Phosphor Bronze strings

Bob-Dubery

What's the verdict amongs the good folks of this forum RE Phosphor Bronze strings?

These strings are denser than 80:20 Bronze strings. So ~~guage for guage~~ or even gauge for gauge.
1) They result in a little more tension
2) They weigh more

So does phosphor bronze intrinsically sound different? Or is the difference that one's ear detects due only to the increased mass putting more energy into the top?

MoJo-JoJoe

Bob-Dubery

MoJo JoJoe wrote That's a great question! I've never thought of it like that, but I can confirm that on my acoustics Phosphor-Bronze has resulted in a louder, more punchy tone with a lot more bottom-end.

Yeah - I hear a difference, but it might just be the extra mass at work.

The tension difference is something to watch out for. My Morgan is built like a tank and will take PB Mediums no problem, but I'm not keen on putting the same strings on my Taylor Big Baby.

I read that a rule of thumbs is that if you go from 80:20 lights to PB lights it's like going from "light" to "light-and-a-third".

Gearhead

+1 on the punchier mentioned. I put Dean Markley GoldPhos .011-.052 on and woooow that upgraded my Fender DG3 to the point of not yet having to get a new acoustic.

It is bending the top quite a bit more, looks 2mm out-of-straight now. I could not say if it's because of the phosphor because I went up a guage as well. If the braces come loose now... We'll just have to glue them in again.

Bob-Dubery

Gearhead wrote
It is bending the top quite a bit more, looks 2mm out-of-straight now. I could not say if it's because of the phosphor because I went up a guage as well. If the braces come loose now... We'll just have to glue them in again.

Do you live in Jo'burg? With the wet weather we've been having it's quite likely that sold top guitars have got more moist than they're used to and thus are bulging a little.

If in doubt write to the manufacturer and have a chat with your guitar ~~nerd~~ nice guy expert. My Morgan is heavily built with a pretty thick top (how do they do that and still get good tone and good volume?) . They say it is built for mediums but will take heavier, and that PB mediums are, in their opinion, fine but it's always prudent to keep an eye on things. Taylor's web site says that the Big Baby is built for lights, and the guys at McGibbons tell me that with it's screw in neck it probably is not as stable as other constructions, so I'm not putting mediums on that one (it's my "take to braai" guitar, so I am less fussed about the tone).

Squonk

Speaking of Phosphor Bronze strings, which ones do you use?
Bob has been speaking about mediums, which guage do you prefer and for which style of music.
I mentioned in an Earlier post about switching to Custom light and enjoyed it at first, but have taken them off for lights.
They just weren't punchy enough especially for picking and lead playing!

Gearhead

Bob Dubery wrote Do you live in Jo'burg? With the wet weather we've been having it's quite likely that sold top guitars have got more moist than they're used to and thus are bulging a little.

I live in Vaal Triangle where it's also wet. Thing is the guitar was flat when I bought it in Amsterdam (more humidity than Joburg ever has) and it was bulging when I put on the Alchemy set (last fall - dry). No, the DG3 is just not Fender's finest.

Think I have answered Squonk's question.

Bob-Dubery

Squonk wrote Speaking of Phosphor Bronze strings, which ones do you use?

I like the sound of DRs, but they don't last long - at least not with me. D'addarios last better. I have Elixir polywebs on my Taylor and whilst the other two brands sound better when first fitted, there is no doubt that the Elixirs sound better for longer.

I am a bit leary of PBs above light because of the extra tension, but the Morgan factory assures me that their guitars will take these strings without problem. So next string change...

Squonk wrote Bob has been speaking about mediums, which guage do you prefer and for which style of music.
I mentioned in an Earlier post about switching to Custom light and enjoyed it at first, but have taken them off for lights.
They just weren't punchy enough especially for picking and lead playing!

This is the subjective part of the equation - no right answer. I think it depends on the mix of strings, instrument and player. I do find PBs to be richer sounding gauge for gauge, but as I originally said I am not sure if this is because that particular metal just sounds different or that they have more mass and thus put more energy into the top.

My Taylor is spruce top, kiaat laminate back and sides. The PBs seem to give it a bigger bottom end. I do mostly finger picked stuff, some plectrum - all for self accompaniament. The Morgan has rosewood back and sides and is just a wonderful instrument with a rich, complex sound. It naturally has so many overtones in it's sound that it can drive a tuner crazy. I still notice an extra something there, but recently I went (by accident) from PB lights to 80:20 mediums and the sound improved - which got me thinking that it might be the mass more than the compound that makes the difference.

FenderBender

My Stratacoustic, acquired in May last year, came with PB strings. Being my first and only axe at the time I decided to whip off the PB strings and slap on a set of Ernie Ball super slinkies to see if I could speed things up a bit. What a disaster. Every fretted note would bend unless played very lightly. Thus the lessons (and pleas for help) began!

I had no idea what I was looking for as I was much greener than I am now. Got a new set of PBs and in retrospect, they really seem to drizzle a pleasing touch of brassiness over the higher notes, increase overall attack and boost the bottom end, which gives the relatively small bodied semi a little more low end grunt. Great for blues and jazz. Plugging in via the Fishman IV preamp definitely expands the tonal quality of this axe immensely, but it's clear to me now that it is made for PB strings. I save the spider webs for my zenox!

Squonk

@Graeme - do use lights or medium? I have always used lights but tried the custom lights which sounded good for 5 minutes but then I had to take them off, the 1st and 2nd string just didn't have enough bite and I was scared I was going to break them if I picked a bit harder.
I will try mediums next time to see the difference.

FenderBender

@Squonk: mediums. They seem to last well