Musician, songwriter, producer. Born James Patrick Page on January 9, 1944, in Heston, England. He was inspired by rock star Elvis Presley’s “Baby Let’s Play House” to take up the guitar at the age of 13. As a teenager, Page joined his first band, Neil Christian & the Crusaders. He toured with the group for a time, but he had to leave after suffering from a glandular fever.

After a stint at art school, Page returned to music. He then became a session musician and a producer, working in England’s thriving rock scene with such acts as the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and the Who. In 1965, Page was asked to join the Yardbirds, a blues-influenced rock band, which had just scored a big hit with “For Your Love.” The band wanted him to take over for Eric Clapton, who left the group for John Mayall’s Bluebreakers. Page turned them down and recommended fellow session musician and legendary guitarist-in-the-making Jeff Beck. The Yardbirds sought out Page again the following year, and he finally agreed to become a band member.

For a short period of time, the Yardbirds had two lead guitarists, Page and Beck. Beck left in late 1966 because ill health and a possible nervous breakdown. After Beck’s departure, the Yardbirds released Little Games (1967), but they could not match their earlier success. The band fizzled out in 1968, and Page formed a new band to play some remaining Yardbirds concert dates. Initially calling themselves the New Yardbirds, the band consisted of John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards, John “Bonzo” Bonham on drums, and Robert Plant on lead vocals.

Quickly renaming themselves Led Zeppelin, the band toured the United States as the opening act for the American rock group Vanilla Fudge. They released their first album, Led Zeppelin I in 1969, which earned mixed reviews. As John Mendelsohn wrote in Rolling Stone magazine, “Jimmy Page, around whom the Zeppelin revolves, is, admittedly, an extraordinarily proficient blues guitarist and explorer of his instrument’s electronic capabilities. Unfortunately, he is also a very limited producer and a writer of weak, unimaginative songs, and the Zeppelin album suffers from his having both produced it and written most of it (alone or in combination with his accomplices in the group).” While critics may not have been thrilled by their work, music fans enjoyed such tracks as the now classic “Dazed and Confused.” Their songs showcased Page’s skills as a musician, often featuring his intense guitar riffs.

Martin
FX Flexible Core
SP Stage and Studio Performance
Martin SP Lifespan

Within those lines, they feature the following types:

80/20 Bronze
92/8 Phosphor

We tried out the SP 4100 Phosphor Bronze acousting guitar strings.

Here’s what Martin has to say about them:

Martin MSP4100 Phosphor Bronze Light Acoustic Guitar Strings are made from a 92/8 composition alloy to give that brilliance, clarity, and longevity of sound required by serious guitarists. The phosphor bronze winding alloy is ideally suited for making strings that have deep, rich basses and clear, bright trebles that today’s acoustic guitarists demand. Martin strings are high-quality strings designed for daily use. Martin acoustic guitar strings are wound to precise specifications. Core and wrap wires must meet strict requirements to make the grade.

Here’s what we had to say:

These strings have a nice loud tone. They have superior sustain and reonation qualities about them. They also have a nice bright tone. The brightness may be too bright for some initially, but after playing a short while, they settle in to a nice warm tone that still retains much of the brightness.

These are also a pleasure to play. They are very easy on the fingers.

As far as durability, we found that these strings keep their tone for a good long time, ever after performances. we had no problem with breakage, although some players have reported some issues.

The price on these can’t be beat. You’ll find these online for about 5 bucks or less.

Overall, a quality string with a great sound.

Here’s a brief video where you can get an idea of the tone of these strings. The playing is nothing fancy, but you can still make out the tone.

Here’s what La Bella has to say about these strings:

The 2001 Series Classical Guitar Strings are the product of years of intense research and development. During the formulation of the 2001 Series, prototypes were tested worldwide by fine performing artists and teachers. These guitarists expressed a need for classical guitar strings with a greater response, clarity and sustaining power. To meet this demand, La Bella redesigned both the treble and bass strings according to new specifications. For this new product line company president, Richard Mari Cocco, developed a new synthetic monofilament nylon for the treble strings. Seeking new substances for creating superior strings he would not settle for the materials offered by the allied industries. Instead, Mr. Cocco formulated an innovative material called Nylon 202. Its development coalesced only after months of collaboration with engineers specializing in polymers. Nylon 202 strings have a superior sensitivity to the touch. They are extruded as a monofilament that will not fray. Strings made with the multifilament properties of carbon fiber can unravel causing finger lacerations. Our new treble strings produce a greater aural transparency and are capable of extraordinary sound projection. The new design for the bass strings equals the achievements of the high density Nylon 202 trebles. This construction improved the ratio of wire exterior wound wrapping to the nylon filament core. Different from the composition of other strings, these basses produce a clearer and more sustaining tone. The 2001 Series’ unique string design surpasses all other classical guitar sets with their exceptional memory for pitch and consistent sound production. 2001 Medium Tension strings are responsive and sensitive to the slightest left hand vibrato and subtle tonal changes produced by the right hand. They combine a high performance capability with a tremendous ease of playing.

