Martin MSP4200 Phosphor Bronze Medium Acoustic Guitar Strings use a winding alloy that is ideally suited for making strings that deliver deep, rich basses and clear, bright trebles. Martin strings are high-quality strings designed for daily use. Core and wrap wires must meet strict requirements to make the grade. Martin acoustic guitar strings are wound to precise specifications.
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44 of 48 people found the following review helpful
![]() Great sounding strings, not for beginners, By
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This review is from: Martin MSP4200 SP Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings, Medium (Electronics)
These are medium strings, which means they're a heavier gauge than light. Heavier gauges will have fuller sound and sustain longer, but they're more difficult to fret and bend and will hurt your fingers more. So if you're just starting out with a full size dreadnought guitar buy some lights instead.
That said, these pair very well with a short scale parlor guitar. The shorter scale means that the string tension is reduced, so medium strings will be more comfortable to use. Parlor guitars are smaller and have less natural power and projection than their larger cousins, so heavier gauge strings like these give them more presence. Just check with the manufacturer to make sure the bracing can handle medium strings. That goes for all acoustic guitars. 0
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
![]() Hurts like hell, but still worth it., By
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This review is from: Martin MSP4200 SP Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings, Medium (Electronics)
I've been playing with these strings for several years now, and I absolutely love them to death. First heard of using medium-gauge phosphor-bronze strings after looking up that Elliott Smith used them on an old, cheap Yamaha guitar. I couldn't believe it. His strings had such an incredibly bassy, warm tone to them that I assumed it had more to do with mic quality or placement, but no, amazingly, it really is just the strings.
Besides the tone, the heavier gauge also allows for a few perks while playing. For one, they're so thick that you sort of have to try to knock them out of tune, and they endure the general wear-and-tear of constant playing far better than lighter-gauge strings. Secondly, as with any heavier gauge, they resonate more, and that translates into sheer volume. If you slammed your pick down on strings like these in an apartment, there is absolutely no doubt that all of your neighbors would hear you loudly and clearly. Of course, this also means that you can fingerpick without using your nails and still get a very pleasant, subdued, medium-volume tone. Honestly, light-gauge steel strings sound almost tinny to me by comparison. The biggest and perhaps only problem with these, as others have pointed out, is that, yes, they hurt. If you're new to guitar, I would really not recommend them until you at least have very solid callouses on every finger. I play guitar every day for at least an hour, and my hand still has a tendency to go slightly numb from using these. In fact, even switching guitars and playing lighter, steel strings and coming back to these makes me feel like a complete beginner, when even fretting a chord would sting until it burned. And, just like with when I was new at guitar, you get used to it, and stop noticing as much, but still: a word of caution. Overall, these are my absolute favorite strings for their warm, rich, incredibly loud tone, and their amazing longevity. If those are more important to you than anything else, string-wise, I would definitely recommend giving these a try. 0
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
![]() Great sound, good life span, By
This review is from: Martin MSP4200 SP Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings, Medium (Electronics)
Most guitarists I know tend to buy the typical 80/20 phosphor bronze strings. These are 92/8 phosphor bronze and it really does make for a nicer sounding string. The unwound E and B strings are bronzed. If you aren't into the nano-webb strings (I'm not)to get long life out of your strings, try these, the do last longer than the 80/20's. I use these on my D style as well as a Martin OOO, sound great on both for bluesy, fingerstyle playing.
Keep on pickin'!! 0 |
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