String Showdown: Thomastik-Infeld Spectrum vs Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum Acoustic Guitar Strings
Vložit
- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- My Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/48AkK...
Support Me on Patreon! / jtravlos
Lets compare the Thomastik-Infeld Spectrum and the Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum Acoustic Guitar Strings. They both sound a feel great but let me know what you think!
0:00 Intro
1:11 Strumming
2:06 Funk/Percussive
3:40 Arpeggio
4:28 Finger Picking
5:18 Outro
Plectrums Amazon Link
www.amazon.com/Thomastik-Infe...
Spectrum Amazon Link
www.amazon.com/Thomastik-SB11... - Hudba
The Plectrum Bronze Strings can even be used for playing Jazz and they could work on Acoustic Archtop Guitars so you can retain the Bronze sound but combined with a Slick Jazz Feel. The Wound Strings have a Layer of silk between the core and wrap wire which makes them feel softer.
Great comparison! Plectrum is my choice to calm down a very metallic and bright sounding chrome steel body dobro. Perfect choice.
They designed more like strings for Bowed stringed instruments which is super cool.
Nice comparison. The Plectrums sound very balanced and lively. I do notice the playing has more attack on the Spectrums. I wonder if the difference in volume is the string or the impossibility of having the exact same position relative to the mic. --Just tried Spectrum 12s on my over-bright (sometimes clanging, metallic) Guild F30 Maple. Plectrums are next. Thank you
I love the plectrums on my mahogany 000-15
The wound strings have Silk Wound around both ends so that they grip the tuners more easily. What if they made Jazz Strings that can be used on Acoustic Guitars like Jazz Swing Bronze or Jazz Bebop Bronze? Well the Plectrum and Spectrum Bronze Strings are close enough to that.
You get what you pay for. To my hands and ears these are every bit the $30 pricetag. If I get 3 months out of a set that is only $10 per month, nothing really on my favorite guitars costing thousands.
I was a skeptic on these strings but put a set of AC113 on my Taylor and love what it does for that guitar! The low E is a monster though (.061), and wouldn't even fit through the capstan where the silk winding begins! I nearly panicked and wondered if I could even send them back (bought at Strings and Beyond). However, I remedied this by wrapping around the capstan a couple times in a counter-clockwise direction BEFORE putting the loose end in the hole until it met the silk threshold. Then just tuned up to pitch and it worked like a charm. The other strings I strung up using my tried and true Taylor hybrid method (I don't cut the strings but do measure them out to the next capstan and plus a little, pull back that slack, put a little kink in the string and then begin winding).
The AC113 Plectrums are bold but retain delicious warmth. However, unlike other bronze and silk or silk and steel strings, these have a glorious overtone thing going on that I don't hear in ANY strings I've ever played, much less varieties with silk. If there is one complaint I have is that upon playback on recordings the low end can get a bit muddy (sitka top and sapele b/s). This video has me thinking to try the Spectrum as I may get the feel I love from the Plectrums but get a bit more clarity in the low end ( and the low E on that medium set is only a .057).
I use Spectrum 11s on my Martin 00015sm and they transform the guitar. Love em.
11's are my favorite gauge size.
Very nice comparison. I have a little Yamaha APXT-1 travel guitar and I'm trying to find strings that mellow the sound. So no where near the quality of your Taylor. Have to wonder how long the Plectrums last before I'd feel I need to change them out? Did you leave either set on until you felt they just needed to be replaced?
Hmm, I think I swapped the strings out pretty quick but only becasue I was making these videos. Good strings to mellow out a guitar are usually phosphor bronze. I love Elixirs but even they might be too bright. Maybe the Daddario XTs in phosphor bronze or even cleartone phosphor bronze. Too me, I thought stringjoys sounded dead but maybe its just the type of mellowing your guitar needs?
Good chord changes. The only thing worse than bronze strings is bronze played on a Martin. I use Plectrums on my white/glitter Enya carbon guitar and they're fantastic.
Spectrums sound great. Gonna try them out on my Martin D mahogany 09. One of the best guitars ever made imo. It's a Martin D18ge, with a high altitude Swiss spruce top and bracing. Only Martin to do high altitude Swiss spruce on the top and the bracing. And only martin hog with a volute. Anyway it's a monster. And I play the hell out of it. No being super careful with it. I play it. Only 138 ever made over 4 years too. But idc. I bought it to play it.
But anyway, I was having issues with my ocd getting strings narrowed down. I tried everything.
Right now it's newtone double wound phosphor, John pearse phosphor, John pearse 80/20, Martin Monel, or GHS Americana. Those are my favorites hands down. And again I've tried them all but these.
I thought they were much more muted, but sound great here
The high altitude swiss spruce top sounds intriguing. What kind of characteristics does that bring to the guitar? I dont think I have tried any of those strings. I need to add those to the list.
@@JTravlos Hi Jeremy, I like how buzz and woody sounds on your Taylor 812ce, same as my 224ce-k-dlx special edition crispy&woody, how’s your 812ce action? Mine is ok, maybe Taylor brand Guitar sounds buzzy and woody.
Really interesting and great sets. Spectrums have more bite, while Plectrums have more mellowness (high strings are also warmer)
Agreed. Plectrums were also easier on the fingers too.
I also like plectrums on most of my flat tops and even my Arch tops. Not great if you're playing bluegrass or strumming and really need the volume in a non-miced situation but, in an intimate situation they've got a nice warm mellow tone if you're just picking or doing finger style. Also 12 and up only have D string flat world.
@@pawlowski6132 Actually the 12s have a Flatwound G String the 13s have Round wounds on the 4 lowest strings. The wound string in every set are polished bronze so think "classical tone with jazz feel". You can use them for song covers.