Here’s what we had to say about them:

Here’s another string that is not real easy to find. You’ll have to look around for it (hint: we have a link to it at a real good price below).

Once you find it, you’ll be very happy with these. We loved the tone these brought out. Very consistent tonal quality throughout.

They held the tone for a very long time. A real pleasure to play. They have a nice feel to them.

They are a bit on the pricey side, but not too bad. You can find them for a little of 10 bucks.

J-200 Deluxe Phosphor Bronze

Deluxe Phosphor Bronze Wound

Style

Model No.

Gauge

E-1st

B-2nd

G-3rd

D-4th

A-5th

E-6th

J-200 Deluxe Phos Bronze

SAG-J200UL

Ultra Light

.011

.015

.022w

.032w

.042w

.052w

SAG-J200L

Light

.012

.016

.024w

.032w

.042w

.053w

SAG-J200M

Medium

.013

.017

.026w

.035w

.045w

.056w

Masterbuilt Premium

Phosphor Bronze Wound

Style

Model No.

Gauge

E-1st

B-2nd

G-3rd

D-4th

A-5th

E-6th

MasterBuilt

SAG-MB10

Super Ultra Light

.010

.014

.023w

.030w

.039w

.047w

SAG-MB11

Ultra Light

.011

.015

.022w

.032w

.042w

.052w

SAG-MB12

Light

.012

.016

.024w

.032w

.042w

.053w

SAG-MB13

Medium

.013

.017

.026w

.035w

.045w

.056w

We tried out the J-200 LIght Gauge acoustic guitar strings. These are a phosphor bronze starting with a .012.

Here’s what Gibson has to say about these strings:

J-200 Deluxe Phosphor Bronze strings are the very same strings that come on our famous J-200 Jumbo acoustic. They have an excellent ringing attack and presence, and will give your guitar a responsive voice that cuts through, thanks to the special Phosphor Bronze alloy. Vacuum sealed for freshness.

Here’s what we had to say:

We appreciate how many manufacturers are vacuum sealing their strings. This used to be a huge issue. Strings would sit on a shelf at your local music store, or even at your house, and they’d be exposed to all of the elements for months or years. With the vacuum deal, you get protection from corrosion and much less drop in quality, even after they’ve been sitting around for awhile. This is important, especially if you find a deal and you buy some in bulk.

These really had a nice tone when we put them on. Bright, but warm on the lower end. Nice sustain and response.

We tried various tunings and generally ran them through the wringer. They seemed fairly durable and they kept their tone.

These can be had for under 10 bucks. We weren’t blown away, but we were impressed with their overall quality. A good solid string.

Price
Type of String
Gauge of String
Tone of String

White Bronze

Bright Bronze

Infinity Bronze

Phosphor Bronze

Silk and Bronze

Vintage Bronze

Contact Core Bright Bronze

Doyle Dykes Signature Series

Signature Phosphor Bronze

Silk and Steel

Here is a diagram which shows them on a brightness scale.

We decided to try the Silk and Steel set medium, starting with an .011.

Here’s what GHS Strings has to say about them:

GHS Silk and Bronze™ acoustic guitar strings feature a unique silk and steel core wound with Phosphor Bronze cover wire to create a warm, mellow tone with a soft feel. Silk & Bronze™ strings are ideal for live performances and have impressive sustain and low finger noise for the studio.

Here’s what we had to say:

These strings were a nice treat. It seems that most acoustic strings we’ve tried are always going for the bright edge, even with the mid-range strings. We decided to go to the opposite end of the spectrum. As you can see from the scale above, these strings are the polar opposite of the brights.

Of course, if you’re looking for that very bright tone, you aren’t going to like these. But we found them to be very warm, woody, and unique. Generally, a great overall tone. Good durability, and the price is right. You can get these for around 8 bucks. If you want to try something completely different, give these a try. If you haven’t been satisfied with the overly bright strings, give these a try. They just might be the tone you were looking for.

