I know , an old dead horse . string talk

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Thing about these string, um, threads is this--

Think about the variables involved here: The individual guitar (even across the same body size/type, builder, and build formula); the player (hands and ears, desired feeling and sound); the demands made by the kind of music played (not individual tunes but genres, e.g. bluegrass vs. Celtic fingerstyle vs. Delta blues, etc.). And there might be more I'm missing.

Given all these factors, the question of "which string?" is always going to be "it depends." How do your hands need to feel? How much effort does it take to get the sound you want? For that matter, exactly what is the sound being chased, and how good are your ears? (Mine are 73 years old and have the restricted frequency response that accompanies that age.)

There is no single answer to "Which strings are best?", especially when the rest of the question is "for this particular guitar" and "played by me." There might be broadly agreed-upon principles--if you're playing bluegrass on a dread, you probably want a heavier set; acoustic archtops don't speak optimally with light-gauge sets; bluesy bending is going to be tough with mediums; and so on. But I'll bet for every one of those, there will be counter-examples that work, at least for particular players. (Stevie Ray Vaughn famously used heavy strings on his Strat. Bucky and John Pizzarelli use LaBella tape-wounds on their archtops.)
 
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adorshki

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I saw a YouTube video of Vince Gill a bit ago. He was talking about Martin, of course. But he said something interesting. It was along the lines of: "A lot of guys get hung up on how loud a guitar sounds. But it doesn't really matter how loud a guitar is, or how it sounds out there. It only has to sound good to right here..." And he held his hand out to about where a mic would be if it were being recorded as a pure acoustic.

He's right I think. When I play for myself, I only care how it sounds to my ear. If I were really to play for someone else, I would either mic it, or plug it in.
(OK I know you were thinking of a completely different performance model, but still):
Coming from an old busker, WHY?
There is in fact a place for a loud guitar that don't need no stinkin' amp, with all due respect for Mr. Gill.
I spent about 40 Saturdays a year of the first 6 years with my D25 playing in a park for a good 5 or 6 hours every time, and there was a group of regulars that knew that if they were looking for a jam there was a 99% probability I'd be there, unless it was full-on raining or just too d--n cold.
And sometimes if they wanted to be sure, all they had to do was stand by the entrance and listen, even if they couldn't see me at my favorite spot around the corner and beneath the trees.
Sometimes total strangers'd show up and say "We heard you from up the hill and came down to listen".
From half a football field's distance away.
Yep, I loves me a nice loud D25.
Y'wanna cut through crowd noise on Venice Beach or the Boardwalk or Pacific Mall in Santa Cruz or the subway platform for you urban guerillas....?
EJ-16's absolutely help.
:friendly_wink:
 
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PittPastor

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There is in fact a place for a loud guitar that don't need no stinkin' amp, with all due respect for Mr. Gill.
I spent about 40 Saturdays a year of the first 6 years with my D25 playing in a park for a good 5 or 6 hours every time

Well, that may very well be true. I can't imagine me doing it, but if that's whatcha like, by all means. Most of the time my only audience is a half-interested German Shepherd. He is mostly tuning me out. But if he decided he wanted to hear me, he could hear it if I played Silk and Steel Extra Lights.

So, I guess it helps to know your audience!
 

Westerly Wood

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Just put a fresh set of D'Addario EJ16s on my D25 and they sound/freel great.
 

adorshki

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Just put a fresh set of D'Addario EJ16s on my D25 and they sound/freel great.
Yah but in your case it was just their turn in the rotation.
I think you're the one guy here who really does have to change his strings because he can't pick up a different guitar.
BTW I just started my stopwatch so lemme know when you put the next set on?
:biggrin-new:
 

walrus

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Thing about these string, um, threads is this--

Think about the variables involved here: The individual guitar (even across the same body size/type, builder, and build formula); the player (hands and ears, desired feeling and sound); the demands made by the kind of music played (not individual tunes but genres, e.g. bluegrass vs. Celtic fingerstyle vs. Delta blues, etc.). And there might be more I'm missing.

