie be correct? Thanks for your kind opinion.
@@obhikthepencilsharpeners2482 I use the D'Addario round wound 11's and they work great for me. I tried the flat wounds on my ES-175 and actually like the round wounds better, but that's just my preference, probably because I have played those for years. The 2420's are great to play and really sound nice for jazz. Enjoy!
@@lrmhawk Many thanks for your advise. I will rig up the D’addario 11 ‘s and proceed to Jazz😀. Have a great strumming year
Thanks, Ricky! Great stuff!
recommended Roundwound Strings Thomastik JAZZ SWING? As far as my knowledge and experience is, the JAZZ Bebop are roundwound, contrary to the JAZZ SWING which are flatwound strings? I am quite confused now, maybe this is wrong info in the video? As i played and play both of these (and the signature Benson flats also) i have some experience with the thomastiks.
I think you are correct... the Jazz Swing (.011 - .047) are flat wound (according to the packaging).
Please tell me, since you have played with these different strings, do you find much difference in playability and tone between the Benson flats and the Jazz Swing flats (11-47)??
Excellent Master Class. Thanks, Ricky. I just signed on.
First set of strings I bought as a kid were flats, by mistake. I did not know any better and I wanted to play rock. Fifty years later I tried a set of Thomastik flats on an epiphone 335 and wow, the "jazz" sound is very apparent. Also a cool thing about flats is a lack of string noise, particularly when sliding between notes, playing acoustically. Acoustically the darker sound is fine and without the string noise, very pleasant . I came here for ideas on what I might put on a 17" jazz archtop; I think the stock 10-46 rounds are too tinny and noisy for my purposes,. I will try the lighter thomastik flats first. Thanks Rck, you also mentioned some players I should hear more of.
Thank for sharing your experience and insights!
Outstanding review. thank you!
Hello! I play blues and some rock. Learning to play Jazz and just bought myself a beautiful Gretsch G2420 (streamlined). Trying to be careful and handling it delicately😊. The factory fitted strings are awful. I am afraid to change to flat wounds as heard they might cause neck tension…..or I will again have to take it to a Luthier for neck adjustment 🙁. Would 11’s round wound by addario or Ernie be correct? Thanks for your kind opinion
Congrats on your new Gretsch G2420. Sweet guitar. Yeah, personally I would stick to round wounds vs flats because I find it really hard to solo with flats (bends are practically impossible). If you're a "fast" guitarist, I'd stick to rounds. Can't go wrong with eith D'Addario or Ernies. Try them each out over time to find which sounds better with your guitar. Cheers.
@@rickymolina7390 Thanks very much for your kind input.! It is a big help. Will try out an Addario 11's round wounds. Wish you Happy riffs.
Thanks!
Typically flat wounds have more tension than round wounds of the same gauge, but I'm not entirely sure why that is. Also consider half rounds - they have more tension because they have a proportionately thicker core. My understanding is they start off as oversized round wounds and are ground down.
I've had a Gretsch G2420 for a little while and I'm learning to play jazz as well. When I bought the guitar used from Guitar Center, it had 11-50 gauge round wounds (I had the tech measure them with calipers). Soon I installed 11-50 flat wounds (D'Addario Chromes Jazz Lights) on it. Then a few months later I put 12-52 round wounds (D'Addario Jazz Lights), and most recently, I changed to 12-54 gauge "half-rounds" (GHS Brite Flats).
I needed to adjust the intonation each time I changed string gauges, but I haven't noticed any changes in neck relief despite the guitar having significantly more tension on it now. Certainly taking it to a luthier is a good idea if you are uncomfortable doing it yourself, and it may well need a truss rod adjustment if you go from, say 10 gauge round wounds to 13 gauge flat wounds all at once.
Additionally, you may want to adjust the height of the pole pieces on the pickups to balance out the volume response of each string, especially if you are changing from a plain G string to a wound G string. I found the transition from a wound G to a plain B and the jump in volume very unpleasant sounding on some of the sets of strings I've tried.
Playing feel is important, and I think a wound G (round or flat) is perfect for jazz, especially on a hollow-body which I often use to practice unplugged at night. I don't care about ease of bending on that guitar and the action is fairy low, so it isn't difficult to play unless I try bending or holding down one chord for a long time (and how often do you see one sustaining chord in jazz?). But pickups and amplifiers make the biggest difference - I get a jazz tone more easily from my Epiphone Les Paul and 11 gauge round wounds, lol. Eventually I want to buy some new pickups and potentiometers for my Gretsch.
