Interesting! From his web site…

#2800-M, medium gauge: .0165 .019 .0265 .035 .047 .057

Do you have Open D as your second DoubleShot tuning? The third string works well?

It’s an $11 experiment. I’m game. Thanks for the info.

I do have the Doubleshot set in D and G. Watch for their sale prices also. I usually stock up when they have multiple sets on sale. I only bought one set of the reso strings to see how they sounded and what kind of life they might have. All of the strings are working fine so far. The 6th string did take a bit of settling in time but after a few cycles of the Doubleshot lever even it settled down.

Head scratcher regarding the .0265 3rd or high G string. 

Players pestered D'Addario for years to change the 3rd from .026w to .028w and they  finally listened. 

We all know the 3rd  being the thinnest of the wound strings is the first to die - .0265 strikes me as a weird choice in 2022 but maybe there is something I'm missing.  

I read the description a couple times but it hasn't exactly sunk in yet, I'm not real savvy  regarding the physics - here is a link if you want to get the story: 

https://straightupstrings.com/collections/resophonic-guitar-strings

Might have to try a set. $11 is a great price for the promised paradigm shift. Like MiS, I'm not a fan of the .0265" G, at least in concept. It would be nice to offer the 3rd strings separately, or include an extra with the pack. I haven't used anything that light in years (.029 is my go-to) and my memory of both tone and longevity is not positive. YMMV...

The .0265 struck me as odd as well.  Only one way to find out...my set is en route.

I like the concepts of compensated download pressure and an even string plane.  How this translates to playability, tone, and string life will be interesting.

I am letting them settle in tonight and will give them a better try tomorrow. Roger is extremely open and easy to talk to about this strings. I hope they continue to sound great and have a long life on the guitar.

Took a very little tweaking to get things back in tune this morning. The strings still sound good to me, lots of life and a good sound all around. My wife even commented on the great sound. I am having no trouble at all with .0265 third string. They move quite nicely between D and G tuning with the Doubleshot and seem to hold tuning very well. For me, if the life span is better than the EJ42's I think I will stick with them.

I get a monthly newsletter from SUS and there is usually a sale of some type going on in it. Like I said I have used their strings on my guitars and banjos almost since they came out and have been very happy with them. The lower tension on the guitar sets make them a pleasure to play.

Phil

You just put them on, so I would hope you're not having any trouble with the 3rd string yet - time will tell. Lol

I have a theory about strings in general, particularly on squareneck resonators - they all sound good when they're new (except for nickel strings on modern resos - they usually sound just plain bad to me). 

I purchased my Paul Beard squareneck a few years ago and it has mainly sat in the case with an occasional 10 minute frustration use and now I'm ready and have been putting in several sessions every day with simple tunes to develop my muscle memory on steel placement and finger picking. I purchased some new strings and since the tag was resonater, I bought, only to discover they were for the round neck. I want, and hope you can help me learn exactly the name of the companies, how to identify the strings, etc. so I can buy the right strings. I just finished reading the comments about strings on this site, however,while it was fascinating, I am still not confident on ordering as I want to purchase the correct strings. Looking forward to your string wisdom to fill the responses. Thanks very much.
Bill Henry from the Beautiful Jersey Shore

Bill, which model Beard do you have? 

This thread is about the new Straight Up Strings reso strings - but they're 11 bucks a set. 

I would say there is an excellent chance that the D'Addario EJ42 set,  phosphor bronze, are the most popular strings in the business. The first string preferred by the vast majority of players is either a 16 or 17. The EJ42 set gauges are 16-56, designed for what  I refer to as "standard" tuning for lap style dobro tuned to low to high, GBDGBD, and they also work fine for Open D or DADF#AD. 

You can get them from the D'Addario store on Amazon for $5.95 a set, and I think it gets cheaper if you buy multiple packs. 

Used for many years by Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes, though Rob historically changes out the 1st string 16 and uses a 17 instead.

Jerry and Rob may be using some of the newer design and more expensive D'Addario sets, but the gauges are pretty much the same. I know for years they have both been endorsers so I would imagine the UPS driver shows up in their doorstep periodically with boxes of  strings and unlike most of the rest of us,  they don't  have to pay for them. 
 

Link to the D'Addario store on Amazon:

https://tinyurl.com/j7xdwjnt
 

...and as an aside Bill, since you apparently haven't spent much time  on the hangout since joining in 2016 - look to the left side of your screen for the search function with the magnifying glass icon. You can type in something like "best strings" and spend an entire day  reading about them from past topics. 

