Wade, ive never used Pearse strings -when ever ive seen them , they only had uncoated strings . Im not a fan of most uncoated strings ive tried , Martin uncoated strings go dead so fast it could make your head spin - I typically use the Dadarrio EXP's in light , both PB and 80/20 - dpendent on the guitar and Martin SP's in both PB and 80/20 -lights mainly . Having so many guitars it would drive me to the poor house trying to keep new strings on everything -so thats my main reason for the coated . Does Pearse strings have coated strings ?

Just curious Id pick up a set or two to try - whats their life expectancy for someone who plays a couple hours a day ( uncoated ) ?

Unless there have been recent developments that I am unaware of, there are no coated JP strings.

Personally, with the exception of the strings on my Baritone guitar, I really do not like coated strings at all, neither the feel or the sound of them.

Tony, Chris is correct, there are no coated John Pearse strings, and no plans to introduce any that I'm aware of. This doesn't mean that there never will be, just that it hasn't been mentioned to me.

John Pearse himself absolutely loathed coated strings: if I wanted to set him off on a tirade during one of our long distance phone conversations, all I had to do was mention coated strings. I'd have to make sure I was comfortable first, though, because he'd be at it a while....

But John passed away three years ago this October, so his former wife and business partner Mary Faith Rhoads necessarily makes those sorts of business decisions without John's input these days.

So who knows what the future holds? But I can tell you there are no coated John Pearse strings either in production or on the immediate horizon. Not that I'm aware of.


whm

wade what do you suggest for brazilian rosewood - i like the briteness and trebbly sound but seem to be missing something in the bass ( wish the bass notes were basier - like in a PB) -but i love the clear brite sound 80/20 give me - typically i use lights -

80/20's or PB lights to start ? ....... wish their was a set of 80/20' but with a PB - 5 and 6 string --- is their such a thing ?






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The best thing I can suggest to you, Tony, is that you get a few sets of lights in both alloys and then mix and match and experiment with them until you hit on the ideal combination for your guitar and your ear. Then you could order a half dozen or dozen single strings in each of the right gauges and alloys and create your own hybrid sets.

That's how I do it, anyway. I don't mix alloys like you're suggesting, but I definitely come up with non-standard sets for many of the instruments I play.


whm

I dont know the science behind them but John Pearse strings make by humble Yamaha FG730s really sing. I use them on my Martins now too. The 600l p/b seem to work well for me. They really do sound and play different.

Totally agree.

thanks for straightening that out Wade.

I find it interesting to learn about various players and what instruments/strings, etc they use, but personally, I don't care what brand or weight of strings anyone else uses. What matters to me is what performs best overall on each of my particular guitars....to me, for my needs and taste. In my case, using DADGAD, I like light gauge strings, but prefer .013 and .017 on the high end instead of .012 and .016, so mix and match for my needs. .053/.054 doesn't really matter a whole lot on the low end, but that extra .001 on the high end makes a difference.

Regarding brands, I saw an interview with Tommy Emmanuel who made a very interesting comment that his guitars become "accustomed" to a particular brand of string and he notices the tone change and even slightly deteriorate over time. He said the guitars begin to sound dead and lifeless, then when he uses a different brand, it's like the guitar has a new life and opens back up. Said he prefers Martin SP because of the consistency, but also uses John Pearse and D'Addario PB lights.

Hmmm, this needs the string myth buster on it - Wade ?

Thankfully some people are sticking to the facts about parts of this, rather than spinning fantasy/fairy-tales about misremembered occurrences...

That interview is for real, unfortunately. I remember it crystal clear and I remember making jokes about it.

Tommy is one of my favourite players. Doesn't mean I have to share his string philosophy... ;)

Yeah, well, I have to say I can think of no process by which a set of strings can become "accustomed" to a guitar. Strings can get a bit played in and the tone changes enough that the person playing the guitar might think they've accommodated themselves to the instrument, but that isn't how it works. Typically the strings will lose a bit of their treble response the older they get, and that's probably what Mr. Emmanuel is hearing.


whm

He did say that he changed brands because the guitars were getting tired of it and sounded dull. That is truly what he said (unfortunately).

Yep...that's what he said. :D But I have a feeling Wade is correct, considering the guy plays pretty much 24/7, beats the crap out of his guitars/strings, changes strings nearly on a daily basis, and strings "getting old" to Mr. Emmanuel means a couple hours after restringing. He literally plays the life out of them very quickly and it would only make sense that the guitars will end up sounding dead and lifeless.