Jazz strings - need some help

[saxguy]

I am purchasing a Gibson Steve Howe ES-175 which comes with 340 Nickel Plus .011-.052 strings. I want a very warm, non-edgy sound. Would I be better off restringing with a set of D'addario Chromes .013-.056 to achieve this? Can anyone recommend a different set of strings with excellent tone and playability to complement this guitar?

Any ideas for an amp as well - I'm leaning towards a Roland JC-120 or a Fender Super Reverb.

[Coffee]

A heavier string will give you a thicker tone. I don't know the guitar but something to be aware of is that the strings may bind in the nut of the guitar if they're too thick. Get a pencil and lubricate the nut but 'drawing' in each notch on the nut. If this doesn't work, you will likely need to take it to a luthier to have the nut filed. Personally, I play a lot of jazz and use .011 to .049. I find their quite a good balance. Heavy enough to not bend the strings without intention, but not so heavy that you can't do some really significant bending. I'd try playing around with the amp for the tone your looking for first.

Are you an experienced guitarist or are you new. Have you played accoustics in the past. Give me some more info.

As far as a jazz amp goes, pretty hard to beat a Fender for reliability and for excellent clean tones.

[GuitarHitman]

I was in a local music store today and they had a set of strings specially made for a jazzy type tone. Can't remember the brand but they were 10-46 or something like that. Experiment with different strings and see what you prefer best. If I were you though I'd stick with the strings that come with it as they'd sound good and be easier to bend than heavy gauge strings.

[eminor]

Does anyone know any strings that have a .012 on the bottom, but a plain G string? As to the original question, try flat wound strings, I think they are darker sounding. My jazz tone secret is neck pickup, volume at 7, tone at about 6. That's a great jazzy tone on a strat anyway.

[FrontliningBlue]

There are some strings out there that few people know anything about but are the true jems of the entire string industry.

The ones that I use and I believe are by far the best are:
DR Handmade Tite-Fit

They come in all gauges, but be careful what guage you choose, the higher the guage the less time it will take before the neck warps.
The beauty about these sweet thangs is that they are made with more metal than normally used for a specific guage. The 10 guages that I use are the sum of 11 guage parts, only compress-wound to pack it all in tight. Tite-Fit's have an incrediable versitility that I look for in my strings and add just the right dynamic for any situation. Just one or two adjustments to tone knobs and your set for the night.

Also check out the Blues series strings from DR.
LaBelle strings are also a hard find but their jazz strings in any guage are critically acclaimed. Most of the time they have to be ordered online, few stores carry them. At least try the DR's, more sound for less width, easier bend with more metal.