GHS' Americana Series?

[Pick&Grin]

Hey all,

Anybody know about or have experience with GHS's Americana series? I hadn't heard of them until I got an email from JustStrings this morning. Here's what it said:

Our Americana Series addresses four elements crucial to producing the world's first series of strings directed to the needs of players performing within this exciting genre of contemporary music. Our own roots go back decades as one of the premier string manufacturers with an abundance of knowledge in string design that incorporates innovation into materials selection and string construction, while utilizing preferred gauging based on many years of input from our GHS Artist Family. Add in cryogenic treatment to extend the life and enhance the tone for a series of strings that will have acoustic guitarists, bluegrass players, country, blues, R&B and roots-rock performers embracing the GHS Americana Series of strings.

Is this a new thing or had I just missed it? Are they any good?
Here's a link to them at JustStrings (http://www.juststrings.com/ghsamericana.html?utm_source=JustStrings.com+Speci al+Offers+and+News&utm_campaign=6a841c2b28-GHSAmericana-WC2015-20150407-PR-S-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_26efb5c762-6a841c2b28-157097665&mc_cid=6a841c2b28&mc_eid=7ebf063c80), if that helps answer my question.

Thanks!

[Doug Edwards]

I got the same email and ordered a set and the guitar strings. I've used cryogenic guitar strings in the past and liked them. we'll see what happens. I like the GHS A270 sets and currently in to D'Adarrio Flat Tops.

[Pick&Grin]

Thanks for this Doug! Would love to get your thoughts on them once you get a chance to try them. BTW, what's meant by cryogenic?

[Jeff Hildreth]

Got the same e-mail.

Looks interesting but the advertising/marketing department needs an infusion of reality.
Why?
"
"Americana" denotes tradition and history.

"exciting genre of contemporary music.".. Let's see.. contemporary music ?

Am I missing something or is this just more yuppie BS.

I'll spend a couple bucks for some strings to see if I can grok the traditional Americana vibe of this contemporary genre.
Stainless is nothing new nor are the gauges.

I believe the marketeers may be the same for "straights".. read that varied gauges. Big whup.

[Pick&Grin]

Yes, Jeff. I'm sure I'll buy 'em for a try, but part of me thinks back to 1994 when K-Mart declared itself "Grunge Headquarters." I hope DHS isn't pla that card...

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'm sure that almost every musical instrument string maker makes claims for the superiority of their 'latest product'. I'm equally sure that they believe entirely in what they say.The big issue is ''will we hear what they hear ?'' = maybe / maybe not. If we can hear a ''difference''' will we like it ? = maybe / maybe not. Again, it's all subjective (IMHO). If we buy a set of 'x' brand strings,we either like them on 'our' instruments or we don't. If we don't,we look somewhere else,& keep looking & trying until we find a brand that does suit us - like we've always done. I have to agree with Mr Edwards that the GHS A270's are a very fine string. I prefer DR strings only because they have a bit more 'punch' to them,but tonally,the GHS's are terrific,far 'better' IMHO than the J74's i used for over 7 years. The DR's last a very long time as well,
Ivan

[Finger Stylish]

I think the movement to find the "Old Retro" type sound is humorous considering sound interpretation is 100% subjective.
I remember when strings weren't all that easy to find back in the 60's & early 70's.
I pretty much thought Black Diamonds were the only strings on the market. Times have changed for the better.
I wonder if putting on a set of strings from the 40's or 50's and let Sam Bush record a project called, "No more strings" would create a market for unavailable strings. The WWW is a beast that can only be tamed by a Power failure. We love to be strung along waiting for the perfect thing that will transform us into,,,,,,,,,,,Sam Bush! :mandosmiley:
Hmmmm, I think I'll order some of those. Perhaps all four sets. I got the same email from Just Strings yesterday. :whistling:

[Ed Goist]

Here's the GHS webpage on the Americana mandolin strings (http://www.ghsstrings.com/products/13316-americana-series-mandolin?category_id=1965162-americana-series-2).

And here's GHS's promotional video for the Americana series (with audio of the Americana acoustic guitar strings):

trpLgZyMw9o

[Willie Poole]

I am a long time user of GHS A-270`s and will try a set of these new strings just to see if there is any difference.....A year or so ago at Ivans request I tried a set of the DR 11`s and the wound strings just stand out as great but on my mandolin the unwound A string sounded a bit shrill compared to the A string in the A-270`s, it is a smaller size and maybe that accounts for the shrillness or maybe the nut or bridge saddle needed to be altered to fit the difference, DR`s are a great long lasting string though....