@@JTravlos They also sound quite Jazzy so they make great Acoustic Jazz Strings.
Having used SI strings for a number of years now .. I can say they are superior in sound to any other strings I have used . I used the SI on my 6 and 12 string guitars .. wood and carbon fiber .. simply the best ! Pricy but worth it . Spectrums are richer than Plectrum.. So I stick with Soectrum
I just put a set of Plectrum 10s on my treasured RainSong APLE. IMHO, they ARE worth the money. Sweet! And, the 10s drive the top just fine. On a bigger guitar (i.e., dread), can't say.
Thanks for the insight John!
I'm guessing you didn't give these the couple of days they need to break in before doing the comparison? Both sound a lot better after they lose their initial brashness. From colour and sound I'm guessing the Spectrums aren't wound with run-of-the-mill phosphor-bronze as also suggested by the product page, but they still have too much of the unpleasant sound signature for me. My Seagull spruce+maple jumbo really opened up with the Plectrum AC111s though, and my archtop loves the AC112s. Even listening to this comparison over small notebook speakers I can hear how they are mellower and yet have a "spicy warmth" than the Spectrums.
In my experience though the AC111 and AC112 only have a flat-wound G string (which wears quite quickly) while the others are regular round-wounds. The G string can be replaced quite nicely with the matching gauge Earthwood Silk & Steel version - I actually find that gives a bit better balance. It's a bit strange to put a flat-wound and thus duller sounding string between a brighter round-wound and even brighter plain wire B string...
Try it on some dreadnaught size guitars to…imo or the midsize
I just prefer all Infeld strings be they on my acoustics or electrics but I prefer the Spectrums on my large body acoustics. Plectrums on my mahogny. But then when I started playing guitar in the 70s. I think the best acoustics then were Martin Marquis. Well ya didn't have hundreds of choices for another 10 years yet. Lol yaeh infeld goes there. I hope they never change that.
I've tried Plectrums on my Taylor k14ce BE. At first I've found them fun and easy to play due to low tension and added flexibility (I also play electric), however I've realized that the tone just isn't there, most noticeably when playing palm muted bass lines - there simply isn't enough power for notes to come through clearly in that scenario. I've also went full circle from trying various flexible low tension strings to finding that I actually prefer the more solid feeling of Elixir PB 12s under my fingers. They may be harder to press down, but they stay in place when picking and playing pull-offs, providing nice positive response.
I agree with all of this. Thanks for checking out the video!
@@JTravlos Thank you for all the work you’ve put into the channel. I really like the format of your comparisons - identical conditions, no interruptions for talking in between the audio segments, good selection of styles. I hope your channel gets big, you definitely deserve more subscribers. If you don’t mind me asking an off-topic question, I was wondering about that Suhr amplifier we can see in the background. How well does the power control work? Can it really go all the way down to bedroom volume while still being able to get both preamp and power amp distortion? (i.e. having Master cranked reasonably high). By “bedroom volume” I mean 70-75 db.
@@boshi9 Yes, I gets almost inaudibly quiet. I really like the amp but I dont think it does clean tone very well with a humbucker. I got a toneking Imperial MK II that also has power scaling and it is more versatile. Both power scaling/ attenuators work really well in both amps. However, I do like the distortion better in the Suhr. You probably know but it is a Badger 18. Now-a-days I dont even use the cabinets. I run the amp heads into a SUHR Reactive Load I.R. I wish I knew about that a long time ago.
@@JTravlos Thanks, this is super helpful. Do you use studio monitors with Suhr Reactive Load IR? I couldn't find a setup that sounds and feels as good as a guitar cab, but it could be because my monitoring solution isn't very good.
@@boshi9 I use yamaha HS80s but honestly nothing sounds as good as cab. I dont get that thumpy sound. There are indeed tradeoffs. If I had a separate studio from the house Id probably just mic cabs. But, the convenience of the Reactive Load outweighs the drawbacks so far.
Nice comparison!
What riff is being played at the 1:20 mark? Sounds killer
thanks! It was just something I made up.
The second one has a lot of buzzing, personally I would go for the first one. :3
From all the strings you tried on your taylor, what are your favourites and why? Thank you!
Its hands down Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze in Custom Light. I was hoping to be blown away by some other strings but in all the showdowns I just wasn't. The elixirs felt the best by far and although some others came close in tone they just didnt have the full package. Tone and Feel. So yea, Elixirs for me.
Just checked out your channel. You have builders edition 814ce it looks like....Nice!
@@JTravlos 814ce DLX X-Braced :)
@@JTravlos been trying some string too. But I agree that Elixir sounds better on my 814ce. Right now I'm with D'addario NB, it sounds ok but maybe a little to metallic.
@@FilipeMoreira86 Wish mine had the armbrace. Thanks for watching!
6
I bought a set of 11s Plectrum for my Guy Trameleuc acoustic.It took a couple of days for them to settle down but they are awesome.I will order a set for my Flambeau 12 string ...Nickfpenn
Hi Jeremy, I feel plectrum bronze and spectrum bronze sounds are not better than Martin Sp, Daddario Exp and Elixir strings.
Really, I have a box full of once used Martin SP and other Martins, Daddario's and Elixers, GHS.
I've used Plectrums for years, never tried Spectrums but I will now. I give away the Once used other strings,
that I bought for comparison, to friends in need,,,, I don't need them because they don't even compare to
Thomastik.
I’m not a guitar player, but I play a cittern which uses ball-end guitar strings and I used Daddarios exclusively for a long time before trying the Spectrums. The difference was pretty significant and now I use the spectrums exclusively. The sound is noticeably different and, in my opinion, better. The only downside is that I have to buy 10 of them as singles with two each in 52, 32, 22, 14, and 10. Comes out to about $60. 😬 Not cheap, but worth it.