The Steel Guitar Forum

Gary Preston wrote: Jay the last i heard there were maybe three at most . These were old company's .

Incorrect Gary.

Here is a short list of the major players:

D’Addario
Dean Markley
DR Handmade Strings
Dunlop
Elixir
Ernie Ball
Fender
GHS
La Bella
Martin Guitar Strings
Optima Guitar Strings
Rotosound
Savarez
Sfarzo
SIT
Tomastik-Infeld

And they will build you strings to any specs you specify for all the additional fees.

And then there are all the small players and over seas companies.

Curt Mangan makes their own strings.
Jerry

I love the "which string is better" threads..

Many seek to own the longest life string possible..months, years..decades...

me, I come from a different place , I find strings I like at a reasonable price...perhaps around $10 for the set, I have been using Cobra's, they are very consistent, but I'm not all in dedicated to any specific brand as they will only be on the Steel 8 or 10 weeks. I change the full set probably 5 times a year and I change 3 and 5 on the E9th every two weeks...

The thing about changing strings for me is very simple and deliberate......this includes the Telecaster, the Acoustic and the Dobro...

"Tone" stays the same, I am never chasing tone on the gigs or when recording.

Some will say, man you sure spend a lot on strings..I say..maybe, maybe not...

I buy packs in bulk for the Dobro, Electrics and Acoustics, I buy with sale coupons etc..12 or 24 sets at a clip...some as low as $2.50/set for a typical $6.00 set..Sometimes the local GC will have what I want and they will match any net price but sometimes they don't so I order on line with free shipping. I do give them a shot though...

For the Steel, same deal, I buy a years worth as well as the 3 and 5 spares, at least 2 dozen of each on hand... I have not broke a string on a gig in recent memory...I am talking years...I have a few different brands around here, Cobra's ( from Bobbe) has been the main brand but Ernie Ball, George L., Pierce etc..are in the spares box as well...no issues with any of them.

and yes..I also play approx 6 gigs a month

thats my take on the whole thing...

So, whats the best string ?

Easy..the one on the guitar that is fresh and holds tune...

Gary Preston wrote:Really !!!

Really

Yeh Gary you are right about tone being a preference.
I used to prefer stainless on my Zum. When I first got the Fessy I was using stainless then tried nickel and do believe it changed the tone positively.
Like all tone arguments some pickups/strings/etc are a better match for a particular guitar than others, or at least change something about the tone - debatable weather positive or negative.

Jerry Roller wrote:Curt Mangan makes their own strings.
Jerry

You are correct Jerry. There are several more companies that manufacture their own strings.

Above I just mentioned the "Big Players" in the Industry.

Thanks for that information on the manufacturers Sid. Since you are into the string business I'm pretty sure that you have researched it extensively.

I am very happy with the Curt Mangan strings. I don't know how "small player" they are but they have a very high quality product and great service.
Jerry

Doug Earnest wrote:Thanks for that information on the manufacturers Sid. Since you are into the string business I'm pretty sure that you have researched it extensively.

Doug, I see you are from Branson.

Tell Terry, Sid said he would pay the the haircut if he will go get it. LOL!!

Sid, how many buy their wire and how many draw their own? I bet everybody buys it

Lane, I am sure that most do buy their wire. I would hope so. I could not know the management decisions of each and every company.

As with most any type of business it just doesn’t make sense to produce and manufacture every aspect of that given business. I wouldn’t try to build a Heat Pump if I had one go bad.

There is almost always someone that can do it better than you can do it yourself. Assembling the right team is the key.

With all of that being said and as you can imagine, the materials used are very important.
American metals are far superior to Asian metals. Some companies use Asian metal.

If you’re happy with what you’re using, hang in there.

I wasn't attempting to disparage at all.
And as crucial as the metal is, I'd expect and hope everyone uses either American or European wire (most piston rings, last i checked, are Swedish wire, I always assumed that the Swedish wire maker used Swedish steel, but that might not be the case)

Sid are you saying that all these folks do research and development on their strings . And all of them have a special string developed for steel guitar ? Some of these i have never heard of or seen in any store selling products for the steel guitar . Where would one find these stores selling all these strings ? We all know G.H.S. has special tested strings that they call ''P G '' . We are talking about steel guitar strings right ?

Gary Preston wrote: We all know G.H.S. has special tested strings that they call ''P G '' .

I don't recall the "PG" meaning the string was tested, but that it simply had a shorter wrap, so as to not come over the top of the changer?