Willie

[Timbofood]

A "new mousetrap?" I have used GHS strings for a very long time, worked with Dave Holcomb form there years ago, great bunch of folks! One of these days I suppose I had better try one of these "new, improved" sets but, until I run out of the "old, unimproved" ones I have, the old stuff will have to do.

[Doug Edwards]

Thanks for this Doug! Would love to get your thoughts on them once you get a chance to try them. BTW, what's meant by cryogenic?

Cryogenic is a process involving very low temperatures. Not sure how it's done but it seems to make the strings last longer without coating.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I remember very well the time when over here in the UK,you could have any brand of banjo or guitar string that you wanted - as long as it was Black Diamond. It seemed to me that when the Folk music boom kicked off,the UK music stores began importing more brands of string,& of course after the 'Merseybeat' sound dropped on us,the demand for 'better' strings went hand in hand with the demand for better & a much larger variety of instruments. Right now,we're almost spoiled for choice when it comes to strings,but it's thanks to the string manufacturers that many of the finest instruments out there sound as great as they do,:)
Ivan~:>

[Doug Edwards]

Well my package from Just Strings showed up today. I have not put them on yet, I might want to let the thaw first.
I found this description on Google:

© Brian Godden 1/1 /2003,


What are the benefits of Cryogenically treated musical strings? In the case of steel, copper, brass, and their alloys, cryogenic treatment removes the built-in kinetic energy of atoms which is the energy of motion. There is a normal attraction between atoms that makes them want to get together. But their energy of motion keeps them apart unless that energy is removed by low temperature cooling. The treatment at temperatures of 88 degrees Kelvin (-300 degrees Fahrenheit) transforms soft austenite into hard martensite. This transformation closes the molecular surface, and re-aligns the internal crystalline structure. In musical wire, it improves intonation and harmonic content, and limits longitudinal stretching. The result is a longer lasting, more resonant, clearer sounding, stronger string.

[TonyP]

well now you got me all worked up Doug! Get 'er done son and give us a review!

cryo treated strings...whodathunk?

ever checked out who won the awards for Americana? If that ain't no part of nuthin', nuthin' is. Hope the strings are more coherent.

[Ivan Kelsall]

The transformation of Austenite to Martensite occurs at a very high temperature. Rapidly cooling the metal keeps the metal in it's Martensitic state :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martensite It's not the actual cooling itself that makes the transformation.
From Doug's post above - "The result is a longer lasting, more resonant, clearer sounding, stronger string.". Sounds like DR strings to me - they're exactly all that !!,
Ivan;)

[Pick&Grin]

From Doug's post above - "The result is a longer lasting, more resonant, clearer sounding, stronger string.". Sounds like DR strings to me - they're exactly all that !!,
Ivan;)

Cool, Ivan. Yeah, I need to try DR strings. I look for warmer tones, so don't know if they're for me, but it's always fun to try.

BTW, missing the UK: lived in Sheffield for five years.
*Wednesday 'till I die!*

[Willie Poole]

I wonder what happens to those atoms when the strings heat back up? I must admit I don`t understand any of this lingo....I`ll just have to take them at their word and give them a try as soon as I use up the six sets of A-270`s that I already have on hand, no they aren`t for sale...yet....These new Americana strings will really have to speak to me to get me to change.....

Willie

[Timbofood]

I'm in the same "stack of strings" boat, Willie!

[Pick&Grin]

I wonder what happens to those atoms when the strings heat back up? I must admit I don`t understand any of this lingo....I`ll just have to take them at their word and give them a try...

