Thomastik BB111

These strings always surprise me with their versatility. Thomastik market these strings as "jazz guitar" strings but unlike their flatwound Jazz Swing strings these Bepops are actually superb allrounders and not just for a typical jazz tone. Unlike the Swing sets it's also possible to get the Bebops with a plain G-string, as long as you stay with the lighter gauges.

I actually think these lighter gauge Jazz Bebobs are the best allround guitar string in the entire Thomastik catalog. The flatwound Jazz Swing sets sound beautiful too but are extremely Jazz oriented. The Blues Sliders are very warm, fat and wonderful sounding strings but may lack at bit edge and brightness for some guitars and genres. The Infeld Superalloys are kinda bland sounding compared to the rest and not really that much more interesting than a standard set of D'Addarios of similar. But the Jazz Bebops... I can easily use these strings for anything from vintage soul to prog-metal and I never even play Jazz at all!

The 011 gauge may put some people off but Thomastik are pretty much spot on when they call this set "extra light". They actually feel lighter to me than 010 from other string manufacturers. Very comfortable under the fingers and very flexible without feeling too loose.

These strings are also extremely resistant to fret buzz. I can lower the action well past the point where many other strings would buzz. I've seen the same with some of Thomastik's bass strings (like the Jazz Flats). They seem to somehow find the PERFECT balanse between being stiff enough to avoid buzzing yet flexible enough for an extremely responsive playing experience. I honestly don't understand how they do it. Thomastik's string technology seems to be several leagues above anyone else.

The construction quality of these strings is simply amazing. They last pretty much forever or at least until you physically break them. They never seem to lose their tone, go dead or develop intonation issues. You will probably go through at least 20 sets of D'Addario, GHS, Rotosound or simular before these Bebops need replacing, which actually makes the Bebops very cost effective too. The quality Thomastik deliver make certain other string manufacturers look like some kind of "planned obsolescensce" scam.

I highly recommend these strings. They sound amazing, last forever, feel much lighter than the gauges may lead you believe and work for LOTS of different genres. Definitely not just for jazz.

The only downside is that when you try these strings you may regret all the years you've spent playing on the JUNK strings from certain other brands.