by JimN » 20 Jan 2012, 02:40
Hi, Malc,
I have tried - on and off - to get on with a plain third string since the late sixties. It's impossible. It always slips out of tune.
You and I are in good company: the late Chet Atkins moved to a 10-46 string set (on electrics) late in his career, but always used a wound third - as he said in a guitar mag interview some 30+ years ago, he simply could not keep a plain string in tune.
The only guitar on which it's ever worked for me is a Yamaha SGV800 fitted with Sperzel Trim-Loks, but that isn't an option on most guitars. I'm currently (and temporarily) using a plain third on a Jazzmaster equipped with 11s, but that will be changed once I install some custom-made pickups with adjustable polepieces. The balance is all wrong as well with plain thirds, unless you're playing so loud you can't tell the difference...
JN