A month or two back, there was quite a disruption in this normally sedate forum when I questioned the fantastic and super amazing properties of Pyramid's handwound nickel strings - the green package set. I questioned how they could possibly last 4 and 5 times longer without breaking and how they could maintain near perfect tone throughout that whole period - as reported by a number of forumites. I was slammed pretty good by alot of folks who felt I was being too critical or too "scientific" in asking for an explanation. Some folks were offended that I even questioned them in the first place. The nerve of that bastard Tone Dog!

So after some deliberation and in an effort to be fair, I bought 6 sets (10-46) of these "incredible" strings. I had been using GHS Burnished nickel strings for a few months and really like their tone and feel, but felt they went dead a little too quickly. That was my only complaint about them, though.

I put the first set of Pyramids on my Axis Sport (main axe) on Friday night before my gig. New saddles were installed on this guitar about 4 months ago.

The results in a word? Disappointing. Considerably worse performance than I expected after all the raves and crap I took from some of you.

They sounded fine - very similiar to the GHSB's, in fact. But the 1st string (E) broke on the second night and the wound 4th (D) broke early on the 3rd night. I have played at least 15 sets of GHSB's and have yet to break a single GHS Burnished string - even after 3 nights of gigs. I will play the other sets to see how they do, but the early indications are pretty poor.

These strings appear to be exactly what I said they were from the outset - just another piece of gear that is way overpriced because of myth and hype. If I have to replace strings after 2 or 3 nights of gigs, I'll stick to the GHSB's as they are only half the price of the Pyramids.

And for all of you who love these and want to tell me I'm not being fair, remember that every set of the GHSB's have out-performed the Pyramids - including the very first set.

"Muddy Waters INVENTED electricity!" -Willie Brown, Crossroads

I have to replace my strings for every gig.Feel lucky that you can get 3 gigs out of a set.

If it ain't broke,fix it anyways.

quote:

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Originally posted by ToneQuest:
I have to replace my strings for every gig.Feel lucky that you can get 3 gigs out of a set.

If it ain't broke,fix it anyways.

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Well, in all honesty, Bill, I change strings every 2 nights and I was only going longer with these because everyone said they last so long. At twice the cost, they would have had to last twice as long just for me to break even. They didn't. But I have had a number of instances where I went 3 nights with the GHSB's because I didn't have time or forgot to change them and they survived the ordeal just fine.

"Muddy Waters INVENTED electricity!" -Willie Brown, Crossroads

3 months with steady live use on a set of mine. Guess me and these strings just got the right chemistry goin'. Ofcourse it took me fifteen years and every brand of strings you can think to try, till I decided on these for myself.

I honestly think it boils down to the physical or whatever reaction/interection between the person and the actual strings. What else can explain the varying opinions of good and bad??

quote:

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Originally posted by tanawana:
3 months with steady live use on a set of mine. Guess me and these strings just got the right chemistry goin'. Ofcourse it took me fifteen years and every brand of strings you can think to try, till I decided on these for myself.

I honestly think it boils down to the physical or whatever reaction/interection between the person and the actual strings. What else can explain the varying opinions of good and bad??

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You may well be right about that, Tanawana. But for all the reports of truly amazing performance, I definitely expected something better than this! I may go back to the DR Pure Blues. I always liked those but started breaking them too often - but then I changed the saddles after I stopped using them. They had a nice balance between tone, feel and longevity. I like the GHS Burnished, but they do seem to lose more tone than some others a little quickly.

"Muddy Waters INVENTED electricity!" -Willie Brown, Crossroads

Burnished are my second favs, but I use Teles, so the Pyramids I like the match up there. Odd about the breaking of strings though. Bad batch maybe?? I did get a bad set once, as I have with a other strings on occasion. That's one reason I've always bought no more than 4 sets at once. Just in case.

I've been trying the "Blue Pack" Pyramids which Chrissy sent me on 2 gigs & a practice so far, plus a lot of playing at home (testing/comparing 4 different 80's Rats, amont other things ) and honestly, so far I can't hear ANY difference whatsoever.

My spare Strat has the green pack Pyramids on it, and A/B-ing back and forth, apart from a very slight difference in brightntess (which has always been there) caused by the maple vs. rosewood necks, I have to say the tone is the same. For how I play & the sound I want, the blue pack ones seem as good as anything I've tried before, in 30 years of gigging. Very bendy (same as Pyramid green pack & DR 'Pure Blues' & 'Tite Fit'), great tone, and - so far - no corrosion/deadness.

