Gold plating is a great solution for folks with nickel allergies. Stainless steel strings can help with that too but they eat your frets faster, where as the gold is softer and won't eat frets. It's a niche' market but 17% of Americans have some degree of nickel allergy.
@@willer3399 That would require a very expensive re-fret and guitar redressing of the frets. The Gold plated strings have a place for people with allergies.
@@willer3399 JJL Guitars use titanium carbide frets. I can bet that guitar eats even steel strings like a mofo. Edit: I mistyped, they use tungsten carbide frets in their guitars.
Funny enough, I met one guy who could only use gold coated strings, because regular guitar strings reacted to his skin and would break out in weird hives.
@@evowire funny you should say that, I recommended these to a friend with nickel allergy. Well, what'd you know, turns out he has a cobalt allergy, as well...
2 года назад+101
I actually really liked the sound of those Optima strings (chewier/fuller mids, rolled off top end) but I'm also the kind of guy who rolls off tone knobs on tubescreamers... The springy part though, I couldn't be bothered!
Yes, I closed my eyes, and the gold sounded much better to me, even with repeat listening. I was expecting to agree with Glenn that gold was a ripoff gimmick, but my ears were telling me that the sound of gold is golden.
Wouldn't fuller mids and less top end mean good for jazzy stuff? I think it really depends on the genre. It might not be for metal but bluesy or jazzy music would fit I think. Liked the sound too.
I also never noticed anything bad about the sound, if anything I love the sound of my LP. The gold looks great with the rest of the gold hardware and the LP bridge makes installing them pretty easy.
To be frank, I tried the optimas once back in the days and they actually did have a longer durability and retained their tone far longer than regular nickel-plated strings, which become dull and loose their treble after 3 to 4 weeks in my hands. The Optimas remained fresh for 3 to 4 months, so in my book it's definitely worth the money. However, I didn't stick to the Optimas in the end, essentially because their selection of string gauges and sets (no 7 string sets) was too limited. Using Elixirs now and not regretting it. Far better selection and similar durability. Other than that, I actually prefered the sound of the Optimas over the nickel plated strings, but I also prefer a mid-heavy sound. So that might be highly subjective.
Hey Glenn, a quick string-changing hack for that. Use the thin tube that comes on a can of keyboard cleaner, stick the tip of the string into the tube and guide it through the hole. Or buy better strings, there's that.
I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this series. Big grins hearing what people actually buy to make their lives "better" A good name for the series could be "Who drank the snake oil?"
My guess is that the loss in the treble/top-end of the gold-plated strings can be attributed to the properties of gold itself. It's either the gold plating is altering the way the strings vibrate, affecting the tonality and giving it the mid bump and high-shelf effect, the gold plating altering the way the magnetic field interacts with the pickups and strings, or some sort of combination of both.
@@inzane1260 Dead right. soft dense metal does not vibrate easily. The strings have a "new" sound, but its also a duller sound. And playing for about 30 minutes will probably erode the gold where they touch the frets. Useless idea.
@@RacerX888 I tried a set of DR strings with the black coating and noticed how quickly the black chipped off. I wonder if these degrade at a similar rate. They had similar claims, but I think I was more shocked at the unwounds becoming chrome as I was stringing the guitar.
@@RacerX888 don't worry about the density of gold. the coating may be only a few atoms thick. only that much is needed to give that golden sheen. And, often, a precoat of nickel is needed before gold deposition, so, people with nickel allergy may be in for a surprise, depending on what process they use for coating :)
It is heavier, which will lower the resonant frequency of the thing. Basically, it's going to be a little like using a heavier gauge string than you actually are, to some extent. But being so maleable, it's going to wear a lot more easily, so they are not going to protect your strings better, and since gold doesn't form a protective oxide, that's going to cause preferential oxidation of the string itself, while a nickel plated one will form basically nickel rust in the gaps of the smaller damage. Nickel is also ferromagnetic, meaning it interacts with pickups. Gold is not, so it shouldn't contribute to the magnetic properties of the string, but again, the linear density of the string is going to be higher, which will alter the acoustic properties of the string re tension, length etc.
To be completely fair tho they did provide a tone shift that in some players specific context may be desirable so its not like tone wood where there is actually no tangible difference. Maybe somone has a shrill rig that needs the high end tamed and to them these strings sound really good.
Next can you test out nut and saddle upgrades? What happens if you go from plastic to bone or plastic to TUSQ? Or pot metal to aluminum? Would like to see if there’s a measurable effect.
@@jarrodhroberson Not talking about my taste. I play Ernie Ball or GHS, both of which are popular because they're good. Just saying that people buy Optima. Usually it's because they have a Mary Kay strat or something and like the aesthetic. Not saying they are a good/better/best string at all. I've played them and they are fine, but not anything special.
If ii had the money of Brian May I would too. Probably doesn’t matter how they sound because he’s using brighter single coils and not playing in high gain metal tones so he can get away with it.
Random person: “you know what would go good with my made in America Gibson Les Paul ‘Gold Top’ with gold hardware? Some 24K gold strings. Gotta let everyone know I’m a gullible dumb*ss” Optima Gold: “Say no more.”
I understand the goal of these strings, even if they fail. Coated strings are really good if you have a bunch of guitars sitting around at home or your studio that you only play once every few weeks. Coated strings (I've used those D'Addario ones) will last half a year and feel as good as new. But if you play a lot, I don't know if it's worth it. But then again, if they last twice as long, you're creating half as much trash that's dumped in some landfill or the ocean.
I use the Earnie Ball Paradigm coated strings on most of my heavily played guitars, I play a lot and my favorites all have SS frets so having strings last longer than a month and a half is nice. I can keep the Paradigms on for like 3 or 4 months and they still feel great. They are also a little more durable and I beat strings up so that's a plus.
I was thinking about this re: coated strings and the landfill and I worry about microplastics -- not great for the environment, either, yes? I don't know what the best tradeoff is.
@@zacharysmithingell5460 if it's not coated with a polymer there won't be any microplastics. And usually, strings are coated with some other metal. In terms of microplastics, the packaging is the bigger issue, which means that long-lasting strings are also better.
So far what I'm hearing is a big shift in the low end and lower mids, and a bit less top end. Typically when other instruments have parts made from gold (like flutes and their head joints, or violin e strings for instance) the tone is definitely a rounder fuller sound with less top end, so it lines up fairly well with gold's "supposed" acoustical sound difference. I think for metal it's definitely not what you're ideally looking for, but if you're stuck with a cheap amp or cab that's giving you an extremely harsh ice picky tone, it could help calm that down a little bit. Would it be more effective than just buying an EQ pedal or saving up for a better amp rig? Probably not. But hey, at least gold does something consistent across the board tone wise.
I would rather blame the "finest laboratory steel" - each steel has different tensile properties, and also may have different ferromagnetic quality. The first would dictate the level of high harmonics in the vibrations, the latter - how they are translated to electric signal. The gold plating is very thin and rather negligible in effect.
The Optima strings have two advantages despite all that BS marketing: 1. They are perfect for people with nickel allergies who can't use regular strings (including coated ones) and 2. they look amazing, especially on black guitars. I have friends who like them (not metal tho) but I'll stick with the NYXL or Pyramid ones
Yes wiping strings does make them last longer than if you don't, but I live in a place with consistent 60 to 80% humidity. I can put a fresh set of non coated strings (pick any brand you like...I have tried almost all of them) , put the guitar on the stand and not touch it, and the strings will start to pit in about 2 weeks. Playing and wiping they'll be rusty in 3 to 4. Playing with no wiping and it's about the same 2 weeks but they will be visibly rusty, not just pitted. The best I've used are Elixers. They just work. I've heard that the unwound strings don't get the coating but they must do something because it will be at least a month if minimally played before they show much of any corroding. Yes, they don't have that pop that fresh non coated strings have. If they'd actually last I'd use Ernie Ball's cause they sound great, but it's just too much trouble changing strings so often. Ernie Ball's coated strings flaked off like crazy the one time I tried them. Went back to Elixers. And yes...I've tried Thomastik Infelds. Elixers last longer.
I actually bought a set of these just for shits and gigs, yes they are expensive, but I actually quite like them. never had any issues with them slipping out of tune
i liked the tone of the Optima way better but would use a lighter gage or at least try a set out. would love to hear them on a tune o matic bridge and a floyd
Scott Grove has an interesting theory that strings last longer on guitars with maple fingerboards, because rosewood has pores that collects and holds finger gunk, which gets picked back up and transmitted back to the strings, making them go dead faster.
