I was wandering around Sam Ash in Charlotte, North Carolina some time in the early 2000’s when I noticed a damned odd sight. They had some guitar strings that were labeled “Rotosound”. I was dumbfounded. I don’t know why, but I didn’t think Rotosound even made guitar strings. In my 20 or so years of playing, I’d never seen Rotosound guitar strings in a music store. I mean, Rotosound is primarily known for their bass strings, right?
Needless to say, being a die-hard fan of Rotosound bass strings, I simply had to try a set. So I bought some R11’s. It was the best choice I’ve ever made, and I’ve never willingly used any other strings since.
If you’re playing Grunge or Metalcore, you probably don’t give a crap what your strings sound like. The nastier the better. Tone isn’t a focal point when you’re de-tuning and turning the volume on your amp to 11. But if you play on the clearer side (like I do with my Stratocaster), Rotosounds are an obvious choice. They bring the same stunning tonality and rich harmonics to their guitar strings that they do to their legendary bass strings. They’re nice, warm and rich when played softly, but have explosive dynamics when played hard or suddenly. These are the most responsive guitar strings I’ve ever played.
Some folks complain that Rotosounds lose their sound quickly. They do. That’s a fact. You can’t put Rotosound strings on your guitar and expect them to sound the same two months later after heavy gigging and practice. But what’s the point in using some of those other strings if they simply don’t sound as good? As I’m fond of saying, if it sounds like crap to begin with, who cares if it still sounds like crap two months later? I’d rather change my strings every week or two and have a terrific tone than to consistently sound like a drowning dog for months on end.
R11 | Medium | .011 | .014 | .018 | .028w | .038w | .048w
