Tobacco Worm
Well-Known Member
Alrighty then here we go with another testing of some strings that are somewhat new (well since around '05 or '06 anyway) and are different from the everyday EB stuff....
Strings: Dunlop designed and manufactured Nickle Plated Steel Electric String. Gauge: .010" to .046". Mfg # DEN1046
Test instrument: Gibson SG Melody Maker with stock 491T HB (only mod is the addition of tone pot) A single Pickup all maple body and mahogany neck of some girth. Baked maple fretboard. Very plain stop tailpiece used as a wraparound bridge.
Basically this is part of a series of tests I've been doing to determine if there are other strings that are being made that are the following:
1. Affordable, 2. Provide good tone and feel, 3. Perform well and retain a moderately decent life on the instrument in retaining tone and tuning over time. 4. Are not the average everyday strings many use often due to either local availability or the "Well, it's what everyone else gets" thinking. Going outside the box so to speak.
The strings were packaged in individual paper envelopes within a sealed plastic bag with a small packet of "SORB-IT" to keep things fresh. The windings at the ball end were tight and smooth indicating an attention to detail by the manufacture. The strings were quite long. This is something that I've noted now twice in strings made by Dunlop. Not a problem by any means and merely an observation here.
After stringing up and doing the usual tune/tug a couple of times I began to get busy. The strings are quite smooth and the wraps are extremely tight and precise. Miss Heket would like this as they are very smooth to the touch and have almost no friction to them at all. Also they are quite clean as well. In the 30 minutes of testing I had only a trace of black on the fingers. Quite a marked difference from the Rev. Willy's from the same manufacturer. (which by the way remain filthy!)
The initial testing was playing clean through a SS amp that has proven to provide great tone. Here's what I heard and was able to observe with these strings in this mode: The SG MM is noted as being quite "fussy" as to the strings used upon it. Being of primitive design with the non-compensated smooth rounded wraparound bridge, any issues that a string will produce will be found quickly with this instrument's design. Some strings will produce the "sitar effect" in as much as the B,G, and D will often emit a sitar-like overtone with a distinguished drone on this instrument. The test strings did not and retained a good working tone in the first 30 min. of my testing.
Clean tones were smooth, yet not overly loud or showed signs of buzzing. Intonation was dead perfect and required no adjustment from the prior strings of the same gauge that came off this instrument earlier. They provided a distinctive mid range presence to them, yet the plain strings were still quite bright enough to sound balanced with different chord styles used and single note playing. The test instrument is not noted for it's ability to produce great bottom to the sound, and thus there was not a great amount of depth in the lower range. Adjusting the amp's EQ to add bass resulted in better overall tone and still remained without any mud in the tone. Note: This adjustment is done, by the way, every time this instrument is played. It is a naturally bright instrument and thus is not a reflection upon the strings or form of amplification used.
Bending was a breeze and the strings, though freshly installed, kept their tune quite well. Going into a bit of overdriven stuff using the new Biyang Mouse in the Turbo mode, I was greeted with a strong tone and crunch that was actually kinda nice. Lower power chords had a respectable mid-range punch to them but didn't sound muddy or dull. Grinding out some Nugent-like licks complete with droning A's and some attempts at pinched harmonics were wonderful and I gotta admit, fun. Stranglehold was a blast!
The strings remained in tune well after the first 30 minutes and the feel of them were remarkably smooth and, dare I say, silky almost. Even when in some serious sonic distortion there was no string whistle heard at all. And did I mention that they were quite clean? Ernie Ball Slinkies always leave a goodly amount of black on me, and the Rev. Willy's continue to cause my hands to turn black from them even after more than twenty cleanings. But these Dunlop Nickle Steels were a welcome change to that battle of the black hands.
Conclusion: Despite the limited range of the test instrument with present electronics, the strings gave a decent performance of their ability to remain in tune, give decent tone and moderate volume. I get the impression that they have a strong mid-range, yet I'm sure with a different pickup here the bottom would have shown through better. They never sounded thin or "tinny" and were 100% buzz free. They feel good to the touch and for $3.00 USD a set, I find that an attractive figure. Though not as warm as pure nickle, they do have a good smooth tone and should prove to be long lasting by being plated steel as where pure nickle will wear thin faster and die quickly.
Recommendation:
Worth the bucks..... Solid performers.
