Gretsch Strings

[John A]

When I ordered my new 'Hall of Fame' gutar'; I was asked what type of strings did I want and I said basically
then ones that came with it. Naturally he asked if I wanted the wound third or plain. I can understand this
but he said that the strings that come with the guitar are 'light' weight strings. This kind of dumbfunded me
as I thought that Chet's guitars normally had 'medium' stings.
(The Set; .011, .013, .017/.018, .028, .038, and .048.)

I was given a set just when they werre being released in Nashville at the CAAS and it doesn't say on the package if they are light, medium, or heavy. What are they and do the rest of you 'Pickers' use these our do you change to a heavier strings?

John

[craigdobbins]

Those are pretty much Chet's gauges, except he liked a lighter 1st and 2nd string- .010 and .012. On the Gretsch CG that he used throughout the 60's and 70's, he usually used a wound 3rd string. I think a .020 wound was about as light as you could get back then. In a Guitar Player interview (1979), he listed his gauges as .010, .012, .020 wound, .028, .038, and .048.

In the 50's he usually used a plain 3rd on the 6120 and the experimental guitars. When he went to Gibson in the 80's, he went back to a plain 3rd, a .016 gauge.

The set you mentioned would be considered in the range of light top/heavy bottom by many players. A .010-.046 set is considered light, and a .009-.042 or .044 extra light.

Thanks,

Craig

[John A]

Thanks Craig.
The list was what [IS] printed on the Gretsch Strings that they gave away in Nashville by Mr Fred.
I still have a New set of the Gibson's strings. .010, .012, .017, .027, .036, .047.

[Norm]

In the old Chetboard there used to be a FAQ based on Paul's posts but I don't see it anymore.

Here's a couple of excerpts from my archive of Paul's comments...


He and I used the same strings, Gibson 10-12-16-28-38-48. In his earlier days he used a bigger bass.

Chet, in an interview with Guitar Player in Oct '79, said at one time he was using Gretsch "Chet Atkins Country Style Strings". (#672) He gave the gauges as .010, .012, .020 wound, .028, .038, .048 or .050. . Chet also remarked that he especially liked the Country Style strings because they had good magnetic qualities. "They have a lot of steel" he said.

I used those Chet Atkins strings back in the 50's I bought my first Gretsch a 6120 in 1955 and that's the only string I ever used for a long time.
Paul Yandell___CGP

PS...
It is wise not to get "branded" by things like "Gretsch Strings" or any string with a guitar maker's name. You're better off determining the guages you prefer and buying a brand that any well stocked music store could be expected to have on hand. Some companies (Gretsch?) will run a promo set and suddenly discontinue it.

[guitarchuck]

The Paul Yandell FAQ is still on the "Board Index" page:

http://www.misterguitar.us/cbimg/PaulFAQ.html


Lots of good info there. We can thank Norm for putting that together, I beleive.

[craigdobbins]

Thanks Norm. That's the article I was talking about. GP and Frets both profiled Chet that month. GP did "the electric side" and Frets did "the acoustic side." Great article. I used to use those Gretsch strings back in the late 60's and '70's. I've still got an empty round plastic case that I keep odd screws in.

John, Norm is right about string brands. I use D'Addario myself. Their quality is always great. Right now I'm using their pure nickel strings on my Gretsches. They're not quite so bright, and are very smooth, so they don't squeak as much. I just get the gauges I need, usually basically the gauges in Paul's archive.

Thanks,

Craig

[keener]

This information is so very, very good that it would be great if it could be added to the FAQ page, either by link or quotes or somehow. It would be a shame for this to be lost in the pile.

[John A]

Many thanks to all of you that have posted. The info from Paul, I'll pull up and read.
I'll try several different sizes and find what I like.