Official Luthiers Forum!

I used D'Addario medium, Phospher Bronze strings quite a bit and picked up another set today. I haven't bought any in quite a while. On the package I noticed where they list different strings offered by D'Addario.......80/20 Bronze, EXP Coated, Silk & Steel, etc. One of the options is "Flat Tops". I've never noticed these before. Any one used them? What did you think about them? The package describes them as:

"Warm, semi-bright tone. Polished for reduced finger noise."

For comparison, it describes the Phosphor Bronze as:

"Warm, bright, and balanced tone. D'Addario's original bronze."

I've never heard or played them so I'm curious what they sound like. How about on a 000 and smaller sized body? I'm not crazy about the "twang" of the phosphor bronze when first strung up.......but I do like the tone once they've settled for a week.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I like them a lot. They have a more mellow tone rather than edgy. The reduced finger noise is a big plus, especially for recording.

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David White, Toronto

"All my favourite singers can't sing."

Never tried those strings.
I like bronze strings better.
Not as trebly, and I think they last longer.
A friend of mine has given me a few sets of Roto-sound 13-56
that I really seem to like.
It's all subjective though.
Good thing about strings is they are a cheap way to tone-monkey around!!!

I just looked at these strings on the D'Addario site. Interesting that even though the strings are the same diameter, the 2 middle strings on the "Flat Tops" have more tension than the equivalent string in the medium "Phosphor Bronze" set.

Flat Tops
. inches lbs
E 0.013 27.4
B 0.017 26.3
G 0.026 41.1
D 0.035 40.3
A 0.045 34.7
E 0.056 29.3

Phosphor Bronze
. inches lbs
E 0.013 27.4
B 0.017 26.3
G 0.026 35.3
D 0.035 36.8
A 0.045 34.0
E 0.056 29.0

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I have never tried them but I do love the EXP strings, they go on all my guitars now. I never liked the sound of the phosphor bronze strings though they do last longer. So the coating on the 80/20 bronze strings were perfect for me.

I use the "flat Tops" on my National Estralita. ...reduces slide noise considerably...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

They are used a lot by slide players and others who don't like left hand noise.

Personally, I don't care for the sound. They sound dead to me. No sparkle.

If you want to get rid of edginess or sparkle or any metallic sound, they might be worth a try for you.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

The strings with more tension have different diameter core and windings than the equivelent diameter string.

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Old growth, shmold growth!