Strings generally used by Gipsy jazz guitarists, like Django Reinhardt are generally Savarez (a French manufacturer who started in , yes, 1770) Argentine. They are available in .010/.045 or .011/.046. Here in Europe, a set is approx. 10.00 / 12.00 $
They are light because of the longer scale on gypsy guitar.
As for the "Viennese price tag" it's important to keep in mind that the Thomastik-Infeld's _last a long time_, at least twice or three times as long as most other brands, in addition to their great tone. They're similar to the (German) Pyramid brand in this respect--you're getting what you pay for: fantastic, sonorous tonality that lasts!
Good point. True, the other brands don't last nearly as long.
@@rickymolina7390 The T I Swing are flatwound
@@barrycooper1631 Thank you for the info
Metheny didn't play an L5 it's an es175, he uses flat wound strings
THANKS!
You're welcome!
Thanks this was helpful
you're welcome!
Great analysis, thank you
Very interesting!
Thanks!
btw, it's not Sandowsky, it''s Sadowsky. Roger Sadowsky's known for his guitars and basses. Walter Becker's (Steely Dan) sound. He does make archtops (Jim Hall, Jimmy Bruno and others) as well and is based in New York.
This was interesting, but I'm not really any wiser. You said roundwound suit fingerstyle, but I find they're awful. If you play solo chord-melody, with a walking bassline like a lot of Joe Pass' work, each shift along the bass strings just squeaks like mad, especially with new strings.
There is a middle way called groundwound. D'Addario calls them "Half Rounds", and ghs call them "Brite Flats". These start out as roundwound, but the peaks are ground down so they are half-way between flat and round. They keep most of the brightness of roundwound, but with much lower string noise. They tend to be more expensive than either round or flat, because of the extra manufacturing step, but if you're playing jazz and want a bright sound, they can save you from the dreaded squeaks.
I know the Thomastik strings are expensive, but they do last. The two things that require most guitarists to regularly change strings are 1) crud in the grooves of wound strings, and 2) wear on the frets. Jazz players rarely bend strings, which is the prime reason for wear, and with flatwound strings, there's nowhere for crud to accumulate. Obviously, there's a third reason, which is corrosion, but with flatwound strings, it's really easy to wipe them down after a session and keep them sounding fresh. Flatwound are also kinder on your frets,
Flat wounds lack sustain to me versus round wounds I use 10's with a wound 3rd 11's 12' all with wound 3rd D'addario strings
I heard Robert Lowe, a jazz guitarist from Detroit who played with his thumb, say in an interview that Wes played .17's. I heard Pat Martino say in one of his instructional videos that he used .17's. I heard that George Benson actually plays .15's.
Seems a lot
Metheny is known to play D'addario Chromes Flatwound.
so called "deadwounds"
I second you on Blue Matter.
Yeah baby!
How aboutKurt Rosenwinkel and Gilad Hekselman?
Thanks for suggesting. I know about Rosenwinkel but not Hekselman (will check him out). Certainly Rosenwinkel is a great jazz guitarist...although honestly he is not one of my all-time favs. Totally subjective.
@@rickymolina7390 totally subjective but these two are paving the way to the future. Great post though.
Grazie for thus video!!!!
you're welcome!
Wondering how you know this info? I think Metheny uses flatwounds, btw.
You have the decimal point in the wrong place.
It's .010" not .10"
Hi, do you still have your epiphone Joe pass?
why, are you interested in it?
The Thomastik Swing flats are worth the extra couple Starbucks runs. They are smoother and lower tension than the D’Addario’s, which are higher tension, you can feel the wraps, and don’t sound as good.
I have never seen Joe Pass playing his signature Epiphone model. Is there any evidence he ever played it on a gig/recording session?
Not to my knowledge. The Emperor 2 was produced shortly before his death. As you know, Joe Pass is more known for having played his Gibson ES-175.
He used one on an instructional video.
@@normanholder6072 Which video? I've only seen him use either his ES-175 or his Ibanez signature model, but never the Epiphone in instructional videos.
Joe Pass always plays with a ES 175 Gibson
Lenny Breau would joke about using fishing wire for the hi A, but actually he used a 08 gauge. They had been already been developed. Funny how this joke has become folk lore. I use Labella flats and also Labella whites which are tape wound. Bucky and John Pizzerelli use these and they have a great throaty sound.
Thank you for your input and recommendations. I will definitely try out those Labella strings!
Nice try, but many inaccuracies. Joe Pass did have a L-5 sitting in the corner of his den, but he obviously built his career around an es-175. There is no such thing as Sandowsky. It's Roger Sadowsky, builder for many respected players. It's great that you're a fan, but you have to be more careful with your comments.
