View More Images
You May Also Like
Item Description
Martin Retro Strings
The Materials
Core Wire: Tin-plated hex core
Wrap Wire: Solid Nickel/Copper Alloy Blend (NOT Nickel-plated)
The Gauging
Martin offers modified gauging on the B, D, and A strings for modern
playability. The modified gauging makes the string easier to play with a more
balanced feel and clear intonation.
The Process
Martin employs a sophisticated winding process in the making of their
Retro String line. This process controls the coupling between the core and wrap
wire to maximize intonation. This process takes their traditional Monel string,
which was innovated in the 1930s, and perfects it with modern technology.
The Core
Martin uses tin-plated steel hex core wire for their Retro Strings. The
tin-plating helps prevent galvanic corrosion - the natural corrosion that
happens when the core wire comes in contact with the wrap wire. The combination
of tin-plated hex core wire and solid nickel alloy wrap wire provides for a
long-lasting string from the inside out.
The Wrap
Martin’s proprietary SOLID Nickel/Copper alloy blend provides for a
reduced pick attack which allows the guitar’s tone woods to be heard, not
overshadowed. It offers a uniquely mellow, yet crisp, sound. Martin’s wrap is
a solid Nickel/Copper blend, not nickel-plated, meaning there is no chance for
defects in the plating to allow for corrosion. Instead, Martin’s proprietary
wrap wire is naturally corrosion resistant, so much so that it has been used in
various marine applications, including use in the propeller of Dreadnaught
battleships. It is also incredibly strong, even stronger than pure nickel, and
has been used in machinery and tooling applications.
The Real Deal
Martin Retros are the real deal. Not an imitation. With Martin Retros,
you get one tough set of strings that will last a long time and give you true,
consistent tone that sounds like nothing else on the market.
#StayTuned
Gauges:
MM12 Light 12-15-25-31-41-54
MM10 Extra Light 10-13-23-29-38-47
MM11 Custom Light 11-14-23-31-41-52
MM13 Traditional Medium 13-17-26-35-45-56
MLJ13 Laurence Juber Retro 13-17-24-32-42-56
MM1012 12-String Extra Light 10-10-14-14-23-10-30-12-39-18-47-27
VIDEO
Reviews
4.5
41 Reviews
5
71% (29)
4
15% (6)
3
10% (4)
2
2% (1)
1
2% (1)
88% Recommend this product (36 of 41 responses)
By Roddy
Milton Keynes, England, UK
March 17, 2018
The sound my 12 fret has been looking for
I have a Recording King ROS-627 which is an exact copy of a Martin 000-28VS. I bought it 5 years ago and it has matured nicely. Rosewood back and sides, ebony fretboard, wide, v-neck, slotted headstock, scalloped x-bracing: the classic 1920s design. Now I've never been a fan of Martin strings and when the top E broke when I was tuning it up I thought "I was right, Martin strings, they're no good". The other strings went on okay though they all had a tendency to slip and slide along the steel bar and it was difficult to get the strings nice and neatly wound; it must be something to do with the nickel. Having opened a second pack to retrieve another top E I finally got them all on and the guitar tuned up. I could instantly tell that these strings were what my 12 fret had been waiting for to perfect its sound. I've been playing the guitar all night, it sounds like new. Well, in actual fact it sounds like 'old' which is what that guitar is all about. I'm a Joan Baezy type finger picker and my fingers just fly round that guitar and each string sounds as clear and defined as the keys on a piano. I highly recommend these strings, certainly for my kind of guitar.
ProsThey look great and are perfect for vintage style guitars.
ConsThey tended to slide around the bar on the slotted headstock.
By Jorge
Barcelona, Barcelona
November 29, 2017
Nice surprise
I was quite skeptical with this, as anything with "Retro" or "Vintage" in the name seems to be easily sold, but I read good things about them, so I gave them a try. My impression is that they don't have the (IMO) excessive brightness of new strings, but they have a very warm and clear sound, full and bassy. I don't think they sound muted like others say, although I understand that some people miss that brightness.