That goes for me, too!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Well,to begin with,to revert the Martensite back into Austenite,you'll need to raise the strings to around 800 deg.C,to anneal them,so you'd need to remove them from your mandolin - or not !.:grin:
While there are very sound mechanical reasons why these processes are carried out for industrial purposes on what i'd call 'critical' items,the mechanical failure of which could cause a catastrophe of some nature,carrying out the same process for musical instrument strings will have some benefit,but the failure (breakage) of a string, could hardly be called 'catastrophic',unless that is you happen to be performing a Bach 'Partita' in front of the President of the USA,:disbelief:
Pick&grin - I'm sure you'd be welcome back any time,
Ivan;)

[Doug Edwards]

Well I put them on last night and played for a while...
IMHO the wound strings sound like C**P and the plain are very crisp sounding. Maybe they just need to be played in more, but the GHS A270 medium sets always sound great right out of the package. The D'Addario J74's settle in after playing for while but they don't sound anything like the Americana set. They actually made the mandolin sound cheap to my ears. I'll keep them on through the Jam tomorrow night but they may not make it to the weekend. Very disappointed.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Thanks for that post Doug. I've been very interested in finding out what people think of these 'Americana' strings.
I should at least mention though, that my favorite strings (DR MD-11s) seem to sound pretty lousy (to me at least) for the first day or so. Once they settle in, I love them.
I hope your new GHS set settles in for the better. Let us know, and thanks again.

[Pick&Grin]

Yes, thanks so much Doug! I hope they sounded better after the jam.

[Steve Ostrander]

Austentite.....Martensite.....Give me some Kryptonite strings any day!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Doug - I'm sorry to hear that the 'Americana' strings sounded 'not too good'. Hopefully they might settle down & start sounding good. I do agree with what you say about the GHS A270's,they sounded great from the off on my Ellis. There was another thread re.strings quite recently & i think that it was generally agreed that 'some strings' will sound good on 'some mandolins' & not on others,which just seems like common sense,after all,not all mandolins are 100% alike,even those from the same builder.
Flatrock - i've never had my DR's sounding ''pretty lousy'' as you put it,but,after they've lost the brightness of the treble strings a bit,they become a beautifully balanced sounding string set & they still pack a punch. If i had to go to another make of string other than DR's for any reason,i'd easily settle for the GHS A270's,they're excellent,
Ivan

[Willie Poole]

Doug, When you change strings if you take them all off at the same time and have to realign the bridge you may not have every thing in the correct place, I say this not knowing how you change strings or how long you have been playing, it is just something that crossed my mind....Like Ivan says all strings are not for all mandolins, I tried the DR-11`s on my Flatiron and the unwound strings just were way too high pitched, they are still on it and I guess you could say I have given them enough time to "wake up", it`s been quite a few months now but I don`t play it every day, I have too many mandolins to do that...

Willie

[Doug Edwards]

I change the strings two courses at a time, bass then treble, pretty much all the time. The same for guitars. I've played since 2000.
Thanks

I have my de-dampener running on the bridge and strings a few hours now, we'll see in a bit how they do. Praise Team rehearsal and jam in a couple hours.

[Doug Edwards]

Well, about half way into the jam the strings started sounding fairly good. But mostly when I changed to a heavy TS pick. The wound strings settled down, but not as much bass as I would like. The treble strings sounded pretty darn good especially down the neck. No rush so I'll keep them on for a while before going back to my usual diet.

I don't know why they sounded so bad at the start. Maybe my hot playing changed the molecular structure. :whistling:

[Pick&Grin]

I don't know why they sounded so bad at the start. Maybe my hot playing changed the molecular structure. :whistling:

Ha! If I had a nickel for every time I've received that criticism! ;)

[Willie Poole]

One thing I do when changing strings I apply some Finger Ease onto the strings and it seems to take away the "newness" sound that strings tend to have when first installed, I am sure there are other products that will do the same thing and also some sweat from your fingers will in time make them sound different from what they did when first installed...

Willie

[Charles E.]

Not to hijack the post but I was recently informed about Curt Mangan strings.....

http://www.curtmangan.com/about-us/

I have not had a chance to try them but might be worth looking into.

http://www.curtmangan.com/mandolin/

[Pick&Grin]

Thanks for this , Charles!
The plot thickens...

If anyone has experience with these, I'd also love to hear.

[mandroid]

Why not do the deed yourself By Now? It' s been a couple weeks already..

I've been using the regular line GHS strings for decades .. they're fine .
P bronze A250,260 ... & PF285 (on my mandola)

[ferrousgeek]

My Girouard A-5 did not like the GHS Americana Strings at all (though I am a big fan of GHS strings in general and use the Laurence Juber Signature Strings on several of my guitars). They sounded harsh and brittle and I did not keep them on very long. I've tried most everything and nothing sounds better on my mando than The Curt Mangan Strings. Coincidentally, the Mangans are what were on my A-5 when it was shipped to me. I believe Max currently ships all his mandolins with Mangans.