Yamaha FG700S Guitar - Stock Strings
Hi Guys
I have managed to find Bears recommendation of the cleartone strings with Stringbusters.co.uk priced at £10.50
The DR sales guys recommended the sunbeams as a replacement for the Zebras so I've decided to give them a try as well.
The sound is getting worse and another thing I've noticed is that I have vibration on the D string while playing fromthe 1st to the 5th fret and the 6th fret onwards seems to clear. So I'm guessing the extra tension with the 11 gauge might solve that problem.
cheers Chacho
I have managed to find Bears recommendation of the cleartone strings with Stringbusters.co.uk priced at £10.50
The DR sales guys recommended the sunbeams as a replacement for the Zebras so I've decided to give them a try as well.
The sound is getting worse and another thing I've noticed is that I have vibration on the D string while playing fromthe 1st to the 5th fret and the 6th fret onwards seems to clear. So I'm guessing the extra tension with the 11 gauge might solve that problem.
cheers Chacho
Chacho,
I started playing on an FG700S, and I heard the DR Sunbeams were a dead ringer for the Yamaha factory strings. I couldn't find them locally, so I tried D'Addario EXP11's, and I think they sound just as bright as the Yamaha originals, last a bit longer, and are clearly higher quality. The sound you prefer from your strings is very subjective, but if you're looking for the original bright sound of the FG700S, I think these 80/20 D'Addarios are pretty close.
I know a few posters here have commented on your luthier's choice of strings, and I must agree with them. I have not seen .009's for acoustics, and I can think of a handful of reasons for that all based on the physics of vibration. I'm curious though, is the G string wound or plain steel?
By the way, the FG is shipped with .012 lights, and after setting up the action on mine, barre chords are just as easy as open chords.
wrench
I started playing on an FG700S, and I heard the DR Sunbeams were a dead ringer for the Yamaha factory strings. I couldn't find them locally, so I tried D'Addario EXP11's, and I think they sound just as bright as the Yamaha originals, last a bit longer, and are clearly higher quality. The sound you prefer from your strings is very subjective, but if you're looking for the original bright sound of the FG700S, I think these 80/20 D'Addarios are pretty close.
I know a few posters here have commented on your luthier's choice of strings, and I must agree with them. I have not seen .009's for acoustics, and I can think of a handful of reasons for that all based on the physics of vibration. I'm curious though, is the G string wound or plain steel?
By the way, the FG is shipped with .012 lights, and after setting up the action on mine, barre chords are just as easy as open chords.
wrench
I am looking at all the posts on thicker strings on accoustic guitar (quite different on electric). Before you move to a medium size for example, you should try it before having your guitar adjusted for it. The sound is richer, but if you have to use extra strength on your bar chords you migth loose some fluidity. When I visited Neil this summer, I was curious to try his guitar for that reason. I could not do an F chord properly while on the ligth gauge I use, there is no problem. For Neil or Bear (by your own description Rick) who are much taller than I ( I am 5,6), the hand size and strenght come strongly in the equation.
Marc
Marc
Thanks guys for the advice given so far.
I might start another thread about other peoples experiences with Luthiers.
I was also checking the action of my guitar and noticed there is virtually no gap from the e string to the 6th fret while having the capo on the first fret and holding down the e string on the 12th fret.
Also there are other issues with the setup and I might have a go with setting it up myself.
cheers Chacho
I might start another thread about other peoples experiences with Luthiers.
I was also checking the action of my guitar and noticed there is virtually no gap from the e string to the 6th fret while having the capo on the first fret and holding down the e string on the 12th fret.
Also there are other issues with the setup and I might have a go with setting it up myself.
cheers Chacho
I have had a go at doing the setup myself with surprisingly good results.
I took off the 9 gauge zebras, while doing so, my saddle fell off because it was too thin and noticed that it was also too short compared to the existing bridge groove.
Weird since it's never knowingly been replaced and pretty sure Yamaha would never have sent it out like it and it's never fell off before.....weird.
Anyway it was difficult to get a saddle to fit but I did end up with a Graphtech Tusq saddle and with a bit of sanding here and there I fitted in.
I had to adjust my Truss rod because of the added tension created by my new 11 gauge cleartone strings recommended by the man himself bigbear.
I also added some new bridge pins and checked all my measurements with the help of the information available on the internet and it plays and sounds great.
Having said that if I knew a good local luthier I would use him rather than have the worry of trying do it myself. If it was an expensive guitar I would never have tried it but it was quite rewarding doing so.
I took off the 9 gauge zebras, while doing so, my saddle fell off because it was too thin and noticed that it was also too short compared to the existing bridge groove.
Weird since it's never knowingly been replaced and pretty sure Yamaha would never have sent it out like it and it's never fell off before.....weird.
Anyway it was difficult to get a saddle to fit but I did end up with a Graphtech Tusq saddle and with a bit of sanding here and there I fitted in.
I had to adjust my Truss rod because of the added tension created by my new 11 gauge cleartone strings recommended by the man himself bigbear.
I also added some new bridge pins and checked all my measurements with the help of the information available on the internet and it plays and sounds great.
Having said that if I knew a good local luthier I would use him rather than have the worry of trying do it myself. If it was an expensive guitar I would never have tried it but it was quite rewarding doing so.