#125489  by racecar
 
Sparechaynge wrote:Racecar, if you really like them than the high price is easily justified by their lifespan. I'm still using the same set as when I posted back in December! They sound just as good as the day I put them on.

Mkaufman,I haven't had an issue there. The treble strings are much louder/brighter on my guitar, and I had to adjust my pickup to get more volume/bass on the lower strings.

Yeah, I guess I do like them and I am pretty certain I will be spending money on more sets in the near future. Sparechaynge, may I ask how many gigs you put on those strings? or if you aren't in a gigging band, maybe how many jam sessions? I have found that the elixirs I use really hold up really well. I use two guitars usually at our gig, so two sets of strings on two guitars can easily last me about 4-5 gigs (thats 8 or 9 actual , given I use one guitar per set). I am curious to know how long these Pyramids can last, given they are not coated strings. Also, I truly liked the wound G....I wasn't sure how I would respond to that. But I feel its a benefit vs. going with a plain nickel, it adds a little girth in the midrange tone.....which I like. YMMV.

As for tone, to me, and this is to my ear, I found the Pyramids to be more rounded out in tone. The bass was not a problem at all, I just eq and adjust, I did notice that my bass setting was a drop lower than usual and for me, that isn't a problem as we play different venues and I find myself fine tuning based on the acoustics of the room regardless of the strings that are on. I did find more pronounced highs and lows. I don't know how to add a video here, but I will put a link in and you can cut and paste and take a listen to our Stranger from Fri . I definitely hear a difference in my own tone with these strings.
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Last edited by racecar on Thu Mar 14, 2013 6:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #125490  by Sparechaynge
 
I'm not in a gigging band at the moment, but I aim to play for a minimum of 1 hour every day, in one sitting or two 30 min. sessions. I usually fulfill that pretty easily, and I definitely play WAY harder than it looks like you are. I try to be careful not to break a string, but I find that if I play with anything lighter that 10s I'll break the e or b string within about 10 days. the 11s seem to be pretty durable, minus a random break while it was in the case and me tuning the high e up too high by accident.

I wipe off the strings (whole guitar too) when I'm done playing and there are currently no signs of rust or wear on either the plain or wound strings. My DR pure blues, on the other hand, looked like barbed wire after about a month and a half.

The balance between the bass and treble strings was a minor thing, I usually keep the treble side of the pickup lower than factory spec anyway, and as these strings were on a new guitar I had to tweak it just a little (about 1.5-2 turns of the height adjustment screw).

I like the wound G, but I do miss being able to bend the 3rd string up a whole step.
 #125491  by racecar
 
Good to know! I don't typically am not hard on strings. I broke one string in the last 20 years if that tells you something....and that was on an acoustic guitar (I remember it quite vividly and was stunned....as I don't break strings). Can't honestly remember when I broke an electric guitar string last. I carry an extra set always but never had to use them.....now that I said that , I will break a string next week at the gig.

1 hour a day = 7 hours a week. thats about 2 1/4 gigs worth of playing :) Thats a lot of life you are getting out of those strings. TIme will tell, I will update down the road. I hope they last as long or longer than my Elixirs, I will be a happy camper then. I honestly don't feel a ton of difference between the plain G that I am used to playing and the wound G that I have on now. I just blocked it out and played as usual. The flatwounds themselves took a little getting used to, but I liked them. I didn't use finger ease spray and didn't feel I needed it either (I sometimes use it on the elixirs).

Well, tomorrow night heading out to see The Electricians and David Gans playing at one of our local clubs, very much looking forward to it. I like John Zias guitar playing and Gans is always fun to listen to. Should be a good night.
 #125493  by Sparechaynge
 
Never really worked the hours out before. That's a lot of playing! Now if only I could do something constructive... :D :D

I love the way the plain G feels, I just wish it was easier to get whole step bends. Back when I used D'Addario's I would just go for it, but since Pyramids are so hard to replace I'm generally more careful.

Lucky You! I saw David at Gathering of the Vibes Last year (music festival in CT), what a show!
 #126054  by racecar
 
Well , I played another gig with the flatwounds and have to say, I really like them. I actually took two guitars out, one with my old reliable elixirs and the other had the Pyramid flatwounds. I liked the tone and feel of the flatwounds better.

I have a question for those who know more about these strings than I do.

I purchased these with the hex core. I think I read that they stay in tune better? Does anyone truly understand the differences . I know the core is round shaped vs. hex shaped, I don't need lesson101, but can anyone explain if there are differences in tone? Some say the round wounds are more vintage tone in nature.... Does anyone know which one Bobby uses out of curiosity and has anyone tried both type of cores and can comment on any differences if any?

Thanks !
 #126056  by Sparechaynge
 
I haven't had 2 sets simultaneously on two different guitars, but I have used round and hex core strings one after another. I was using D'Addario pure nickle (hex core) and then switched to DR Pure Blues (round core). All other things being equal, the DR's seemed to vibrate much more freely that the D'Addario. I'm not sure of the sonic differences, maybe round cores are brighter, but I can't say for sure. As for tuning, my round core pyramid flats stay in tune about as well as all the other strings I've tried.

Perhaps Dozin knows what Bobby uses?

On a related note, I just saw the Dead exhibit at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, and Bob's pink guitar had a fresh set of pyramid 12-52 with plain 3rd on it. Must be because he still uses it; the only other guitar that looked like it had the correct strings was Jack Casady's Starfire (do the pyramid bass flats have black silk?)
 #126058  by racecar
 
Sparechaynge wrote:I haven't had 2 sets simultaneously on two different guitars, but I have used round and hex core strings one after another. I was using D'Addario pure nickle (hex core) and then switched to DR Pure Blues (round core). All other things being equal, the DR's seemed to vibrate much more freely that the D'Addario. I'm not sure of the sonic differences, maybe round cores are brighter, but I can't say for sure. As for tuning, my round core pyramid flats stay in tune about as well as all the other strings I've tried.

