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Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:28 pm
by warwick.hoy
I know that they are highly thought of in bass circles and I'm going to order a set in .158 on Skip's (owner of CKS) recommendation for downtuning a 5 string bass a whole step.
I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with Circle K's Guitar strings. I'm joining a metal-ish band to play guitar; this is the tuning they are in (it's a drop tuning).
B-F#-B-E-G#-C#
This was the recommendation from Skip and will have to be custom put together.
.070 .045 .033 .025 .019 .014
14's seem logical but that .070 "E" string is pretty scary seeming.
Going to be going on my 72RI Tele Deluxe,...which is such an un-metal guitar to me (but appeals to me for some reason,...they main guitarist uses a Les Paul).
Has anyone here ever used such a heavy gauge set? I do plan on having a new nut carved (for both the Bass and the Guitar) to accommodate the heavier gauges. I do like a nice tighter feel to the strings. I'm not really concerned with whether or not they are Nickel of Stainless,...as long as they feel good and can handle my attack.
I'll be doing a lot of melody type stuff,...not so much shred,....just adding a more phsyc vibe with effects, and handling the upper tones of the chords.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:42 pm
by one bad monkey
Can't help with the guitar set, but the bass sets do NOT have a tight feel to them. They are a lower tension feeling string for sure.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:48 pm
by bob the r0bot
When I saw the thread title, I though you were buying strings from a convenience store.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:55 pm
by DallasLemonade
bob the r0bot wrote:When I saw the thread title, I though you were buying strings from a convenience store.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:09 pm
by MEC
I shouldn't have to go THAT heavy for B tuning on a guitar.
Something like
these should work just fine.
Anything above 60 really but if you like the strings tight the larger gauge will work best.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:20 pm
by dubkitty
bob the r0bot wrote:When I saw the thread title, I though you were buying strings from a convenience store.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:23 am
by Chankgeez
I haven't tuned quite that low, but I've rocked tunings about a half step up from that.
And aside from that wicked low B string the gauges were pretty similar. (OK, the top two strings are pretty similar, it gradually diverges slightly from there on up/down.)
I used a set of Thomastik George Benson nickel flats:
.055 .041 .031 .021w .018 .014
I think it's close enough to make a comparison. You should be fine. I just used the same nut I already had on the guitar. (Granted, I wasn't willing to slap a .070 on there. Yep, .070's a little scary.) Yeah, the heavier strings were a little snug in the nut slots, but not really enough to bother me. I think you can get away with using something less than a .070 for the low string, but the set might not seem as balanced in regards to string to string tension. IDK. The jump from .045 on one string to .070 on the next seems a bit much though. I might try a .065 or something like that to see how it feels and if it's not feeling like there's enough tension, go up to the .070.
I can't speak specifically about Circle K strings, but the Thomastiks were plenty taut.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:26 am
by nad
Have them on my Dingwall, they rule face. Not sure about the guitfiddle strangs though.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 3:26 am
by warwick.hoy
one bad monkey wrote:Can't help with the guitar set, but the bass sets do NOT have a tight feel to them. They are a lower tension feeling string for sure.
Did you go with a Balanced Tension set,...or a Traditional Tensioned set? I think you'll find that the intent with the balanced tension set is that everything has a more uniform feel to it,...so your G string is just as tight as the E or B strings. As a result the upper strings are going to be a bit looser than a more traditional set. I'm looking for a nice tight B string keeping in mind that I'm downtuning a half set.
My understanding is the extra mass is what contributes to a tighter feel and that's what I'm shooting for on the Bass Set.
I'll just move forward on mah plans then report back to you all once I get everything buttoned up. I'll try to keep the stars out of my eyes and realize that this is a bit of an experiment. In the event that I don't like these strings and want to revert back; I'll hang onto the "original" nuts (if I can,...the Tele's might break on removal,...the Warwick's nut is not original; the JAN II broke when I got a little careless with my bass. I don't think the replacement nut was glued it into place).
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:06 am
by one bad monkey
warwick.hoy wrote:Did you go with a Balanced Tension set,...or a Traditional Tensioned set? I think you'll find that the intent with the balanced tension set is that everything has a more uniform feel to it,...so your G string is just as tight as the E or B strings. As a result the upper strings are going to be a bit looser than a more traditional set. I'm looking for a nice tight B string keeping in mind that I'm downtuning a half set.
My understanding is the extra mass is what contributes to a tighter feel and that's what I'm shooting for on the Bass Set.
