Low budget brands sometimes obliterate expensive brands

[Metal Overload]

Is a Mexican Brand called Jimmy wess, Playing every weekend i break a string in about three weeks or even two weeks (depending on the enthusiasm haha), yamahas suck, i even break one just installing it in my guitar :S, this jimmy wess, i haven´t break one in a month, so they are really good tools of the trade.

 

[Rex Rocker]

This happens to me on strings.

I used to buy ernie ball but they are getting really expensive here (like 8 or 9 dlls) then because i need to change strings very often (i play in a rock covers band in a bar) i switched to yamaha strings, but they are shit, so i know buying a really cheap strings, like 3 dlls, and they last a lot more than yamahas and even ernie ball, and they sound equally good.

Do you use the Jimmy Wess ones? I think those are made in Mexico.

I've used them before... they're awesome, but I haven't been able to find them in anything but stainless steel, no nickel-plated steel. They're still awesome to have around in case I break a string.

*edit* ah, replied too late.

 

[Metal Overload]

Yeah Rex, i buy them from a friend who works in a music store and he gives me special price, sometimes for free hahaha. como el me dice "quieres cuerdas?, dejame hago unos trucos de magia aqui en la tienda y pasa por ellas a la casa".

 

[chdrummer]

i love pro marks. i used to use vic firths but they really didn't feel all that great and broke on me every week.

 

[crosstalk]

As far as cymbal cracking, do you use glancing blows or do you play through the cymbal?

 

[lolzgreg]

What's the brand Antonio? And FWIW I've always found D'addario to last longer than Ernie Balls (tone-wise I mean, I haven't broken a string in years), though I doubt they'd be much cheaper...

+ A billion.

I haven't broken a d'Addario guitar string in four years.

Every time I set up someones guitar with Ernie Balls (by force), they either break or sound like shit. I fucking hate those strings.

 

[Rex Rocker]

Yeah Rex, i buy them from a friend who works in a music store and he gives me special price, sometimes for free hahaha. como el me dice "quieres cuerdas?, dejame hago unos trucos de magia aqui en la tienda y pasa por ellas a la casa".

Your friend is awesome.

A tí no se te hace medio difícil conseguir cuerdas de calibres más pesados? Yo casi nunca encuentro el calibre 11-52 que siempre uso y tengo que acabar comprando el 11-49 y 10-52 para poder hacer el juego de 11-52.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I would honestly take a 5150/6505 over a JSX.

I would honestly prefer a sm57 over a md421 for recording guitars.

I would take Ernie Ball strings, or DR strings over Elixer any day (I LOATH Elixer).

 

[Metal Overload]

Your friend is awesome.

A tí no se te hace medio difícil conseguir cuerdas de calibres más pesados? Yo casi nunca encuentro el calibre 11-52 que siempre uso y tengo que acabar comprando el 11-49 y 10-52 para poder hacer el juego de 11-52.

Si es muy dificil Rex, a veces llegan del 11-52 que son las que ando usando igual, pero es muy rara la vez, y tambien jeje eh hecho lo mismo que tu, generalmente las compro en el gabacho pero eh estado pensando en comprar en webstrings.

 

[BrettT]

I think the Digitech Bad Monkey is as good if not better than many of the TS and TS clones out there....$35. Digitech normally makes crap, but they really did a good job with this pedal.

 

[Force666]

Been using D'addario 10-46 tuned e flat standard for years. Can't remember the last time a string broke.

D'Addario FTW!

 

[updog]

I put DR strings on my guitar yesterday, and they felt a lot better than any other strings I've tried. Like them a lot.

 

[PhilR]

I use a cheapo bass string brand named "Alice". £8.99 for a 5-string set! They sound fine for live/rehearsal but not so great for recording but I break strings far to often to afford anything else. (having said that for the first time today one of these strings broke in my hand while I was stretching it in for the first time. Never had that happen before...)

For drumsticks I usually bought a cheap Pro-Mark brand called "LA Specials" and they always lasted me for ages.

 

[Erkan]

As far as cymbal cracking, do you use glancing blows or do you play through the cymbal?

A bit of a mixture really. Not full glancing, but definately not "through" either. I also make sure I never PUSH my arm through the whole cymbal stroke, I sort of pull back just when I'm about to hit it so the stick hits it with a bit more "natural" force. It's hard to explain but trust me... cymbals are expensive and I have developed a "caution technique" specifically for cymbals But then again, as I said, I seem to be getting more aggressive lately...

 

[Erkan]

All this cheap string talk is interesting! Too bad I need such a damn special gauge set I usually have to order the set from Thomann by hand picking the strings... and the brand they have available for that from Thomann is "Pyramid". I have no idea how good they are but they seem to be alright. The brand new metallic tone associated with new strings lasted for 2-3 weeks and then it started sounding just "regular" after that, so I reckon when I need to record guitars for my next project I'll just change the strings and quickly record all the guitars within a week if time allows... should give me a nice sound throughout all of it

And oh yeah, Pyramid strings are pretty cheap... I think!

 

[Erkan]

my Blackheart BH5H fits the category. it is a one channel Class A head, 3-5 watts, with a closed-back 1x12 cabinet. it is built like a tank! the amp gets great clean and overdrive tones. but the cab is even better bang for the buck. it's 75 watt Eminence is very versatile, and you can easily swap it out for your speaker of choice. i got the head and cabinet for $250 brand new. i love that little amp more and more every time i play it.

Hmm, an amp with 3-5 watts powering a 75 Watt speaker? I'm not into this amp business (I'm a drummer and I own no amp although I do play a little guitar ), but how does that work out? Is such a low amount of watt capable of even being heard through such a speaker?

 

[phatfil]

Hmm, an amp with 3-5 watts powering a 75 Watt speaker? I'm not into this amp business (I'm a drummer and I own no amp although I do play a little guitar ), but how does that work out? Is such a low amount of watt capable of even being heard through such a speaker?

oh yeah, you definitely hear it. you could play small venues with this alone. much louder than you would expect. think of someone playing a trumpet at damn near full blast.

here's a cool link on wattage and volume if you're interested...

http://www.amptone.com/g112.htm

EDIT: it does surprise me that it had such a high wattage speaker, but it works with no problems at all.

 

[BrettT]

oh yeah, you definitely hear it. you could play small venues with this alone. much louder than you would expect. think of someone playing a trumpet at damn near full blast.

here's a cool link on wattage and volume if you're interested...

http://www.amptone.com/g112.htm

EDIT: it does surprise me that it had such a high wattage speaker, but it works with no problems at all.

Nice article..thanks!

 

[HeadCrusher]

What's the brand Antonio? And FWIW I've always found D'addario to last longer than Ernie Balls (tone-wise I mean, I haven't broken a string in years), though I doubt they'd be much cheaper...

D'addario offers huge packages of strings for a very good prices. Unfortunetaly for certain string gauges only.
I play 010-046 and they have a pack of 25 sets of that gauge for 95 € which is 3,8 € a set. It doesnt get much cheaper than that. If you buy one set only it is 4,6 €.
Of course these are Thoman prices. I had to pay 10-12 € for one set at my local music store...

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, you always save buying in bulk - too bad Costco doesn't carry strings!