Well these are the strings that Brian May has used forever. I tried them myself and liked them for that sort of soft rock/rock and roll style. Not for metal tho
Yup, I was amazed that I could hear the tone was slightly similar to his in the examples. Though obviously there are far more important factors in tone chasing his sound.
The gold sounded a lot richer and fatter. Probably not strings I'd get for metal. Cutting the brightness is kinda at odds with adding tons of gain in a metal context. But on my semi-hollow for Jazz or recording cleans? They'd work great...but they sound extremely similar to Elixirs...which are cheaper. A person with a nickel allergy would definitely appreciate those though.
If you take a look at the clean comparison, you can see Glenn played slightly closer to the neck and seemed a little more heavy handed in the beginning of the chord. That might be a part of what changed the tone too. You can definitely make the same strings sound brighter and louder by changing small variables like that.
More UGG videos please! Optima makes Optima Gold strings for Brian May (Queen). I have put them on my two guitars that have gold colored hardware. But I don't think they are anything exceptional. It is strictly for looks. I prefer Elixir Optiweb strings, which also last a long time.
I agree about the wiping of the guitar before and after playing. But, some people, like me, have very corrosive sweat and can dull a set of strings in, litterally, one hour. I use optimas since the 90's, I love the fact that they remain bright (soundwise) longer than most of the other strings. I do not use "coated strings" because they sound dull, even when brand new. I do not say "buy optimas", I just say that they work for me. by the way, I've never had coiled optimas like yours. Cheers ;)
Intonation is affected by the kind of string as a guitar string isn't perfectly flexible and thus the actual end node doesn't fall exactly on the end of the string (i.e. the bridge/nut). If you change the type of string you are using, or even the gauge, it might be worth checking if your intonation is still soud. There's probably no audible difference if you switch between 10's and 11's but there's probably a noticable difference between 13's and 08's
I really enjoy the fearless gear reviews. Perhaps you should take a look at the Valvebucker Pick up system, which appears to be an active pick up amplified by a couple of tubes in the preamp system. As someone who builds guitars and preamps myself, this seemed like a ridiculously expensive replacement for something that already works just fine.
A small problem with gold plated strings is gold is NON MAGNETIC, so any non magnetic metal would not sound very good with a MAGNETIC pickup, like what's in electric guitars and basses.
I do hear a "VERY SLIGHT" difference between the two sets of strings but not enough to warrant the higher price and I wouldn't say that one particularly sounded "better" than the other... just slightly different.
I love these strings by the feel and the sound they give. Perfect for me might suck for others but "Difficult to string" just because its curved lol! com'on man, all you have to do is put a little effort and youll be fine
When Glenn says he gonna try some guitar gimmick stuff ,and you know he's gonna get mad and let.you know how useless and dumf it is ...Is it just me or does anyone else look forward to see what and how annoyed he gets over things.. lol
there are audiophile grade cable with gold contact... and brass instrument that arw gold plated. So it means that gold means better qudio, so here coomes the gold strings...
Definitely a huge tonal difference. Im surprised. The gold is sounds much more open sounding, But I prefer the nickel strings. The chugging sounds tighter.
@@FSdarkkilla So do I. They should be similarly priced (10-15€ a pack locally here). I started using the coated high end thing from d'addario because the sweat.
I bought those for a build with gold hardware for the completion of estethics. 4 years ago, still on actually, sounds ok. Not worth the price from a quality-standpoint but I don't think they suck.
Love the new series glenn. A friend of mine gave me a pack once. Put them on my 70’s schecter strat. They lasted ages but felt shit to play and didn’t stay in tune 😂
5:00 Didn't you wish you'd use a les paul or sg with a stop tail piece? Well, I heard a difference between the strings, but not what I expected; normally the old and used strings are a bit duller in sound... (and I used good headphones and I'm going deaf, so....) But the gold strings sound louder for some reason? (edit; Hey, I'm not the only one thinking it's weird...) Anyway, I'm keeping it with my D'Addario XL 10-52's
Oh - and on that theme, I have in my proud possession a couple of TOSLINK optical cables with… you guessed it: gold-plated connectors. On a cable that’s NOT electrical. Yup. So, why’d I buy them? Well, not for getting groupie-transmitted-infections… actually they were the cheapest thing on Amazon in the length I needed.
I actually have a friend who needs to use these, not only does he have nickel allergy so it's couple hundreds on top of every guitar he buys to get them refretted but also chrome allergy so even stainless steel (usually iron, carbon and chromium) isn't a solution. So everything must be either brass, plastic or gold plated (silver often includes nickel and when there's just few factories in the world making strings you can bet just before those pure steel strings there was either stainless or nickel plated strings going and you have traces of nickel or chrome in them), fuck that. Gold plating otherwise is often a good thing to spot scams. The plating itself is just couple atoms thick and even for big things like mic covers the amount of gold used is worth maybe at best a dollar. As in out of my memory gold plating a car would have costed around few thousands of dollars "only" (not millions but not a pocket change), so something like "gold plated connectors" and twice the pricetag is pretty much a scam. Even "better conductivity" is pretty much a scam because your connector will be soldered with most likely tin and there goes the advantage gained with that micron thick gold.
Yes, strings can be different in intonation from one set to another. The more high quality strings such as D'Addario or Ernie Balls will be very consistent in intonation. Since most of us usually use high quality strings we don't see string related intonation problems very often. Unless they're very old and very worn out.
Just a technical note on gold: it is one of the softest and most pliable metals. Using them in an application where tension and stress is constant would not be at all suitable. Let’s just keep that in mind when having tuning issues. But hey, at least they don’t tarnish or rust! 😂
I’ve worked in the textile industry for a long time; family business and such. A lot of plating was happening. It was usually done over cheaper metals not only to make them look better but to protect the wearer from getting tarnish stains from the cheap metals underneath. Chances are the metals used to create the strings are not as high quality as they would lead us to believe. Just saying the finest laboratory steel is marketing. Show me the specs.
Glenn I would love for you to do a video on Stringjoy guitar strings. They don’t make any claims about tone but they do allow you to order guitars strings in custom gauges. They have a string tension calculator on their website so you can see much heavier or lighter each string will be if you were to change it. The goal is to get as balanced or unbalanced (e. g. heavy bottom-light top) as you want them to be for your setup. Stringjoy offers what they consider balanced string sets that are a bit different than what everyone else is offering.I’ve been ordering custom string sets from StringJoy for my guitars I leave in alternate tunings and I’m quite pleased. I would be interested what you think to play a balanced gauge for both standard and dropped tuning.
GLEEEEENNNNNN!!!!! I would like to see this series concept for drums! I feel like drummers, such as myself, are suckers for shiny and colorful things, even if we are likely to break it with our sheer brute strength. "Ohhhh shiny!" *BANG BANG BANG* "Oh nooo it broke.... Ill buy another!"
I tried a set of Optima bass strings, I although I don't really buy the gold thing (I really don't care) I tried them and actually really liked their tone, and this tone was quite specific. But they are quite hard to find in stores, so never purchased another set. Oh and the bass I used wasn't a basic bass, it was a Lakland 55-94.
I think some people are allergic to nickel, so this might not be a completely useless product. I read about people on Thomann stating those strings helped them in that scenario. Tried them once like 6 years ago and they didn't really last longer than my favorites (Elixir). Stayed in tune though, that was fine.
Great video, Glenn! You've busted those BS-makers! Even the school-boys know gold is a pretty soft metal. So use it for string plating is totally stupid idea. Gold plated strings are not for guitar players, but for guitar snobs.
Without knowing how long you waited between restringing and recording, the gold plated strings constantly needing retuning may be due to the fact that they were just installed and were still getting stretched. I usually have to give my newly restrung guitars a few hours before they start holding tune. The shift in tone was pretty interesting. Though, something to consider is that the nickel coated strings were old and may have dulled out, while fresh new strings are usually extra bright and twangy. Maybe a side to side comparison between a fresh set of regular nickel coated strings like Ernie Balls or D'Addarios and a fresh set of these gold strings would be a better comparison.