No need to turn this thread  into "what are the best strings" version 57.0 - we've been down that road many times. 

2 weeks now with these strings and they are still sounding great. They hold their tuning very well with no sign of going dead at all. Chimes at 5, 7 and 12 frets are nice and strong. By this time my longtime favorite EJ 42's would be sounding a bit dead on some strings. I am just a bedroom player these days but I do practice at least one hour per day and tend to play with a pretty heavy attack. Not saying these are the holy grail or anything but two weeks in I am still a happy customer and user. As always, your mileage and satisfaction not guaranteed.

Phil

I put about 4 hours playing time on the Straight Up set, tuned to G on a Beard MA-6.

I like them.

They've already outlasted my typical experience with an EJ42 set, which usually go south on me after 2-3 hours of hard playing.

The .0265w third gives a mid-rangy, biting "honk" when doing those slide-in licks, which sounds more old school than my GHS cryos.

I can tell the third is going to be the first to go. But again, it's already lasted longer than my D'Addario sets have.

There is less string residue on my finger pads (I use open back / cutaway ProPiks), so there's that, if it's an indicator of anything.

I will reserve further judgment until I get another couple days of playing, to see if they hold up my usual GHS string set longevity.

Seems to be a viable set. Usual disclaimers, and YMMV clause is in effect...

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkinSonoma

Bill, which model Beard do you have? 

This thread is about the new Straight Up Strings reso strings - but they're 11 bucks a set. 

I would say there is an excellent chance that the D'Addario EJ42 set,  phosphor bronze, are the most popular strings in the business. The first string preferred by the vast majority of players is either a 16 or 17. The EJ42 set gauges are 16-56, designed for what  I refer to as "standard" tuning for lap style dobro tuned to low to high, GBDGBD, and they also work fine for Open D or DADF#AD. 

You can get them from the D'Addario store on Amazon for $5.95 a set, and I think it gets cheaper if you buy multiple packs. 

Used for many years by Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes, though Rob historically changes out the 1st string 16 and uses a 17 instead.

Jerry and Rob may be using some of the newer design and more expensive D'Addario sets, but the gauges are pretty much the same. I know for years they have both been endorsers so I would imagine the UPS driver shows up in their doorstep periodically with boxes of  strings and unlike most of the rest of us,  they don't  have to pay for them. 
 

Link to the D'Addario store on Amazon:

https://tinyurl.com/j7xdwjnt
 

Mark,  In answer to your question about my Paul Beard Signature model --- The ID tag inside reads:  Gold Tone Model PBS, serial 21011491.  Are the last 3 numbers the month and year it was made or at least the last two for year?

I have another question on D-Addario strings that you mentioned on Amazon,  when I opened the link you provided, the EJ42 appeared to be for a regular 6 string guitar which happened to be the same ones I bought previously and cover EADGBE strings.    I overlooked the correct package or it was not there.

Bill 

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Bill, no idea what the deal is re the link, when I went back and clicked on it it came up correctly on the Amazon site. I tried to include a screen shot but it wouldn't "take" because it's not a jpeg file and I don't know how to convert it. So I attached a photo of the package below. Just type the info from the pack into the search function on Amazon and the D'Addario store should come up. 

Not to sound like a "reso snob" but I guess I will anyway - we don't refer to Gold Tone Paul Beard Signature guitars as strictly "Beards." 

They are manufactured in China under the guidance of Gold Tone in Florida, and were designed by Paul Beard, hence the signature.  We usually refer to them as Gold Tone/Beard for short. A small percentage of the guitars would be shipped to Maryland for final setup and assembly, but Beard has discontinued that for the time being - I think they are too busy trying to keep up with the demand for actual Beard  guitars. Those that went to Beard in Maryland have a sticker which can be seen through the bass side screen hole indicating a genuine Beard setup. 

Some retailers sell them online (like Elderly in Michigan) as "Beard Gold Tone" but that strikes me as being a little deceptive - it makes it sound like they could be U.S. made Beard guitars. 

The guitars made in Maryland at Paul's small facility are "real Beards." Not a thing wrong with Gold Tones, good guitars for the money and might be all many players ever need.

The PBS model is the lowest price of the three that are offered and the wood is layered or laminate mahogany. 

As far as the serial number, I don't know the significance of the sequence. Perhaps someone else here does, or you could contact Gold Tone customer service, or maybe Beard, but I would start with Gold Tone. 

As far as the idea of the numerals on the end being year of production this is definitely not case. These guitars were designed by Paul in the early 2000s and first hit the market if memory serves around 2004-05. 

