I just bought my first acoustic

[J L S]

)Hello people, I have been wanting an acoustic for a long time. I did a little homework first an decided to get either an Epi John Lennon model or the Epi masterbuilt EF 500M or a R model. I ended up buying an AJ500MENS with the Baggs element P/up. I couldn't get an EF model because they are all backordered, for who knows how long. Im very happy with what I got anyway. I bought an acoustic because I like the sound and want to learn to fingerpick......... The strings that these come with are really crap. What kind of strings would you guys recommend? Im sure everybody knows the features on masterbuilt Ep[s so I won't list all of that stuff. So what do you more experienced fellas think? :

[jconway]

Well, as far as strings go, what works for one of us might not work for you. Just try tons of different strings and gauges and find out what works best for you.

 

Personally, I like D'Addario EXPs. Give them a shot.

 

Anyways, have fun with your new guitar and post some pictures when you can!

[Freeman Keller]

Welcome to HCAG and congrats on the new guitar. There is huge love for the Masterbuilts here - you are going to get a lot of positive comments.

 

Along with positive comments, you'll get a lot of personal opinions about strings but I did something a little different. To help shorten the string learning curve (and to kill a few sacred cows) I did a little test and posted some clips. At least it will give you an idea of what different compositions sound like on several of my guitars - your milage and sound will vary of course but this might give you a head start.

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556148

 

Have fun with the new guitar!

[EvilTwin]

Congrats on the new guitar.

 

Freeman's string test ought to help you out. Personally, I like regular 'ol Martin strings, as well as Dean Markley Formula 82/R's.

[Bernie P.]

Great choice !My string preference (so far) on my EF in order:

D'Addario PB-real nice

GHS bright bronze-on now

Masterbilts?-I'm guessing these are what came on the git.

 

Others on hand I haven't gotten round to yet:

Martin PB

Martin Bronze

Dean Markley Blue Steel

 

Welcome to the Masterbilt fan club !!!

[bbarkow]

+1 on the GHS Bright Bronze.

[Cripes]

Congrats on the new guitar. I would suggest getting familiar with it first and then start messing with string options. What works for me on one guitar doesn't on my other guitar. So, I can't suggest strings for your Masterbuilt.

 

I'm a little anal about strings. I intermix gauges and the recipe for one guitar changes with the next.

[DonK]

Congratulations on your new guitar! Strings are very much a personal preference. I'm really tough on strings viz a viz perspiration and oil, so I mostly use Elixir PB Nanowebs on my acoustics. I have a few exceptions, e.g., I use Martin SP strings on my Johnson small-body acoustic. If I wasn't so hard on strings and didn't feel the need to use a coated string, I'd probably go with either John Pearse PB's or Martin SP PB's. But everyone is different, and you should experiment, as others have said, until you find what works best for you.

[babablowfish]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum.

 

I swore on a stack of Bibles that Martin Phosphor-Bronze SPs were the cat's pajamas and that Elixirs were designed by Satan. When Freeman did his string test I wound up choosing the Elixirs as the best and the Martins as second to worst. I am still trying to recover - plus I still have about a dozen sets of the Martins on hand.

 

Definitely give Freeman's string test a fair listen.

[J L S]

Thanks for all the replies and glad to see the welcome mat is out on the stoop. I went out right away and bought Elixer polyweb lights before reading here about Freemans test. The strings are ok, but I guess I was expecting alittle more from them. I think I'll try D'addarios next, they are what I use on my electric and I've always found them to be tops for me. Its a little hard getting used to the amount of pressure it takes to get a ciear sound out of the strings compared to playing an electric. The action was a bit high for me so alittle sanding on the underside of the saddle lowered the strings to about 1/16 at the 12th fret. this has heip some but it still hurts my fingers after awhile of playing. The fingerpicking is coming along nicely, starting to learn Travis style first, and will work on that for who knows how long until I can do i well.......Thanks again guys for your repls and the welcome.