D'Addario Guitar Strings - NYXL Electric Guitar. $34USD from Amazon in a 3 pack (I go with 9-42 gauge). Sound great and cheap enough to change as often as you like. Gold plated strings seem as stupid as Monster Cable. Now there was a product that deserved ripping a new one. Not even an oscilloscope could tell Monster Cable from any other properly grounded and insulated interconnect or speaker wire. Now if you have gold plated tuners, knobs, pickups, etc on your guitar, then gold plated strings would go with the look. Nothing wrong with that so long as you're doing it just for the looks. As for the people complaining about nickel allergies, I didn't know that was a thing. SS should be fine. Gold is soft, especially 24k, and the coating is THIN. Like atoms thin if it is electroplated. Not sure how much that would help you and it's gonna wear off pretty quickly. ETA: On the clean tones, the conventional strings were so much better! I did not expect to hear any differences. Now if I can hear differences through RUclips playing on laptop speakers, there's difference! I didn't notice it on the distortion. But it jumped out on the clean. That's why I like to hear the clean tone. Clean lets you hear what's going on! The clean tone is also fundamental to the distorted tones. ETA2: The gold plating itself should not make a difference. A bit of back of the envelope work tells me that 1g of gold should be enough for several thousand strings. Hence there would be no added mass to change the fundamentals. SO I surmise that what's going on is the underlying string itself is a POS. If they started with fundamentally good, strong strings, then they should have been fine. Mind you, I'm not a guitar hero. I just know a little bit of physics and not enough chemistry to know the actual gold plating process used.
Its a gold coating. The coating has nothing to do with the tuning issues. If a coating would influence the tuning stability, you would have a hard time to get Elixir's in tune, because plastic is even much more softer as gold.
Wow, one of the few things Glenn has tested that actually did make a noticeable difference (albeit in my context not even a huge one) but it was actually worse, amazing.
Damn shame about the strings, was hoping they would be at the very least a serviceable novelty, but this video has proven otherwise. With that being said, I'd like to see your approach on brass hardware in this series. Keep up the good work!
brass blocks make your floyd sound much thicker. ive done it twice now. switched out the metal one for a brass block. i was amazed. on a korean floyd. i made a active guitar passive and it turned super thin sounding until i changed block. i might make a video showing different sounds but i would have to redo it for the sake of vid. just saying i would prove it for the non believers. anywho my 2 cents on that zeeeeeeeeee
With how hard I play, the gold would be worn down after five minutes lol If you want actual good strings, check out Elixir. They’re more expensive but they’re heavily coated so they last a lot longer than regular strings. I like them because they feel a lot smoother due to the coating. Been using them for a decade and can’t stand the feeling of regular strings anymore.
Weird how much of a difference you could actually hear. Definitely more than I was expecting. Wonder if the gold interacts with the pups in some slightly different way. The only reason I would ever consider them would be for purely looks on a gimmicky gold and black guitar or something because of the tuning stability tho.
@@MonsterJuiced The estimated amount of gold that's not mined yet is included in this calculation. That's how rare gold is. You can do the calculation yourself if you don't believe me.
Good video! I do hear a bit of a difference, but the Optima plated strings are steel rather than nickel strings, that may explain the difference in sound. Gold isn’t magnetic, so unless it affects the way the underlying string vibrates, it can’t possibly make a difference. 😊
Dude, you can put nylon strings on your guitar and they will still work great. It doesn't have to be magnetic to disturb the magnetic field. Any movement will create the vibration necessary.
GLENN! Clearly there is no difference in tone when you're playing a riff that was written on regular strings. Trust me I have developed my own tone with these gold plated strings that I have used for my prog-math-deathcore-grind-techno-death metal masterpiece album.
Wouldn't you generally hear the opposite result if the nickel strings were dead? Nickel strings tend to *lose* treble as they age. A test versus fresh nickel strings would probably make the gold-plated ones seem *worse* by comparison.
1:20 "one of the most precious metals" Do they mean to say that it's extremely important and in limited supply? If so, why waste it on damn guitar strings? You know, one of the most disposable products in existence? EDIT: They say that changing the material can also improve intonation???!?!? That's seriously one of the stupidest things I've ever heard!!!
"Precious" usually refers to the metals in a certain group in the periodic table of elements that are very inert. Besides gold, platinum and iridium are also precious metals.
I might be in the minority but through my studio monitors (treated room) I prefer the gold ones, bear in mind I love darker guitar tones. Definitely not worth the extra money though, I'll stick to low-passing.
I've always been "whichever one is the cheapest in stock at the shop I'm in"... So almost always the basic daddario or ernie ball Except for my thunderbird... Always rotosound, love the sound and feel, also the red silks look damn sexy on that headstock
Great video Glenn please do more like these. Who thought putting a NON MAGNETIC metal on an ELECTRIC guitar string was a good idea? As far as I know gold is not magnetic. Nickel is (from what I can find), magnetic. Maybe the lack in top end is the result of having less magnetic metal moving in the magnetic field of the pickups. You are amazing keep it up! Edit: Typo
Many years ago, I bought a set of these just to match the gold hardware on a new guitar. I didn't buy them again. They looked great when I put them on, but within a few minutes of playing, the gold just wore off and the strings turned dark everywhere that I'd been playing. Saying that, I have a similar problem with regular strings. I'm cursed with sweaty paws which destroy guitar strings and hardware. Ernie Balls are the worst I've ever tried and are turning black by the time I've got them in tune. The various coated strings aren't much better. D'Addarios have been the best, so far, and I can play them for a few hours before they become dull and lifeless. I've used several string cleaning/lubricating products, with varying success. Point is, try things out to find what works for you, rather than being sucked in by the marketing BS.
Years ago I switched from nickelplated strings to stainless steel. That, combined with an old kitchen towel to wipe ‘em down after playing made my strings last for months without going dull. That said, 24kt goldplated strings for only €13 is total BS. The layer of gold is so thin, it will wear out in days
Gold Strings is also for people who are allergic to Nickel strings. Im sure the back part message of the string package is a little bull-shitty, but for those unfortunate ones who are allergic to Nickel, wouldnt these be good enough?
@@ManuSDP I think it depends. I heard that Stainless Steel wears out the frets alot faster, than Nickel and Gold. Since its softer material. So its entirely up to which of the consequences you are willing to deal with. 🙂
I've been using them because they look neat on my gold hardware LP. Didn't ever expect them to do any kind of magic. With the LP bridge they're way easier to install.
Hey Glen!!!!!! Have you seen this EXTREME BUDGET hack for Gibson tuning stability? They just screw a Fender string tree in the top screw hole of the truss rod cover (they don't even have to remove the truss rod cover or make an extra screw hole), that way the 4th and 3rd strings are straightened out by the string tree. Kind of a super cheap String Butler
Stopping at 9:28 to make a prediction. I'm willing to bet the tonal differences are minimal enough that you won't hear a difference, and I bet they don't last longer than just buying 2 packs of strings that cost half as much.
I love your videos! You never disappoint. Whenever I need a laugh, this is where I come. Title should be how to string your guitar with a Slinky. Keep'em coming.
I used to use these strings. They were about $20 a set back then. I only used them on one guitar, a PRS Custom 24. Only because the guitar was a great emerald green with gold hardware and the gold strings looked cool onstage. I never noticed them being any better or worse than any other brand (I've used them all at some point in the last 43 years). I abandoned them after I switched to using sets with a wound G. Ever since, it's been D'Addario EXL-110W's for most of my PRS/Fender guitars & Ernie Ball Cobalt 10-52's on my Les Pauls/SG. It's been 20 years since I used the Optima strings so something must have changed if they're as shitty as you say.
Pretty sure they don't last longer. Gold is more malleable than nickel, and more prone to being damaged. The coating is going to last less time, and reach the point where the damage to the coating and the string impacts sound far sooner. It's also going to cause the steel in the string to oxidise quicker once this happens due to "preferential oxidation" where the gold will act as a catalyst to rust. There's also very little reason to use 24 carat gold if you're just coating for protection. That's just for the flex. If you A/B'd them to me blind I'd guess that the gold ones were the old strings and the nickels were the new ones. The golds sound mostly the same, just slightly muddier, not sure if it's the intonation and tuning/stabilisation issues, or just the way they are.
The thing is, corrosion is not really the problem, unless you've got them on for like 20 months in a humid environment- it's more the dead skin that builds up between the windings. That's why EVH used to boil his strings.
