Hey everyone,

So i've purchased a '65 Fender Mustang re-issue (daphne blue), I've played it and the fender bullet strings on it are crap. I've read that I should try .10 .11 strings, but I am unsure which brand of strings to purchase. I am not familiar with all the brands of strings in the U.S.

I am used to "Long and McQuade" house brand strings in Canada. They are very bright - so I don't think they'll work for the Mustang.

Can anyone recommend a brand?

Things that might be relevant:
-I am a girl, hard steel strings kill my hands
-I am looking for easy/smooth playability (I want to be able to bar chord, bend/pull on - off etc. without a ton of resistance).

** I understand that strings need to be broken in!!

Thank you!!

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Ultimately the only way is to experiment with several brands until you find one you like but going online for them would be a good idea since you're not as restricted to the major brands that high street stores usually have in stock. For the record, I go with 0.10-0.46 DR Hi-Beam nickel coated, which I use for both my Ibanez (which has double coils) and my Jazzmaster and they sound and feel great. I tried so many brands I wasn't happy with and couldn't even say exactly what it was I didn't like about them! It's weird.

If you're worried about being able to do bends and whatnot, I'd recommend 0.10s. I find them easy enough on my hands, although the Mustang's shorter scale will help you a bit there. 0.11s may work for you, but a possible compromise is a hybrid set with the top strings being lighter and the lower ones heavier...you'll still get the benefits of thicker strings for chords but bending on the higher strings will be less of a strain.

Steel strings might be too bright so I'd recommend nickel plated/wound. They won't be as hard on your hands or the frets either.

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Guitar rig: CIJ Fender Jazzmaster/CIJ Fender Mustang -> TU-3 -> RV-5 -> OD-3 -> Magnetic Effects White Atom -> custom IC Muff -> PS-2 -> DD-3 -> Small Clone chorus -> RE-20 -> LS-2 -> Fender '65 DRRI & Mesa/Boogie F-50

Bass rig: Fender MIM Jazz Bass -> TU-2 -> RAT 2 -> Sansamp BDDI -> RV-3

"...So now you know the true secret to great tone: all the espresso you can handle."

I could recommend D'Addario strings to you. Their alloy feels "softer" to my fingers, and I've noticed they're not as bright as GHS or Slinkys.

If you're looking for easy string bending, however, you might want to go with a hybrid, heavy-bottom-light-top set like 10-52 (which D'Addario makes). Heavier strings on a short scale guitar like the Mustang don't leave you much room for easy bends, especially in standard tuning.

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Crybaby (true bypass, Yellow Fasel inductor) -> Boss TU-2 -> Keeley TS-9 -> Boss SD-1 -> Boss CH-1 -> Boss RV-3 -> 1978 Marshall JMP 2204

I like Ernie Ball Slinkys (10's) for a short-scale Fender, but the common wisdom is you can go lighter on a shorter scale guitar (like a Les Paul or a Mustang) because the scale length makes it more comfortable (ie heavier gauges on longer neck guitars like a baritone or a bass).

For repair work I buy D'Addario in bulk.

D'Addario makes the L&M house Strings, by the way.

PERSONALLY I only use RotoSound (Ok ok, and DR Zebras, Shush), and I do not at all recommend Ernie Ball - I've had tuning issues with every set, and always on a random string (Quality Control Issues, maybe?)

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MY Rig(s).

man, you can argue the differences across string companies all day, but the truth is that 95% of the world's strings come from about 3 different factories worldwide, so the main difference is branding/packaging.

you'll find the main difference is b/w string metals. i use pure nickels (d'addario) on my Strat and Tele because the warmth of the string metal (compared to the standard nickel-plated, say) is a nice balance for the inherent brightness of these guitars IMHO.

if being too bright is a concern, you may want to try some of the warmer-metal strings

$0.02

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I use D'addario 011-049 on my Mustang... I normally use 009's on my Strat but because of the shorter scale length of the Mustang the 011's seem to suit better. 011's seem heavy but on a Mustang it still feels easy to play.

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Crustaceo ergo sum

This is the cold hard truth. The last time I bought a bulk quantity of strings (like 36 sets) they were from a wholesale place and they came in very simple black and white sleeves. They had the obvious colored balls of D'Addario strings, but minus the packaging, and it worked out to ~1.50 USD per set.

But back to the original question, I would second what concretebadger said: hybrid set for the shortscale.

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I'm just two people short of a threesome.

I dont know about everywhere else but, I bought ernie balls a couple weeks back and they had switched to the color coded system. wtf, I hated d'addarios dont tell me that Balls are the same thing now.
BTW, I am a hard core ernie ball player I rag on all my friends that complain about the strings they prefer (mainly DR's, D'addario's and fender's) My guitar has never been strung with anything else since I found EB slinky's and beefy slinky's.

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Hamer Sat2 or Jackson JRR-94 Rhoads>Laney gc80a or hc25(practice).

Hamer(standard tuning) Ernie ball Slinkies
Alvarez Dana Scoop (standard tuning) D'adarrio 10's
LTD EC200qxm (standard tuning) EB Slinkies

I can't seem to find the dislike Button for the above post!

Nah, Just kiddin'.

As for you, "sloppy_phil", Unfortunately that's becoming the way with everything nowadays. D'addario Makes strings Under many names (L&M for one).

The Only Other companies I can name off the top of my Head that I'm POSITIVE are not Rebrands are DR and Rotosound, because enough poking about will find you the manufacturing plants location.

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MY Rig(s).

going with 011-049 nickel coated. I want to try rotosound strings!!

thanks everyone1

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