Have you ever played that game If I had a custom guitar it would be [insert make and model here]? I know I have. In a way I followed through on that game by getting myself a custom Scarebear guitar through Moniker Guitars. But that’s a different story. An easier game to play for the average guitar lover is If I had custom guitar strings they would be [insert custom string gauges here]. Well I’ve almost played that game too thanks to the kind folks over at Stringjoy. And I have to say, I’m now a big fan of the wound G string.
StringJoy allow you to customise your own string set. I wrote about Stringjoy initially back in May. Since then I’ve been watching the initial seven-string set I installed age gracefully. So gracefully in fact that I got sick of waiting for them to age. I don’t play all of my guitars regularly because … Well I am lucky enough to own a few guitars. But even with some fresh air exposure—my guitars are wall mounted and not cased—the strings continued to feel like new.
But I knew I had a second set waiting. A set with a wound G string. I would wait no more!
When I discovered Stringjoy offered the wound G string I was excited. I’d never tried so many wound strings before—five of the seven being wound in my custom set—and the concept appealed to me greatly. Mostly because I’m not much of a lead guitarist. Well, I’m not much of a guitarist at all really, but I’m less of a lead guitarist than I am a rhythm guitarist.
A wound G string suggested to me that the tones produced would be perhaps beefier. I also prefer the feel of a wound string under my fingertips. What I hadn’t counted on was the way the G string is easier for me to tune. Perhaps it’s the cheap guitars I’ve had in the past, but I’ve often found the G string is the most difficult to nail when it comes to tuning. I’m very used to slippage around the nut.
If you’re not a guitarist, that’s a very weird sentence to type.
The wound G string however tuned perfectly and has so far stayed in tune perfectly. That’s one thing I noticed with the first set of Stringjoy strings I installed. They just stayed in tune forever. If this second set lasts half as long as the first set I will be one happy guy.
So, if you’re wondering what gauges I went for with my custom set, I went for the following:
B: 66 (wound)
E: 52 (wound)
A: 38 (wound)
D: 28 (wound)
G: 18 (wound)
B: 14
E: 11
So many beautiful wound strings. I love it. If you are in the market for a custom set of strings, I’d try these Stringjoy strings. I’ll be back for more. If you do place an order, order the Scarebear set. They’ll have no idea what you’re talking about. It’s how I’m going to refer to this set when I order another set all the same.
Oh by the way, in my opinion the wound G string does sound better.
