Gear
Instruments
John Pearse Phosphor Bronze & Silk Acoustic Guitar Strings
It probably makes more sense to call John Pearse silk and steel strings "steel and silk and steel", since the silk actually forms a sheath around a narrower-than usual steel core, cushioning the wrap wire. Either way, these are the best silk+steels I know of. They're punchier than run of the mill silk+steel strings, but still softer and mellower than traditional phosphor bronze. You're going to love them.
I've been quite happily using John Pearse PB extras or slightly lights for some years now.
I was reading though the description on the Silk Wounds and saw John's comment: "You are going to love them"
Knowing John simply tells it like it is, I got a couple of sets.
I've just put these on a old Seagull S6+ Spruce and the descriptions of
mellowness and softness are spot on.
I'll be getting some more.
Once again, thank you John for your most practical and relevant advice.
I tend more toward mellow-tone strings, mostly because I like silk/phosphor for fingerstyle. Most of the time I'm playing on nylon strings, so my poor fingers need all the help than can get on the steel strings. Usually I get Taylor silk/phosphor, but I figured I'd give these a whirl. I like them much better than the Taylor strings and I would say these are not as mellow as the Taylor strings, which is nice that I can have a brighter sound and still use silk/phosphor strings. I would definitely buy these again.
Am really enjoying the mellow tones coming from my new Larrivee OM rosewood with these strings. Regular phosphor bronze JP's are great too, but I'm developing a strong preference for the softer, folk sound, these bronze and silks generate. Not quite so much ringing from the higher notes, with a bit more punch from the bass. I will definitely order again!
Fun to play, easy on the fingers. Would not recommend for a rhythm or lead player, but for the at-home couch player, these are a fun change.
JPs are impressive, overall, esp. when mated with the right instrument. These are on a couple Martin parlors and are working well. Will try them on some others in the future.