La Bella Tony Iommi C# Tuning

These strings are a really nice set for Eb and E standard but will feel very floppy if used on C# like intended. I have no idea how Tony Iommi does it but if you’re not him or don’t suffer from a similar handicap don’t use these on C# tuning. I use 9-42 on D and C# and feel like the extra low string gauge causes a lot of buzz and general slack in similar tuning with these strings ( MORE ON THIS BELOW ). In my opinion they are excellent strings for Eb as quick trills and vibrato is extremely easy. Total control in your playing with these strings. The tone is great and noticeably different from the Ernie Balls I used to use. The strings stay perfectly in tune after a quick stretch and proper setup and pinch harmonics are suprisngly easy with them too. The only real downside with these strings are the longevity. They feel great and very smooth and fast but unfortunately they don’t have the longest lifetime. I play on average about two hours/day and they’ve lasted me about one month before losing the ”spark” of the tone where as the strings I used before these (although more expensive) lasted about two and a half months before giving out ( Ernie Ball coated titanium reinforced ) Other than that they are fantastic strings

Pros:
* Great for trills and vibrato on chords
* Very light strings give nice controll and feel over playing
*Noticeable difference in tone from similarly priced strings
*Stay perfectly in tune even after long sessions

Cons
• Longevity, they start losing tone after about 1 month of playing 1-2 hours a day


EDIT: Just broke the high E string when changing the strings (everyones nightmare). The strings broke between the bride and the stopbar so might have something to do with the break angle there. Maybe a solution would be to top-wrap the strings?

EDIT 2: After a few months with these strings I have to say that my mind hasn’t changed regarding anything I’ve written, other than the fact that you can play these in C# tuning. You just have to have a light touch and be really carefull with your fretting hand. Some open chords may be difficult to keep in pitch but that’s the downside to having absolute controll over your playing.