VN-L Vintage Bronze 85/15 Acoustic Guitar Strings - .012-.054 Light Review

Don't overlook GHS- Best I've tried yet

Right out of the pack these are the best sounding strings for my tastes. Do you like "warm"? Then you will like these. I know, you are thinking, "how can 80/20 (or in this case 85/15) strings be warm?". GHS has these listed on their tonal chart as being only 2 sets from the far end of the mellow spectrum. My favorite tone for my fingerstyle type of play is "mellow" but the best… read more I've found that do this are the silk and bronze varieties. There is one caveat to those though, they always feel a bit anemic in volume and feel, especially on shorter scale guitars- too floppy and quiet. Enter these GHS Vintage Bronze. These strings have a traditional feel while sounding like other brands 80/20s sound after they have been broken in. Phosphor bronze is maybe a bit fuller and with more overtones but can also sound clangy to my ears, especially on brighter leaning or smaller bodied boxes, so this has been a great find! But wait...there's MORE! I'm not done singing their praises. I'm one of those people who hate how plain steel strings seem to "stand out" against the warmer tones of their wound counterparts. This is true across many companies and alloys and I find myself constantly experimenting to tame the bright and annoying tone from the plain steels against the backdrop of warm bass and mids found in the wound strings. These Vintage Bronze strings magically make that transition noticeably less stark. They also have a great feel to them and very little annoying string noise. I get 2 months out of a pack as well, so pretty long lasting for an uncoated string.

---

Cancel Comment

A cozy nap tone.

So I put these on an all laminate acoustic. I know what your thinking... "shouldn't you put these on a better guitar before you right a review?". Well maybe but laminate guitars don't really resonate the way solid wood does so that was the problem. The wrong strings are too much treble and no bass. The vintage bronze is a good affordable solution that balances the guitar out and… read more makes it much more listenable. But these are not muddy strings, they just have a warm disposition. They are also very adorable for how nice they are. I have yet to try them on one of my nicer guitars. But would be curious to do so. If you hate the sound of jangly strings definitely try these. Again they don't sound dead, more like taking a cozy little nap.

---

Cancel Comment

Great sounding strings

I think I found my new favorite strings. Cheers Sweetwater!

---

Cancel Comment

Great Strings

I've used DiAddario acoustic and electric strings for at least 20 years until they started having QC problems with winding at the ball on the G strings over the last 6 months, so I did a test with Martin, Ernie Ball and Gibson...(I have not found any coated strings I like so they were not considered.) I found that the GHS Vintage Light strings not only sounded great but lasted almost… read more twice the length of the phosphor bronze strings! They are bright, but not brittle sounding and the low end was punchier than the others. I used them on my early 90s Washburn D10 and my '73 Guild D35, using picks and finger picking as well. They also translated well plugged in. I've used Boomers for some time now on my Tele but looks like I'm gonna be testing out other strings for my other electric guitars as well. Great job GHS!!!!

---

Cancel Comment

The Best

These are my strings of choice , I Have owned several different guitars over the 20 years I have been playing , and these strings always sound the best ! they have a very warm tone and I will continue to buy them for as long as they make them!

---

Cancel Comment