Nickle vs Stainless steel strings, pros and cons

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

What do you use, and why?
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Georg Sørtun · From: Mandal, Agder, Norway

I use stainless wound, except for the (extended) low E which is .056 Nickel Wound.

On my preferred PSG the mix gives a pretty even tone-characteristic down the strings without getting unwanted bar- and picking-noise on the lowest.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

When I was gigging 5 hours a night, 5/6 days a week, I used stainless on my Kline Uni. Although pretty bright for the first few days, they held their tone much longer. Changed them every 4/5 weeks, couple more times for the 3rd and 4th strings. Those two strings would get changed if I had to touch up their tuning more than 2/3 times a night. Since I quit gigging, nickel is fine for at home.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I've used George L's primarily since George L's were introduced on my D-10 Franklin. They are SS (wound strings). Second choice is the GHS Super Steels which are also SS wound.

I've tried almost every brand, including the Franklin and Jagwires, but keep coming back to the George L's.

I like the tone and they tend to last a little longer than Nickel, although I do change mine fairly often. Currently I'm only playing once a week so I can get two months out of the strings before they start losing the "zing". When I was doing road work with Nashville singers, I would change strings after about 10 shows (about 20 hours of playing time) which kept the strings "fresh" and also eliminated any broken strings on stage.
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Ron Randall · From: Dallas, Texas, USA

GHS Pure Nickel Rollerwounds have the tone pleasing to my ear.
Stainless strings are too bright for me and too "zippy" on the strings.

One opinion.

Ron

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I use nickel wound because I prefer the sound.
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chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

after 40 years of playing, i don't really know the difference. i buy singles at the music store. these were usually ghs boomers which i guess were nickel. now the stores all have d'addarios...no idea what they are. before all that it was ernie balls.

Fred Thompson · From: Zephyrhills, FL

I used Emmons strings for quite a while but got fed up with folks thinking I was the Big E. Oh Well

Then I switched to Jagwire "Paul Franklin". Now they come up and say;"Dang Paul, playing that thing has really aged ya". Whoa!

I DO buy my strings on the FORUM Very Happy

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Bill Miller · From: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada

I use nickel wound strings because I prefer and the sound and I find them gentler on my chrome plated bars.

Don Sulesky · From: Citrus County, FL, Orig. from MA & NH

Fred, Always the kidder. Laughing

I've been using GHS SS for over 10 years and they stay in tune and last a lot longer than the many brands I used before the GHS.
I aso use the GHS Boomers on my Tele & Strat guitars.
Don
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Charlie Moore · From: Deville, Louisiana, USA

I have used all kinds in 30 years but my choice is D'Addarios(nickel wound),they last seems like forever but they are VERY hard to find in nickel,I can find SS every where,If anybody knows who has the nickel please let me know...Charlie...
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Nickle strings have a richer, fuller tone and the bar slides over them easier than with stainless strings.

Jay Fagerlie · From: Lotus, California, USA

Nickel everywhere I can.
I like the sound....warmer, fuller...balanced low to high.
I think the older pickups sound better with nickel strings.

Jay

Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

To my ears, Bobbe Seymour's Cobra Coil strings are a happy medium between nickle-wound and stainless-wound.

Jeremy Craft · From: Portland, Oregon

I've long preferred the warmer sound of nickel wound strings over stainless. I used the Jagwire nickel set on my Carter Starter, and got really good tone. I'm not sure what's on the E9 side of my ZB; the C6 set is the Cobra Coils, which are stainless, and it sounds pretty darn good.

Stainless lasts longer in my experience, but the first week is pretty piercing and zingy until they break in. Nickel has the tone I'm looking for from the get go, but they must be changed more frequently before they begin to sound too dull.

I lucked into forty or so free sets of GHS Boomers for my six strings, so I've been using them even though they're nickel plated steel, which I can't stand. They get all rusty and crappy really quickly. Wouldn't have touched them if they weren't free.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

In order to keep my strings in shape, I use this product every time after I get through playing.
It gets the crud off them and helps keep them fresh.

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

I've always just bought loose Ernie Ball strings, and have no idea what they are made of. But since I have 2 identical steels, I'm gong to get a set of each and see which one I prefer.

I think after I decide which of those 2 I like, I'll replace the loser with a set of Cobra Coils and make the same test.
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Elton Smith · From: Texas, USA

I use nickel.I've tried ss on my regular guitars and didn't like the way they felt.They also left a black mark on my fingers and had a rattle I didn't care for.So i just stuck to nickel.I use John Pierce when I can find them ,and they sound great and last a long time.Strings for a steel guitar seem to be harder to find .Even on the forum.
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b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Ken Byng · From: Southampton, England

I tried Jagwires from the forum, but some of the plain strings were tarnished slightly. (Must have been a faulty batch). I have used Cobra Coils for the last 2 years but in answer to the initial question, I prefer stainless steel over nickel.
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Fred Thompson · From: Zephyrhills, FL

I prefer nickel for the tone and I also use "Fast Fret". Cleans the strings and reduces bar drag.
Fred
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mike nolan · From: Forest Hills, NY USA

Nickel. Less bar noise, slightly smoother, easier pulls, and I like the tone more.

Craig A Davidson · From: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin USA

Stainless Jagwires on both the Emmons and the Bud.

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Nickel. Especially for any rock type of playing, there's high "pinging" sort of sound from stainless that can't be eliminated by the usual EQ tricks. The only SS strings I've ever liked have been really old ones, and as yet I haven't found a place to buy relic'd strings...

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

I always use stainless because they stay lively longer.

My hands ooze salty, corrosive sweat. Nickel strings last about a week. Stainless is much more resistant to the sweat but will still tarnish. I always wipe the strings down after playing, either with a clean cloth or (preferably) a Blitz cloth. If I do, a stainless set can last a month of 2-3 gigs/wk.

As others have mentioned, stainless steel is harder than nickel steel and often has burrs from the manufacturing / wrapping process. One trick that evens the playing field for me is to take a piece of crocus cloth and LIGHTLY sand the outside of the wound strings before putting them on. Crocus is a very fine grit abrasive on a cloth backing that machinists use to debur their work.

One more note -- a stainless bar on stainless strings tends to cause friction or drag. A chrome plated bar solves that problem for me.
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