Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I know a small amount about selecting strings for a bass, but next to nothing about what to choose for a steel guitar. I've found several great websites that talk about what gauge to use for what note ranges, etc., but nothing really, on things like the string material or wrap style. Also, does the scale length make a difference on what you use?

I'm guessing that stainless strings will tend to be a bit brighter than nickel and that round wound will be brighter than flat wound. I guess that's all subjective, but what do you folks use?

Also, with the steel slide, I seem to get a fair amount of noise from the windings (using round wound) as I move around. Is this just the nature of the beast, or should I be using flats if I don't want the noise? Or, is this a technique thing? Is there a way to slide on rounds without getting the noise?

Ask this guy:

Yeah, I actually like the idea of a bass steel. I had some rather big strings (.070) and put them on mine, tuned ACEGACEG with the low A the same as the A on a bass. Sounds pretty good. I'd like to get down to the E on a bass, but I'm not sure how well it would work with only a 25 inch scale length...

I guess I always assumed flats were de rigueur for steel guitar... I'd be interested to learn otherwise!

A few questions.
What kind of steel (lap, console, pedal) do you have?
How many strings?
What kind of music do you want to play?
What tuning/tunings will you be using?

scott_s wrote:I guess I always assumed flats were de rigueur for steel guitar... I'd be interested to learn otherwise!

Actually, very few steelers use flats.

rshatz wrote:A few questions.
What kind of steel (lap, console, pedal) do you have?
How many strings?
What kind of music do you want to play?
What tuning/tunings will you be using?

It's a Console 708 (shown in the thread about wiring & serial numbers), non-pedal.
Dual 8-string.
Tunings currently are:
Near neck, what I'm calling C6 bass. It's C6 high (ACEGACEG) lowered one octave (because I had some large gauge strings and I'm a bass player).
Far Neck, B11.

As for type of music, I'm not really sure. I primarily do rock, but some of the country stuff is good too, especially the more rock oriented stuff such as John Anderson. There's a lot of stuff Pink Floyd and others have done with steel that seems like it'd be fun to play...

You might like the D'Addario half-round stainless steel.
To me they're less bright than normal wound stainless strings and smoother and therefore less noisy.
You could also try nickle plated strings.
If noise is still a problem, try using a glass, ceramic or synthetic coated bar.
Tribotone is the latest player in that group to the best of my knowledge.

rshatz wrote:You might like the D'Addario half-round stainless steel.
To me they're less bright than normal wound stainless strings and smoother and therefore less noisy.
You could also try nickle plated strings.
If noise is still a problem, try using a glass, ceramic or synthetic coated bar.
Tribotone is the latest player in that group to the best of my knowledge.

Interesting, I never thought about using non-steel "steels"... I'll have to check some out.

A friend of mine who plays Dobro said that a volume pedal can be a help with reducing string noise, seems like that could get hard to manage. Any thoughts on these? Would it be a good thing to have, in general? Any brands/models to recommend?

I'll have to check out D'A half rounds. So far, I'm just using the strings that came with the steel when I bought it. There were a bunch of new strings of various gauges, most look like they are stainless, but a few are more likely nickel. I have no idea what brand they are or how old. Once I get moved, I'll have to try out some new strings...