If strings have corrosion they can vibrate unevenly to the point where it can affect the intonation… So in that sense, strings can affect intonation… I’m not impressed with the gold plated strings though… Pickups are magnetic so it’s not surprising coating strings with gold would make the plain steel strings sound deader.. Not for me…
Gold is a really soft metal so it makes sense that they'd sound muddy af when being played. Still, ty for the vid! Nice seeing peeps out there spilling the snake oil so others don't take a drink. Would love to see a vid on some of those weirder picks
Never found Optima strings satisfying - in no respect. Even before the golden ages. Hey! These strings are gold plated - you probably can watch them corroding as soon as the thin gold layer wears off due to sweat and electro-corrosion. Once I owned a gold plated Fenix Strat copy. The gold wore off like hell after two years. I had to replace everything: neck (gold plated frets), knobs, bridge, saddle, tremolo arm. Man I swore myself to never buy a guitar with gold plated hardware again. And yes gold is chemically inert but not if the layer of gold is as thick as in chocolate paper, because that is where the golden color comes from - okay the smart guys get it.
Only guy I've heard of using these is Brian May. That mid range bump and rolling off the high end might have an exceptionally niche application for his set up and sound. I doubt even a Queen tribute band would bother with these as there are far, far, far, more important elements to his ultra specific tone.
Glenn , did you hear about such guitar device as a Tone-Rite? The manufacturer says it improves the guitar tone by infra-sonic vibration, like the guitar was being played during a very long period of time. The device costs about $150 . Would you like to check is it worth the price?
Well the thing is, that your speakers will now react to the gold strings properly. It's a matter of impedance. The gold tip on your cable will now actually make your guitar sound better, and you will finally know why you bought those $100 instrument cables. That's why the Egyptians used so much gold. They knew guitar players in the future would be dumb enough to buy shitty gold strings. EDIT to say, I know all too well the issue with the string-thru body on the H series. ESP doesn't insert a solid cylinder into the hole, they push two dressing-style bits on either side of the routing, so you have this little edge inside the string hole, that smaller strings get caught on. Pain in the ass for sure. It also doesn't help that they put a curling iron to those strings haha
Seen a lot of people saying "Well Brian May sounds great with these strings" and forget that he uses a coin instead of a pick. Picking with a coin at high gain can sound far more trebly and painful to the ear, so the dullness of these strings will probably cancel that out. Literally the only reason I can see anyone using these.
The OGs sound fuller to me. Like a “loudness” button. And the highs are rolled off a little. I heard the switch, even without looking - I could tell the tone of the OG’s was superior. My ears are calibrated differently I suppose - I’m primarily a lead guitarist who relies on legato… not a fan of transients. Ideally my hammer-ons and pull offs are indistinguishable from the picked notes. Brian May boosts treble from the beginning of the chain - a metal coin - right to the end: from there it goes on to single coil pickups, then through 35db of treble boost into a Vox (which has the tone stack ripped out - you can’t just cut treble). So the transients can get ugly if you’re not careful. And there’s the answer to your question “who is stupid enough to buy these?” Brian’s not stupid - notably, he’s an astrophysicist - and he has a custom set of OG’s with his name and face on it. I’m not particularly stupid either. I’m a professional guitarist of over 35 years standing with platinum credits. And among other things, I play Queen’s music professionally, up to 75 dates a year worldwide in theatres and arenas. Anything that is less likely to break in front of 10,000 people is welcome. The slinky effect doesn’t bother me: the guitar has a top-loading tailpiece. So even though they’re more than twice as expensive as the Elixirs I currently favour, I’m tempted to try them. Your video actually convinced me that they may be worth it. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
When they said brilliant tone perhaps they meant the gold gives the strings a visually brilliant tone. Thanks for helping us save more money and time Glen. Keep up the great work.
I mean, yes, but also no. Thing is, most of the claims that are written on the back of these strings are what literally everybody else writes. "Great sound, amazing durability, cannot break, only for the most discerning musicians!" are all things you can find on most any guitar string packaging. So, I don't think that's necessarily bullshit, but rather it's just normal marketing for this type of product. The only difference that the Optima strings have, is that they were designed to protect from rust... back in a time where you couldn't just order new strings and people actually thought about the longevity of their strings. Nowadays it surely feels more like a gimmick, but I wouldn't hold that against the company or call their product useless. You also brought up the point that these strings were a waste of gold. Well, to Optimas credit though, they do only produce these in germany and the gold amount is very little. I would argue that they have less measurable impact on the misery of humanity, than most other string manufacturers. Beyond that though, John Entwistle claimed these strings were great, because they had higher tension. Therefore he could more easily detune his bass strings, without them rattling about. I have no clue if he just imagined that, and the only reference he probably had were his Rotosounds, but I would also not immediately discredit it.
You need a Gibson in order for this strings to work Glleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnn 😂😂🤣🤣
I noticed that nearly 100% of Rig Rundowns by premier guitar lately have been nothing but show us your Les Paul sessions.
@@myopicautisticmetal9035 because they rule.
I think Gibson might be taking a free rent in some of your heads.
@Vibhav Rajkrishan now add a golden klon centaur pedal and that’s how you unlock the holy tone
Buuuuuuuuuuu maaan😂😂😂😂
Gold plating is a great solution for folks with nickel allergies. Stainless steel strings can help with that too but they eat your frets faster, where as the gold is softer and won't eat frets. It's a niche' market but 17% of Americans have some degree of nickel allergy.
Stainless steel frets will fix the issue with the wear and someone with a nickel allergy should use them.
@@willer3399 That would require a very expensive re-fret and guitar redressing of the frets.
The Gold plated strings have a place for people with allergies.
@@willer3399 JJL Guitars use titanium carbide frets. I can bet that guitar eats even steel strings like a mofo.
Edit: I mistyped, they use tungsten carbide frets in their guitars.
@@kalidesu My point is, if your frets are nickel, and you are allergic to nickel, they will have to be replaced.
How about the polymer coated strings, like Elixir? The coating supposed to prevent the skin contact with nickel plating.
Funny enough, I met one guy who could only use gold coated strings, because regular guitar strings reacted to his skin and would break out in weird hives.
I know some people have nickel allergies, but would he be able to use regular stainless steel strings?
Stainless is defintely and option!
I also know someone who reacts the same way to nickel.
I play with stainless steel strings on my bass, and I love them.
SS are an option, but I use Ernie Ball Cobalts. They are Ni free. I also have a nickel sensitivity.
@@evowire funny you should say that, I recommended these to a friend with nickel allergy. Well, what'd you know, turns out he has a cobalt allergy, as well...
I actually really liked the sound of those Optima strings (chewier/fuller mids, rolled off top end) but I'm also the kind of guy who rolls off tone knobs on tubescreamers... The springy part though, I couldn't be bothered!
Yes, I closed my eyes, and the gold sounded much better to me, even with repeat listening. I was expecting to agree with Glenn that gold was a ripoff gimmick, but my ears were telling me that the sound of gold is golden.
Wouldn't fuller mids and less top end mean good for jazzy stuff? I think it really depends on the genre. It might not be for metal but bluesy or jazzy music would fit I think. Liked the sound too.
@@EbonyPope - probably better for stainless steel frets
The gold stuff kinda sounds better for me too tee bee h, like a little more "alive", and I was expecting very little to no change
I also never noticed anything bad about the sound, if anything I love the sound of my LP. The gold looks great with the rest of the gold hardware and the LP bridge makes installing them pretty easy.
To be frank, I tried the optimas once back in the days and they actually did have a longer durability and retained their tone far longer than regular nickel-plated strings, which become dull and loose their treble after 3 to 4 weeks in my hands. The Optimas remained fresh for 3 to 4 months, so in my book it's definitely worth the money. However, I didn't stick to the Optimas in the end, essentially because their selection of string gauges and sets (no 7 string sets) was too limited. Using Elixirs now and not regretting it. Far better selection and similar durability. Other than that, I actually prefered the sound of the Optimas over the nickel plated strings, but I also prefer a mid-heavy sound. So that might be highly subjective.
ditto Elixirs w that 'Ultra-thin NANOWEB Coating'
Hello Frank.
Hey Glenn, a quick string-changing hack for that. Use the thin tube that comes on a can of keyboard cleaner, stick the tip of the string into the tube and guide it through the hole. Or buy better strings, there's that.
Awesome hack
I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this series. Big grins hearing what people actually buy to make their lives "better" A good name for the series could be "Who drank the snake oil?"
If you drink the snake oil, do you get the s@#ts?