Regarding volume, they're pretty much like bronze strings, although maybe in an acoustic jam session they won't cut through all the instruments as well as bronze strings due to that reduced brightness.
About lifespan, some people say they last longer... that's not my feeling, but maybe I do sweat quite a lot :(
Anyway, give them a try, it's worth it. Then again, depending on the guitar they might give better results, of course.
ProsWarm, clear, bassy sound.
Not excessively bright.
ConsMight not be as good as other strings for acoustic jams with banjos, fiddles and other high volume instruments.
By Joshua
Madisonville, TN
October 22, 2017
Nice
Excellent tone and playability
By Luke
Omak, Washington
September 9, 2017
Perfect for taming tone on a Jim Dandy
I put the Retro Custom Lights on my son's Gretsch 9500 Jim Dandy and what a huge improvement on the little guitar. It has a very vintage sound. It made a tremendous improvement on it playability too. They really cleaned up the tone through the piezo pickup.
ProsClean supple tones, soft feel, easy for little fingers to play. Really enjoyable.
ConsNone
By Antonio
Saint-laurent, QC
September 6, 2017
Vintage sound
My guitar sounds great
By Shai
Mullumbimby Creek, NSW
July 18, 2017
Excellent Tone!
I tried these on my old faithful Yamaha FG - 480S and fell in love with this guitar all over again! Excellent Tone and feels great to play:-)
By Dave
Houston, TX
June 27, 2017
Not the sound I was looking for
Rather than delivery a broken-in, vintage sound, to me they just sound deadened.
ProsI like Martin gauges
ConsDeadened sound
By LWW
Louisville, USA
June 7, 2017
Good for electric guitars, too!
I *love* these. And I like keeping a good supply on hand, because they sound great on everything from small acoustics guitars, to archtops, to dreadnoughts, and even to guitars with electromagnetic pickups. The alloy is nickel-based, so they love the P-90 on my old Gibson ES-125, and even humbuckers. Super-versatile, and a unique, beautiful tone.
By Dennis
MA
March 9, 2017
A whole new dimension
These are the best strings I've ever used. They allow you to hear the wood,rather than the string winding. They are dry and breathy with mahogany, warm and fat sounding with maple. Keep up the good work, Martin.
Prosfeel, durability and tone
Consnone.
By Sergios
Marousi, ATHENS - ATTIKI
November 21, 2016
Good stuff...!
They don't last but that's what the Martin guys promise... the woody sound of your guitar is what you get. Mellow, Mellow...
The feel is good with less tension
By Jeffrey Cohen
Thornhill, Ontario Canada
November 5, 2016
Martin Retro Monel stings on Larrivee D-50
Day 1, warmer, more balanced...less boom in the bottom end, more fat in the high notes, very dynamic. with the greater tension, I can dig in and the sound doesn't bottom out. Much darker tone than phosphor-bronze or Elixirs, which is what I wanted. So far, I'm very happy with these.
ProsSlightly more string tension, making intonation when playing up the neck a bit better. Warm, rich tone, balanced, fat high notes, great price.
ConsOn this particular guitar, none that I can think of.
By john mullen
Honolulu
October 31, 2016
Best I have found
Tried some as an experiment with a pre-war Martin 00-28. Incredible sound and ease of play. Ordering more for my vintage collection.
By Sasha
Rabac, 52221
July 8, 2016
Perfect for all solid sapele
I own martin 000RS1 all sapele and these fit perfectly. The phosphor bronze, especially elixir (which I have used regulary on ovation) sound weird and unnatrual. Retros wrapping material doesn't seem to affect the sound that much. They are all silver so they are keeping the vintage - no bling bling look of my guitar.
Pros-great sounding
-long lasting
Consnothing
By Chris H
Fort Wayne, Indiana
June 22, 2016
These strings are great!
I am using them on a D-35 and a 000-28V. I have used EJ16's for a long time and decided to give these a try since I often don't care for how bright the EJ16's are. These are a little more subdued and mellow, which is what I was looking for.
