Silk/steel strings... HUH?!

bellgamin

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I have been buying guitar strings for a while but I never heard of silk/steel strings until today. It seems they enable a "warmer" sound BUT -- don't they break rather easily? And will they work on an acoustic-electric when played electric?
 
I have been buying guitar strings for a while but I never heard of silk/steel strings until today. It seems they enable a "warmer" sound BUT -- don't they break rather easily? And will they work on an acoustic-electric when played electric?

I've been seeing those as well. Martin has some sets.

As long as they have nickel or steel in their composition they should be fine with magnetic pickups.

Strings made with bronze will also work with magnetic pickups, but will have a lower output volume and in fact sound warmer to me. Some die-hard players say the bronze strings are dull, but tons of acoustic players have a magnetic pickup mounted in the soundhole and use the bronze strings and I've not seen too many complaints.

If your acoustic instrument has any kind of piezo pickup, whether undersaddle or surface transducer (or even a tiny mic inside), the strings themselves will not be a deciding factor if the amplified sound 'works' since those kinds of pickups really have nothing to do with the string media itself.

Having said that, I rarely play all steel strings these days, so I've not tried them yet, so cant yet speak to their longevity.
 
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I have used them and like them for a warmer sound and less tension. Realize the trebles a steel as every other set. The wounds have a thin steel core with silk wrapping over the steel core then aluminum wound over that. So they do not break any easier than standard acoustic strings.
 
Silk & Steel are not a new thing. In the sixties they were called "a folk set" for some reason. I've also heard them called "Compound strings".

A couple of decades ago my wife tried them on her 1921 O-18, but found that they go dead very quickly and don't have a very bright tone to begin with.
 
Silk & Steel are not a new thing. In the sixties they were called "a folk set" for some reason. I've also heard them called "Compound strings".

A couple of decades ago my wife tried them on her 1921 O-18, but found that they go dead very quickly and don't have a very bright tone to begin with.

I believe they were developed for folkies during the sixties so their nylon strung guitars could be switched.
 
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