My guess is that the loss in the treble/top-end of the gold-plated strings can be attributed to the properties of gold itself. It's either the gold plating is altering the way the strings vibrate, affecting the tonality and giving it the mid bump and high-shelf effect, the gold plating altering the way the magnetic field interacts with the pickups and strings, or some sort of combination of both.
@@inzane1260 Dead right. soft dense metal does not vibrate easily. The strings have a "new" sound, but its also a duller sound. And playing for about 30 minutes will probably erode the gold where they touch the frets. Useless idea.
Even a pick would damage gold, maybe if you don’t use a pick and have plastic frets 🤷♀️
@@RacerX888 I tried a set of DR strings with the black coating and noticed how quickly the black chipped off. I wonder if these degrade at a similar rate. They had similar claims, but I think I was more shocked at the unwounds becoming chrome as I was stringing the guitar.
@@RacerX888 don't worry about the density of gold. the coating may be only a few atoms thick. only that much is needed to give that golden sheen.
And, often, a precoat of nickel is needed before gold deposition, so, people with nickel allergy may be in for a surprise, depending on what process they use for coating :)
It is heavier, which will lower the resonant frequency of the thing. Basically, it's going to be a little like using a heavier gauge string than you actually are, to some extent. But being so maleable, it's going to wear a lot more easily, so they are not going to protect your strings better, and since gold doesn't form a protective oxide, that's going to cause preferential oxidation of the string itself, while a nickel plated one will form basically nickel rust in the gaps of the smaller damage. Nickel is also ferromagnetic, meaning it interacts with pickups. Gold is not, so it shouldn't contribute to the magnetic properties of the string, but again, the linear density of the string is going to be higher, which will alter the acoustic properties of the string re tension, length etc.
To be completely fair tho they did provide a tone shift that in some players specific context may be desirable so its not like tone wood where there is actually no tangible difference. Maybe somone has a shrill rig that needs the high end tamed and to them these strings sound really good.
Next can you test out nut and saddle upgrades? What happens if you go from plastic to bone or plastic to TUSQ? Or pot metal to aluminum? Would like to see if there’s a measurable effect.
I would really like to see this. but what a pain it would be to make that video.
Yes!
This one right here please glen
Obviously on a fretted note it would be impossible for it to matter
What effect do you think it makes aside from maybe tuning stability?
Some people love these. I've worked in a music store for 20 years, and these things really do sell! Not my cup of tea, but hey, Brian May uses 'em...
Ford escort was best selling car in the world for a decade, does that mean it was the best car for all that time. Appeal to popularity fallacy much?
@@jarrodhroberson Not talking about my taste. I play Ernie Ball or GHS, both of which are popular because they're good. Just saying that people buy Optima. Usually it's because they have a Mary Kay strat or something and like the aesthetic. Not saying they are a good/better/best string at all. I've played them and they are fine, but not anything special.
If ii had the money of Brian May I would too. Probably doesn’t matter how they sound because he’s using brighter single coils and not playing in high gain metal tones so he can get away with it.
They look really gread on a gold hardware Les Paul so there's that.
@@ensoniq2k yeah they do look pretty cool
Random person: “you know what would go good with my made in America Gibson Les Paul ‘Gold Top’ with gold hardware? Some 24K gold strings. Gotta let everyone know I’m a gullible dumb*ss”
Optima Gold: “Say no more.”
Yes, definitely do more of these useless guitar gear videos. Thanks a lot for all the tremendous work you're putting into the channel, Glenn!
I understand the goal of these strings, even if they fail. Coated strings are really good if you have a bunch of guitars sitting around at home or your studio that you only play once every few weeks. Coated strings (I've used those D'Addario ones) will last half a year and feel as good as new. But if you play a lot, I don't know if it's worth it.
But then again, if they last twice as long, you're creating half as much trash that's dumped in some landfill or the ocean.
I use the Earnie Ball Paradigm coated strings on most of my heavily played guitars, I play a lot and my favorites all have SS frets so having strings last longer than a month and a half is nice. I can keep the Paradigms on for like 3 or 4 months and they still feel great. They are also a little more durable and I beat strings up so that's a plus.
I was thinking about this re: coated strings and the landfill and I worry about microplastics -- not great for the environment, either, yes? I don't know what the best tradeoff is.
@@zacharysmithingell5460 if it's not coated with a polymer there won't be any microplastics. And usually, strings are coated with some other metal.
In terms of microplastics, the packaging is the bigger issue, which means that long-lasting strings are also better.
Just can't get past how much better your playing has become!
So far what I'm hearing is a big shift in the low end and lower mids, and a bit less top end. Typically when other instruments have parts made from gold (like flutes and their head joints, or violin e strings for instance) the tone is definitely a rounder fuller sound with less top end, so it lines up fairly well with gold's "supposed" acoustical sound difference. I think for metal it's definitely not what you're ideally looking for, but if you're stuck with a cheap amp or cab that's giving you an extremely harsh ice picky tone, it could help calm that down a little bit. Would it be more effective than just buying an EQ pedal or saving up for a better amp rig? Probably not. But hey, at least gold does something consistent across the board tone wise.
the same is true of the gold plated cables for connecting guitar. it adds roundness.
Yeah it robs koolaide drinkers pockets consistently regardless of instrument
I would rather blame the "finest laboratory steel" - each steel has different tensile properties, and also may have different ferromagnetic quality. The first would dictate the level of high harmonics in the vibrations, the latter - how they are translated to electric signal. The gold plating is very thin and rather negligible in effect.
@@neglectfulsausage7689 That's hilarious! lol In a cable? No it does not.
The Optima strings have two advantages despite all that BS marketing: 1. They are perfect for people with nickel allergies who can't use regular strings (including coated ones) and 2. they look amazing, especially on black guitars. I have friends who like them (not metal tho) but I'll stick with the NYXL or Pyramid ones
Yes wiping strings does make them last longer than if you don't, but I live in a place with consistent 60 to 80% humidity. I can put a fresh set of non coated strings (pick any brand you like...I have tried almost all of them) , put the guitar on the stand and not touch it, and the strings will start to pit in about 2 weeks. Playing and wiping they'll be rusty in 3 to 4. Playing with no wiping and it's about the same 2 weeks but they will be visibly rusty, not just pitted.
The best I've used are Elixers. They just work. I've heard that the unwound strings don't get the coating but they must do something because it will be at least a month if minimally played before they show much of any corroding. Yes, they don't have that pop that fresh non coated strings have. If they'd actually last I'd use Ernie Ball's cause they sound great, but it's just too much trouble changing strings so often.
Ernie Ball's coated strings flaked off like crazy the one time I tried them. Went back to Elixers. And yes...I've tried Thomastik Infelds. Elixers last longer.
I actually bought a set of these just for shits and gigs, yes they are expensive, but I actually quite like them. never had any issues with them slipping out of tune
i liked the tone of the Optima way better but would use a lighter gage or at least try a set out. would love to hear them on a tune o matic bridge and a floyd
NOT USELESS!!!1! It provides that “rock star” bling-bling look, which as you know is absolutely CRITICAL for scoring groupies! 😜
"iT hELpS mE pLaY BeTtEr!!!!!!!"
Scott Grove has an interesting theory that strings last longer on guitars with maple fingerboards, because rosewood has pores that collects and holds finger gunk, which gets picked back up and transmitted back to the strings, making them go dead faster.
Well these are the strings that Brian May has used forever. I tried them myself and liked them for that sort of soft rock/rock and roll style. Not for metal tho
Yup, I was amazed that I could hear the tone was slightly similar to his in the examples. Though obviously there are far more important factors in tone chasing his sound.
The gold sounded a lot richer and fatter. Probably not strings I'd get for metal. Cutting the brightness is kinda at odds with adding tons of gain in a metal context.
But on my semi-hollow for Jazz or recording cleans? They'd work great...but they sound extremely similar to Elixirs...which are cheaper.
A person with a nickel allergy would definitely appreciate those though.
there's quite a big difference in sound/volume there actually. Optima Golds sound way "bigger". Lots more low mids + output
More output, but seemed a lot muddier to me
The tone shifted, that's for sure. Not in a way that improved the sound, unfortunately!
If you take a look at the clean comparison, you can see Glenn played slightly closer to the neck and seemed a little more heavy handed in the beginning of the chord. That might be a part of what changed the tone too. You can definitely make the same strings sound brighter and louder by changing small variables like that.
