| Electric Guitar Strings |
| Flat Wound 12s |
Brand: D'Addario Series: XL Chromes
Product Code: ECG25
Type: Flat Wound
Material: Stainless Steel
Gauge: Light
E String: .012
B String: .016
G String: .024w
D String: .032
A String: .042
E String: .052
D'Addario Chromes are my favorite strings because I love the combination of the warm, mellow tone, the smooth feel, and the almost complete absence of finger squeak typical of round-wound strings. The 12-gauge ECG25s lend a fatter sound to the plain strings, and the wound third string and higher tension provide rock-solid tuning and intonation for jazz chord voicings up and down the neck. Since most of my blues playing these days is infused with jazz, I use fewer bends and rely more on slides and vibrato—but even with the wound third string, I can still manage whole-step bends when they're called for. The shorter scale length on Gibson guitars gives 12s a feel that's fairly comfortable after playing 11s on longer-scale Fenders for so many years. The wound third string is a little more challenging to bend, but the tradeoff is well worth the advantages Chromes add to my tone and feel.