By Valeriy
Moscow, Russia
June 10, 2016
very balanced strings on Martin 000-15M
Got Lights (12) for my Martin 000-15M. First impression was like they are too metallic sounding with too much 'zing'. After a few days the 'zing' was gone but yet I would not say these strings were special -- just 'normal'. After a few more days they started to sound very balanced and musical. I liked them. But the sound is a bit different than PB or 80/20.
By Jim
Boulder, CO
May 24, 2016
Fingerstyle dream.
If you have a nice-sounding guitar that you play fingerstyle, these are the strings to try. They are a bit harsh right of the box, but within an hour of play mellow into a warm, clear tone that is just gorgeous. They last as long as Elixirs and EXPs at much lower price. And if you use a magnetic soundhole pickup they are by far the best choice. Sweet strings at a low price.
ProsTone, playability, life.
ConsSome players will be put off by the silver color.
By CalypsoJimmy
ConnecticutUSA
May 20, 2016
There is a consistent theme to all of these reviews here
You know folks, monel strings were the strings that preceded phosphor bronze i.e. phosphor bronze was the next great improvement in acoustic guitar strings, back in 1970-whatever... brighter chimer, etc. But some of the best players I've ever met prefer the less-bright-chimey sound. These Retro strings are what they are. i.e. some folks will love em some, will hate em. It's problematic whether the are right for you. I am an old school blues player, and these are fine for me.
By Fred
Irondale, AL
May 4, 2016
I can't play my guitars enough since since I switched to the Martin Retros !!!
I have put these on my two Gibsons (1973 Hummingbird Custom and my 1963 Dove. ) Both of these guitars have always had amazing tone, but I knew I had found my strings with the first set. I first used the custom lights and found these to be a joy to play and hear. My first sets were on the guitar for over 4 months before I decided to replace them even though they still sounded great! I can typically ruin a set of strings in a month or two from sweat, but all I have done is to wile them down acter playing and at 4 months there were no noticable signs of rust or decay. I had recently seen a great review showing the differences in sound between the lighter and heavier guage sets and decided to try the "Bluegrass" 13-16-26-34-44-56 set. Wow! Much more volume and balance between each string! They sound so good that it more than makes up for the extra effort when I bend them. Like others here, i have had no problems with breakage and unlike some, the tone has been excellent to start and just gets better. I'm on my third set on both Gibsons and have spares ready I'm sorry to hear that some have not liked the tone or found them to go dead so quickly, but my experience has been all good!!!
ProsFeel great, sound even better and practically indestructable!
ConsNone for me. I have no desire to ever install another set of PB strings on either of my birds!!
By Bryan
Kentucky
April 25, 2016
Woody, Earthy Tone
Acoustic guitar tone is definitely a personal preference and the combination of the guitar and the strings along with a player's touch cannot be separated. Therefore, string preferences have to be accepted for what they are . . . simply personal preference. That said, the character of these strings is described as bringing out the natural woody character of your instrument. I find this to be an accurate description. I don't like bright strings, mainly because they tend to dominate the overall sound of the guitar and hide the subtle character of the instrument. If you have a guitar that has a great voice, I think it is a shame to bury that voice beneath the ringing of steel. Don't get me wrong, note definition is critical and the ability of the string to ring out in clariety and beauty is paramount. The Martin Retro strings for me strike that near perfect balance of opening up the instruments voice while maintaining the ability of the individual notes to ring out clearly. Add to that the ability of these strings to settle in quickly and then maintain their tone for a long time and you have a great set of strings. If you like bright strings or the sound of your guitar when it is newly strung, you probably won't like these strings. However, if you like broken in strings and a rich, balanced, earthy tone, then these may be a great choice for you.
ProsLong Lasting
Balanced response
Woody, Earthy tone
By daniel lazar
israel
March 16, 2016
NICE
those strings are nice for some country and folk... not really versatile
Consnot versatile