GHS String tour

[One Bad Monkey]

The wife and I got a chance to visit the GHS String factory yesterday and get the nickel tour from the Artist Rep. Got to meet and shoot the breeze with the Rocktron Sales Rep also.

For those of us that are fans of the show "How It's Made," it was along those lines. I found it very interesting and informative! GHS still does everything by hand; there were people winding strings, putting ball ends on the cores, using sewing machines to put the silks on, etc.. All on the original machines they've been using for over 30 years that they designed.

The most impressive was the room with about six women that hand wrap each string and put them in the individual envelopes for packaging. And they were FAST! I know how much of a problem I have winding old strings back into their packaging so I can't imagine how adeptly they do this.

So all in all, it was pretty cool. My inner tech geek walked out very satisfied... and I got a free shirt to boot.

[T. Alan Smith]

Awesome to hear. I've got Briteflats and Pressurewounds on my fretless EBMMs now and am very satisfied...to the point that I might stick with GHS for the foreseeable future.

[One Bad Monkey]

If be curious to hear what you think of the ones on your Bongo 6. My Warwick $$ has the same pickup config and I'm having a hard time finding "the" strings for it.

[soulman969]

Originally Posted by One Bad Monkey

The wife and I got a chance to visit the GHS String factory yesterday and get the nickel tour from the Artist Rep. Got to meet and shoot the breeze with the Rocktron Sales Rep also.

For those of us that are fans of the show "How It's Made," it was along those lines. I found it very interesting and informative! GHS still does everything by hand; there were people winding strings, putting ball ends on the cores, using sewing machines to put the silks on, etc.. All on the original machines they've been using for over 30 years that they designed.

The most impressive was the room with about six women that hand wrap each string and put them in the individual envelopes for packaging. And they were FAST! I know how much of a problem I have winding old strings back into their packaging so I can't imagine how adeptly they do this.

So all in all, it was pretty cool. My inner tech geek walked out very satisfied... and I got a free shirt to boot.

And you didn't get one for all of us???

Thanks for sharing the experience with us. I'm impressed as all hell with their product. The Pressure Wounds on my Jazz are perfect and I've got a set of P-Flat in waiting until I can pick up a PBass later this year. Good old fashioned Midwestern work ethic goin' on there at GHS it sounds like.

[One Bad Monkey]

Originally Posted by soulman969

And you didn't get one for all of us???

Thanks for sharing the experience with us. I'm impressed as all hell with their product. The Pressure Wounds on my Jazz are perfect and I've got a set of P-Flat in waiting until I can pick up a PBass later this year. Good old fashioned Midwestern work ethic goin' on there at GHS it sounds like.

My wife got a shirt too, which was more important than mine.

I do have a much greater appreciation for the GHS stuff now. I've really enjoyed them the past year and a half that I've been playing them exclusively, but was very impressed with everything.

I am debating trying a set of Pressure Wounds; still looking for "that" set of strings for my fretless. Got a custom set of Contact Core/Super Steels on it now and it's pretty good.

[T. Alan Smith]

I've had Pressurewounds on my fretless 'Ray 4HP for over a year now, and they've been great. There is little of the finger noise associated with regular rounds, and nowhere near as muted sounding as a typical ground; much closer to rounds in sound and feel. They are ust a bit more dull in comparison. But much easier on the fingerboard wood than regular rounds.
I recently installed Briteflats on my Bongo 6HS. I guess I'm most amazed at how much they sound like rounds in comparison to other grounds I've used. For me, they're more like the best of both worlds that companies shoot for, as opposed to the compromise that most companies end up with.

[One Bad Monkey]

Good to know, thanks. I've got a custom set of Contact Core/Super Steels that I'm using on the fretless $$ right now, and they're nice but not "it." I'll give those a try.

I've been digging the Progressives since I've put them on my Streamer 6. The B string is just massive sounding. They have a little more traditional sound than the hi-fi I go for, but are still very articulate.

[soulman969]

Originally Posted by T. Alan Smith

I've had Pressurewounds on my fretless 'Ray 4HP for over a year now, and they've been great. There is little of the finger noise associated with regular rounds, and nowhere near as muted sounding as a typical ground; much closer to rounds in sound and feel. They are ust a bit more dull in comparison. But much easier on the fingerboard wood than regular rounds.
I recently installed Briteflats on my Bongo 6HS. I guess I'm most amazed at how much they sound like rounds in comparison to other grounds I've used. For me, they're more like the best of both worlds that companies shoot for, as opposed to the compromise that most companies end up with.

+1 For me this is what made them exactly what I was looking for when I spoke with Jason about strings. Something with punch and clarity like the rounds I usually use but with a bit smoother mellower tone for the blues and r&b I do these days. They're it!

[One Bad Monkey]

I'm definitely giving the Pressurewounds a shot the next time I need to order strings. Thanks, guys!

[fjadams]

Been using the 3060 Tape Wounds since '67 or '68. Also use their flats on basses and the 6 strings.

Just wish they made SS 3060s, then I wouldn't need to use any other companies.

[Craig_S]

I haven't tried GHS strings, since I used some Boomers about 20 odd years ago. The Boomers had a nice tone, but they broke in too fast for my liking. Back then, I was going for bright and zingy. I only got about two nights of zing out of them, if I remember correctly. These days, the broken in sound suits me better. Maybe I should try them again. Do they still lose their zing quickly?

[pasta4lnch]

Awesome! Been using boomers on my 4's for a while . . . their cust service is really great too. Had an issue w/ a broken string in the package and they rushed me out a replacement.

[One Bad Monkey]

Originally Posted by Craig_S

I haven't tried GHS strings, since I used some Boomers about 20 odd years ago. The Boomers had a nice tone, but they broke in too fast for my liking. Back then, I was going for bright and zingy. I only got about two nights of zing out of them, if I remember correctly. These days, the broken in sound suits me better. Maybe I should try them again. Do they still lose their zing quickly?

I haven't used Boomers for twenty plus years, so can't comment.

I can tell you that the Contact Core / Super Steel set I'm using easily lasts three weeks during a summerstock theatre run, which amounts to 21 shows and 10 rehearsals in the middle of summer.

Most other sets I've used during that time last 1.5 weeks, maybe 2 if I'm lucky. Worst ones were D'Addario XLs, which lasted a little under a week.