When is it time to consider heavier gauge strings?

sws626
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Sun May 16, 2010 5:41 pm

Hi Michele,

I'd have to agree with most all of the advice you've gotten so far. And it sounds like you are on the road to experimenting with a variety of different strings, which should lead you to a choice that suits your guitar and playing style.

My Martin 000-28 came with .012 phosphor/bronze strings. I switched briefly to .010, but found the tension too loose and that they had a tendency to buzz. I'm sure the buzz could have been cured with some setup work, but the looseness felt sloppy and so I switched back to .012 within a few weeks (Martin MSP4100). I didn't find the thinner strings any easier to play and doubt you would find .012 strings to be heavy to the point of making it difficult to play. The thiner strings are easier to bend, but I find that adjustments in the action makes a lot more difference than the string thickness when it comes to playing barre chords.

.012 is still pretty light as acoustic strings go, so I definitely think it's worth experimenting with them. To get a sense of the range of strings mapped onto types of guitars and styles of playing, it's worth checking out Martin's string selection guide at http://www.martinguitar.com/strings/stringselect.html

-Stuart


michelew
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Mon May 17, 2010 4:45 pm

Thanks Stuart. That's interesting. Still learnin'...every day.

Michele


d_dog
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Mon May 17, 2010 6:27 pm

I would concur that lights, vs. custom lights, might be a good way to go, if indeed that is what you're currently using. Just so we're all on the same page, are we calling custom/extra lights .011 .015 .023 .032 .042 .049 & lights .012 .016 .025 .034 .045 .052? Just out of curiosity, what are the gauges of all the strings you currently have on? (If you still have the packaging) And what model is your Yamaha?

Dennis and others have made good points about the construction and set up of the guitar itself. It has to do with total string tension as much as string gauge, and alternate tunings will affect this as well. If your guitar was originally built and set up for light gauge strings, it may not fair well going any higher than lights. The difference in total neck tension from extra lights vs. lights is 23 lb. of pressure. This is considerable, and will have "some" affect on your guitars playability and sound. You may or may not know what your guitar was set up for, but you'd probably be really well served by having it set up professionally when you do go to the lights, .012 .015 ... etc. Not only for sound and tone but playability. Tell the person you take it to that you want standard light gauge (.012 .015 ...etc.) strings and that you like to play mostly finger style guitar, this will matter in how the guitar is set up.


smips65
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Mon May 17, 2010 8:05 pm

:huh:

I'll throw a wrench in this one, what sound are you looking for?


I don't know if you saw my thread about a repaired guitar, but that was a 40 year old with D'Addario Chrome XL Jazz 13-56 flat-wounds.

http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/7-a ... red-guitar

Granted, my hands are prolly a tad stronger than yours.

Now that said, I'm more comfy with repairs, and tweaking of truss rods, and saddles, and nuts, so I set mine up right from the get-go with the idea of much thicker strings, specifically flat-wounds, I really hate finger-print squeak while I play.


The thrust of this post is, certain types of strings will make a guitar sound different, so.....if possible, go to a music store, and play some gits that are strung differently, to get some idea of what they sound like. Keep in mind the body construction, and materials while doing this, so as not to make an error.


michelew
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Tue May 18, 2010 4:41 pm

d_dog wrote:
I would concur that lights, vs. custom lights, might be a good way to go, if indeed that is what you're currently using. Just so we're all on the same page, are we calling custom/extra lights .011 .015 .023 .032 .042 .049 & lights .012 .016 .025 .034 .045 .052? Just out of curiosity, what are the gauges of all the strings you currently have on? (If you still have the packaging) And what model is your Yamaha?

Dennis and others have made good points about the construction and set up of the guitar itself. It has to do with total string tension as much as string gauge, and alternate tunings will affect this as well. If your guitar was originally built and set up for light gauge strings, it may not fair well going any higher than lights. The difference in total neck tension from extra lights vs. lights is 23 lb. of pressure. This is considerable, and will have "some" affect on your guitars playability and sound. You may or may not know what your guitar was set up for, but you'd probably be really well served by having it set up professionally when you do go to the lights, .012 .015 ... etc. Not only for sound and tone but playability. Tell the person you take it to that you want standard light gauge (.012 .015 ...etc.) strings and that you like to play mostly finger style guitar, this will matter in how the guitar is set up.
Damien my current strings are custom lights (.011, .015, .022, .032, 0.42, 0.52). So I will be going up to lights when I make the change. My Yamaha is a FG413S. I got a PM from another TGer who said that Yamaha advised him to use lights and extra lights. He wasn't specific about the models that this applies to.

I had my guitar set up when I went to by current strings. So I've got someone I can take it to. And now that I have my classical guitar it won't be so hard leaving my Yahama for a week if it needs more than a truss rod adjustment.


michelew
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Tue May 18, 2010 4:46 pm

smips65 wrote:
:huh:

I'll throw a wrench in this one, what sound are you looking for?


I don't know if you saw my thread about a repaired guitar, but that was a 40 year old with D'Addario Chrome XL Jazz 13-56 flat-wounds.

http://www.totallyguitars.com/forum/7-a ... red-guitar

Granted, my hands are prolly a tad stronger than yours.

Now that said, I'm more comfy with repairs, and tweaking of truss rods, and saddles, and nuts, so I set mine up right from the get-go with the idea of much thicker strings, specifically flat-wounds, I really hate finger-print squeak while I play.


The thrust of this post is, certain types of strings will make a guitar sound different, so.....if possible, go to a music store, and play some gits that are strung differently, to get some idea of what they sound like. Keep in mind the body construction, and materials while doing this, so as not to make an error.
I did read your thread. It was very interesting. I have done a little bit of work on my Yamaha. I changed the plastic saddle for a Tusq one. I took me a lot of sanding and restringing to get the action right. I haven't adjusted the truss rod yet. But, who knows maybe this time. I'll do some reading first. Loosen the strings first right? We'll see.


michelew
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Sun May 23, 2010 1:25 am

Well I got impatient... I've been feeling a bit down this afternoon and getting more dissatisfied with my 'Here Comes the Sun'. The tinniness of the notes on the top 2 strings was getting to me, so I've restrung my guitar.

I'm using the Fender 80/20 Bronze 70L that I had in the cupboard (.012, .016, .024, .032, .042, .052). Am I'm pleasantly surprised. The sound is crisper and smoother (somehow too) and not tinny. It sounds much better, especially on the top 2 strings. The action is fine, still a little over 3mm on the low E and 2mm for the high E at the 12th fret. Fretting is a little harder enough to be noticeable, but also fine and not a problem. The best part is that I can still barre. Again it is slightly harder and I expect my hand to tire more quickly, but not so much that I can't make a solid sound.

Woo hoo!! These won't last as long as Elixir so I'll probably go back to Elixirs next set. But, it is nice to be able to go up in string gauge and get a nicer sound is return without compromising my ability to play.

And it has stopped raining for the moment - so 2 good things for the afternoon.

Now I can go back to HCTS and finish polishing it without being distracted by the sound of my high E string.

What a relief.

Michele


willem
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Sun May 23, 2010 1:49 am

Happy for you,,new strings have alway's a nice sound,,and that opens sky's and is'nt great on your song HCTS,,, for me the first song were i can add melody,,,luve it a...


dennisg
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Sun May 23, 2010 7:21 am

If you find the string tension to be too much for you, you can always tune your guitar down to D or D#. That'll slacken the strings some.


michelew
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Sun May 23, 2010 4:34 pm

Thanks Dennis. Nice tip. So far it is fine.


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