@@SpectreSoundStudios yeah i mean.... i could find a case for the more mid forward sound, but it's probably not in a metal context
More UGG videos please!
Optima makes Optima Gold strings for Brian May (Queen). I have put them on my two guitars that have gold colored hardware. But I don't think they are anything exceptional. It is strictly for looks. I prefer Elixir Optiweb strings, which also last a long time.
So we can conclude that strings can actually change your sound after all?
Gimmick strings like these sure, but your everyday Ernie ball or dadarrio idk?
I agree about the wiping of the guitar before and after playing.
But, some people, like me, have very corrosive sweat and can dull a set of strings in, litterally, one hour.
I use optimas since the 90's, I love the fact that they remain bright (soundwise) longer than most of the other strings. I do not use "coated strings" because they sound dull, even when brand new.
I do not say "buy optimas", I just say that they work for me.
by the way, I've never had coiled optimas like yours.
Cheers ;)
Its insane how different they sound.
Intonation is affected by the kind of string as a guitar string isn't perfectly flexible and thus the actual end node doesn't fall exactly on the end of the string (i.e. the bridge/nut). If you change the type of string you are using, or even the gauge, it might be worth checking if your intonation is still soud. There's probably no audible difference if you switch between 10's and 11's but there's probably a noticable difference between 13's and 08's
I really enjoy the fearless gear reviews. Perhaps you should take a look at the Valvebucker Pick up system, which appears to be an active pick up amplified by a couple of tubes in the preamp system. As someone who builds guitars and preamps myself, this seemed like a ridiculously expensive replacement for something that already works just fine.
Over $2k for gen.2? Holy hell.
A small problem with gold plated strings is gold is NON MAGNETIC, so any non magnetic metal would not sound very good with a MAGNETIC pickup, like what's in electric guitars and basses.
I do hear a "VERY SLIGHT" difference between the two sets of strings but not enough to warrant the higher price and I wouldn't say that one particularly sounded "better" than the other... just slightly different.
I think that the gold strings sound a bit brighter but that could also be because his old strings were old.
I love these strings by the feel and the sound they give. Perfect for me might suck for others but "Difficult to string" just because its curved lol! com'on man, all you have to do is put a little effort and youll be fine
Wouldn't also be more mids and less treble good for clean stuff? Maybe blues or even jazz?
@@EbonyPope that's what the knows on the amp are for.
When Glenn says he gonna try some guitar gimmick stuff ,and you know he's gonna get mad and let.you know how useless and dumf it is ...Is it just me or does anyone else look forward to see what and how annoyed he gets over things.. lol
No, no, no.... I saw the title, I knew there would be yelling. I'm totally in!
Same!!!!
I'm somewhat confused, a soft metal not known for its resonant qualities, gold wouldn't seem like a good choice for guitar strings in the first place.
Yeah me too. And i don't think the coiling can be good for tuning stabillity
As per the title, it’s pretty useless!
there are audiophile grade cable with gold contact... and brass instrument that arw gold plated. So it means that gold means better qudio, so here coomes the gold strings...
Definitely a huge tonal difference. Im surprised. The gold is sounds much more open sounding, But I prefer the nickel strings. The chugging sounds tighter.
I'd love to see you try a e-bow with some high gain tones iv been thinking about trying it because it's such a weird peace of gear
I would love to see your opinion on NYXL, Cobalt and the D'Addario coated strings...
I personally love NYXL. Will not go back to any other as long as they're on the market. So also would like to see that...
@@FSdarkkilla So do I. They should be similarly priced (10-15€ a pack locally here). I started using the coated high end thing from d'addario because the sweat.
I bought those for a build with gold hardware for the completion of estethics. 4 years ago, still on actually, sounds ok. Not worth the price from a quality-standpoint but I don't think they suck.
Love the new series glenn.
A friend of mine gave me a pack once. Put them on my 70’s schecter strat. They lasted ages but felt shit to play and didn’t stay in tune 😂
5:00 Didn't you wish you'd use a les paul or sg with a stop tail piece?
Well, I heard a difference between the strings, but not what I expected; normally the old and used strings are a bit duller in sound... (and I used good headphones and I'm going deaf, so....) But the gold strings sound louder for some reason? (edit; Hey, I'm not the only one thinking it's weird...)
Anyway, I'm keeping it with my D'Addario XL 10-52's
Oh - and on that theme, I have in my proud possession a couple of TOSLINK optical cables with… you guessed it: gold-plated connectors. On a cable that’s NOT electrical. Yup.
So, why’d I buy them? Well, not for getting groupie-transmitted-infections… actually they were the cheapest thing on Amazon in the length I needed.
I actually have a friend who needs to use these, not only does he have nickel allergy so it's couple hundreds on top of every guitar he buys to get them refretted but also chrome allergy so even stainless steel (usually iron, carbon and chromium) isn't a solution. So everything must be either brass, plastic or gold plated (silver often includes nickel and when there's just few factories in the world making strings you can bet just before those pure steel strings there was either stainless or nickel plated strings going and you have traces of nickel or chrome in them), fuck that.
Gold plating otherwise is often a good thing to spot scams. The plating itself is just couple atoms thick and even for big things like mic covers the amount of gold used is worth maybe at best a dollar. As in out of my memory gold plating a car would have costed around few thousands of dollars "only" (not millions but not a pocket change), so something like "gold plated connectors" and twice the pricetag is pretty much a scam. Even "better conductivity" is pretty much a scam because your connector will be soldered with most likely tin and there goes the advantage gained with that micron thick gold.
Yes, strings can be different in intonation from one set to another. The more high quality strings such as D'Addario or Ernie Balls will be very consistent in intonation. Since most of us usually use high quality strings we don't see string related intonation problems very often. Unless they're very old and very worn out.
i would love to see you do a vid on colored DR strings🤣 as always, excellent shit glenn. i love how blunt and transparent you always are❤️
Just a technical note on gold: it is one of the softest and most pliable metals. Using them in an application where tension and stress is constant would not be at all suitable. Let’s just keep that in mind when having tuning issues. But hey, at least they don’t tarnish or rust! 😂
It’s just coated in gold, the string themselves aren’t gold
I’ve worked in the textile industry for a long time; family business and such. A lot of plating was happening. It was usually done over cheaper metals not only to make them look better but to protect the wearer from getting tarnish stains from the cheap metals underneath. Chances are the metals used to create the strings are not as high quality as they would lead us to believe. Just saying the finest laboratory steel is marketing. Show me the specs.
@@vermontextreme check out their website and see if they disclose that info
Glenn I would love for you to do a video on Stringjoy guitar strings. They don’t make any claims about tone but they do allow you to order guitars strings in custom gauges. They have a string tension calculator on their website so you can see much heavier or lighter each string will be if you were to change it. The goal is to get as balanced or unbalanced (e. g. heavy bottom-light top) as you want them to be for your setup.
Stringjoy offers what they consider balanced string sets that are a bit different than what everyone else is offering.I’ve been ordering custom string sets from StringJoy for my guitars I leave in alternate tunings and I’m quite pleased. I would be interested what you think to play a balanced gauge for both standard and dropped tuning.
GLEEEEENNNNNN!!!!! I would like to see this series concept for drums! I feel like drummers, such as myself, are suckers for shiny and colorful things, even if we are likely to break it with our sheer brute strength.
"Ohhhh shiny!" *BANG BANG BANG* "Oh nooo it broke.... Ill buy another!"
Shira Kashi Oak sticks. This is where tonewood matters.
I tried a set of Optima bass strings, I although I don't really buy the gold thing (I really don't care) I tried them and actually really liked their tone, and this tone was quite specific. But they are quite hard to find in stores, so never purchased another set. Oh and the bass I used wasn't a basic bass, it was a Lakland 55-94.
I think some people are allergic to nickel, so this might not be a completely useless product.
I read about people on Thomann stating those strings helped them in that scenario.
Tried them once like 6 years ago and they didn't really last longer than my favorites (Elixir). Stayed in tune though, that was fine.
Stainless, Cobalt, Cobalt, Coated, Monel Steel
If that was their intent, it should be on the top of their marketing claims. Instead, they used the usual “tone buzzwords”, I wonder why…
in my experience, which encompasses basically any coated string on the market, nothing holds a candle to elixir in terms of longevity
@@ThePrestoPrestissimo have tryed cobalt strings...... Hate them, the instrument is my least used since they are on. Gonna rip em of soon.
