Surf strings: To surf guitar players, what strings do you use on your surf axe?

[SurfGreen]

Hi fellow surf players.

I play a Fender Jazzmaster reissue in surf green. I also use Thomastik-Infeld flats, 11 guage, which I love.

Just wondering what other surf guitarists play in terms of strings.

Thanks. Surf is up!

[agentjonny]

i use d'addario exl 11-49's...can't hang with the flats, they feel gross to me...

[SurfGreen]

They can be a bit different to get used to. But I never had any problem with the Thomastiks. They felt as springy and dynamic as almost any flats that I've tried.

The Pyramids also sound and feel very good.

But I need to change my Thomastiks, they seem to have lost their brightness and springiness.

Every once in a while, I feel like changing back to rounds but know in a few days I'll want to go back to flats.

[blueavenger]

Well, I mess things up by using different strings on different guitars for surf.  On the Jazzmaster I'm using 11 chrome flats.  On the Jag I use 12 pure nickel roundwounds.  The sound out of the jag is much better to my ear with nickel rounds. Still sounds "woody" with both pickups, but the bridge only is aggressive like a bridge strat sound without being too sharp, and definitely still sounds like a jag.  Very happy with it.  Considering going down one size on both guitars, but then again have been considering that for a year now

[SurfGreen]

Yeah the 11's seem perfect for my Jazzmaster.

Only problem is, I recently had a hankering for a guitar with humbucking pickups. Just as a change. Because I've been playing strictly my Jazzmaster for so long. Was looking for a contrast. Ended up with a PRS SE Custom with two humbuckers. It's made in Korea and got it for about 600 bucks new. Plays very well. Strings on it are 10 rounds.

So after a few days, I wanted to start playing my Fender Jazzmaster. Because I've always viewed myself as a Fender guy through and through. Seems like the strings are harder to bend now than before I got that PRS.

But boy, still felt happy to play that Jazzmaster tonight. Nothing like a Jazzmaster/Jaguar and surf.

[SurfGreen]

Just for the fun of it, here is my new PRS SE Custom with 10s and a very resonant bridge

[SurfGreen]

Still like this better:

[LHR]

I had to vote "Other", even though I have used T-I flats extensively. Great strings. Love the sound.  And the tension was nice and low on the Jag even when strung with 13s.

I am playing DR Pure Blues 12s now. I used to play this type and have recently gone back to them after a long run with flats.

I found that my particular body chemistry was such that T-I flats (in particular) got fouled after a few gigs.  I wipe them off, but it was not enough.  The strings actually discolored where fretted (a kind of yellowish tint) and felt rough and nasty. Maybe I have sweaty fingers?  Maybe I have acidic sweat?

The DRs do not do this at all, despite being pure nickel wrap like the T-I.

[ohm-men]

i voted "chrome"

Been playing "Instro Surf" for half a decade now and I used all Flats I could get my hands on. Even though the "d'Addario's Chrome's" are not the best feeling strings, they last forever.
I also like teir tuning stability. Tomastik is nice, so are the Jazz Swings from Pyramid, but I had a hard time gettinng used to their lower string tension.0.13)I lately started using rounds as well, they work just as nice (when using 0.11/0.12/0.13) that is.

Although the Chrome's can be real "fret eaters" especially on the softer fretes MIJ/CIJ JM and Jag necks. But I didn't have any steing brakeage with them as I did witht he Pyramids and Tomastiks. Also the Pyramids and Tomastiks are pretty expensive imo.

I guess I just like the higher string tension as it seams to go well with my playing style....And they also go better with the stock bridge.

[SurfGreen]

I liked Chromes as well when I first tried them. They sounded great, just a little tighter tension.

Of course I swapped out the original bridge on my AVRI Jazzmaster for a Mustang bridge. But the original bridge wasn't bad and you had the advantage of being able to fine tune each individual string when intonating.

But it seems like something is amiss with my guitar. Maybe just need a change of strings. Because I've been playing these T-I's for a couple of months now. Probably that's it. Was thinking of even going back to the original bridge just for the heck of it.

Does anyone use a different bridge other than the original or a Mustang bridge? Just wondered what other possibilities there are for more resonance. I don't believe in a buzz stop though. I tried one, although it was effective the guitar reminded me a bit too much of a Strat.

[SurfGreen]

D'Addario rooundwound strings, the XL's sound good on my Jazzmaster as well.

[jetset]

Other: GHS rollerwound nickels (sorta half flats) 10, 13, 17, 28, 40, 50. 
I actually use them on all my Fenders, but they sound particularly surfy on this:

[SurfGreen]

Love that surf green color.

Have never tried the GHS ones.

[SurfGreen]

The poll is somewhat surprising to me at this point.
Chromes and rounds are winning out. I was reading back in the 1960s, players, certainly most surf players, were using flats I believe.
Shows you that you can play surf and play it well, using just about any imaginable string.
Playing the guitar well, it's all in the hands, as the old-timers would say.

[tremolite]

I don't play surf however I do play with a lot of reverb so...

I chose Pyramids as those are my favs for my JM. Have used Chromes on other guitars but never on my JM. I like the Chromes however they do feel like piano wire but still sound pretty good. I just ordered a set of these Pyramid Nickel Classics to try on my Tele that have a round core instead of hex core. Pretty excited to see how they work. Could be a nice alternative to flats on a JM too. They are in a package like this...



Ordered them from Tone-man... a really great source for Pyramid strings in the US.