Strings/Setup on a 330/6 - Mitch Easter content!
Posted: Sun Mar 19, 2023 9:01 pm
Hey all,
I have a 330/6 and am generally pretty happy with the sound. It's currently strung up with roundwound 11's. Action is about as low as I can go with clear articulation/sustain, no buzzing. My 330 has hi-gains. My playing style involves a lot of big open chords/capoing/articulate melodic leads... err "jangle."
One issue I am having is some of the lighter strings tend to fret sharp especially in open-chord territory. I can't go any lower action-wise without sacrificing sustain, but one other idea I had was to try a heavier gauge string as it has less room to travel and is a bit easier to grip without fretting it sharp.
The real reason I'm posting now is I read an interview with Mitch Easter this morning about the early REM sessions, and he mentioned one of the keys to the entire sound was the guitar strings. Easter says "“The thing about Peter Buck’s sound that’s really important is he used larger gauge flatwound strings. That’s what made it all work. Those Rickenbacker pickups sound better the more metal you put over them." Link here - https://www.musicradar.com/news/Mitch-E ... FreeEurope
I believe Peter Buck's Rick six-string had hi-gain pickups too.
A lot of people tend to go round-wound on the 6s, and flatter on the 12s, so I thought this was interesting. Anyone ever try it?
What's a good flatwound string that's not super expensive like TI flats?
I have a 330/6 and am generally pretty happy with the sound. It's currently strung up with roundwound 11's. Action is about as low as I can go with clear articulation/sustain, no buzzing. My 330 has hi-gains. My playing style involves a lot of big open chords/capoing/articulate melodic leads... err "jangle."
One issue I am having is some of the lighter strings tend to fret sharp especially in open-chord territory. I can't go any lower action-wise without sacrificing sustain, but one other idea I had was to try a heavier gauge string as it has less room to travel and is a bit easier to grip without fretting it sharp.
The real reason I'm posting now is I read an interview with Mitch Easter this morning about the early REM sessions, and he mentioned one of the keys to the entire sound was the guitar strings. Easter says "“The thing about Peter Buck’s sound that’s really important is he used larger gauge flatwound strings. That’s what made it all work. Those Rickenbacker pickups sound better the more metal you put over them." Link here - https://www.musicradar.com/news/Mitch-E ... FreeEurope
I believe Peter Buck's Rick six-string had hi-gain pickups too.
A lot of people tend to go round-wound on the 6s, and flatter on the 12s, so I thought this was interesting. Anyone ever try it?
What's a good flatwound string that's not super expensive like TI flats?