Thomastik-Infeld is new to me, however the Austria-based firm has been making strings since 1919. Whereas members of the violin household appear to be Thomastik-Infeld’s core focus, the maker additionally presents strings for acoustic and electrical guitar, in addition to a spread of people devices, just like the mandolin household, banjo, oud, pipa, erhu, cavaquinho, and contraguitar.

The corporate’s newest entry within the acoustic guitar class is the brand new Infeld Bronze No. IBR112T set, which, to my shock, is the corporate’s first-ever phosphor bronze acoustic guitar string.  As of this writing, just one gauge is on the market: .012, .016, .024, .032, .042, .053. The strings are formulated to be sturdy, with a balanced midrange that’s particularly good for fingerstyle. With a road value of $26 per set, they’re clearly focused at a premium market. 

I examined the Infeld Bronze set on a Taylor 814-BCE. Pulling the low E string out of its unexpectedly sturdy pouch unveiled a extra necessary shock: the tuner-side finish was wrapped in silk, related to what’s discovered on some violin strings. The opposite wound strings (5–3) are additionally completed on this method. As soon as I acquired previous the shock, I discovered getting these strings on and tuned up simpler than common. The silk bits appeared to stop slipping and in addition made for much less hazardous string ends.

In motion, the Infeld Bronzes felt good underneath my fingers. I often select uncoated strings, so the feel of those labored effectively for me, they usually weren’t overly squeaky on slides. The plain B and E strings felt particularly slick. The tone was woody, heat, and balanced, with out a variety of metallic clang. And whereas that labored effectively for fingerstyle, I additionally appreciated it for single-note leads—and particularly for barre chords and jazz comping. The maintain was good, and the overtones have been there. As a bonus, the Infeld Bronzes felt straightforward to bend, they usually got here again to pitch effectively. My solely criticism is that it could be good to see the strings in a spread of various gauges. 

The underside line is that the Thomastik-Infeld Infeld Bronze set is a dear however sturdy performer and a distinct-sounding various to your ordinary strings.