Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Only strings I use....keep their tone forever

I love 'em on my 1967 365.... Wonderfully jangly tone, and they do indeed last forever....

But I tried Pyramids on a 360/12 and I couldn't stand 'em--they felt like razor wire under my fingers, and it was absolutely miserable to play--they only lasted on that guitar for a few days.

George...I'm shocked! LOL...

Manly strings!

ok... I'm sold.

The main point of this long diatribe is that "Optimum Gauges" should have a slight linear increase in tension as the strings get thicker:

Unfortunately, this guy's speaking in generalities and fails to consider that there's many ways to construct strings that greatly affect tension. The direct relationship between tension at pitch vs. gauge really only exists for a theoretical plain string.

The idea of increasing tension as the gauge gets larger is an old one, and not completely a bad idea, in that it reduces the need for relief since the higher tension keeps the larger strings from vibrating too widely. However, that usually requires a re-balancing of the pickups for an instrument not designed for these sets in order to have any reasonable evenness of volume, and of course it's problematic to adjust the neck straight with unequal tension on each side if you only have one truss rod.

My impression is that this guy is the Ed Roman of strings.

"the Ed Roman of strings"

Haaa.... could be! He certainly has strong opinions (to say the least).

"My impression is that this guy is the Ed Roman of strings."

...and the Gandalf of Guitars, too.

I only use em on my six strings..I do have a set for a 12 string..I'll give them to Paul!

George, are you talking about Pyramids or Zachs? If Pyramids, bring 'em on!!

Can Pyramid strings be easily identified? I recently purchased a 330/12 and am trying to figure out the brand of strings used on it. I have always used Rickenbacker in the past. I am not very knowledgeable on this subject.

There are no easy give-aways. The ball end has a plain brass-colored tube-gizmo at the end, the silk is red and the color of the flat winding is a little bit greyish, rather than a bright silver. TI's actually look very similar as do some other brands. When tuned to pitch, the Pyramids are pretty darned stiff though, and you might be able to feel it.

The Pyramids are rougher compared to the TIs. Actually they were not nearly as smooth as I expected.

Thank-you for the information. I appreciate it.

Besides the section on his strings, has anyone else read any further on the Zachary website? This guy has some interesting opinions for sure!