Scott Williams 🐧I prefer 80/20 strings over Phosphor Bronze for steel string acoustics.
Anne DelongInteresting... can you say why?
@Anne_Delong I'll preface this with an acknowledgement that both are viable and it largely comes down to preference, but it's ultimately a trade off between 80/20 having a more vibrant tone vs phosphor bronze having better longevity. 80/20's brightness is also easier to manage with an on board EQ when plugged it. It's easier IMO to tone down the high end brightness than to boost it. My next adventure will be "bluegrass" 80/20 that have thicker gauge low end strings.
Thanks for the explanation. I've tried both on my mandolin lately (it's acoustic, no EQ). To me the string gauge makes more difference, but I think the tone of the phosphor-bronze suits my mandolin better.
I'm jealous of guitar-players, who can walk into a music store and have a wide choice of strings right on hand. The stores near me seem to think that mandolin players all want the same two gauges of one brand of strings.
@Anne_Delong I'm almost certainly running phosphor bronze on my mandolin, too. My mando has a pickup as well, but I've never had an issue of it not being bright enough 😅 .
I was used to using medium gauge guitar strings,, but then I bought a Simon & Patrick guitar with a cedar top and cherrywood body. The medium strings didn't sound as good as the ones that came on it, so I checked the company website, and they recommended light strings. What a difference in tone! So I guess it depends to some degree on the particular guitar which strings sound best.
@Anne_Delong Yeah, it's very dependent on the instrument. My Gibson acoustic conversely got easier to play when I went up in string gauge.