Acoustic guitar strings can be fickle.
They’re at the mercy of the player, first and foremost, bad fretting and clunky playing being exacerbated by fresh, squeaky strings, the wrong alloy can sound mismatched depending on the wood of your guitar. Many players will have a set or type of string they default to, but how do they really stack up against the rest?
There’s various metals to choose from, as well as coatings, gauges and designs, especially from a company as invested in guitar tone as Ernie Ball are. Their Earthwood Bell Bronze are something entirely new and, developed in collaboration with John Mayer, are inspired by the alloys used for bells and cymbals. As you’d expect, they offer a warmer and more mid-focused sound thanks to the metals used.
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The Bell Bronze strings are available from .10s up to .13s, with .11s and .12s between those two gauges. Earthwood Bell Bronze are noticeably richer and more full sounding, and while they have a mid-focused resonance, it’s not overpowering, nor muddy. They retain all the clarity of something more akin to Phosphor Bronze. The Bell Bronze, as you’d expect, have a particularly chimey sound, much like a bell, ringing true with overtones and harmonic richness aplenty.
Ernie Ball’s range of acoustic strings have a huge offering for all types of players, with coated strings being a great solution for busy giggers and part-time players alike, the coating serving to retain clarity over time to protect strings from grime, sweat and more, or to keep them sounding fresh on your prized guitar that’s not played enough!
Some alloys and metal resonate differently, coupled with the woods of your guitar, and finding the best possible pairing for yourself as a player is incredibly important. So how do the new Earthwood Bell Bronze stack up to the strings we know and love?
Aluminum Bronze
Comparatively, strings like Ernie Ball’s Aluminum Bronze that are constructed from steel hex cores and aluminium bronze wrap offer deeper lows and more sparkling highs, perfect for strumming away at chords and arpeggiated playing, whereas John Mayer, a player decidedly focused on lead playing, needs to poke out a little more from a mix with his Bell Bronze strings. The Aluminium Bronze are a little less bright and focused than Phosphor Bronze strings, though have more top end than the bell-like Bell Bronze.
Earthwood Phosphor Bronze
Phosphor Bronze is the tried and true solution for a lot of players, Ernie Ball’s Earthwood Phosphor Bronze are comprised of 92% copper, 7.7% tin and 0.3% phosphorus wrapped around a hex shaped steel core wire for both strength and tuning accuracy. There’s a mellow warmth to phosphor bronze, coupled with brightness and clarity for finger picking, leads and chicken-pickin’.
Comparatively, the Bell Bronze features the same warmth as this popular choice, but with a more mid-focus and less mellow disposition.
Everlast
Expanding on the Earthwood Phosphor Bronze, Ernie Ball’s Everlast Coated strings take everything you love about Phosphor Bronze and add a layered coating that repels unwanted moisture, sweat, oils and whatever else might be thrown around at your next gig!
The life of your strings is prolonged, as well as their sound over time, retaining the clarity and warmth. Ernie Ball’s groundbreaking nanotechnology coating is applied to both the inner hex core and outer wrap wire for uncompromised tone and long-lasting protection from the elements. Tonally, the Ernie Ball Everlast strings retain all the brightness of Phosphor Bronze and let you keep that tone alive for longer than traditional strings, the dirt and grime that slowly erodes strings over time being stopped at the source; offering consistent, balanced response.
Paradigm Phosphor Bronze
As if that weren’t enough, Ernie Ball’s Paradigm Phosphor Bronze strings have the aforementioned nanotechnology as well as plasma enhanced wrap to protect the string from breaking at its core, adding corrosion resistance to an already stellar sounding string.
The Paradigm offer a more modern tone, a little more scooped than uncoated Phosphor Bronze, settling into contemporary productions with controlled bottom end, consistent pick or finger attack and mids without being overtly warm or too harmonically rich.
The new Earthwood Bell Bronze nestle themselves comfortably into the range, blending contemporary clarity and controlled low end with focused mids and warmth of more traditional acoustic guitar sounds. For lead playing, the chimey tone helps you to cut through an arrangement, making it perfect for both lead and rhythm playing on an acoustic guitar, the sound and character of your guitar shining through.
Exploring different sounds and styles for yourself is incredibly important, and while it’s important to find a tone that works for you, companies like Ernie Ball are putting in the work to expand their ranges to help us find our sound.
For more info, and local Ernie Ball enquiries, keep reading at Ernie Ball Australia.
