Handmade Guitar Strings – Preston
Over the years I have been asked by many people about the strings I use or recommend. To be honest there isn’t a straight answer to this question and it is to do with experience and less to do with personal preference.
The reasons for not being able to provide a one size fits all answer are as follows:
- As time moves on so does your experience and once you encounter another brand your opinion changes. In other words, if you had asked me that question 25 years ago the answer would have been very different. Now I am sure. Why? Your experience changes your own mind with regards to the sound you are looking for as well as the gauges of strings you prefer.
- Some people temper this question with words like best and cheapest. Again, a difficult question as the best are not necessarily the cheapest – buy cheap buy twice is an adage I live by when it comes to music. The question should really be what cost effective and pure sounding strings sound great with almost any guitar I have had experience with?
Why is it so Important to Select Your Guitar Strings Wisely?
Surely all strings are the same, aren’t they? The short answer to this is no!
The way a guitar string vibrates, its structure and materials affect the overall sound. It can change what was once a warm inviting tone, full of lustre and dimension, into a flat and uninteresting presence. This can reduce your enjoyment of the instrument and leave you feeling bewildered as to what is going wrong.
So many guitar manufacturers miss a trick here. Why produce an instrument then put cheap strings on it when you are trying to attract a paying customer? If I had a pound for every instrument that I played that could have been vastly improved by very simple changes, I would be very comfortably off! Paramount amongst the tweaks I suggest is, to reevaluate your choice of guitar strings.
Why is it so Important to Select Your Guitar Strings Wisely?
Surely all strings are the same, aren’t they? The short answer to this is no!
The way a guitar string vibrates, its structure and materials affect the overall sound. It can change what was once a warm inviting tone, full of lustre and dimension, into a flat and uninteresting presence. This can reduce your enjoyment of the instrument and leave you feeling bewildered as to what is going wrong.
So many guitar manufacturers miss a trick here. Why produce an instrument then put cheap strings on it when you are trying to attract a paying customer? If I had a pound for every instrument that I played that could have been vastly improved by very simple changes, I would be very comfortably off! Paramount amongst the tweaks I suggest is, to reevaluate your choice of guitar strings.
So, perhaps I ought to be asking you a question. If you have just spent years learning guitar and have bought your dream guitar, maybe a Fylde or top of the range Gibson, are you really going to put a cheap set of strings on it? Seriously? Or, maybe you might think twice and buy a set that has been purposefully made with quality and the aspects of tonal quality and longevity in mind?
I practice what I preach and now stock a range of competitively priced guitar strings which have consistently scored high marks across both electric and acoustic instruments. They also meet the needs of my students.
It is important to me that all my students are competently advised on the best options for their playing and overall sound. Newtone have an excellent reputation, particularly with acoustic guitar players and those using alternate tunings.
Newtone Strings Handmade in the UK
Newtone strings are made with quality in mind both in terms of construction and sound. For example, the phosphor bronze strings are crisp in the treble range and warm and rich in the lower registers. Being round-wound they have incredible sustain and add real life and soul to the mid-range. Check out the Newtone strings review & video below.
Newtone Strings Review
I passed a set of these to a friend and asked them to provide some feedback. Here is the feedback I received:
Hi Dave, Used to use these myself years ago but then couldn’t find anywhere that stocked them any longer. You could say I am a little biased but I haven’t played with these strings for a while, so. Here’s my feedback:
Easy to play with these and they have a great tone from the start. Even after a week with 30 minutes a day average playing, they still sound and behave well. I really like the sustain on these as well as the well rounded sound. Bright but not brash. Smooth and mellow with every tone very clearly defined.
They feel good to play. Finger style, you can really hammer them. If I were to say anything about them I would describe them as being on a very short list of strings that I would consider using in the studio or for a performance.
Once you’ve played these you’ll agree that every student should at least try a set, I’ll certainly be round to see you soon!
Prices & Availability
Also available are electric guitar, bass (acoustic & electric), banjo, mandolin and custom string sets for 12 strings, 7 strings and 6 strings. Also available are the Ralph McTell signature strings (11 gauge).
Prices vary but, a set of Newtone Masterclass Phosphor Bronze in the following gauges are:
- 11 gauge
- 12 gauge
- 13 gauge
- £9.99 per set, 2 for £18 with free P&P.
If you require any further information give me a call.
I don’t compromise so why should you? Nine times out of ten, people I have introduced these strings to keep on using them. They simply will not go back to mass produced strings. If they are good enough for Ralph McTell et al, then that’s a recommendation I would use to, at the very least, urge me to try them out for myself.
So, the next time you are in need of high quality, competitively priced decent guitar strings in Preston, you know where to find them.
Credit & Debit Card Payments.
More and more people seldom use cash so Teach Guitar Preston have installed a Debit/Credit Card Reader that supports all major debit and credit cards including:
- Visa
- Maestro
- Mastercard
- American Express
- Diners Club
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- V Pay
- Discover
- Union Pay
Safe secure transactions are made with either chip and pin or contactless.