Acoustic Guitars

[Jazz754]

I was just wondering if there are any steel acoustic guitar strings that are cloth wrapped, or have cloth wrapped tips like some bass strings do?

[Freeman Keller]

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Jazz754 wrote:
I was just wondering if there are any steel acoustic guitar strings that are cloth wrapped, or have cloth wrapped tips like some bass strings do?

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Elixers have a coating made out of Gortex material - very long wearing and some other brands have different types of coatings, usually to extend their life.   The Elixers come in two thickness - Polyweb (which is the heaviest and you can really see and feel the coating) and Nanoweb, which is a lot more like a standard string.   Some people hate Elixers, but some (including me) find the combination of long life, less string squeak, and price acceptable.

There are also the so called "silk and steel" which have some silk fibers on the wound strings.   The were popular during the folkie era of the 60's and 70's - again, some people like them for their reduced tension but others feel that they are somewhat dull sounding.

[Jazz754]

I'm using elixirs right now, but they don't seem to last very long. They begin to fray after playing one or two times. I'm looking for something that won't fray like that.

[Seorie]

Thomastik-Infeld put a silk layer between the wind and core wire - could be what your looking for but you wont know it

[Freeman Keller]

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Jazz754 wrote:
I'm using elixirs right now, but they don't seem to last very long. They begin to fray after playing one or two times. I'm looking for something that won't fray like that.

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What are you looking for with the "cloth" covering?   And which Elixers are you using (Poly or Nano)?   Almost any "extended play" string will have some sort of covering - D'Addario EXP, Martin SP, etc.

[DeepEnd]

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Freeman Keller wrote:

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Jazz754 wrote:
I'm using elixirs right now, but they don't seem to last very long. They begin to fray after playing one or two times. I'm looking for something that won't fray like that.

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What are you looking for with the "cloth" covering?   And which Elixers are you using (Poly or Nano)?   Almost any "extended play" string will have some sort of covering - D'Addario EXP, Martin SP, etc.

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If I'm understanding the question correctly, my last set of Martin Marquis had that feature.

[jimash]

No, the Martin Marquis strings are very traditional, they have a silk type wrap  just at the ball end where the string is in contact with the bridge.

The elixirs frayed on me too. It was like a little stocking for each string and then all this dust and stuff on the pickguard. Not for me.

[garthman]

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Jazz754 wrote:
I was just wondering if there are any steel acoustic guitar strings that are cloth wrapped, or have cloth wrapped tips like some bass strings do?

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La Bella do an electric guitar string set that is tapewound with black nylon (I believe they also do a similar tapewound bass string). I've not tried them so cannot vouch for their longevity or comment on their sound but it's perfectly OK to use electric guitar strings on acoustic guitars (despite what some people may tell you) and I would venture that they would be great for playing jazz.

Look here:

http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/la-bella-black-nylon-tape-wound-800l-light-gauge-12-56-full-set-4...

Or try stringbusters.com if you are in the UK.

[Folky_Grunge]

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Freeman Keller wrote:

There are also the so called "silk and steel" which have some silk fibers on the wound strings.   The were popular during the folkie era of the 60's and 70's - again, some people like them for their reduced tension but others feel that they are somewhat dull sounding.

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I'm trying out Silk and Steels right now (just put them on last week). I have to say, I'm surprised by how bright they sound; they're really nothing like people make them out to be. Judging by reviews, I expected them to be unbearably dull, but I really like them, at least so far. They're a little duller than 80/20s, but they're not nearly as dull as a set of phosphor bronzes that have had a few days to settle in.

[Jazz754]

I'm just looking for something that won't get fuzzy or fray after one or two times playing like the elixirs. So should I go with an uncoated string or a different coated one? Any recommendations either one?

[garthman]

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Jazz754 wrote:
I'm just looking for something that won't get fuzzy or fray after one or two times playing like the elixirs. So should I go with an uncoated string or a different coated one? Any recommendations either one?

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See my post above about La Bella tape-wound strings. Might be worth a try?

Or just use uncoated? I do.