D'Addario extra light strings on F512

idealassets

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Trivial as it might seem, has anyone had any experience playing using D'Addario extra light strings? I bought a pair, but need to wear out my strings before trying them. I was wondering if I would permanently switch to these, and what to expect from them.

Thank you,
Craig
 

12 string

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Okay, I'm biased; I tend to gravitate more toward heavier guages and lower tunings, but still I wonder if putting those strings on that guitar would be like loading up a blunderbuss with confetti. :wink: :wink:

' Strang
 

gjmalcyon

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I put a set of Martin Extra Lights I had laying around on the JF4-12 I just picked up from grumpyguybill, and took them off a day later. The guitar just sounded too "thin", without the resonance and depth you'd expect from a big Guild 12-string. Replaced with a set of John Pearse Light PB's, and the JF4-12 and me were both much happier.
 

Taylor Martin Guild

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I just found out that on of my band mates uses D'Addario extra lights on his 12 string.
I was quite surprised at how good they sound on his guitar.
Give them a try and see how they work for you.
Be sure to report back.
 

idealassets

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I just found out that on of my band mates uses D'Addario extra lights on his 12 string... Be sure to report back
Its only taken nearly 6 months, but I have tried the Ex-Lites that I bought way back in the firsat post.

My impression is that for a Guild F412 or F512 these strings tend to counteract the good qualities of the guitar. When you want some real drive and strum a full chord it is quite weak sounding. Additionally the dynamics of pull-offs, string bending, etc is vastly different. If a guitarist were to perfect his playing around the X-lites it would be a totally different approach, and really a not very productive effort on a Guild.

Meanwhile I am still wondering what strings the Guild factory puts on a new F412 or F512. They are slightly thinner than D'Addario lights, but don't seem to be D'Addario X-lites either.

I will be very happy when I finally wear out the x-lites currently on my F512 and go baqck to what sounds to be the best, D-Addario ph-bronze lights.

By the way I have had bad results with Elixir coated strings. They bring out yet another different sound form my Guild 12 strings and for me they don't last as long as the D-Addarios' at nearly 3x the price.

Thank you,
Craig
 

Taylor Martin Guild

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I only tried extra light strings once, on one of my 12 strings many years ago.
I didn't like the loss of sound.
I also tried a set of light silk and steel with the same results.

I like to tone and projection that I get from D'Addario PB lights on m,y 12 strings.
I do use Elixir lights once in a while. They are OK but not as good as the D'Addario strings.
 

charliea

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The factory puts on EXP 38's. Lights, of course. Everybody likes something different. Both my 512 and 212XL wear silk & steel lights. They sound so good, and play so easily, I wouldn't consider changing. Other strings just seem to thud on those two guitars, while the S&S strings sing. The XLCE gets, and likes, Nanoweb lights. For the 412, Martin Extended Play. It's a thudder, and so are they. Playing styles and musical tastes come into play here, I'm sure.
 

mutantmoose

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They cost a bit more, but I am really happy with John Pearse light 80/20 on my D212. Very nice playing strings. Now that I have made the nut almost perfectly, with the spacings just right and the height just dialed in nicely, oh man, each pair of strings feels like a nice stretchy single string, and it plays like butter. I handed it to a friend who said "Oh, you have extra-lights on this", and I had to explain that, no, I just had a really good setup with regular light strings in standard tuning. He didn't believe me until I showed him the empty package!
 

idealassets

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I use these. As a bonus, they last as long as coated strings
charliea,
Thank you, I ordered some sets of these today. I'll be interested in seeing how well they hold up.

I usually do a fair amount of finger picking, mostly with bare fingers. This results in a brown patch on the bronze wound strings that signals the strings will be dead soon. I have been looking for a way to get a little bit more life out of my strings, as well as getting the best sound and action.

Craig
 

frettedstrings

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Extra Light, Light, Medium Light, Medium, Light Heavy, Medium Extra Light Heavy, Heavy Medium Light Extras, Lol ! I don't look at the names that a particular string company stamps on it's string sets, but I do look at the gauges of the strings .... 09-47; 10-47; 11-49; 12-54, etc. Extra lights to me are 9's and1 10's and Lights are 11's and Medium Lights are 12's and so on.


-frettedstrings
 

idealassets

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Tim,
The D'Addario Light Phosphor Bronze are .010-.047. They sure do look nice when a brand new set of strings is on the guitar.

Do you keep your F212 tuned to standard pitch? I was wondering how well it is holding up. I have been keeping all my 12 strings tuned to E, and they have been holding up quite well, with no neck distortion for over a year.

If any of our Guilded friends would like to hear a post of me on drums here it is on Reverbnation:

http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/complete_profile/1679118#!/craiggriffin

I have just climbed up the ranks by 2 spots for central Michigan for Christian/Gospel. Thank you all for your support so far.

Craig
 

Ardor13

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charliea,
Thank you, I ordered some sets of these today. I'll be interested in seeing how well they hold up.

I usually do a fair amount of finger picking, mostly with bare fingers. This results in a brown patch on the bronze wound strings that signals the strings will be dead soon. I have been looking for a way to get a little bit more life out of my strings, as well as getting the best sound and action.

Craig

Hi Craig, did the silk and steel strings ever work out for you on your 512??
 

beecee

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He may have forgotten by now....
 

idealassets

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He may have forgotten by now....
Wow, this post is an oldie. No I did not find any advantage to playing the silk and steel strings.

At the time I thought I was missing something major in my playing by not finding just the right strings. But after experimenting around for a while I'm back to using D'Addario PB lights on all my acoustic guitars. Medium strings on my 6 string guitars might improve the sound, but I'm happy with what I have and play everything mostly tuned to standard pitch using light gage D'Addario's.

After experiencing playing live through many different sound systems, the strings seem miniscule compared to what amplification, and your own personal playing characteristics sound like. But definitely the PB extra lights are a no go for me, especially on 12 string.
 
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Guildedagain

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Good thread.

My F112 seems like it could benefit from heavier strings (Has JP Silks on it?). It sounds angelic, but is lacking in overall volume, especially north of the D string. Otherwise it's great and plays chords in perfect intonation to the 14th fret, so I'd hate to lose that. I maybe should just make it up with amplification and leave it alone. It served me well through my biggest weekend gig of the year. In fact, I couldn't find it in me to play electric (live) the next day... I just wanted my twelve string.

On my other F guitar, the F30, I'm feeling the JP Silk and Bronze are muddier than the GHS Silk & Steels that were on there before. Brighter, crisper, that's what that guitar needs. It's a boombox. I think I'm going to have to switch back to the sound it used to have, even though I'm not crazy about the look of silvered or nickeled strings on an acoustic. They do seem to last a long time compared to bronze though, without any falloff in tone. I have a set of GHS Silks on my DC5E that must be a year old, all night Spring outdoor gig on that one, same strings, they won't die, still sound excellent. There's so many miles on these (learned Dust in the Wind on these and wiped out my frets) they practically need an oil by now.

On that one (Rosewood), I want to try the JP Silks and see how I like the sound, although I fear I'll just go back to the GHS S&S because that's the tone I know and love on this guitar also.
 
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12 string

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My F-112 does great with D'Addario PBs .010-047. For me silk and steel just doesn't have enough meat on the bone or in the tone.

' Strang
 
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