Robben Ford Discussion

marinblues · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2003 3:22 pm Post subject: Robben's strings?

Daved,

I remember Robben saying in an instructional video that he uses "D'Addario 10's".

Is this still the case? On all guitars?

Thanks in advance, Very Happy

marin

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frank0936 · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 9:26 am Post subject: Robben's strings

Hello Marin,
I had a chance to talk to Robben a couple of years ago, and he said then that he was still using the 10's. I think that was before the Baker guitars. He was playing the Tele when I saw him. I was asking because I use 11's on all of mine. I play acoustic a lot and I tend to pull sharp with 10's on my electrics.
Frank

midc74 · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 2:02 pm Post subject:

Frank, I use 11's as well.. Although, I've been thinking about going back to 10's on my electrics so I can set them with a lower action. I want to work on my speed, as well as playing smoother. I tend to pick aggressively a lot of the time (probably due to the SRV influences). So I have my actions set a little bit higher than what I would like. And of course having the larger strings doesn't help either... but I often have the same problem you do when playing on 10's.. opps.. I wasn't planning on bending that note 3-4 steps.. heh

That's one thing I really like about Robben's style. Most of his lead work is so smooth. I want to mix in some of that in my playing... and I think I could adjust to the string bending issue.. and possibly improve my playing as well.

Patrick

frank0936 · Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:12 pm Post subject: the string thing

Well, I'm an old guy and I play hard and squeeze the strings too tightly so I tend to sharp whole chords with 10's! plus I have been playing with a control freak who insisted on me playing directly through a board with my Strat. With Lace sensors the high E tends to drop in volume a lot through a board. The 11's help that some. I finally bought a Fender Blues Jr. and brought it to a gig-and he loves it. He said it was the best my Strat ever sounded. One more problem solved! Still, I'm staying with the 11's for now.
Frank

diatonicdude · Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:53 pm Post subject: Strings

Hi Marin,

I hope your little boy is doing well!

Robben uses D'addario XL 10's (the standard pack! Must be good then, if they are good enough for Robben). how do I know?? Because Daved gave me the old ones of Robben's telecaster (thanks again Daved) when restringing at the Jazz cafe. Robben was even kind enough to sign the packet they came in later that night.

All the best,

DD Smile

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midc74 · Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 2:55 pm Post subject:

Frank,

Well, I'm still a "young guy"... heh but I know what you mean.. I have had that problem sharping the whole chords when I have played on my dad's strat (w/ 10's). But I want to work on having a softer touch. I'm sure I can adapt. Wink

Play straight into a board? You must be a pretty easy guy to get along with.. There is no way I would do that. I'm very picky about my tone.

The Blues Jr looks like a cool amp. I had thought about getting one of those. I ended up getting a Champ II, and a Mesa Subway Blues. The 12" speaker in the Blues Jr would be nice though. I'm thinking about building a new cab for the Mesa chasis, and throw in a Celestion G12H. We were just talking about that a couple threads down.

I've never liked lace sensors much.. My dad has those in his strat plus. I mean it still gives a good sound... but it doesn't have the raw power or edge of their standard/classic pups. I can live with a little hum. Very Happy

Shielding the inside of the pup cavity can help a lot. As well as switching to "star grounding".. getting rid of all those nasty loops they make at the factory.

ttyl,
Patrick

frank0936 · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:01 am Post subject:

Patrick,
I've thinking of switching over to the Vintage Noiseless pickups. I've heard good and bad things about them, but they sure sounded good when I saw Clapton playing them in Memphis! I know, he's like Robben, he could make a pawnshop special sound like a million bucks.

I bought the Blues Jr. because I have a real good case of "Old Guy Back Syndrome". It only weighs about thirty pounds. We play in a lot of small clubs and restaurants and the 15 watts breaks up nicely at low volume. I mike it and I have it in the monitors, too. The only bad thing I have found so far is that there is no stand-by switch. I like the tone, though. It's almost as good as my Fender Concert. That's also a 1-12, but it's older, heavier and more powerful.
Frank

Daved · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 11:14 am Post subject:

On all of his electrics Robben always uses D'Addario XL110's (regular light, .010-.046).

On his acoustics he uses D'Addario EJ16's (light, .012-.053). We've tried the new D'Addario coated EXP16's (same gauges) but he hasn't used his acoustics enough lately to yet determine which he prefers.

On his classical guitars he uses D'Addario Pro*Arte EJ45's (silver/clear/normal).
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frank0936 · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 11:27 am Post subject: the string thing

Thanks, Daved.

Have you tried the Alchemy coated strings yet? I have had real good results with them on my accoustics. They stay in tune very well and have better string life than the non-coated strings I was using.
Frank

marinblues · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 1:30 pm Post subject:

marinblues · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 1:36 pm Post subject: Re: Strings

StratCat · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 3:51 pm Post subject:

On the subject of coated strings, has anyone had and decent results using coated strings on an electric? Does it justify the additional expense?

I used Elixirs for a short while on my Strat - great sounding strings and work very well with the piezo bridge. However, I didn't feel they were good enough to justify the additional expense. That is, the plain strings obviously aren't coated (so I'm paying a lot of extra money for coating on just 3 strings), and even though the strings keep their tone, they start breaking eventually anyway.

In the end, I just went back to Daddario's and just make sure I put a fresh set on every 2 gigs or so. Works out cheaper and I'm less likely to break strings.

Or maybe this is just a reflection on string prices in Australia (which is why I buy all my strings in bulk rom the US these days).

Chris
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marinblues · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 3:59 pm Post subject:

How much do you pay for strings? I am paying 7,5 euro's a set here.

marin

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Aeolian · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 6:09 pm Post subject:

StratCat · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 6:14 pm Post subject:

Marin,

locally, and at retail prices, stock standard D'Addario electric strings go for A$14-$16 a set (about US$10-$11). A little bit cheaper if I buy the 10 packs (might get 10 for the price of 7).

Currently, I shop around though and am able to get them from the USA for about A$7 a set (inc delivery) if I buy 15 sets at a time.

With lots of gigs this time of year (Christmas, corporate, weddings) plus that fact that it's summer here (so I sweat on the strings a bit) it's a worthwhile saving.

Chris
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