It might be throwing off Bill because the artwork on the package looks like a " regular " guitar , but the EJ-42 are definitely the strings intended for squareneck Reso .

Because they are part of the regular D'adderio product line , it's not uncommon to find them at better mainstream brick & mortar music stores . If the manager/ buyer orders " gimme all the D'a accoustic strings " from their distributors , the EJ-42 will be in there .

More than once I've asked at the counter " You have any dobro strings ? " , and they'll say no . Then I'll ask specifically for EJ-42 , and they have them .

I am very interested to hear how other folks have gotten on with the Straight Up Strings for the reso. My original set is still on my Beard and they are still sounding good to me. They have outlasted the EJ 42 set by several weeks without sounding dead and they are still very responsive. I am not a pro dobro player by any stretch of the imagination but I do want to hear the best from my instrument at all times. I like these strings well enough that I will be ordering more sets in the near future and mix in my remaining EJ42 sets to make sure my ears are not playing tricks on me.

quote:

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Originally posted by psikes

I am very interested to hear how other folks have gotten on with the Straight Up Strings for the reso. My original set is still on my Beard and they are still sounding good to me. They have outlasted the EJ 42 set by several weeks without sounding dead and they are still very responsive. I am not a pro dobro player by any stretch of the imagination but I do want to hear the best from my instrument at all times. I like these strings well enough that I will be ordering more sets in the near future and mix in my remaining EJ42 sets to make sure my ears are not playing tricks on me.

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My DoubleShot installation cut short my planned longevity test on the Straight Ups.  As I recall they were on for about a week and still sounded good.  By comparison, I burn through EJ42s in a matter of hours.  I put my trusty GHS Cryos back on since i had some gigs and didn't want to chance a new set of strings the first time using the DoubleShot.

I have another set of Straight Ups and will be putting them on the next time I change strings.  I'll be able to give a better assessment then.  As mentioned, I really like the biting "honk" when sliding licks on the 3rd with the Straight Ups.  I'll also be interested to feel the lighter gauge 3rd in Open D on the DoubleShot.  You mentioned it works well on yours, which is encouraging to know.

For the past couple years, I have been using the D'Addario Nickel Bronze, which are about the same price and have lasted quite well for me compared to the EJ42.

I ordered one set of the Straight Up Reso to try...thanks for the info!

Unfortunately I have a skin reaction to nickel strings. I do prefer the sound of the phosphor bronze better also. Whatever floats your boat the best and gives you the most bang for your buck.

Good Luck with the new strings.

Today marked the end of life for this set of strings. From 21 Dec til 3 Feb was a very good run. They started off okay this morning but by the second hour of practice the 6th, 3rd and 1st strings were dead as a doornail. For me this was a massive improvement of string life of the EJ42 sets. Back to the EJ42 until I can get another shipment in from Straight Up Strings. They may not be for everyone but I am sure a happy user.

Phil

I'll be working these strings into my rotation for sure. Not ready yet to commit to a full swap from the GHS Cryos, but I do enjoy the Straight Ups. I've had a set on for about a week and there are no signs of wear that I can detect. Putting them through some abuse with the DoubleShot, no less...

The compensated loading and level strings are evident when doing licks in G tuning that require floating the bar across strings 1-6. The bar edge is not catching the strings, even with some light bar pressure. I like that. Usually I use the bullet nose end of my SP2, or manage my technique more diligently, when doing songs with a lot of these horizontal float moves (or whatever you'd call them). That's not as necessary with the Straight Up Strings.

The .0265w 3rd is a non-issue for me. I'm puzzled as to why. But no problem.

So yeah, they have me as a new customer, perhaps (eventually) as a full time customer. Thanks for the tip!

12 days now with the Straight Ups on the Beard MA-6. Went to change them this a.m., as is my custom 24-48 hrs before a gig to give strings time to settle in with the DoubleShot.

They don’t need changing. Still sound great.

Freaks me out a bit to head to a gig with 2 week old strings. Don’t think I’ve ever done that, nor even thought about attempting that. If they sustain this performance through 2 weekend gigs, they will be my new #1.

Just ordered 6 more sets from Roger.

I installed the Straight Ups and noticed the same issue that D'Addario Nickel Bronze has...the 5th string doesn't hold pitch until you wind the hell out of it. In some cases with the Nickel Bronze, the 5th string never holds pitch, then breaks after tightening it so far. I hope that doesn't happen with the Straight Ups. I haven't had a chance to actually play on them yet.