Thanks for clarifying. I guess I was driving more at the playability and sound of flats vs rounds issue than anything else in that video. No wonder that the best fingerstyle players used rounds while the soloists use flats. That was the key point I was trying to make.
On Django: You forgot to mention that Django played a long scale guitar, which gives a much heavier feel compared to the same gauge on a typical Fender 25-1/2" or Gibson 24-3/4" scale. Size DOES matter!!
I don't think it's correct that Sco uses flatwounds, it doesn't sound that way at all. I also think Metheny used flats for many years, which to me sounds quite obvious if you listen nto albums like Bright Size Life or 80/81. Rejoicing sounds very much like flats to me, even though his sound is very dark on that album, and it's not as obvious as the two albums mentioned above. I think he even used flats on his 175 on the most popular PMG albums from the eighties. I remember reading an interview many years ago where he told he was changing his sets very seldom, and he joked about branding his strings D'Addario Deadwounds. I think he must have switched to rounds in the late 90's or something. I also don't think it's correct that he rolls his tone control all the way down. I think he uses his tone control quite actively, and on some of the early albums like Bright Size and 80/81 he actually has a quite bright sound, much brigther that a typical jazz guitar sound. Rejoicing is obviously very dark sounding, but even on that one I very much doubt it's rolled all th way down. If my memory serves me right, he mentioned in an interview that the reason for switching to rounds on the jazz guitar, was to get the richer overtone spectrum. I'm not sure, but I even think Benson have used rounds on some of his albums, and I think Dr Thomastik even has a Benson round wound signature set.
Sco definitely does not use flat wounds regularly. Though he said he did on the tune You Don't Know Me on his Ray Charles dedicated album.
Man .14?! Goodness gracious😅✨🙏🏿
painful, indeed
I'm buying a set of Benson's strings but I'm only going to look at them. Why..? $$$
they should be saved for studio recordings!
Percy Faith?
Perhaps you mean Percy Heath...
You're absolutely right - that's Percy Heath and Albert Heath - sorry my bad...
Ted Greene?
Yes, I forgot to mention...
Pat Martino played .020s? What tuning? Definitely, not standard. It would break.
Why do you say "anywhere from" 10-46 or 12- 53 etc........when it is the range in one set - not an option of different sets/gauges? And also a confusing bit - "playing with fingers is better with rounds, and playing with pick is also better with rounds"?
Thank you, this was very informative and I appreciated it greatly!
You're so welcome!
Try Dogal flatwound strings; no way...
way!
FWIW; Pat does not play with the tone all the way down.
Maybe not all the way down, but pretty darn nearly so...
😂Percy Heath on Bass!
Not Percy Faith (famous orchestral arranger)
John Scofield never played flats.
One should be very careful whenever using the word "never." Scofield has actually played flats quite a bit; more recently his 3rd string is noted as being unwound. Here's a reference to one of the sources I used when I made the video www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/656-john-scofield-guitar-rig-gear-and-equipment
There are so many mistakes and misconceptions here that are quite misleading. Please do your research before posting! Most of the guys you name check here would laugh about string nerdery
but string choice can shape a player’s entire approach. Not trolling here, I applaud your intentions but please do the homework and get players’ names right too! Percy Faith on bass??? 🤭
I agree. Didn't know the facts About Tuck's strings. He uses single strings because the gage are not bundles as a set. And 50 is wrong. So why include him if you're not going to research his string choices. Dissapointed
$45.00 for a set of strings? yeah no thanks...
most groovy,,,, now pls recom jazz geetars at a non painful price range,,, cheeper da beta,, of course
ok...i will make a note of your requests...
also cheep jazz amps,,, etc pls
By the way: Dee-a-kweesto. D'Aquisto.
About Django ( gipsy guitars in general ) they have a 670mm scale length while Gibson is 630 mm. For that reason the 0.10 string in a Gipsy guitar have the similar tension that a 0.11 has on a Gibson. ( and a 0.11 is similar to a 0.12 in a Gibson )
Oh and he never played the Epiphone or any Gibson with a rounded cutaway. No L5 ‘s either. Just 175 And Eastman and peerless and heritage make a Pass model? Don’t thinkkkkkk so.
You don’t seem to know your guitar greats or what they played. Montgomery the greatest? Mr slide around chords?? 😂. And Joe Pass who was the greatest used a Gibson ES175 most of his career then the Ibanez JP 20 then the D’Aquisto you couldn’t pronounce then the one Gibson made him toward the end of his life. And doubt he used 14’s either. Do your research