Martin Monel Retro Acoustic Guitar Strings

I bought the Tony Rice set since the L. Juber set is on backorder. Been a fan of Retro lights for a couple years now and thought I might at least try the TRs since I use the lights on a short scale guitar. Based on tone I feel these strings shine but the TRs have proven too heavy for my style of play. Retros are known to sound great on all mahogany guitars but incidentally sound great on RainSong guitars too. I love'em!

My son recently picked up an all hog 000. He loves that woody, mellow hog tone. I purchased the Martin Retros for him to try, and they are a great match for his guitar, and give him the tone he loves! If you're playing an all mahogany guitar, and want a sweet vintage tone, I recommend you give Martin Retros a try!

Like all strings these sound better on some guitars more than others so experimentation is the key. Along with that you have to remember not to rush to judgement with your assessment as all strings take a little time to settle in and Monels take a little longer than others (like about ten days of intermittent playing) in my opinion. But once they do settle in on the right instruments they can be the most gratifying of any string set. What others have said about their transparency and bringing out the woodiness in a guitar has been my experience as well. I also wipe off my strings after playing, regardless of the brand, and I can get an easy four months of performance out of Monels which far exceeds any other non-coated strings I’ve tried. Of particular note, I have a 2013 Larrivee LS-03, Italian Spruce over Peruvian walnut, that becomes a truly stunning instrument with Monels....just a very dramatic uptick in clarity and tone over anything else I ever tried on it. When you find an instrument that likes them it’s likely that your search ends at that point. Highly recommended.

These strings work very well on my Martin 000-18GE. Dry and woody tone but still clear and clean. I feel like I hear the guitar instead of the strings, which is a good thing.
Shoreline is my new go-to string source.

Definitely a less bright and more fundamental tone to these strings, but it has worked really well with my 414ce and 516ce (koa) Taylors. It takes some of the typical Taylor brightness a bit, but still doesn't lack in clarity. Overall, they are a great balance that I think brings the best out of both my guitars. They aren't expensive, they last a long time if you like them, and you should definitely try a set if you haven't already, especially on brighter guitars.