Given all these factors, the question of "which string?" is always going to be "it depends." How do your hands need to feel? How much effort does it take to get the sound you want? For that matter, exactly what is the sound being chased, and how good are your ears? (Mine are 73 years old and have the restricted frequency response that accompanies that age.)

There is no single answer to "Which strings are best?", especially when the rest of the question is "for this particular guitar" and "played by me." There might be broadly agreed-upon principles--if you're playing bluegrass on a dread, you probably want a heavier set; acoustic archtops don't speak optimally with light-gauge sets; bluesy bending is going to be tough with mediums; and so on. But I'll bet for every one of those, there will be counter-examples that work, at least for particular players. (Stevie Ray Vaughn famously used heavy strings on his Strat. Bucky and John Pizzarelli use LaBella tape-wounds on their archtops.)

Totally agree.

On my F-30, I'm using Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze Extra Light. Why? I want the feel of an electric if I can get it (or close), but I don't want to lose too much volume and "acoustic" sound. This guitar, even though it's "small bodied", is still nice and voluminous with these strings. I find the aluminum bronze to be a bit brighter than phosphor bronze - they last longer, too (uncoated, BTW).

The gauges of EB AB's are 10, 14, 20, 28, 40, 50. Compared to the D'Adarrio PB Extra Light, which are 10, 14, 23, 30, 39, 47. I also tried D'Addario Custom Light, which are 11, 15, 22, 32, 42, 52. Bottom line, the EB's are sort of in between those two D'Addario sets, and for me, on this guitar, seem to be just what I want.

walrus
 

Westerly Wood

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Yah but in your case it was just their turn in the rotation.
I think you're the one guy here who really does have to change his strings because he can't pick up a different guitar.
BTW I just started my stopwatch so lemme know when you put the next set on?
:biggrin-new:

you know it Al. I cannot commit to strings. :) But the EJ16s, when I do come back to them, they do feel and sound great. give it a week, I am sure I will have some other string on it already
 

D30Man

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Ray I bounce around quite a bit from SIT coated 12’s to Martin Lifespans to you name it. I have some D’addario ej16 12’s on my 78’ D35 right now. When I first put them on they seemed maybe a touch too mellow but they are growing on me. They seem to really acommodate the singer/songwriter with a nice balanced mellow strum..

I have an F55 on the way that I am really excited about. I know it comes from the factory with 12’s. I know there are a lot of folks who feel a jumbo really needs mediums, but I will be interested to how the lights sound on her when she arrives. Not to veer but would love to get your take on the F55 so far..
 

dapmdave

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Thing about these string, um, threads is this--

Think about the variables involved here: The individual guitar (even across the same body size/type, builder, and build formula); the player (hands and ears, desired feeling and sound); the demands made by the kind of music played (not individual tunes but genres, e.g. bluegrass vs. Celtic fingerstyle vs. Delta blues, etc.). And there might be more I'm missing.

Given all these factors, the question of "which string?" is always going to be "it depends." How do your hands need to feel? How much effort does it take to get the sound you want? For that matter, exactly what is the sound being chased, and how good are your ears? (Mine are 73 years old and have the restricted frequency response that accompanies that age.)

There is no single answer to "Which strings are best?", especially when the rest of the question is "for this particular guitar" and "played by me." There might be broadly agreed-upon principles--if you're playing bluegrass on a dread, you probably want a heavier set; acoustic archtops don't speak optimally with light-gauge sets; bluesy bending is going to be tough with mediums; and so on. But I'll bet for every one of those, there will be counter-examples that work, at least for particular players. (Stevie Ray Vaughn famously used heavy strings on his Strat. Bucky and John Pizzarelli use LaBella tape-wounds on their archtops.)

Truth.
 

