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Strings recommendation

Off of piezo pickups now onto magnetic, been using 80/20 Bronze strings and wondering if this is still a good option or if better are recommended?

thanks

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on November 1, 2018 at 10:08am

Bronzewound strings are not particularly good for electric, you really need nickel wound.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on November 1, 2018 at 11:45am

Yes, nickel wound, pure nickel for a more resonant low end. CB Gitty has some 3-4 string sets?

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Permalink Reply by Korrigan on November 1, 2018 at 1:35pm

There are a lot of different materials available (pure nickel, nickle-plated steel, cobalt/iron alloy, maraging steel, stainless steel, etc.) but as long the package says it's for electric guitar they'll work well with mag pickups.

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on November 1, 2018 at 3:01pm

Yes CB Gitty sells 3 and 4 set strings. I've never used them. But there are many people on this site that do and highly recommend them.

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Permalink Reply by David McQueen on November 2, 2018 at 8:01am

Go with electric guitar strings. Personally I like D Darrio light. Electric strings have a much lower neck losding than accoustic ones in general.

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Permalink Reply by Brent Kasl on November 11, 2018 at 9:49am

Does the type of pu matter on strings? Eg piezo vs magnetic

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on November 11, 2018 at 10:14am

Hi, if one understands how the different pups work the answer becomes obvious.

piezo pups react to the vibration of the surface they are attached to, be it top back or saddle. They do not need to be in proximity to the string to create a singnal.

Magnetic pups need the strings in close proximity, the strings must vibrate within the magnetic field of the pickup to produce sound.

Type of string does not matter for piezo pickups. The rest as already mentioned by others.

Taff

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on November 11, 2018 at 10:11am

Q: Does the type of pickup matter on strings?

A: A piezo pickup is an acoustic device like a microphone. That being the case, it will respond to different types of strings (Brass, Bronze, Nickel, etc) based on how they sound acoustically.

A magnetic pickup in NOT an acoustic device (or shouldn't be if properly wax potted) and reacts to the strings based on how the strings interact with the magnetic field of the pickup. Brass or bronze strings are non-ferious (except for the wire core) and non-ferous metals do not interact with a magnetic field. As a result, brass/bronze strings used with a magnetic pickup do not produce much sound. Nickel wound strings, on the other hand, DO interact with the pickup's magnetic field to produce sound. That is the reason commercially available electric guitars always have steel or nickel strings.

So, the short answer is "What Chickenbone said" Go with nickel.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on November 11, 2018 at 10:13am

Magnetic pickups don’t amplify nylon core strings, you want a metal core for magnetic & piezo for nylon core strings. But to make it more confusing :) piezo also amplifies metal core strings as well, it amplifies any & all vibrations that come into contact with it, which is why it works for both. There’s alot of info available on the internet about the how’s & why’s of pickups if you wanna do some reading. Hope this helps,cheers

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Permalink Reply by Brent Kasl on November 12, 2018 at 1:38pm

Thanks all

All I know is that of the two magnetic builds just completed the bronze/phosphorus strings sound a lot different than the steel, both good, steel more tinny and bronze deeper