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The Monel " Retro" String !... A Bovril Thing ?

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SKYWALKER Wales
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The Monel " Retro" String !... A Bovril Thing ?

Unread post by SKYWALKER »

For all of you who aren't Brits , Bovril is a long standing product in the U.k. ,made by taking a cow and boiling it down until it fits in a little pot . You spread this on your breakfast toast before heading off to forge the empire or invent Brexit .

People either love it or hate it ,creating what is probably the biggest and most unreconcilable national social divide in the British Isles .

Monel " Retro" strings seem to be similar to Bovril . People seem to either love them or hate them .

It would be nice to get some of your opinions out there on these controversial strings, so please fire away .
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Saul Ukraine
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Re: The Monel " Retro" String !... A Bovril Thing ?

Unread post by Saul »

I'm a vegemite person myself ;)

Those Martin Monel Retro strings probably sound great...on a Martin guitar. Mileage may vary greatly on other guitars.

Martin says
the solid nickel/copper alloy blend provides a reduced pick attack that allows the guitar’s tonewoods to be heard
which makes me think they may not be ideal for fingerstyle players who only use the tips of their fingers to play. Perhaps it would reduce volume and resonance too much?
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SKYWALKER Wales
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Re: The Monel " Retro" String !... A Bovril Thing ?

Unread post by SKYWALKER »

Well I don't play with a pick so I can't say I noticed that difference particularly .

Perhaps less overtones from these string which would then shift the sound towards the overtones produced by the guitar itself ?

This may be what some hear and like , and others hear and find wanting . Personally I like string overtones for the cross play they can produce so found the Monel strings dry on the highs . I find the low strings have great smooth punchy bass however . Initially they also carried a sort of growl I kind of liked too . It sounded like my guitar had become possessed by Tom Waits 😅😂. This growl soon disappeared however .

Let's see if we can get some more views on these strings ( common guys n gals ! 🤗).
SKYWALKER Wales
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Re: The Monel " Retro" String !... A Bovril Thing ?

Unread post by SKYWALKER »

Just a little follow up on my adventures ( or misadventures!) with Monel strings .
I just tried them on my electric guitar, because I tend to play with the bass turned up and the treble and tone turned down and I recall that that was rather the Martin Retro string's natural sound balance when I tried them on my acoustic .
I recall liking their bass on the acoustic, but I had an issues with all the stings aspiring to being bass strings ..... Dull and wooly . I found them to be even more horrible on my electric . I was after warmer tones but the wound strings just sounded drab with the unwound strings protesting somewhere separately on the edge of the quagmire of sound . If I strum these strings , I feel I've been instantly transported to riding at the back of a metropolitan bus .
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