Live steel strings

[Malcolm]

Maurice there was a very good article on strings on b0b's forum a few months back.I was surprised at what Zumbilly said about Live strings , have not used them personally, but know they are well thought of by many US players. In years gone by I used to bulk buy packets of single strings, mainly Ernie Ball, and as Ken said had to change 3rd and 5th every 3rd gig , just to make sure they would not break at gig.Sometimes I could go through 2 or 3 strings just trying to get the 3rd up to pitch until I read about Jagwire strings on forum, never looked back have not broken a string since and they last and last.I only changed them when I noticed slight tuning drift.My good mate Willie Gamble did not believe me about strings until I forced him to put a set on--result , he does not use anything else now.It is a personal thing and different people prefer different strings, just get a packet of each and then judge for yourself.I have not tried Cobra or Live so cannot comment on them, have tried Sit, Ghs, Ernie Ball, and quite a few others, my personal choice is Jagwire.
The article I mentioned was pretty interesting and pointed out that there are many more string manufacturing plants in the US than people thought! and that although strings from one factory could be used by many suppliers in their own packaging , it did not follow that the specification is identical, many factors come into play, the quality of steel used, slightly different manufacturing , and any different requirements specified by customer ordering the strings .So you pay your money and you take your choice.
Can't comment on Don Helms, but as he was lap player there was no movement of tuning by pedals or lever, so obviously string life would be much greater than on a pedal steel.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Well Maurice, heres another answer, I was in the office of Bob Hird (late president S.I.T. strings) and I asked him if I could have some of them Jagwire strings as people were asking for them on account of their publicity etc and the answer was no you will have to go to Danny for them, I said why your only putting them in different packets arn't you? his answer was "I can't tell you that" so I laughed at him and said "You just did!
I have toured the factory in Ohio with Mr.Virgil Lay the founder and watched the strings being made, even shown the secret process they used on the singles to stop them slipping. On exiting the building through the packing dept. there were strings with many labels destined for all over the world. S.I.T is a great company and Virgil would be proud of what he started.
Only other information he gave me was The steel comes from Kentucky and the brass ball ends are Swiss.....

[WineRider]

Malcom, John,

You have both given me more food for thought. OK so the only pedals I have are on my bike!!! so I can accept that the differnt pressures and shear stresses on strings between PSG's and LSG's are completely different and like finger picks and thumb picks it is all about personal choice. I have tried many different sets and single strings for my latest creation and as Malcom pointed out 'You Pay Your Money and Take Your Choice'. I still find it strange that although all the 'Pros' are basically singing from the same prayer sheet, they all have the caveat...I use X because!. And all are different.

When I raced motorbikes professionally I used many items because I was sponsored and swore by the products...because they were free and I got bonuses. I must be two faced because some of the products I used and endorsed, were not what I would have bought if I had had the choice. So I am guilty of being a hypercrit and I hate to admit it, but it does pose a question of those that get free products! Or am I just jealous?

Troubled from France

Maurice

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Maurice. I have never had a "free " string in my life, Bec is charged the same as any other distributer.... Fender did give me a Steel King and I took it on tour as promised but it did not stack up against my cubes with JBL E120's. so its gone >>>>>>>

[WineRider]

John I've got to say it...lifes a bitch. Self publicity is the answer let the string suppliers who's products you use know that you are promoring them...if not go to another string manufacturer and try again. It's either that or in my racing days I have the proverbialk 'golden orbes' or lied a lot.

I do have freinds (musicians who play Jazz !!! whatever that is) others have retired and none of them got a freebies, so something is wrong in the music industry. Now if I could find a string worth importing, would I consider those who chose to use my products for sponsorship? possibly or maybe only if they gave me loads of free lessons...sort of barter principles.

Two things spring to mind; 1 I need all the help I can get to play lap steel. 2. I'm too old to start another business

Maurice

[Malcolm]

Maurice, the pro's are just like the rest of us, all have different ideas and likes and dislikes, so it very much a personal thing.Some get sponsorship and take this as another form of income, some get together with manufacturers to develop their own likes, pretty much as any other business eg football you don't have to like the shirts they supply but they pay you to wear it, but for that amount of cash you will wear it.
John loves SIT strings and swears by them, I like Jagwire and swear by them, don't like SIT's have tried them a few times and found they lasted no longer than Ernie Ball ones, doesn't mean either of us are wrong ( or right for that matter) , it's just personal preference.

[Tony Smart]

With regard to sweaty hands, has anyone tried spraying them with anti-perspirant to keep them dry.
I often had the problem doing gigs, probably through stress, and it did adversely affect my playing. No trouble at home though.
Anyone got any other solutions?

[David Hartley]

I did reply but deleted my posting.

Johns strings win every time.

[Jif]

I've had a set of Live nickel strings on my Carter U12 for the past year, I put them on last December, I started having tuning problems about a week ago and the tone has diminished in the past few weeks, so I'll probably change them soon.

I play just about every night for a couple of hours, not gigging, but they get plenty of abuse! I would say that they have lasted very well. I preferred the tone of the Live strings to the SIT strings, the Live strings seemed to me to be a bit more mellow and rounded. Of course it probably differs from guitar to guitar, they seem to work well on my Carter tone wise so although they are a bit more expensive I'll most likely stick with them.

I also bought a set of Live Stainless Steel at the same time to compare the difference in tone to the Nickel version, I'll be putting them on next to see how they respond. Although it's a year since I put on the nickel set, so I probably won't remember what they sounded like

I'm happy with the tone and longevity of Live strings and will buy them again, whether it's nickel or stainless will depend on how the stainless pan out when I put them on.