John Pearse Guitar Strings
When I got my new Breedlove guitar last year, I ordered my usual set of Thomastik-Infeld strings from JustStrings.com (my favorite place to buy strings). Unfortunately, the brand that works so well on my electrics and older acoustics didn’t sound right at all on the Breedlove. The normally soft and sweet Plectrum series just sounded lifeless and dead, and the standard Spectrum series sounded humongous but squeaky and not musical.
I went through several other brands and strings types, including D’Addario, Martin, and even the fabled DR Rares, but nothing sounded quite right.
I soon discovered that Thomastik-Infeld had commissioned a fascinating character named John Pearse to design some strings for them, and when I realized that he has been making his own brand of strings for decades (among many other music products), I ordered them immediately. I’m glad I did. His standard set of Phosphor Bronze strings are fantastic. They are perfectly balanced, with sweet clear highs, full bass, well-defined tone, and ultimately very musical. These strings brought the Breedlove to life, and will be my standard set from now on. Note that they are not coated in any way, so they’ll need changing on a regular basis. Fine with me.
Alas, John Pearse himself passed away just a couple of months ago, but his incredible strings should live on through his company, Breezy Ridge. I myself am now a life long customer. And I think I’ll order his video and book about Cooking with Wine…
