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28 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 Great sounding strings, not for beginners Apr 20, 2011
By BluesKid
These are medium strings, which means they're a heavier gauge than light. Heavier gauges will have fuller sound and sustain longer, but they're more difficult to fret and bend and will hurt your fingers more. So if you're just starting out with a full size dreadnought guitar buy some lights instead.
That said, these pair very well with a short scale parlor guitar. The shorter scale means that the string tension is reduced, so medium strings will be more comfortable to use. Parlor guitars are smaller and have less natural power and projection than their larger cousins, so heavier gauge strings like these give them more presence. Just check with the manufacturer to make sure the bracing can handle medium strings. That goes for all acoustic guitars.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Great sound, good life span Mar 19, 2008
By J. Scott Moore
Most guitarists I know tend to buy the typical 80/20 phosphor bronze strings. These are 92/8 phosphor bronze and it really does make for a nicer sounding string. The unwound E and B strings are bronzed. If you aren't into the nano-webb strings (I'm not)to get long life out of your strings, try these, the do last longer than the 80/20's. I use these on my D style as well as a Martin OOO, sound great on both for bluesy, fingerstyle playing.
Keep on pickin'!!
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
guitar strings Oct 31, 2007
By Rebecca J. Dane-tennent
"harimandir kahr"
These are very good strings at a very low price. Although now I know I should have gotten light weight for beginning.........these are high quality strings and will last.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Hurts like hell, but still worth it. Mar 31, 2012
By Caleb
I've been playing with these strings for several years now, and I absolutely love them to death. First heard of using medium-gauge phosphor-bronze strings after looking up that Elliott Smith used them on an old, cheap Yamaha guitar. I couldn't believe it. His strings had such an incredibly bassy, warm tone to them that I assumed it had more to do with mic quality or placement, but no, amazingly, it really is just the strings.
Besides the tone, the heavier gauge also allows for a few perks while playing. For one, they're so thick that you sort of have to try to knock them out of tune, and they endure the general wear-and-tear of constant playing far better than lighter-gauge strings. Secondly, as with any heavier gauge, they resonate more, and that translates into sheer volume. If you slammed your pick down on strings like these in an apartment, there is absolutely no doubt that all of your neighbors would hear you loudly and clearly. Of course, this also means that you can fingerpick without using your nails and still get a very pleasant, subdued, medium-volume tone. Honestly, light-gauge steel strings sound almost tinny to me by comparison.
The biggest and perhaps only problem with these, as others have pointed out, is that, yes, they hurt. If you're new to guitar, I would really not recommend them until you at least have very solid callouses on every finger. I play guitar every day for at least an hour, and my hand still has a tendency to go slightly numb from using these. In fact, even switching guitars and playing lighter, steel strings and coming back to these makes me feel like a complete beginner, when even fretting a chord would sting until it burned. And, just like with when I was new at guitar, you get used to it, and stop noticing as much, but still: a word of caution.
Overall, these are my absolute favorite strings for their warm, rich, incredibly loud tone, and their amazing longevity. If those are more important to you than anything else, string-wise, I would definitely recommend giving these a try.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Love 'em Jul 11, 2012
By Bob
I've been using the Martin SP PB series for over a year on my Taylor 310ce. I'm mainly a rhythm strummer, not a very good picker.
I've switched between the 4100, 4150, & 4200 and always come back to the 4200. They have a richer, warmer tone. To me the 4150's have too much of a ring/jangle. In my opinion there is little difference between the 4150 med/light and the 4100 lights. You may as well go with the 4100 lights if it's a comfort thing.
I play about 1-2 hours a day & the 4200's give me the sound I like for about 3-4 weeks. I probably could go a bit longer but at 6 weeks they start sounding dead I think, so for the cost of a burger I switch them out monthly. My Taylor sounds so nice with these at a fraction of the cost of other brands, all of which I have tried. Even my lovely wife who is tone deaf likes the sound of these. In her words..."they don't sound tinny".
One last thought, if you find Mediums hard on your fingers as I once did, give the 4150's a try for a while. It will help you transition to Med's and I think you find it was worth it.
Give them a try.
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