The Steel Guitar Forum

I recently inquired about SIT Silencers in a previous post which generated, for me anyway, an intrest in the diferences between nickle and stainless steel strings. I've been using nickle for the past few years and until about six weeks ago that's all I've used. The stainless strings I have on now are still plenty bright (perhaps too bright)and stay in tune well. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the subject.

Thanks,
Ian

I prefer the nickel strings. They seem to have a richer, fuller tone. But then I'm from the old school and what do I know!
Uff-Da!

I also prefer the nickel strings for my playing style. But not all "nickel" or "nickel alloy" strings sound alike. With all the different strings on the market today, it's really a matter of which ones a player likes best. Nickel Jagwires are the brand I use and recommend due to their great tone, long life, and unsurpassed uniformity from set to set. I use them on steel guitar and electric guitar with equally satisfactory results.

I've tried stainless steel wound strings in Jagwire, GHS, and D'Adario brands and I just can't seem to get the tone I want out of them. But there are a ton of top-notch players who prefer the "edgier" tone of stainless steel strings and sound wonderful on them. Stainless steel strings in the hands of a player like Tommy White have a great fluid tone that can be heard very well through other instrumentation.

Keep in mind that whatever type of winding you use, the surface of your bar should be of material harder than the string windings or the bar will drag and become scratched up. In other words, if you are using stainless steel strings your bar should be premium hard chrome plated (such as a BJS) or zirconium (if you can find one), or some other material harder than the stainless steel windings.

There is no substitute for experimentation to find out what strings work best for you. It's best to try several different brands and gauges and compare. Some seem to sound brighter when new, some sound jazzier, some have special gauges, some have smoother windings, some have a longer "tone life", some stay in tune a trifle better, some cost less but still sound real good for the player who changes strings frequently, and so on. Eventually you will probably settle on one type you like far better than the others, whether nickel, stainless, or whatever the windings are.

Tim R.

I've been using SIT stainless for 6 string and last change on pedal steel. I don't get to play the steel much but these strings seem to hold their tone much longer than nickel plated. These have been on for over a year except for two of them. Every time I get ready to play it, I clean the strings good with distilled water and brown paper towels to get the crud off and the tone is always there.

Ian, you could hear my 'over a year old' strings tomorrow (Sunday) 5-8:30pm in San Francisco @ The Parkside, 17th and Wisconsin. I'll be playing with the Bounty Band.

Raybob

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Sierra S12 8+5 A6/D9
Good tunes

Bobbe Seymours Cobra Coils!!!! They are about the best I've used. Thanks Bobbe!!!

With regard to strings and bars, read this old thread.

http://steelguitarforum.com/Archives/Archive-000003/HTML/20011227-1-013428.html

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Lee, from South Texas

Raybob,

I only wish that I could. I've since moved to New Hampshire.

Ian

Lee, thanks for the thread. Tim, thanks for the info.

Ian