Brightness comparison- Stainless Steel vs Nickel Wound

[scottschmitty]

I have a question-
Are all the strings in a Stainless Steel set brighter than those in a Nickel Wound set, or are just the wound strings brighter?
According to the product descriptions, in the Stainless Steel set the plain strings are "tin plated, high carbon steel", in the Nickel Wound set the plain strings are "made of specially tempered tin plated high carbon steel".
I suspect the plain strings may be the same in both sets but I would like to know if there is any difference.
Ernie Ball | Electric Strings - Stainless Steel Power Slinky
Ernie Ball | Electric Strings - Power Slinky Nickel Wound

 

[DrKev]

Hiya Scott, welcome to the forum!

To the best of my knowledge, the plain strings are indeed the same across all sets (as is the case for other string manufacturers too, and the same plain strings are used for both electric and acoustic sets).

 

[scottschmitty]

Thank you, DrKev.
I'm surprised I didn't clue into that over the last 15 years of playing guitar. I'm new to using Ernie Ball strings. I'm really liking the feel of the Nickel Wound Power Slinky but would like the wound strings to be a touch brighter. Maybe I'll get used to them but I want to check out the stainless steels. I ordered a couple of sets even though music store guy warned me that they cause more fret wear than the nickels. Which leads to my next question(s)-
Does this mean that the plain strings are harder on the frets than nickel wound strings?
Why tin-plate the plain strings? Does it make them cause less fret wear? Corrosion prevention? Tactile benifits?

 

[TNT]

Hey Scott,

Yeah, I've always strung with #2253's!! And, I always assumed that the plain were same as other sets; and in addition, I also assumed that the "pure nickel" composition of the wounds possibly produced less fret wear (certainly not more) than the other string sets.

 

[DrKev]

If you'd like something a touch brighter, I'd suggest the Cobalts too. On the Ernie Ball website, there are sound samples to listen to to give you an idea.

In my experience, fret wear usually happens more under the plain strings. But fret wear is an unavoidable part of life, so don't worry too much about it. I don't know about the tin coating but I assume plain strings are tin coated for corrosion protection.