I have two more sets here and Bill won't get them when he comes mooching strings! How's that for an endorsement?
Wade
Strings: Dunlop designed and manufactured Nickle Plated Steel Electric String. Gauge: .010" to .046". Mfg # DEN1046
Test instrument: Gibson SG Melody Maker with stock 491T HB (only mod is the addition of tone pot) A single Pickup all maple body and mahogany neck of some girth. Baked maple fretboard. Very plain stop tailpiece used as a wraparound bridge.
Basically this is part of a series of tests I've been doing to determine if there are other strings that are being made that are the following:
1. Affordable, 2. Provide good tone and feel, 3. Perform well and retain a moderately decent life on the instrument in retaining tone and tuning over time. 4. Are not the average everyday strings many use often due to either local availability or the "Well, it's what everyone else gets" thinking. Going outside the box so to speak.
The strings were packaged in individual paper envelopes within a sealed plastic bag with a small packet of "SORB-IT" to keep things fresh. The windings at the ball end were tight and smooth indicating an attention to detail by the manufacture. The strings were quite long. This is something that I've noted now twice in strings made by Dunlop. Not a problem by any means and merely an observation here.
After stringing up and doing the usual tune/tug a couple of times I began to get busy. The strings are quite smooth and the wraps are extremely tight and precise. Miss Heket would like this as they are very smooth to the touch and have almost no friction to them at all. Also they are quite clean as well. In the 30 minutes of testing I had only a trace of black on the fingers. Quite a marked difference from the Rev. Willy's from the same manufacturer. (which by the way remain filthy!)
The initial testing was playing clean through a SS amp that has proven to provide great tone. Here's what I heard and was able to observe with these strings in this mode: The SG MM is noted as being quite "fussy" as to the strings used upon it. Being of primitive design with the non-compensated smooth rounded wraparound bridge, any issues that a string will produce will be found quickly with this instrument's design. Some strings will produce the "sitar effect" in as much as the B,G, and D will often emit a sitar-like overtone with a distinguished drone on this instrument. The test strings did not and retained a good working tone in the first 30 min. of my testing.
Clean tones were smooth, yet not overly loud or showed signs of buzzing. Intonation was dead perfect and required no adjustment from the prior strings of the same gauge that came off this instrument earlier. They provided a distinctive mid range presence to them, yet the plain strings were still quite bright enough to sound balanced with different chord styles used and single note playing. The test instrument is not noted for it's ability to produce great bottom to the sound, and thus there was not a great amount of depth in the lower range. Adjusting the amp's EQ to add bass resulted in better overall tone and still remained without any mud in the tone. Note: This adjustment is done, by the way, every time this instrument is played. It is a naturally bright instrument and thus is not a reflection upon the strings or form of amplification used.
Bending was a breeze and the strings, though freshly installed, kept their tune quite well. Going into a bit of overdriven stuff using the new Biyang Mouse in the Turbo mode, I was greeted with a strong tone and crunch that was actually kinda nice. Lower power chords had a respectable mid-range punch to them but didn't sound muddy or dull. Grinding out some Nugent-like licks complete with droning A's and some attempts at pinched harmonics were wonderful and I gotta admit, fun. Stranglehold was a blast!
The strings remained in tune well after the first 30 minutes and the feel of them were remarkably smooth and, dare I say, silky almost. Even when in some serious sonic distortion there was no string whistle heard at all. And did I mention that they were quite clean? Ernie Ball Slinkies always leave a goodly amount of black on me, and the Rev. Willy's continue to cause my hands to turn black from them even after more than twenty cleanings. But these Dunlop Nickle Steels were a welcome change to that battle of the black hands.
Conclusion: Despite the limited range of the test instrument with present electronics, the strings gave a decent performance of their ability to remain in tune, give decent tone and moderate volume. I get the impression that they have a strong mid-range, yet I'm sure with a different pickup here the bottom would have shown through better. They never sounded thin or "tinny" and were 100% buzz free. They feel good to the touch and for $3.00 USD a set, I find that an attractive figure. Though not as warm as pure nickle, they do have a good smooth tone and should prove to be long lasting by being plated steel as where pure nickle will wear thin faster and die quickly.
Recommendation:
Worth the bucks..... Solid performers.I have two more sets here and Bill won't get them when he comes mooching strings! How's that for an endorsement?
Wade
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But Monday morning when I got up I felt crippled! Oh well....
