Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ?

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Erik_O
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2012/07/23 11:47:53 (permalink)

Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ?

Unfortunately, I'm allergic to nickel, which makes playing with ordinary strings a rather mixed experience. I've managed to find nickel free (stainless steel) strings for electric guitar and bass, but I cannot seem to find any for acoustic Western guitar.
Can anyone help ?

Erik Oberg

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    Bristol_Jonesey
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/23 12:18:04 (permalink)
    http://www.amazon.com/s?i...3A486348011&page=1

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    Erik_O
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/23 13:42:19 (permalink)
    Bristol_Jonesey


    http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A11967851%2Cp_n_material_browse%3A486348011&page=1


    I've been on that page before posting. Those strings are for for bass and... cavaquinho

    Erik Oberg

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    gustabo
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/23 20:53:53 (permalink)
    What about Elixir strings? They're coated.


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    Cactus Music
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/24 00:54:56 (permalink)
    But hold the phone, Acoustic strings are Bronze. Acoustic guitars need the right string or they sound terrible. Just toss out the 1st and 2nd string and replace with stainless. Might be hard to find singles in stainless. Swap them with a buddy?
    post edited by Cactus Music - 2012/07/24 01:01:56

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    fireberd
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/24 06:36:15 (permalink)
    Usually, the wound strings are the only Stainless steel strings in sets.  I use George L's on my pedal steel and they are stainless but only the wound strings.  Same way with GHS and other brand steel guitar strings. 

    Although there may be plain SS strings, I've never come across any.

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    Cactus Music
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/24 11:16:00 (permalink)
    Ya , that's what I was thinking, there is a reason for using the nickel steel and it's most likely the only alloy that will not stretch out of tune. Take up Nylon Guitar.

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    Erik_O
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/24 14:37:11 (permalink)
    As far as I know (and I don't know much) the purpose for nickel is to make the strings smoother/softer for the fingers, but there may be other purposes that relate to the sound.
    Nevertheless I find the nickel free strings (Rotosound) on my electric guitar quite comfortable and good sounding and since I also found bass strings I just thought that it might be possible to get some for the acoustic as well.
    Apparently they are not invented yet so I guess I have to go on suffering for my art

    Thanks a lot for your responses anyway.

    Erik Oberg

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    Bonzos Ghost
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/24 15:15:10 (permalink)
    S.S. strings will be harder on your frets - unless you have S.S. frets of course.
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    RabbitSeason
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/27 09:52:29 (permalink)
    Erik_O


    Apparently they are not invented yet so I guess I have to go on suffering for my art



    Hmm.  Sounds like a business opportunity!

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    Guitarhacker
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/28 16:07:39 (permalink)
    Have you tried the ss electric strings on the acoustic yet? Of course, you might need to use a heavier gauge string on the acoustic for a fatter richer sound.

    I used the same strings on both my electric and my acoustic for a long time. I recently switched to heavier gauge strings on my acoustic for the sound. 

    My wife is allergic to nickel so I understand the situation you are in. 

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    IK Obi
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/28 17:45:50 (permalink)
    This is where I get my strings from. You can pick and choose to make your own sets even. http://www.juststrings.com/
    post edited by IK Obi - 2012/07/29 14:38:39
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    Erik_O
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/29 04:00:11 (permalink)
    Guitarhacker


    Have you tried the ss electric strings on the acoustic yet? Of course, you might need to use a heavier gauge string on the acoustic for a fatter richer sound.

    Actually I never thought of that. I believe the ss string set (ssss ) I use on the electric only comes in that one size, but it's definitely worth a try. Thanks!
     
    Guitarhacker



    My wife is allergic to nickel so I understand the situation you are in.
     
    Yes, it seems to be very common in the Western world. That's why I'm surprised it's so difficult to find material about the allergy in relation to guitar strings. Maybe most potential guitar players simply quit because of the disorder!? 

    Erik Oberg

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    Erik_O
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/07/29 04:00:42 (permalink)
    One for the post count!
    post edited by Erik_O - 2012/07/29 04:03:18

    Erik Oberg

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    yeti_tracks
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/08/01 15:59:30 (permalink)
    I'm no metallurgist, so these may have nickel in them... but have you looked at these?

    I love the warm tone they give (silk & steels, haven't used the phosphors) but you may not be a fan depending on your style..

    Silk and Steel:
    http://www.amazon.com/DAddario-EJ40-Steel-Guitar-Strings/dp/B000OR88JE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343850233&sr=8-2&keywords=silk+guitar+strings

    http://www.amazon.com/Martin-M1400-Marquis-Acoustic-Strings/dp/B0002GZQEM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1343850233&sr=8-3&keywords=silk+guitar+strings

    Silk & Phosphor
    http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Phosphor-Acoustic-Guitar-Stings/dp/B002DC8OE2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1343850233&sr=8-6&keywords=silk+guitar+strings
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    Guitarhacker
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/08/01 19:34:14 (permalink)
    for a very long time when my wife and I first got married the jewelry was not made in stainless so I didn't "have the opportunity" to buy her much from the jewelry store. Now of course, there are a number of lines out that are specifically for people with allergies.


    For a very long time, I used my Ernie Ball Super Slinks on both my electric and my acoustic. The acoustic had a thinner sound as a result but it played really nice as a result of the thin strings. 

    I have since moved up a few millimeters in the thickness gauge when it comes to the acoustic guitar and have started using slightly heavier electric strings too. I still have a few EBSS sets to go through. 


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    Erik_O
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    Re:Stainless steel strings for acoustic (Western) guitar ? 2012/08/05 05:56:02 (permalink)
    yeti_tracks


    I'm no metallurgist, so these may have nickel in them... but have you looked at these?

    I love the warm tone they give (silk & steels, haven't used the phosphors) but you may not be a fan depending on your style..

    Silk and Steel:
    http://www.amazon.com/DAddario-EJ40-Steel-Guitar-Strings/dp/B000OR88JE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343850233&sr=8-2&keywords=silk+guitar+strings

    http://www.amazon.com/Martin-M1400-Marquis-Acoustic-Strings/dp/B0002GZQEM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1343850233&sr=8-3&keywords=silk+guitar+strings

    Silk & Phosphor
    http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Phosphor-Acoustic-Guitar-Stings/dp/B002DC8OE2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1343850233&sr=8-6&keywords=silk+guitar+strings
    I've never heard of silk and steel strings but it sounds interesting. It's not that easy to find out what the different parts of the strings contains of. I would like to know if the coating or even the core itself of the different string types and labels contain nickel. But it seems that the string companies doesn't provide that kind of detailed information.
    I did find this one though : http://www.professorstring.com/index.php which seems to contain a lot of great generic information.
    Anyway, I would like to thank everybody for the inputs in this thread. There's a lot to pick up on. I really appreciate it.
    post edited by Erik_O - 2012/08/05 06:35:32

    Erik Oberg

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