After trying a bunch of different strings from a variety of brands (DR Rare, Martin SP PB and 80/20), Elixir NW, D'Addario, and a few others, I decided the ones I like the best are D'Addario EXP's. They last a long time, feel good (unlike Elixirs, IMO), and have a great resonating sound.
I recently bought a couple of sets of John Pearse strings to try. I had expiring eBay bucks and figured this was a good way to use them, plus I've heard a lot of good things about them and wanted to give 'em a try. So today I took off my 4 month old EXPs (which still sounded good) off of my Taylor 814 and put on the John Pearse strings. These are Phosphor Bronze Lights (.012 - .053). I play a combination of strumming, flatpicking, and fingerstyle. I have been focusing more on fingerstyle playing lately, but I do mix it up quite a bit.
My initial reaction is that, in comparison to the EXP's that I replaced these strings sound good for strumming, but so far I am less then 100% satisfied with the way they sound for fingerstyle playing. For strumming, they resonate really nicely and have a nice even tone from the bass end through the treble strings and notes. But they almost sound "muted" for fingerstyle play, especially down on the bass strings when using a capo, most notably the low E. It's not as "bad" when not using the capo (I use a Shubb)I generally do not use a thumb pick. Using the thumb pick does help a little, but I have trouble using the thumb pick (I am trying), and I prefer using my fingers.
Anyone else have the same experience? Or is it just me? Maybe they're too "fresh" and I have to let them play in a bit, which I will do. I have not tried them amplified yet. Perhaps these are just not the right strings for this guitar...
Jim
