Multiac Users: What Strings Do You Use?

[Canard]

I have been tinkering with my recently acquired Godin Multiac.

The strings on it were quite old. I did not recognise the brand - nothing distinctive about them. They were quite high tension, though.

My Multiac is one of the early models without any bridge saddle (pieces) compensation. When I checked the guitar out before purchasing it, the intonation on the B 2nd and G 3rd strings was a little sharp past 7th position - but nothing that could not be averaged out in a creative tuning falling within the safe envelope of pleasant choral dissonance.

I put a set of D'Addario normal tension strings on it, and now the intonation on the 2nd and 3rd strings is much sharper than before, and it is now harder to find a sweet spot in the creative tuning process.

The normal tension strings will come off soon.

What strings do you use if you are a Multiac owner?

Does anyone know if it is possible for a luthier to adjust the placement of bridge saddle pieces to compensate for intonation issues on a Multiac?

 

[Brad Little]

They're probably high tension, that's what I usually use on my classical guitars. I'll have to check on the bridge, but I don't think there's any way to adjust the settings. I haven't noticed any intonation problems on any of the strings, so maybe it was setup differently at Godin.

 

[Guildedagain]

I think I had one of those once.

They are probably made for flatwounds lights 11-15-22-30-40-50.

That's just a WAG on my part, jazz guitars regularly have up to .013 "mediums" and even heavier strings.

Unless it's a nylon string version.

 

[Canard]

Thanks for the replies.

I do notice that I forgot to mention that the Multiac is the nylon string model.

 

[Brad Little]

I have been tinkering with my recently acquired Godin Multiac.

The strings on it were quite old. I did not recognise the brand - nothing distinctive about them. They were quite high tension, though.

My Multiac is one of the early models without any bridge saddle (pieces) compensation. When I checked the guitar out before purchasing it, the intonation on the B 2nd and G 3rd strings was a little sharp past 7th position - but nothing that could not be averaged out in a creative tuning falling within the safe envelope of pleasant choral dissonance.

I put a set of D'Addario normal tension strings on it, and now the intonation on the 2nd and 3rd strings is much sharper than before, and it is now harder to find a sweet spot in the creative tuning process.

The normal tension strings will come off soon.

What strings do you use if you are a Multiac owner?

Does anyone know if it is possible for a luthier to adjust the placement of bridge saddle pieces to compensate for intonation issues on a Multiac?

Ok, so I checked, no bridge compensating saddle pieces. Currently strung with Thomastik-Infeld Classic N, Superlona CF128. High to low (inches) .027 .031 .027 (w) .030 .035 .045 (mm) 0.69 0.80 0.69 0.76 0.90 1.10. Wound strings are chrome steel flat wound on nylon core. ) Tension (lb/kp) 15.1/6.9 12.1/5.5 14.2/6.5 14.2/6.5 14.0/6.4 14.0/6.4
I think it might be possible to have a luthier replace or maybe reshape the individual saddle pieces, but that's a total guess on my part.

 

[Canard]

Thanks to all for the replies.

I found an old set of Savarez red card high tension strings in box. They had been used on another guitar for a bit. They have both wound G and B stings. I put these on the Multiac, and the G string intones perfectly now. The B is still a little sharp, though, but not nearly as much as with the D'Addario EJ45s. Interestingly, the D string which had perfect intonation at the 12 fret with the D'Addarios is now every so slightly sharp.

The Savarez strings have a much drier, astringent tone than the D'Addarios which are warmer. With the Savarez, there is a much clearer presence of the fundamental tone of each string with reduced emphasis of secondary overtones. In general they intone much better everywhere on the neck. And they are really, really loud, which introduces a new problem - LOL. With heavy attack, I am now getting a resonant rattle from somewhere in the guitar at certain pitches. It might be from the electronics access plates on the back, which seem not to have enough screws to lock them down securely. I will take them off and see what happens.

Two steps forward. One step back.

 

[walrus]

You probably did this, but just in case. Lots of discussion about this in different places on the web. One example:

https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/gui...-godin-multiac-rick-turner-style-guitars.html

walrus

 

[Canard]

Thanks for the reply, walrus.

I had looked at that thread earlier.

The old Savarez strings that I have on now are 520Ps - basic traditional Savarez fare. As they settle in and the guitar adjusts to the change in tension, they seem to get better. New strings would be better, yet. The old ones here are a bit tarnished and ever so slightly fret notched.

But man, I hate shopping for strings now. It's like toothpaste. Just too many choices. There were only four or so brands of tooth paste when I was a kid. Strings were sort of the same. You had all the major brands with a few options from each. Now you just can't find what you want in the store for the overabundance of things you do not want. Do I really want whitening, smile enhancing strings for people with sensitive gums?