12-string players and PBs? --UPDATED

[Edward]

OK, so for those who hate elixirs, move on since I dig em and that's where I'm a goin here  ...not to mention my miscellaneous rambling a coming...

I've long used the elixir lights on my 12er, and it sounds great ...no complaints.  Well, kind of.  For the past year or so, I've bugged Elixir with an occasional email about offering their 12-string set in PhosBronze as they only offer them in 80/20s.  And every time, the party-line response was "we have no plans in offering that option...yada yada."   

So now --the slow, lame-brain that I can be at times-- just realized that elixir has an 6-string extra-light PB set that is the same gauge as the 12-s set in 80/20 ...voila!  I'm thinking of trying this and keeping the octave set the same since they are all plain steels anyway, except for the low-E octave which is wound.  Hmmm, I wonder (aloud) if that PB-low-E and 80/20-octave-e will play nice together or will cause sonic consternation in my OCD-ness???  OK so who here has:

1. Gone from 80/20 to PB (any brand) on their 12ers as I'd like to hear what your tonal impressions are given all those jangly steels strings playing along?
2. Do you think one lone wound 80/20 string will sound off along with the other PBs?

All my acoustics have long since worn PBs, so perhaps I'm over-thinking this.  I'm considering just buying the set, but balk given the cost of a whole 12-string set plus a 6-string set for one guitar... lol, which I admittedly laugh at as I type this considering what I've popped in the rest of this guitar madness

Thoughts, advice (and/or chastising) welcome.

Edward

[Gutch]

My $0.02...


Before investing the big bucks on two Elixir sets, why not give PBs a try on your 12 banger with a different brand just to see if you like the difference in tone.  Standard PB 12 string sets from John Pearse or D'Addario go for half the cost of the Elixir 12 set, and that's before you buy the second Elixir set to fill in the gauges.  Another option would be to try a set of PB 12'ers from one of the other coated brands -- A quick glance at Strings & Beyond shows that Martin LifeSpan SP and D'Addario EXP both have PB sets in coated style. 


If the tone works for you, then make the investment in the Elixirs.  Of course, you could find that you like one of the others and wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of creating your own hybrid set.  Have fun!

[Edward]

Hey Gutch,

Hmmm, I do like elixirs for their nanoweb coating and tone, but maybe the other coated brands are worth looking at for the 12er.   I never thought others would have coated 12er sets in PB ...duh moment and admittedly lame on my part.  And I just yesterday got a S&B email on free shipping...perfect timing.  Thanks for the wakeup call, man! 

Edward

[ctkarslake]

Love your idea Edward.  I wondered about the PB option in Elixir's too but never really looked into it like you have now(and hey, better late than never!).  So, thanks for the food for thought AND another option for my 12ers.

[michaelw]

there's no need to buy two 6 string sets of elixirs, ed -
the only wound/wrapped string is the E octave .027

the rest (.009, .010, .012, .014 & .018) are plain strings -
you could go with the elixir anti-rust ones, if they last longer &
just get a single .027 PB nano ... that is, if elixir made them 
looks like they currently make a .026 (14126) or a .030 (14130)

hopefully they'll make a .027 & a .025 single replacement G for the HD set,
or maybe they'll start making & selling PB nano 12 string sets -
i didn't realize it right off, but the 14 spring 456ceSLTD has 80/20s on it
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/acoustic/456ce-sltd

could make do with a .026 perhaps, maybe possibly

[Edward]

Thanks for that Michael ...certainly a thought worth exploring!

Well after some reading of the Martin and D'Addario coated offerings, all tonal opinions aside (which clearly were all over the map, as I had expected), there seems to be a fairly clear consensus, however, that the elixirs were the smoothest feeling of these 3 coated offerings ...quite a few found this a detriment and this "slickness" was one of the many criticisms levied unto the elixirs, as opposed to the more "conventional" feel of the SP and EXPs. 

That clinched it for me: I love the slickness of the elixirs!  The tactile response (near-squeak free for me) is very much part of what I love about these strings; that together with the tone of their PBs, and the striking longevity, I've continually returned to the elixirs despite occasional forays into other brands, for maybe over a decade now. 

So I went and ordered a set of elixir PB ex-lights (10-47) and will try them on my 12er soon as they come in.  I decided since this is an experiment, I will leave the existing octave strings that are on their now ...as Michael so astutely pointed out, except for the octave "e" these are plain steels anywhoo, and fairly new to boot, so should not affect tone vs a new set (heh, and cheaper this way ).  So when I get everything up and going, I'll give a tonal update for any who care.  Happy Friday, all!

Edward

[sojiro]

Interesting timing, because a few days ago I also sent an email to Elixer requesting that they consider selling a 12 string Nanoweb set in PB. I got the same answer you mentioned, which makes me thinks it's a copy & paste response to a question they get a lot. Hmm, maybe they should pay attention to the requests?

And after reading your post I came to a different conclusion than you did: We shouldn't have to assemble our own custom sets, because Elixer already has the strings available. All they'd have to do is package them. I don't understand why it's so hard...

I use Elixer 80/20s on the 12 string I use at church, and to me it's worth trading off optimal sound for longevity and decent amplified sound. But for my play-at-home 12 string where tone is more important, I use D'Addario PBs. I've got a set of their coated version to try as soon as the regular set wears out. I will also be investigating DR non-coated, and I've already tried Pearse PBs.

To me using PBs on a 12 string is a no brainer. 12 string guitars can be sort of jangly to begin with, so I think most players would want to experiment with using a mellower PB string to tame the trebles a bit. I just don't understand why Elixer doesn't sell them.

[Edward]

UPDATE:

I gone and done it: went with the elixir PB extra-lights.  I dig it!

FWIW, I decided to go ahead and just change the whole set.  Though in the aforementioned post I was planning on changing only the wound strings, but heck, I figured, I may as well swap the whole shebang and see where I'd land.  Bottom line is I can't deny I definitely prefer the tone: rounder, deeper/fuller bottom end than before (which was good, now just better!).  You folks who already prefers PBs over 80/20s know exactly the timbral difference, and the same applies here.  Hard to tell, though, but I almost think the bass notes are a bit louder, weighing against the trebles and octaves even better than with the 80/20 set.  It seems better balanced, anyway ...just don't hold me to it

So there you go, all; talk about a costly sting change, yikes!  I suppose I really could have tried the EXPs or SPs, but liking the elixir feel and known longevity I decided to stick with em.  Hopefully before my next string change elixir will have changed their tune here.  And if not, I may just do as Michael suggested and piece together the plain steels + one wound PB.  Oh the things we do to appease the tonal OCD in us...lol!

Edward

[Jersey tuning]

Extra volume may come from the slightly higher string tension of the PB set