Seaguar STS Salmon fluorocarbon

Peter Frary

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I've always used custom string sets on my guitars and ukuleles and seem to be getting increasingly picky as I get older. I've been experimenting with Seaguar fluorocarbon for the past year or so—Premier, Pink, Red, Blue—and finally, STS Salmon. They all sound and feel a little different but STS Salmon is among my favorites: sweet with slight brightness, extremely smooth surface, excellent intonation and resistant to shredding.

I've only used the 40LB .022" (.570mm) thus far as the first string is the most crucial to me and the hardest to find the right timbre. I installed it as the first string on a Romero Creations Replica tenor and Parlor guitar and both yield a sweet tone, excellent sustain and spot on intonation. Compared to Blue and Premier, it is smoother on the finger and darker in tone but slightly brighter than Pink (and Worth Browns). It's only been a week, but so far STS Salmon has proved to be highly resistant to wear from my fingernails. In contrast, nylon trebles only last me two or three days before my nails sandpaper the hell out of them and kill off the sustain and tone.

I plan to try the new Seaguar Gold when the price drifts down a bit.
 
Ditto on the STS Salmon. I recently put 50lb and 40lb on a new tenor for the E and A strings. G and C are TI30 and TI27. On this instrument, the STS trebles are a very nice complement to the wound TI basses. The A string, particularly, has the tone that I've been trying to find for quite a while at #1. Clear, bright enough, not too plinky and not too mellow.
 
Yes, STS Salmon is very promising. That first string really sings. I'll have to snag a roll of 50LB for 2nd string trials.
 
FWIW, those are the same gauges as Living Water top two but he has lots more gauges available, including fatter ones for C and low G (and even low D baritone). But these are the fattest available in the Salmon. I see the Blue has some more gauges. Hmmm. I better not head down this rabbit hole. :D
 
I tried Seaguar Blue first and, while it has many more gauges available, I didn't care for the sound—somewhat bright—and the textured feel. Plus they were prone to shredding, especially at pressure points, e.g., bridge, nut and tuning pegs. I had some come apart in layers while playing! I like mixing strings so the lack of a heavy gauge STS for the C string is no biggie since there are plenty others available. The 80 LB .031" Seaguar Premier makes a great C string as does the 80LB Pink. I use D'Addario Extended Play Silverwound .028" strings for the low G.
 
How is the tension on the STSSalmon line for E and A strings., say compared to Pinks. I’ve only tried a Pink for the A string. Nice sound. Tension was high but acceptable say compared to Oasis Strings. Curious. Thanks
 
The 40LB .022" (.570mm) Pink compared to the 40LB .022" (.570mm) STS? I find the Pink is more mellow or dark in timbre and oh so slightly lower in tension. I'm guessing the STS might be slightly more dense but the tension difference isn't very significant. If you want lower tension, try the 30LB .020" STS or Pink. I prefer the lighter A string on my Kremona tenors as they sing and sustain a wee bit better than the heavier string.
 
Thanks for info on tension. When I looked up STS Salmon, I only found 30 lbs at .024” and 50 lbs at .026. Is that correct? I didn’t see .024”. I will check Cabellas next time I’m in the area.
 
Thanks for info on tension. When I looked up STS Salmon, I only found 30 lbs at .024” and 50 lbs at .026. Is that correct? I didn’t see .024”. I will check Cabellas next time I’m in the area.

You looked at the wrong diagram. This is the correct one:

https://seaguar.com/saltwater/fluorocarbon/sts-salmon-leader-material

I'm actually holding the 40LB STS Salmon in my hand and it is marked as .022" (confirmed with my calipers as well). 30B is .020" (haven't checked that one). If you really need the feel of .024", try Premier. The Premier is nice but a little brighter and rougher in texture than Pink.
 
I tried Seaguar Blue first and, while it has many more gauges available, I didn't care for the sound—somewhat bright—and the textured feel. Plus they were prone to shredding, especially at pressure points, e.g., bridge, nut and tuning pegs. I had some come apart in layers while playing! I like mixing strings so the lack of a heavy gauge STS for the C string is no biggie since there are plenty others available. The 80 LB .031" Seaguar Premier makes a great C string as does the 80LB Pink. I use D'Addario Extended Play Silverwound .028" strings for the low G.

Hi Peter, so comparing a tenor set up against the Living Water tenor dimensions you could go...

A - 40 LB .022" (.570mm) Seaguar STS Salmon
E - 50 LB .026" (.660mm) Seaguar STS Salmon
C - 80 LB .031" (.78mm) Seaguar Premier
G - D'Addario Extended Play Silverwound .028" string

And just checking that you're using an acoustic guitar string as the low G string?

I'm new to the world of fluroucarbon fishing line as strings so thanks for your help.
 
Hi Peter, so comparing a tenor set up against the Living Water tenor dimensions you could go...

A - 40 LB .022" (.570mm) Seaguar STS Salmon
E - 50 LB .026" (.660mm) Seaguar STS Salmon
C - 80 LB .031" (.78mm) Seaguar Premier
G - D'Addario Extended Play Silverwound .028" string

And just checking that you're using an acoustic guitar string as the low G string?

I'm new to the world of fluroucarbon fishing line as strings so thanks for your help.

Looks like a good plan and similar to the specs I use. Yes, I use an D'Addario EXP4604 .028" classical guitar string as my low G (nylon/composite core, not metal). I love the bright and super resonant tone of the EXP but I'm a classical guitarist and used to moving my finger so as to avoid squeaks. If you feel uncomfortable with it, you can always switch to a flatwound Oasis or Fremont wound low G.
 
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Looks like a good plan and similar to the specs I use. Yes, I use an D'Addario EXP4604 .028" classical guitar string as my low G (nylon/composite core, not metal). I love the bright and super resonant tone of the EXP but I'm a classical guitarist and used to moving my finger so as to avoid squeaks. If you feel uncomfortable with it, you can always switch to a flatwound Oasis or Fremont wound low G.

Thanks Peter. Makes sense. Cheers. Would the D'Addario work as a low g for a concert as well?
 
So, I've read this thread as well as several of the other fishing line threads, and this afternoon I stopped by the local tackle shop. To my delight they had almost the full line of STS Salmon, as well as a most of the Blue and Premier leaders of varying weights.

I picked up supplies to follow this re-entrant Concert recipe:
G: STS Salmon 40 lbs
C: Premier 60 lbs
E: STS Salmon 50 lbs
A: STS Salmon 30 lbs

Tonight I'll swap out my Martin M610 Polyguts on my Kremona Coco Concert. I'll report back in a few days.
 
Sounds like a plan! I just tried a new roll of Seaguar Gold Label 40LB .020" on my Tiny Tenor as an A string and it sounds great. It's a notch brighter in tone color than STS Salmon and a couple notches brighter than Pink, so a good choice if you need a wee bit more bite. The finish is very smooth and appears at least as shred resistant as STS Salmon and much tougher than Romero Creations fluorocarbon (which tend to shred on nuts, saddles, tuners and bridge holes).
 
Somewhat off topic... is there a section on this forum for trading or buying fluorocarbon fishing line?
I have about 7 or 8 rolls, mostly but not all Seaguar Blues, most of which I initially bought to find strings for sub sopranos...
It's easy to just cut off a few yards, figure out cost per yard, stick in an envelope, snail mail, reimburse via paypal f&f.
 
Marketplace is fine for strings - at least, I've used it for that on occasion and not been banned :p

NOT YET........but just keep it up buddy, just keep it up :biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:
 
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