I'll just move forward on mah plans then report back to you all once I get everything buttoned up. I'll try to keep the stars out of my eyes and realize that this is a bit of an experiment. In the event that I don't like these strings and want to revert back; I'll hang onto the "original" nuts (if I can,...the Tele's might break on removal,...the Warwick's nut is not original; the JAN II broke when I got a little careless with my bass. I don't think the replacement nut was glued it into place).
I've used both balanced and traditional sets heavily for a little over a year on my 5s and 6s and wound up talking with Dave (one of the other owners) regularly about my experiences. The balanced is nice in that the tonal quality between the strings is the same; the G and C strings on my bass didn't ring out with a shrill timbre comparatively as other string brands do. But these have a lower tension and feel than a lot of the other brands out there (Rotosounds come to mind). I did have to adjust my attack a little bit to get used to them.
With the lower feel, that's not to say that the fundamental tone of their B string is bad, because it's not. It's quite good, and it's one of the few B strings that is actually usable above the fifth fret. CKs are probably one of the only brands that actually have "piano-like" clarity, which is due to how they're wound as opposed to other brands.
Skip knows a LOT about gauges and will not steer you wrong in terms of trying something out. I had a .138 B string on my basses, and after he got me to take a chance on it and try it, it was great. Still felt looser than a .135 or even some .130s.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:26 pm
by MSUsousaphone
Kinda interested in these....is there any discounts I should know about before I buy?
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:31 pm
by warwick.hoy
I know they aren't cheap. I do recall reading on TB about bulk discounts. If these strings turn out to be dandies,....I'll likely order several more sets and start changing out my strings a little more often. The one's I've had on my bass are about 3 years old now. They are Warwick Black Labels .135s.
My big thing is; I can go up to Guitar Center and buy a set of $40 strings that I'm not going to be happy with. Maybe just Maybe if I spend a little more I can find something that blows my mind.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 2:08 pm
by MSUsousaphone
I use standard 5 string tuning....so these things are actually a lot cheaper than the Thomastik I'm using, now. When I was using DRs, I was changing them once a month. With the Thomastik, I can maybe go once every two months. If I soak them in denatured alcohol, I can get another week or two out of them. But I like my strings bright and poppy. Can't stand them once they start getting that dull sound.
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:17 pm
by WeHuntKings
warwick.hoy wrote:I know that they are highly thought of in bass circles and I'm going to order a set in .158 on Skip's (owner of CKS) recommendation for downtuning a 5 string bass a whole step.
I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with Circle K's Guitar strings. I'm joining a metal-ish band to play guitar; this is the tuning they are in (it's a drop tuning).
B-F#-B-E-G#-C#
This was the recommendation from Skip and will have to be custom put together.
.070 .045 .033 .025 .019 .014
14's seem logical but that .070 "E" string is pretty scary seeming.
Going to be going on my 72RI Tele Deluxe,...which is such an un-metal guitar to me (but appeals to me for some reason,...they main guitarist uses a Les Paul).
Has anyone here ever used such a heavy gauge set? I do plan on having a new nut carved (for both the Bass and the Guitar) to accommodate the heavier gauges. I do like a nice tighter feel to the strings. I'm not really concerned with whether or not they are Nickel of Stainless,...as long as they feel good and can handle my attack.
I'll be doing a lot of melody type stuff,...not so much shred,....just adding a more phsyc vibe with effects, and handling the upper tones of the chords.
i am pretty positive aaron turner from isis uses the same gauge strings on his tele customs in practically the same tuning. gopher it. teles rule for the heavies
Re: Circle K GUITAR Strings
Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:48 pm
by one bad monkey
MSUsousaphone wrote:Kinda interested in these....is there any discounts I should know about before I buy?
They JUST finished a 24% off sale for 24 hours, which ended at noon (I think?). If you "like" them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter, they're getting ready to do a lot of discount promotions.
MSUsousaphone wrote:I use standard 5 string tuning....so these things are actually a lot cheaper than the Thomastik I'm using, now. When I was using DRs, I was changing them once a month. With the Thomastik, I can maybe go once every two months. If I soak them in denatured alcohol, I can get another week or two out of them. But I like my strings bright and poppy. Can't stand them once they start getting that dull sound.
I did find the Circle Ks to hold onto their "broken in" tone for quite sometime, which is still very bright. Not overly so, but it's a bright sounding string to be sure. Durability wise, in the summer I normally change my strings every two weeks (I'm playing 18 gigs every two weeks) and the CKs lasted 3-4. I feel confident to say that they will last a long time, more than most brands out there (for reference, Rotos and Dean Markley last 2 weeks for me, and D'Addario barely lasts 1).