THOMASTIK-INFELD
POWER-BRIGHTS THE GABRIEL TENORIO
STRING COMPANY
Thomastik-Infeld has been
making instrument strings
in Vienna, Austria since
1919, and the venerable
old
company’s
Power-
Brights were my first taste
of a premium guitar string
back in the day. I recall being
gobsmacked at how rich and
chimey they sounded when
overdriven, how incredibly
long they lasted, and how
cool they looked with their
unique brassy sheen. That
distinctive sheen was, in fact,
the result of the brass plating
on the plain strings. This
plating is intended to ward
off corrosion, and it certainly
seems to do so, as these
strings are quite impervious
to even the most acidic hand
sweat I can conjure up. I
would assume the plating
also has something to do
with their singularly glorious
and detailed high end, which
has yet to be topped by
any string I’ve played since.
Every player should try a set
of these at least once. If you’re reading this maga-
zine, then there’s a distinct
likelihood that you probably
own more than a couple of
boutique guitar pedals, and
maybe even a hand-wired
tube amp or a custom gui-
tar. So why not hand-made
boutique strings as well?
Yes, that is a thing, and the
Gabriel Tenorio String Com-
pany can help you out. This
tiny L.A.-based operation
has been making a name for
itself over the past few years
with its lovingly hand-wound
round-core sets (Gabriel Ten-
orio doesn’t do hex-core),
which are custom-designed
for guitars with very specif-
ic characteristics, from Jazz-
masters and top-loading
Teles, to Bigsby-equipped
Gretsches, 30-inch scale
baritones, and everything in
between. Gabriel will even
design a set for your specific
instrument if you can drop it
off at his shop for inspection,
or chat with him via email.
Word on the street is that
these strings are uncom-
monly resonant and can last
up to a year or more, which
makes the 21 dollar-per-set
direct price seem pretty rea-
sonable.
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TONE TALK //
PYRAMID STRINGS
Pyramid Strings has an un-
paralleled reputation in the
industry due to its deep,
storied history and top-shelf
products. It began in Schon-
bach, Austria in 1850 (yes,
you read that right, this com-
pany is over 150 years old),
moving to West Germany in
1948, and is still run by the
same family. Pyramid makes
sets for just about every
stringed instrument on the
planet, and its round-wound,
pure nickel guitar strings are
legendary amongst those in
the know. If you want strings
like they used to make them
around the time Leo Fender
was inventing the Stratocast-
er, then Pyramids are where
it’s at. The hand-wound pure
nickel wraps and smaller di-
ameter core work together
to achieve a silky, low-ten-
sion feel and a rich complexi-
ty of tone that you just won’t
get from any mass-produced
guitar strings. At around 10
bucks a set, they are also a
relative bargain.
Stop Messing With Cheap Strings: 6 Sets That Will Last