Phosphor Bronze
80/20

We took a look at the 80/20 Bronze set in a light gauge:

Here’s what Fender has to say about them:

Fender acoustic 80/20 bronze feature a loudness and clarity that stand out especially well in band situations.their brightness also complements dark and dullsounding acoustic guitars, bringing them to life. fender acoustic 80/20 bronze are an excellentall-purpose string, whose clear, even tones make themthe perfect choice for most styles of acoustic music.

Here’s what we had to say about them:

Basically, these are a budget string. They are one of the lowest priced strings we tested. However, they are decent strings. Sure they don’t have some new-fnagled coating or super freakish technology mumbo jumbo you see advertised. Instead they are just a nice sounding, solid string.

These aren’t going to last you forever. These may break sooner than other strings. You may lose the tone a bit sooner than some – or you may not. We found that the tone did fade sooner than others, but not by much. The tone remained generally true. They had decent sustain and resonation.

You can find these online for around 4 bucks. You can change them every week at that price. If you need a good solid budget string, we think you’ll be happy with this string.

Earthwood 80/20
Coated 80/20
Slinky Phosphor
Coated Phosphor

We tried out a set of the Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 medium light gauge strings.

Here’s what Ernie Ball has to say about these strings:

Made from 80% copper, 20% zinc wire wrapped around hex shaped tin plated steel core wire. The most popular acoustic guitar strings provide a crisp, ringing sound with pleasing overtones.

Here’s what we had to say about these strings:

Since we are usually more accustomed to a lighter gauge string, we immediately noticed a real difference in tone with these strings. These strings seem to have a warmer tone than most, but also are quite bright. We don’t think that’s a contracdiction, rather we think that it fairly represents how these strings have managed to deliver on both ends of the tone spectrum. And after all, isn’t that what most strings should strive to do?

Some have reported durability issues with these strings. This included premature breakage and loss of tone. However, the vast majority really like the tone, as we did. As far as durability, we had no problems. However, these strings are a lower priced string, and as such may not have the longevity of a more expensive coated string. If you like the tone, simply replace them as they break or lose tone. The price is sure right with these. They can be had for under 5 bucks on line.

Here is a video which gives you an idea of the tone with the Ernie Ball Earthwood strings. Not the best playing, but you get the idea of the tone.

Here’s what Ernie Ball has to tell you about them:

Ernie Ball Slinky Acoustic Guitar Strings feature patented coated Titanium RPS Technology which avoids rust and grime for bright and effective tone time after time.

These titanium coated Slinky guitar strings are stronger and longer-lasting than standard strings–either coated and uncoated guitar strings. That is thanks in part to Ernie Ball’s distinctive protective coating on both the wrap wire as well as the plain guitar strings as well as a patented winding of titanium wire around the lock twist of the ball end. Staying true to Ernie Ball’s heritage of superb craftsmanship and sound quality, the 2158 Slinky Acoustic Guitar Strings are produced with all the finest and freshest raw materials, resulting in a crisp ringing sound with pleasing overtones.

Enhancing the inherent string quality and freshness is Ernie Ball’s guitar string packaging. Produced and now hermetically sealed in to their packages, Slinky Acoustic strings are exposed to minimal moisture and humidity from factory to retailer–insuring that all Ernie Ball strings are as fresh on opening as they were the day they were produced.

Here’s what we have to say about them:

Tone. These guitar strings tend to be far more on the bright side. If you are after the vibrant tones, you will appreciate these guitar strings.

Durable. We noticed these guitar strings last a long time. The coating helps lengthen the tonality and the life of the string.

Nice feel. These guitar strings have a really nice feel under your fingers. The coating offers a nice smooth sensation.

The criticism of these strings tends to be that they do not possess that warm tone that some people are interested in with their acoustic. This is legitimate to a certain degree. These strings are a lot more on the bright side, rather than the warm woody tone. Therefore, in the event you enjoy the Ernie Ball brand, and want much more of the warm overall tone, you might want to consider the Ernie Ball Earthwood series of strings.

However, if you would like a guitar string that feels fantastic beneath your fingers, along with a guitar string that lasts and keeps the tones for a long time, give these strings a try.

You can buy these strings here. Remember, Guitar Center will beat any advertised price, so you’re guaranteed to get the best price. Use our Guitar Center coupon to get 55% off right now by clicking on the image below. This offer will expire soon, so get yours now before they are gone at this price. Clicking here: Ernie Ball Slinky Acoustic