Both the blue & green Pyramids have silver plated plain strings, which I think may be what is contributing to the tone & longevity. I religiously use loads of Fast Fret after every gig anyway, which I think prolly contriblutes more to their life.

The Blue ones (10-46) are €3.11, less 20% VAT for non-europeans, = €2.48 ( that's US$2.85 a pack ) from Musikhaus Thomann Cyberstore

That means the green-pack Pyramids (cheapest found is around $8.50) would have to be THREE TIMES as good as the blue ones for it to make sense to buy them.

I can confidently say that they aren't.

(Aside - further testing will be delayed a little as I will not be using the Strat with the 'blue' Pyramids on for tonight's gig - my last for a month - as I need to give a final evaluation to the lefty maple neck with 6100 frets on my Jap strat, before I spend $$$ to replace it with a 'normal' right-handed rosewood one. Great neck, if anyone is interested, but I just don't get on with maple, & the frets are a tad TOO high for my taste).

I have a couple of packs of GHS burnished nickel I picked up very cheap here in Hong Kong (very last two packs from the only place I found that sells GHS, - one pack was just US$1.50 as the strings are beggining to corrode!) still to try, after what Tone Dog said about them. I also like the DR Pure Blues. However, to be honest I don't think anything is going to beat the quality to price ratio/bang-for-the-buck of the blue pack Pyramids at $2.85 a set.

Thanks very much again Chrissy for sending me the pack to try. I'll be ordering in bulk.

Teddy, I'd prefer to buy from you, if you can equal (or beat, hehe) that price.

How about it?

[This message was edited by cybercat on July 26, 2003 at 01:18 AM.]

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Originally posted by Tone Dog:
I like the GHS Burnished, but they do seem to lose more tone than some others a little quickly.

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TD I used GHS for a period of about 2yrs in the late 80's and I thought exactly what you're thinking about them losing something rather quickly. So I went on and changed brand everytime I changed strings till I found one that felt right for me and I stuck with it since.

Now seing you guys discussing these made me realise how I don't try many these days. I tried a set of Elixir mostly cause I got them free at a trade show and didn't really like them. As far as coated strings go I've been pleased on the acoustic side with d'Addario EXP sets, not yet available on electric... can't hardly wait since I use their XL sets. One set I got really surprised with and of course it had to be a discontinued line was the DiMarzio strings, I got a free set so I tried them on and was pleasantly surprised sure would like to know who actually made these for them.

I started a thread on the subject of String Experiment here and looks to me like this could become an interesting subject. I might end up right back where I started but hopefully I'll find interesting things also.

Finding a suitable set of strings is part of the never ending tonequest. Some people don't notice any difference guess they're lucky

Confessed Pickaholic!

although i do use them on a few application's, in general(aside from breakage) I agree with TD, that there is a lot of hype. I prefer DR's tight fit's and find they last as long imho. And the pyramids light tension is useable for my slide/std style. (DR's ecel here, imho)
to each his own, but, i don't think they fit the hype.IMHO. I do plan try some GHS rockers and burnished though, many seem to like these.VDG

I am NOT too loud!

Hey there Cybercat,

To say I was interested to hear what you thought of the Blue Pack Pyramids would be an understatement

I'll re-state here that I've been playing the "Blues" (strings not music) for over a year and I'm very happy with the value for money of these sets. Never had the Greens at all, that's why I sent the Blue ones tó Cybercat, so he could compare and be the judge.

I change strings regularly (2 gigs is about the most I would ever do on my main guitars) so that I don't get bothered with string-breakage too much. Like all strings I have ever played (D'addario, Ernie Ball, Fender, GHL, Rotosound and many more) they will get duller through use and this will depend on a) how often and how hard you use them and b) how your body chemistry/sweat ineracts with them.

The point for me is that I always change my strings (by choice) before they ever get on their last legs, so I like the fact that the price of the blues doesn't put me off doing so. Just last week another case of 20 sets arrived at my house at a price tag that didn't give me a heart attack and leaves me feeling OK about pulling strings off a guitar that still sound good, just to be on the safe side.