ClydeTower

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Ray, from one F55 owner to another, I'm still experimenting with different strings to see how I can sculpt the F55's tone and feel. First I would ask, if you're tuned to standard pitch or alternate tunings like open D or drop D? I've been tuning mine down a half step. I find it sounds good when the strings are fresh and also plays better because of the lower tension and action. After a while, when the strings settle in, I find the tone gets a little muddy tuned down so I bring it up back to standard. I've tried DR Rares 12s and Daddario EJ16 and EJ19s.

I find the F55's sound to be very resonant... especially when the strings are new. To control it, I have experimented by throwing in some socks and t-shirts into the soundhole to sculpt the natural reverb. The sound changes depending on if the socks are in the lower or upper bout (I can already hear some people laughing, but that's me... I like to tinker with stuff :) I've also noticed that 13s amplify the natural reverb of the guitar, so I was thinking of going in the other direction and trying custom lights (Daddario EJ26).

As my F55 continues to open up, the tone keeps evolving ever so slightly, and has become very powerful and loud when strummed vigorously with the 12s. It has a lot of low end. Which is good with certain songs that need a strong bass line. With 13s, there's almost to much power. So, we'll see how she likes it with a lighter set.

I also sometimes like to tune down a full step and capo at the 2nd fret which brings it back to standard. I know, that sounds counter productive, but I find the tone is much sweeter and note separation augmented when using this technique. Anyways, this is what I've experimented with so far with the F55.

Good luck with your projects :)
 
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ClydeTower

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Following up on this thread... just tried some John Pearse 80/20 710 New Mediums on my F55 and gotta say it sounds and feels glorious. The string gauges on this set are quite interesting: 13-17-24-32-42-55. So basically medium gauge on the 1st, 2nd and 6th strings and light gauge on 3rd, 4th and 5th. Sort of the same approach as Elixir HD lights but with a fatter low E. Over the past month I've been testing a lot of new string combinations and I think I've officially converted to 80/20. The crispness you get with 80-20s and fatter gauge is great for alternate tunings and cleans up any mud in the lower register quite nicely.
 

Bill Ashton

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Cylde, this is interesting, do you find any tuning issues? I am guessing your string set is "True Medium?" On both my D55 and (now Default's) F47R, whether D'Addario or made up (generally LaBella) there was always something not quite right with the "odd" string gauges. Perfect for DADGAD tuning though. When I saw that Taylor had come up with their own special set for Taylor guitars, was wondering of they had played with the scale length or even how the nut/bridge were cut to make them play in tune...
 

ClydeTower

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Cylde, this is interesting, do you find any tuning issues? I am guessing your string set is "True Medium?" On both my D55 and (now Default's) F47R, whether D'Addario or made up (generally LaBella) there was always something not quite right with the "odd" string gauges. Perfect for DADGAD tuning though. When I saw that Taylor had come up with their own special set for Taylor guitars, was wondering of they had played with the scale length or even how the nut/bridge were cut to make them play in tune...

Hmmm, I had no idea Daddario made a similar gauge set. Reading the description, it pretty much describes my experience with the JP New Mediums so far. I also find the highs sound rounder and fuller without too much added tension.
No tuning issues at all. I've put them on my D55 and F55 and they sound awesome.
 

Westerly Wood

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Following up on this thread... just tried some John Pearse 80/20 710 New Mediums on my F55 and gotta say it sounds and feels glorious. The string gauges on this set are quite interesting: 13-17-24-32-42-55. So basically medium gauge on the 1st, 2nd and 6th strings and light gauge on 3rd, 4th and 5th. Sort of the same approach as Elixir HD lights but with a fatter low E. Over the past month I've been testing a lot of new string combinations and I think I've officially converted to 80/20. The crispness you get with 80-20s and fatter gauge is great for alternate tunings and cleans up any mud in the lower register quite nicely.

Yes, sometimes I throw a set of D'Adarrio EJ11s on the Br, these are 80/20 light gauge strings, basically their very first or one of their first steel string offerings. very crisp and definitely wakes up the old D25 flatback but they go dead quick. I think the ole box prefers PBs (EJ16s) but still, 80/20s are nice and JP definitely makes a nice version of these same strings.
 
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