@@themaschi Ernie Ball Cobalts are my favorite strings.
Great video, Glenn! You've busted those BS-makers! Even the school-boys know gold is a pretty soft metal. So use it for string plating is totally stupid idea. Gold plated strings are not for guitar players, but for guitar snobs.
Without knowing how long you waited between restringing and recording, the gold plated strings constantly needing retuning may be due to the fact that they were just installed and were still getting stretched. I usually have to give my newly restrung guitars a few hours before they start holding tune.
The shift in tone was pretty interesting. Though, something to consider is that the nickel coated strings were old and may have dulled out, while fresh new strings are usually extra bright and twangy. Maybe a side to side comparison between a fresh set of regular nickel coated strings like Ernie Balls or D'Addarios and a fresh set of these gold strings would be a better comparison.
Elixir Nanowebs are the go-to for long-lasting strings. Have you heard of those? Check them out. Would love to know your thoughts Glenn.
Here's a good idea: Let's add a layer super soft metal on top of the steel. That won't dampen the sound at all!
D'Addario Guitar Strings - NYXL Electric Guitar. $34USD from Amazon in a 3 pack (I go with 9-42 gauge). Sound great and cheap enough to change as often as you like. Gold plated strings seem as stupid as Monster Cable. Now there was a product that deserved ripping a new one. Not even an oscilloscope could tell Monster Cable from any other properly grounded and insulated interconnect or speaker wire.
Now if you have gold plated tuners, knobs, pickups, etc on your guitar, then gold plated strings would go with the look. Nothing wrong with that so long as you're doing it just for the looks.
As for the people complaining about nickel allergies, I didn't know that was a thing. SS should be fine. Gold is soft, especially 24k, and the coating is THIN. Like atoms thin if it is electroplated. Not sure how much that would help you and it's gonna wear off pretty quickly.
ETA: On the clean tones, the conventional strings were so much better! I did not expect to hear any differences. Now if I can hear differences through RUclips playing on laptop speakers, there's difference! I didn't notice it on the distortion. But it jumped out on the clean. That's why I like to hear the clean tone. Clean lets you hear what's going on! The clean tone is also fundamental to the distorted tones.
ETA2: The gold plating itself should not make a difference. A bit of back of the envelope work tells me that 1g of gold should be enough for several thousand strings. Hence there would be no added mass to change the fundamentals. SO I surmise that what's going on is the underlying string itself is a POS. If they started with fundamentally good, strong strings, then they should have been fine. Mind you, I'm not a guitar hero. I just know a little bit of physics and not enough chemistry to know the actual gold plating process used.
Since gold is a pretty soft metal, I'm not surprised at the tuning issues.
Its a gold coating. The coating has nothing to do with the tuning issues. If a coating would influence the tuning stability, you would have a hard time to get Elixir's in tune, because plastic is even much more softer as gold.
Wow, one of the few things Glenn has tested that actually did make a noticeable difference (albeit in my context not even a huge one) but it was actually worse, amazing.
Damn shame about the strings, was hoping they would be at the very least a serviceable novelty, but this video has proven otherwise. With that being said, I'd like to see your approach on brass hardware in this series. Keep up the good work!
They suck and blow at the same time.
@@SpectreSoundStudios Our bassist uses these....... I'll say no more🤣
brass blocks make your floyd sound much thicker. ive done it twice now. switched out the metal one for a brass block. i was amazed. on a korean floyd. i made a active guitar passive and it turned super thin sounding until i changed block. i might make a video showing different sounds but i would have to redo it for the sake of vid. just saying i would prove it for the non believers. anywho my 2 cents on that zeeeeeeeeee
@@SpectreSoundStudios Well if you can get them to cook and mow the lawns they're marrying material !!!!
@@69mosshead Ain't no damn bassist paying for strings, let alone these.
Weirdly, there is a change in the mids with the gold plated strings that I like. Wouldn't gold plating wear off really fast, seeing how soft gold is?
Gold ones sound so much better imho. It's not the gold strings that suck, it's the review itself 😂
Please see a doctor about your ears…. It’s nothing you want to take chances with!!!
@@SpectreSoundStudios Yeah, right 😂 Please stop contaminating RUclips with your so-called reviews. Your keto face and potbelly is enough already.. 😘
With how hard I play, the gold would be worn down after five minutes lol
If you want actual good strings, check out Elixir. They’re more expensive but they’re heavily coated so they last a lot longer than regular strings. I like them because they feel a lot smoother due to the coating. Been using them for a decade and can’t stand the feeling of regular strings anymore.
Thanks Glenn for testing the gold-plated strings. I wanted to give them a try for fun but I don't have to (waste my money) now, thanks to you :)
Weird how much of a difference you could actually hear. Definitely more than I was expecting. Wonder if the gold interacts with the pups in some slightly different way. The only reason I would ever consider them would be for purely looks on a gimmicky gold and black guitar or something because of the tuning stability tho.
Fun fact: If all the gold on earth was melted down and shaped into a cube, that cube's sides would be around 17 m each.
17 miles or 17 meters? specifics man they matter because meters doesn't sound very big at all
@@MonsterJuiced Most probably meters. As miles are abreviated as mi.
@@MonsterJuiced SI base unit for length: metre (m).
@@mrcoatsworth429 Alright then, I don't believe you lol 17 meters isn't much and we haven't mined all the gold surely
@@MonsterJuiced The estimated amount of gold that's not mined yet is included in this calculation. That's how rare gold is.
You can do the calculation yourself if you don't believe me.
Good video! I do hear a bit of a difference, but the Optima plated strings are steel rather than nickel strings, that may explain the difference in sound. Gold isn’t magnetic, so unless it affects the way the underlying string vibrates, it can’t possibly make a difference. 😊
Dude, you can put nylon strings on your guitar and they will still work great. It doesn't have to be magnetic to disturb the magnetic field. Any movement will create the vibration necessary.
GLENN! Clearly there is no difference in tone when you're playing a riff that was written on regular strings. Trust me I have developed my own tone with these gold plated strings that I have used for my prog-math-deathcore-grind-techno-death metal masterpiece album.
I do hear a difference between the 2 sets.
I wonder if it's just the difference between fresh vs dead strings 🤔
Wouldn't you generally hear the opposite result if the nickel strings were dead? Nickel strings tend to *lose* treble as they age. A test versus fresh nickel strings would probably make the gold-plated ones seem *worse* by comparison.
I don't care enough to bother.
1:20 "one of the most precious metals"
Do they mean to say that it's extremely important and in limited supply? If so, why waste it on damn guitar strings? You know, one of the most disposable products in existence?
EDIT: They say that changing the material can also improve intonation???!?!? That's seriously one of the stupidest things I've ever heard!!!
Humanity CAN create gold in a lab. Mostly for plating purposes and extremely sensitive precision electronics.
"Precious" usually refers to the metals in a certain group in the periodic table of elements that are very inert. Besides gold, platinum and iridium are also precious metals.
I might be in the minority but through my studio monitors (treated room) I prefer the gold ones, bear in mind I love darker guitar tones. Definitely not worth the extra money though, I'll stick to low-passing.
If you like the new strings which sound like the old ones, it's much easier to get the same tone by rolling back the tone knob.
@@A.J.99 I play death metal, never use a tone knob, I just go for a Morbid Angel kinda low mid heavy tone instead.
I used to use these strings and really liked them. I stopped because I couldn't find them locally anymore.
I've always been "whichever one is the cheapest in stock at the shop I'm in"... So almost always the basic daddario or ernie ball
Except for my thunderbird... Always rotosound, love the sound and feel, also the red silks look damn sexy on that headstock
Great video Glenn please do more like these. Who thought putting a NON MAGNETIC metal on an ELECTRIC guitar string was a good idea? As far as I know gold is not magnetic. Nickel is (from what I can find), magnetic. Maybe the lack in top end is the result of having less magnetic metal moving in the magnetic field of the pickups. You are amazing keep it up!
Edit: Typo
Many years ago, I bought a set of these just to match the gold hardware on a new guitar. I didn't buy them again. They looked great when I put them on, but within a few minutes of playing, the gold just wore off and the strings turned dark everywhere that I'd been playing. Saying that, I have a similar problem with regular strings. I'm cursed with sweaty paws which destroy guitar strings and hardware. Ernie Balls are the worst I've ever tried and are turning black by the time I've got them in tune. The various coated strings aren't much better. D'Addarios have been the best, so far, and I can play them for a few hours before they become dull and lifeless. I've used several string cleaning/lubricating products, with varying success. Point is, try things out to find what works for you, rather than being sucked in by the marketing BS.
