ARE MARTIN STRINGS AS BAD AS I THINK OR ARE DO THEY WORK BETTER ON MARTINS?

[bigtony]

GUYS/GIRLS, got a pack of acoustic 12's the other day , fitted them to my garrison g40 and they suck big time,imo,used a few other top brands in the past but never martin, they cost much less than most other brands too, why is this i ask??the thing that miffed me most was they put two strings in each pack???why?? paper doesnt grow on tress you know! i wasnt expecting this when i opened them, it was like an exposion in a mattress factory! heaven forbid ill ever pay for these to be put on my guitar in future, cant get them to stay in tune expexially the 4th string,daddario seem a better buy or errinies or rottosounds (you even get a free e with them). any thoughts or am i being a bit hasty??, dont mean to bash martin , i know they make great guitars, but strings may be a different kind of celtic tiger,,,??

spread the love guys!big hugs too!

[LaurentB]

I use Martin SP 013 80/20 strings and they sound fine on my guitar (a Crafter). It can depend quite strongly on which guitar you have whether they sound ok or not. A Crafter sounds quite bright, and d'Addarios or Ean Markley's therefore tend to sound a bit too bright on them. Martins got a more mellow sound so that works fine on my guitar, but I can imagine that on a guitar already sounding quite warm without too much treble they would sound a bit muffled.

[riffmeister]

BRILLIANT!

[moctzal]

I second the Martin SP 80/20s. I have 12's on my new Yamaha and 13's on my Art and Lutherie. Both Dreads. Both are balanced, louder and more responsive. Maybe a little brighter on the low end too.

[Hudman]

Martin makes several types of strings. The SP's are some of the best strings I ever used.

[learn'r]

SP 80/20's here also.

 

I'll still be trying others along the way, but these are the best for me so far.

[Billystrat]

A fews years ago they switched from making them in the US and moved the strings plant to Mexico. I use the "red pack" Marquis? on all of my cheaper acoustics, or guitars I setup for friends and I think the are nice strings for $5-6.

[AugTPD]

Martin SP series strings are good. I tried the cheaper ones (called "marquis" I think) and thought they were horrible. Just my opinion though, everyone has their own preferences.

[johnfrusciante]

i don't like martin strings too much, and i use martin guitars. i like the d'addaro coated bronze string (exp13).

[knockwood]

GUYS/GIRLS, got a pack of acoustic 12's the other day , fitted them to my garrison g40 and they suck big time,imo,used a few other top brands in the past but never martin, they cost much less than most other brands too, why is this i ask??the thing that miffed me most was they put two strings in each pack???why?? paper doesnt grow on tress you know! i wasnt expecting this when i opened them, it was like an exposion in a mattress factory! heaven forbid ill ever pay for these to be put on my guitar in future, cant get them to stay in tune expexially the 4th string,daddario seem a better buy or errinies or rottosounds (you even get a free e with them). any thoughts or am i being a bit hasty??, dont mean to bash martin , i know they make great guitars, but strings may be a different kind of celtic tiger,,,?? spread the love guys!big hugs too!

 

 

What kind of strings were you using before? You've mentioned a few brands, but were you using P/B? 80/20? 85/15? Coated strings? Just curious to know whether "bad" may simply be different from what you're used to.

 

I use D'Addario P/B. Used Martin SP for a while, also tried Martin Marquis, really liked both. Just a matter of personal taste. I don't think there's a thing wrong with their quality.

[guitarist21]

I don't think they're "as bad as you think," but like people are saying, it is totally subjective. If they sound bad to you, try other brands. I, too, use SP's almost exclusively.

 

Ellen

[Cldplytkmn]

i don't care for marquis, they're not horrible though... if you happened to try their 'darcos' then yes, those are horrible... maybe worse than horrible.

 

SPs are fantastic.

[rjoxyz]

I have 2 Martins. I like Martin Fingerstyle PB's on my 000-15S and that is about it for Martin strings and me. I am not fond of their regular SP's. I have tried them several times in PB on my HD-28 and other guitars. The just seem stiff and a little too bright, lacking depth. I favor 13-56 DR Sunbeams and occasionally John Pearse PB's.

 

I have been playing a set of Dean Markley Alchemy PB 12-54's on my L-03 and they sound better every day. Different strings for different guitars. I am a fan of Martin's guitars, but not their strings in most cases.

[eor]

just don't get the silk & steel

 

love,

eor

[bigtony]

thanks for the feedback guys, really helpful, the guitar came with d'addaro coated bronze string (exp13). when i bought it, i put a another name brand on since then, cant think of if off hand,found the coated ones left a chalky residue on the fingerboard but i may switch back to these as this is what the guys at garrison recommend (again i know its all about taste) and id probably get longer out of a set in the long run., the martin ones were about

[SpaceCowboy409]

Another vote for SP 80/20s

 

(and yeah, Silk & Steel suck unless you want your guitar to sound like it's under a heavy blanket)

[Pablo]

I like Martin SP phosphor bronze pretty well; I'd say they're among the top three strings I've tried so far. My favorites so far are DR Rare. Haven't yet tried John Pearse, but those will be next if I can find 'em.

[Freeman Keller]

FWIW, Marton SP PB's were the benchmarks I used in the pin test and, along with SP 80/20's are the main two uncoated strings in the string test. I think they are as good as any.

[johbren]

I also use martin sp 80/20 I think for the price they are the best you can buy

[simplygoodmusic]

I love martin SPs...truth be said, I refuse to use anything else. Every other strings I've used seemed horrible to my ears...