Perhaps Dozin knows what Bobby uses?

On a related note, I just saw the Dead exhibit at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, and Bob's pink guitar had a fresh set of pyramid 12-52 with plain 3rd on it. Must be because he still uses it; the only other guitar that looked like it had the correct strings was Jack Casady's Starfire (do the pyramid bass flats have black silk?)
Ok, I am going to ask a dumb question here. How did you know they were Pyramid 12's ? Was there some sort of sign or logo? I also thought Bobby used 10's. But I truly am not up on the latest, I just remember reading somewhere that he used 10's with a plain G .

As for tuning, your observation is the same as mine. They all hold tune very similarly.
 #126059  by Sparechaynge
 
I could tell they were pyramids because of the way the ends on the tuning machines looked. Pyramids seem to cut funny compared to other strings. They were probably 12s because there was a LOT of metal strung up on that guitar, the low E was pretty big. I used 12s or 13s for a long time, and that E was way too big to be a "normal" string gauge. The other guitars on display had roundwounds of a much smaller gauge.

Per Dozin:
Weir gets a special set of Pyramid strings made for him called the BW Specials. They consist of 12-52 with an unwound G string.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. I know, telling string gauge w/o playing the guitar is dubious, but what I saw lines up with Dozin's info.
 #126073  by racecar
 
I am not up on the latest, but I am reasonably certain back in the day when Bobby was playing his Ibanezes and then his modulus, I believe he was using 10's. With his current Gibson semi hollowbody lineup, I can easily see him upping the gauge of his strings. I run a higher gauge on my ES335 compared to my other guitars. But, by no means am I up on what he has been using the last decade or so, so most likely what Dozin has on his site is most likely the gospel.

I have to say, I wasn't expecting such a big difference between the tone of the flatwounds compared to my regular elixir's. But alas, there is a considerable difference and I do prefer the flatwounds. Might be because it is something new, but time will tell, but on the surface, I think I will be using the flatwounds for awhile. My gauge is out of stock at strings and things, they seem to have the best pricing around $20 a set. Most others are $24 and up. Anyone have a good source for these strings at the mighty kind price of $20 a set?
 #126106  by Sparechaynge
 
Can't be of much help here, I usually just shell out for a set at Elderly instruments' regular $24/set. Strings and Beyond is what I would recommend otherwise, but the 11s seem to be out of stock at the moment.
 #126183  by racecar
 
Is it possible for these strings to brighten up after a few hours of play? Last night , my pyramid equipped Anderson seemed brighter than the past two uses. I keep track of usage by number of sets played. Last night was set 3 (about 4 1/2 hrs of use). It sounded to me as if the guitar did get brighter. I had to back off the treble even further than usual. I thought maybe room acoustics or possibly too much stage volume and messed with my volume on my amp, which I rarely ever do. I know my gear, set it up and after a few minutes, it's pretty much dialed in.

Second set last night, I used an elixir equipped Anderson and it was not as bright. This was the second set of use, so they are basically new strings. One guitar has three sets on it, the other has two sets on it. Close enough for comparison, I would think.

Is it possible for the flatwounds to brighten up after a few uses? Anyone else experience this? I read that some feel that flatwounds are brighter. Last night I experienced that and am a little perplexed why I didn't have that same experience on the first two outings. Anyone with more experience then me care to share some insight ? Are my ears just screwing with me, or is it possible the strings really did brighten up after a bit of break in?
Last edited by racecar on Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
 #126188  by racecar
 
strumminsix wrote:IMO the flatwound bass side of strings mellow out with age. So I don't think they got brighter, but the low end decreased.
after just three sets of playing??? hmmmm....I wouldn't think that would be the case. A bass player friend of mine into our style of music uses flatwounds, he says they get better with age. I can only hope for that with guitar string, but I know that this is not very likely to occur.
 #126190  by strumminsix
 
racecar wrote:
strumminsix wrote:IMO the flatwound bass side of strings mellow out with age. So I don't think they got brighter, but the low end decreased.
after just three sets of playing??? hmmmm....I wouldn't think that would be the case. A bass player friend of mine into our style of music uses flatwounds, he says they get better with age. I can only hope for that with guitar string, but I know that this is not very likely to occur.
Jerry would kill his strings after 1 show. It's all about your body chemistry, the wood oils, interaction with fretwire and string material and coating.

I use D'Addario chromes on one of my guitars. They are 10g flatwounds. Here is how I hear them progress:
Set 1 = sorta bright but in a good clear way
Set 2 = brightness fades and low end is a bit dark
Set 3 = low end chills and tightens up and it's a nice balance that'll be the same for the next 3 or 4 shows.
 #126309  by racecar
 
I find I am pretty easy on strings and they last me longer than some other players I know. I can always tell when they are border line and I say "This is the last show or jam with these strings". Never an exact science with me. Usually I can easily get away with 5-6 gigs per set of strings. After the 4th , I really start to pay attention to the strings. The elixirs have lasted very well and I have been real pleased with the longevity. I hope the Pyramids last as long if not longer, that would be cool.

FYI - strings and beyond has the Pyramid Hex Core's back in stock and they are offering 15% discount for April 1st. They sell them regularly for $20. Today they are $17, free shipping over $35 order. I can always use more strings at discounted prices.