Collings owners?

West R Lee

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: )))) I guess I'd better get busy getting rid of my Collings. : ))))) Can't use light gauge strings on 'em ha? Man, I've been doing it all wrong for 50 years! I'd better get rid of my Guilds too.......they have lights on them as well.

West
 
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chazmo

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I called Bill (RIP Sir) on the phone and asked him about using lighter gauges and he said it was a bad idea! Don't want to put a guilt trip on anyone for using lighter gauge strings. I am going with what he said, and I will sell it to someone who will promise to use Medium Gauges or sell it to someone who can! I got it from Dusty Strings in Seattle brand new, nice guitar. D2H, standard D2H nothing fancy. He said the top is designed for Mediums and if I were to put lights on it then it would not vibrate correctly. Phone conversation, no written records.


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Johnny, you need to be the judge of whether running light strings on your guitar gives you the tone you want. If you are serious about selling the guitar because you want to use light strings on it, then just put 'em on and try 'em, man! And, forgive me, but asking the buyer to promise not use light strings is not going to go over well as a sales tactic. Honestly, I can't be sure what Mr. Collings meant, but he was probably just saying that the guitar might sound different, not that you shouldn't try it or that there was any risk in doing so!

What sometimes comes up in the discussions about light vs medium gauge is whether a guitar is not designed to handle the additional tension of the medium gauge strings or it's too old or somewhat damaged/bellied/bridge-separated whatever. In that case, maybe it's not advisable to run medium strings ... but never the other way around.
 

wileypickett

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People should be able to do what they want with their guitars, no? Including ignorning the maker's guidelines and recommendations if they wish.

I use DAddario EJ17 Mediums on all my guitars, but I tune way down. (I don't sing, so I don't care about pitch.)

I do this so I can get as much low-end ooomph out of a guitar as possible, but also so that I can explore "wide apart" open tuning possibilities, where the low E is tuned down to A, but the high E may actually be E. (I estimate I've invented around 100 open tunings over the past 40 years.)

It isn't just a matter of sound; the string tension has to also feel right, not floppy, and with enough resistance that bending notes requires a little effort.

Been using Mediums this way on my Collings OM for 10 years with good results.

On my 12-strings I use D'Addario EJ37s -- Medium Top / Heavy Bottom.
 

Westerly Wood

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And some string mfgs consider .12-.54 to be light/mediums. 😀

I had a Santa Cruz dread for a few years, so similar build quality to Collings. They did suggest their medium tension strings fir dreads, and while I had EJ17S on it as well as Santa Cruz own brand strings, the particular spruce top hog b/s dread I had of theirs was most resonant with .12-.53 gauge strings. Gosh, when I really need a shrug emoji.
 

West R Lee

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I break a lot of "rules" with my strings of choice. And I do it for several reasons. I actually began using lights exclusively in order to help maintain the geometry of my Guild guitars. As time went on, I began to appreciate how pliable lights were. I play fingerstyle and fingerstyle only, and lights are easier to manipulate in my opinion, without wearing my bare fingers out. I began to prefer them.

Having said that, there's another alleged "rule" that I now break. Some say in order to "excite" an Adirondack top, you've got to really hammer it, then it gets loud. : ) Well I not only run lights on my adi topped Collings, I use Silk and Steel strings. I can't imagine a louder guitar, even set up like that. Oh, there may be louder guitars, but it's plenty loud for me. There have been several players better than I am play my D2HA set up in that fashion, and all of them seem to be blown away by the amazing tone and volume.

Now I could be wrong, but it would seem to me that if one spends a few thousand dollars on a guitar, they may set that sucker up anyway they like........but that's just me. : ) String choices, action of the guitar. playing methods and styles, body type, wood varieties, pick thickness, microphones, pickups........these are all factors that make our playing unique.

West
 
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Br1ck

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I could never play .013s before I bought my D 35 Custom from Bryan Kimsey, and that came with them. I had also not had a setup with .004 relief. I tried .012s on that guitar and it was buzz city, so I imediately went back to .013s because why mess with a good thing? Did I rush to put .013s on everything else? No. It's good to have a guitar that's a canon. I bought a Silverangel mandolin that came with lights, then found out it was built for mediums, and what a difference they made. But I wouldn't use them if they were uncomfortable. If you need volume, heavier strings will usually do the trick. I'm old enough to feel it when I play heavier strings, but not enough to change.....yet.....the time will come.
 
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