"Warmest" sounding coated acoustic strings?

[J.B. Lee]

I play an Epiphone EJ-200 and am always looking for ways to warm the tone up a bit. Which long life (coated, plated, treated, whatever) strings for acoustic will give the warmest tone? Right now it's strung up with Dean Markley Alchemy GoldPhos which I'm quite happy with, but I could always do with a little more thump.

 

I should point out that the guitar has a laminated spruce top and maple everything else, and that my preferred string gauge is .011-.052, so I'm kind of starting out in a hole as far as good bass response goes. That's why I'm looking at different brands of strings to balance things out.

[rjoxyz]

Though technically "treated" rather than coated, Dean Markley Alchemy GoldPhos strings are warmer than other long-life strings with a huge tone, all their own. My favorite long life string on most guitars.

 

Give them a try, if you can find them. There is some possibility DM is going to discontinue them soon.

[J.B. Lee]

That's what I'm currently using (with good results) so my search may be over before it starts! Still wouldn't mind some other opinions though.

[rjoxyz]

I don't think you'll find a warmer long-life string. Maybe Elixer Polywebs, but they seem muted rather than warm to me.

[guitarcapo]

Other than a sort of vague "not bright" sound....I haven't clue what people mean when they describe a sound as "warm"

[rjoxyz]

 

Other than a sort of vague "not bright" sound....I haven't clue what people mean when they describe a sound as "warm"

 

 

That would be the clue.

[J.B. Lee]

Yup, my idea of "warm" is basically "not overly bright" with a good amount of bass "thump". It occupies the opposite end of the spectrum across from "twangy" and "jangly". Most strings will lose brightness with age, but they quickly pass my preferred sweet spot on the way to "dull" and then "dead". Thus my search for an extended life string that starts closer to that "warm" end of the spectrum and deteriorates less quickly. Of course any discussion of tone is subjective and will mean different things to different people.

[Terry Allan Hall]

Definitely try the Elixer Polywebs...might suit you very well, I use nothing else to get that warm "thump".

[slingblade10]

I love the sound of the Elixir Nanoweb PB lights on my alvarez.

[Buck62]

I owned an EJ-200 a few years ago. I tried a lot of different strings when I had mine. The best tone I got was from using Elixir Nanoweb Medium (.013 - .056) and swapping out the saddle to bone. It gave my EJ a warmer, more balanced, piano-like tone. The Elixir Nano/bone saddle combo also brought out some subtle harmonic overtones.