The Chetboard

I must have missed this one . What kind of nylon strings did Chet use, Brand,size ,hardness

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D'Addario Pro Arte EJ44 Extra Hard Tension for the most part.

Thanks Norm & Roger Appreciate it

Roger is correct, for Chet's last few years.

Before that, he used different brands including Aranjuez and Concertiste. Various makers used to send him boxes of strings, and he would experiment with them. He and Paul also experimented with LaBella recording strings (I think 513P, but not sure...) in the early 80's. They have highly polished gold basses, like flatwound classical strings. Chet was trying to get away from the squeaks, both on his Prismatone-equipped Estruch and Haile guitars, and the early Gibson CEs.

Lenny Breau endorsed the LaBella recording strings later in his life, too.

Craig

P.S. Paul showed me how he sometimes sanded the bass strings with 600 grit paper to make them smoother and squeak less for recording.

Thanks Craig, I've been using the La Bella 820 Red Nylon and silver plated.
I seem to get a lot of squeaks , may be it's just me.I need new strings now
an was trying to decide weather to stick to the 820 or not.

The 820 set is great for Reed-style playing, or if you prefer a lighter gauge string. The D'Addario extra hard is a great set (I use it on my Sand), but it's a big jump from the 820 set. You might try the hard rather than extra hard at first.

Above all, experiment and find what you like best. The main thing is feel, and whether they tune up well on your guitar. Also, basses usually wear out long before trebles. Many stores and online sources (such as Strings by Mail) now carry half sets of basses or trebles.

Craig