Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I bought some Darco (CF Martin) 46 - 10 strings about 5 years ago to do a repair job on an SG Custom (60's Les Paul SG). Since I was re wiring it and setting it up I wanted a cheap set of strings. I had to pull then and re string them several time so I didn't want to ruin a $6.00 set of strings.

When I was finished I tuned up my SG, and the strings had a really nice sound. I took the second set that I thought I might need and put them on a Strat. I loved the sound and have been using then ever since.

When I was setting up a guitar for a friend I said she had to have new strings on it before I could set the intonation properly. I told her I would re string her guitar for 4 sets of strings, thinking they were still under $2.50 a set. Wrong. They went up to $3.00 here in town. But a lot of folks would easily pay that to get them on their guitars. A lot of people around seem to here hate putting on strings. And the 4 sets appeared a bargain to her.

I thought a the price jump was a bit steep so I looked on the Internet and found them for $24.00 a dozen. And bought two dozen sets. Not for everyone, but I would rather use those Darcos over some of the higher cost name brand sets. Even if someone offered me any brand set for free, I would still pick the Darcos. I just flat like them.

Just to let you know that you can still get strings for under $2.00 a set with todays inflation edging into high gear. Even when used on a clunker guitar I think they sound good.

Most people in these parts use GHS strings since they are a Michigan product. But I do like Martin strings on my acoustics.

I like Martin Bronze on my wife's 64' D-28, but my Alvarez gets Elixir Nanos.
They are expensive, but they last forever.

Wasn't GHS one of the first to sell 46-10 sets? I used to use GHS all the time because before they had light gauge you could buy singles and make up your own sets. A good many stores didn't carry singles from other brands at the time. I really liked GHS and used them the whole time I was a gigging musician.

Funny thing. I started playing bass because a friend of mine and I were shooting pool and drinking beers all day long while he was waiting for the bar owner get in to pay him. We were there from 10 am to 7:30 PM. He had to play bass that night at 8:00. He was too wasted, so he talked me into playing bass that night. I never even held a bass before that. He was right, I did catch on right away.

The next night he offered me his gig. I told him I didn't have any gear, and he offered to let me use his until I got some. Later in the week I went into the store where I bought my GHS singles and bought a Kalamazoo bass. They made them in pink and baby blue at the time. And they also sold a small Kalamazoo guitar made in similar fashion.
The price was right and that little Kalamazoo sounded just fine. With a little custom wiring the thing sounded really good.

And it was hefty enough to use for self defense when the beer mugs and bottles started flying. through the room. We used to ask that the bar owner put chicken wire around the bandstand so we wouldn't get injured by flying objects. All those clubs in that part of town were pretty rowdy back then.

A good many products came from Michigan back in those days. Unfortunately, Gibson quality was taking a nose dive about that time. The custom shop ruined one of my guitars, and a Super 400 that I ordered came in with deep belt buckle indentations all over the back, and a pickup literally hanging out of the guitar by the wire. I waited on back order for over a year to get that piece of crap. It was supposed to be the guitar of my dreams. Guess it was, only it was a nightmare. I have not purchased another new Gibson product since then. I still own two Les Pauls, a Les Paul Custom (SG), and as ES355TD.

The quality of both Gibson and Fender guitars took a nosedive in the '70s, but they've since recovered. My new Strat is the best one I've ever played.

I used some Martin bulk bass strings on my 4-string, once. They were okay, I guess, & only cost me $10 for the set. There's a lot to be said for that.