Whew, that intro blew the cobwebs away!
Years ago I switched from nickelplated strings to stainless steel. That, combined with an old kitchen towel to wipe ‘em down after playing made my strings last for months without going dull. That said, 24kt goldplated strings for only €13 is total BS. The layer of gold is so thin, it will wear out in days
Gold Strings is also for people who are allergic to Nickel strings.
Im sure the back part message of the string package is a little bull-shitty, but for those unfortunate ones who are allergic to Nickel, wouldnt these be good enough?
Stainless steel is better
@@ManuSDP
I think it depends.
I heard that Stainless Steel wears out the frets alot faster, than Nickel and Gold. Since its softer material.
So its entirely up to which of the consequences you are willing to deal with. 🙂
I've been using them because they look neat on my gold hardware LP. Didn't ever expect them to do any kind of magic. With the LP bridge they're way easier to install.
Hey Glen!!!!!!
Have you seen this EXTREME BUDGET hack for Gibson tuning stability? They just screw a Fender string tree in the top screw hole of the truss rod cover (they don't even have to remove the truss rod cover or make an extra screw hole), that way the 4th and 3rd strings are straightened out by the string tree. Kind of a super cheap String Butler
I begin all of these videos with a strong sense of compassion for Glenn's Compressor's VU meters
Stopping at 9:28 to make a prediction. I'm willing to bet the tonal differences are minimal enough that you won't hear a difference, and I bet they don't last longer than just buying 2 packs of strings that cost half as much.
The gold plated sound way more better than the nickel ones, in my opinion. But I use the nickel ones regulary in my guitar.
I love your videos! You never disappoint. Whenever I need a laugh, this is where I come. Title should be how to string your guitar with a Slinky. Keep'em coming.
I used to use these strings. They were about $20 a set back then. I only used them on one guitar, a PRS Custom 24. Only because the guitar was a great emerald green with gold hardware and the gold strings looked cool onstage. I never noticed them being any better or worse than any other brand (I've used them all at some point in the last 43 years). I abandoned them after I switched to using sets with a wound G. Ever since, it's been D'Addario EXL-110W's for most of my PRS/Fender guitars & Ernie Ball Cobalt 10-52's on my Les Pauls/SG. It's been 20 years since I used the Optima strings so something must have changed if they're as shitty as you say.
Pretty sure they don't last longer. Gold is more malleable than nickel, and more prone to being damaged. The coating is going to last less time, and reach the point where the damage to the coating and the string impacts sound far sooner. It's also going to cause the steel in the string to oxidise quicker once this happens due to "preferential oxidation" where the gold will act as a catalyst to rust.
There's also very little reason to use 24 carat gold if you're just coating for protection. That's just for the flex.
If you A/B'd them to me blind I'd guess that the gold ones were the old strings and the nickels were the new ones. The golds sound mostly the same, just slightly muddier, not sure if it's the intonation and tuning/stabilisation issues, or just the way they are.
The thing is, corrosion is not really the problem, unless you've got them on for like 20 months in a humid environment- it's more the dead skin that builds up between the windings. That's why EVH used to boil his strings.
I actually kinda liked the gold strings on the clean test.
If strings have corrosion they can vibrate unevenly to the point where it can affect the intonation… So in that sense, strings can affect intonation… I’m not impressed with the gold plated strings though… Pickups are magnetic so it’s not surprising coating strings with gold would make the plain steel strings sound deader.. Not for me…
Gold is a really soft metal so it makes sense that they'd sound muddy af when being played. Still, ty for the vid! Nice seeing peeps out there spilling the snake oil so others don't take a drink. Would love to see a vid on some of those weirder picks
Never found Optima strings satisfying - in no respect. Even before the golden ages. Hey! These strings are gold plated - you probably can watch them corroding as soon as the thin gold layer wears off due to sweat and electro-corrosion. Once I owned a gold plated Fenix Strat copy. The gold wore off like hell after two years. I had to replace everything: neck (gold plated frets), knobs, bridge, saddle, tremolo arm. Man I swore myself to never buy a guitar with gold plated hardware again. And yes gold is chemically inert but not if the layer of gold is as thick as in chocolate paper, because that is where the golden color comes from - okay the smart guys get it.
Only guy I've heard of using these is Brian May. That mid range bump and rolling off the high end might have an exceptionally niche application for his set up and sound. I doubt even a Queen tribute band would bother with these as there are far, far, far, more important elements to his ultra specific tone.
Glenn , did you hear about such guitar device as a Tone-Rite? The manufacturer says it improves the guitar tone by infra-sonic vibration, like the guitar was being played during a very long period of time. The device costs about $150 . Would you like to check is it worth the price?
Well the thing is, that your speakers will now react to the gold strings properly. It's a matter of impedance. The gold tip on your cable will now actually make your guitar sound better, and you will finally know why you bought those $100 instrument cables. That's why the Egyptians used so much gold. They knew guitar players in the future would be dumb enough to buy shitty gold strings.
EDIT to say, I know all too well the issue with the string-thru body on the H series. ESP doesn't insert a solid cylinder into the hole, they push two dressing-style bits on either side of the routing, so you have this little edge inside the string hole, that smaller strings get caught on. Pain in the ass for sure. It also doesn't help that they put a curling iron to those strings haha
Seen a lot of people saying "Well Brian May sounds great with these strings" and forget that he uses a coin instead of a pick. Picking with a coin at high gain can sound far more trebly and painful to the ear, so the dullness of these strings will probably cancel that out. Literally the only reason I can see anyone using these.
The OGs sound fuller to me. Like a “loudness” button. And the highs are rolled off a little. I heard the switch, even without looking - I could tell the tone of the OG’s was superior. My ears are calibrated differently I suppose - I’m primarily a lead guitarist who relies on legato… not a fan of transients. Ideally my hammer-ons and pull offs are indistinguishable from the picked notes.
Brian May boosts treble from the beginning of the chain - a metal coin - right to the end: from there it goes on to single coil pickups, then through 35db of treble boost into a Vox (which has the tone stack ripped out - you can’t just cut treble). So the transients can get ugly if you’re not careful. And there’s the answer to your question “who is stupid enough to buy these?”
Brian’s not stupid - notably, he’s an astrophysicist - and he has a custom set of OG’s with his name and face on it. I’m not particularly stupid either. I’m a professional guitarist of over 35 years standing with platinum credits. And among other things, I play Queen’s music professionally, up to 75 dates a year worldwide in theatres and arenas. Anything that is less likely to break in front of 10,000 people is welcome. The slinky effect doesn’t bother me: the guitar has a top-loading tailpiece. So even though they’re more than twice as expensive as the Elixirs I currently favour, I’m tempted to try them. Your video actually convinced me that they may be worth it. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
You can really hear a darkness from the gold plated strings as compared to the nickel plated set.
When they said brilliant tone perhaps they meant the gold gives the strings a visually brilliant tone. Thanks for helping us save more money and time Glen. Keep up the great work.
Yeah I noticed that mid range boost, I thought it sounded ok but I would prefer the regular nickel plated strings
I mean, yes, but also no. Thing is, most of the claims that are written on the back of these strings are what literally everybody else writes. "Great sound, amazing durability, cannot break, only for the most discerning musicians!" are all things you can find on most any guitar string packaging. So, I don't think that's necessarily bullshit, but rather it's just normal marketing for this type of product. The only difference that the Optima strings have, is that they were designed to protect from rust... back in a time where you couldn't just order new strings and people actually thought about the longevity of their strings. Nowadays it surely feels more like a gimmick, but I wouldn't hold that against the company or call their product useless.
You also brought up the point that these strings were a waste of gold. Well, to Optimas credit though, they do only produce these in germany and the gold amount is very little. I would argue that they have less measurable impact on the misery of humanity, than most other string manufacturers.
Beyond that though, John Entwistle claimed these strings were great, because they had higher tension. Therefore he could more easily detune his bass strings, without them rattling about. I have no clue if he just imagined that, and the only reference he probably had were his Rotosounds, but I would also not immediately discredit it.
Nah, it's bullshit.
If you want strings with super crisp high end, get D'addario strings, they have so much treble you need to play them in to sound normal...