I'm sure that the law of diminishing returns is especially true to things like strings that will wear out quickly. I don't think you can expect a brand of string that costs twice as much as another to sound or last twice as good as the other one does. I know that most people here buy boutique effects for lots of money and are prepared to pay 50% more $ for just that extra 2% in sound...

Cybercat, glad to have been of service and thanks for the comparitive listening tests (when are you gonna write about that rat shoot out you nut-job ) ) and perhaps Ted will be able to come up with a good price for the Blue Pyramids for you US residents so you'll all have access to a brand of string that sounds good, is average-lasting and cheap.

Now that's the same hype-free statement I've made since day one. (refrains from saying "I told you so" but thinks it anyway )

Well I guess trying out a pair of the Blue Pyramids is in order. It's funny, someone gave me a set of the greens, but they are .009's and I just cant bring myself to use them. I'd rather go to "eleven" !

But does anybody here like the sound of older strings ? By this, I mean strings that haven't been changed for some time, but that you keep clean and not all grunged out. At some point, strings no longer continue to lose their treble and level off. This can affect your playing in a positive way (like you've got to work harder) if you are open to it...

Trust me, I am not a proponent of not changing strings. Obviously new strings give you this gorgeous tone and leaves your hands to do other things with the notes than working the hell out of them to get heard.

For an apropos analogy, I play an old Jazzmaster and it has so many "problems" built into its design (the bridge doesnt sustain well by design, the longer scale, the p/up's, etc.) BUT these are the exact things that make you work for it and impart a sound all its own to the gtr.

just a thought

http://dalakings.com/

Tone Dog, I like the GHS Burnished Nickels too, but like you, I found they didn't last as long as other strings.

I decided to go back to the tried and true EB Slinky 10's, they last forever and have consistent tone for me. Not as smooth as the GHS BN's, but reliable and consistent.

Ok I throw in my .02 as well.

I have usd the Green Pyramid Superior Quality for several years, and I have tried others along the way, the last comparison with the GHS Burnished and Pyramid Blue. To me it is a difference, I get a better tone for me out of the Green ones. They last me 2 gigs instead of one, or somewhere between 2-2.5 longer than the "others" when messing around the house. The GHS Burnished lasted shorter than the others, for me the tone was not on par either.

Guess it is all subjective, what we prefer and what we want to hear.

heh, I'm tryin SIT strings right now. I sweated so much at a gig friday, that my strings are trash after 1 show. Pulled my guitar outta the gig bag and they things felt like they'd been on there for 6 months in a damp basement.

Back to Ernie Ball.

I have 1 guitar whose strings I have never replaced from the day I bought them. Yes, I have replaced broken strings, but never swapped them out entirely.

Now, you are probably wondering how insane I must be?, or an utter ninny? - perhaps both!

My 60's acoustic epiphone is a little, baby guitar. Real well made, mahogany, made in Kalamazoo. tortoise shell, etc - real nice. The strings like the E and A have some crud and rust on them, but it is that crud that partly gives the guitar it's unique dark, moldy, pained tone. Likewise, the frets are filthy and gummy. It is an instrument that caresses Leonard Cohen with ease.

I haven't changed the strings on my mustang fior many years now cause, since he died, I haven't really thought it necessary.

I am gonna try these purple ernie ball 'slinky' things I bought a while back as a change from ghs for my next change - whenever that occurs.




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"I can't be arsed" said the man.

I've been using EB Regular Slinky 10-46's for as long as I can remember. I just buy them buy the box load for real cheap and replace them every gig and I've never had a problem with breakage. I would not feel too comfortable doing more than 2 gigs with them as I dig in pretty hard.

From my understanding the pyramids are made of pure nickel steel and not nickel plated steel that the industry changed over to sometimes in the seventys. From what I've heard some players who were trying to replicate old Beatles tones through old Vox amps and Rickenbacker Guitars were'nt getting the desired effect with the strings that were available and found the Pyramids would work because of the steel used. I've used them one time and I was very happy with them and I have a few packs laying around that I'll slap on when I start gigging again in Sept. The ones I have now are the cheaper sets, the ones I played on before I know the guy paid about 25 dollars a set for. I strung and set up his Les Paul that I bought 2 days later. I had those pyramids on for about a year. I'm using DiAddario Flatwound 10's on it now and they are working real well.