phaeton Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 This is actually two rambling thoughts sandwiched into one, convenient easy-peasy topic. 1) I've accepted the fact that i probably shouldn't be playing strings any heavier than necessary. As you've all heard my whinings and ramblings about tendonitis and whatnot, i've decided to finally take the .011" flatwounds off my stratocaster and install a set of roundwound 9s. Just because i've accepted it doesn't mean i like it. It feels as though i'm finally admitting to myself that i'm disabled .... aside from all the differences in tone and feel that i'm not going to be ecstatic about. I guess my hangups over string gauge and type are being turned into a bigger deal than they should be, but oh well. 2) Something i noticed about this last set of strings- These being GHS as opposed to the usual D'Addario Chromes for $40/set. The gauging from string to string between brands was pretty similar; it was just a bit lighter on the bottom end (low E was .002" different, iirc). An interesting thing about these is that i could not bend up a whole step. It's not a matter of strength, but more that if i say, grab the B and go for a full bend (pushing the string towards the Low E) i would run out of fretboard before i got there . It was as if the target note was about 2" off the side of the neck. Never mind the fact that i've got 4 other strings (G D A E) balled up under my fingernail in a non-chalant, randomly painful way. Bridge is blocked, so it's not moving. String wasn't slipping on machine head, because it came right back in tune when i released it. What gives? The G was a little different. I cold bend it either way, but at about 3/4 step in pitch it would become uberstiff and would move no more. None. These strings were very "spongy" feeling. The best example i can come up with was if you were to grab a piece of a rubber band between 1st finger and thumb (on each side) and pull. Whilst you are pulling, use another finger to pluck at it. ( this works best with a thin, broken rubber band) You'll notice that as you pull more and more, the pitch just doesn't change much, and then eventually (about arm's length) it suddenly gets extremely taut. Pull any harder and it will snap. Weird. 2.5 (bonus question)) I'll probably have to change the string gauge on the crappy acoustic too. The action sucks, and it has standard acoustic strings on it (i didn't put those on, so i don't know what the default acoustic string gauge is (i'm guessing 11's)). I will try getting a bridge blank and making a new bridge for it to see if i can drop the action some, but what would happen if i were to say, put on a set of electric 9's? Will it sound ubercrappy? How about nylon strings (this is a steel string guitar) anyone ever have success getting nylon strings to seat on a steel-string acoustic? Are steel-string acoustics and nylon-string acoustics built as two different animals (soundwise, to emphasize/compensate string type)? Aching elbows want to know. Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O'Shite Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 As far as your electric strings and the odd differemces from brand-to-brand, some brands of strings are genuinely "stiffer" than others when bending, especially amongst various approaches to making flatwounds. Try some DR "ground-wounds" or Thomastik-Infeld "Bebop" jazz-round wounds. The DR's have a round core, as opposed to the industry standard hex-core, which is wonderful in both sound and feel. The T/I "Bebops" have a larger core diameter and smaller winding diameter than is usual, making for a mellower, jazzier tone and feel than regular roundwounds while being more supple and slightly brighter than flatwounds, tapewounds, groundwounds, etc. Best of luck, and I wish you as much progress reversing or at least holding ground against the tendonitis and whatnot! I really feel for ya here, and fear the same ever happening to me! -k Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 Can't do much for you on the electric but as far as the acoustic goes, try the DR Strings Rare Phosphor Bronze in .010-.048 or .011-.050 gauges. I have issues with my fingers so can't use .012 & above on my acoustics and still play & that's probably what is on yours. The Dr Strings give me a good tone on my acoustic intruments with a comarative ease in playability. So much so that DRs are all I play now though I played my son's acoustic with the new coated Black Diamonds on it & they were very nice. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 well.. i did it. The strat has 9's *sigh* Oh dak! How do those nylon-coated strings sound? Do they sound like pure nylon strings, or just like dull steels? The issues with your fingers.... iirc you've got the deal where the flesh tears open real easy and you bleed all the time, right? This reminds me of a guy i bumped into when i was gigging many years ago. He played acoustics with huge strings, and the windings were a factor with noise and stuff. What he used to do (and i shit you not) before a gig, was actually use a q-tip and paint some kind of glue onto the tips of his fingers. It'd create this kinda leathery coating that would reduce friction and probably kept him from tearing his fingers all to hell. He said he could still feel the strings and frets and everything just fine. I remember the bottle looking a lot like a superglue bottle, but i doubt that it was actually superglue. In fact, i doubt superglue would be wise to put on yourself (except to close up a small cut). I know this sounds crazy, i'm telling you to glue your fingers, but it might be something you can fiddle with (or not). Maybe there is a safe, useable something that could help things out. Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 Those Black Diamond black coated strings are really crisp sounding on my son's Ibanez & they feel good. They don't feel, to me, like the d'Addario EXP or Elixir strings, but more like un coated strings. AS to the fingers, I have one that was nearly lopped of so though it somewhat numb to light touch sensation, it gets real tender deep in when playing. The other fingers have tenderness issues too caused from steroids I have to take to help me remain in remission. I don't bleed all that often & then only after very long sessions when it's cold. I'm searching for the right finger tip protection but haven't found it yet. Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James-Italy Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 I've got 09's on all my guitars, even the acoustic. I'm too ignorant to know any better. I tried running a few searches and didn't find much useful info. Thicker strings= thicker sound and more work? If I'm happy is it best to just stay 09's? Is there some good reason for an intermediate player like me to fool around with string sizes? My Gear My Attempts at Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 James, Yes the heavier strings are thicker-sounding, usually sustain longer too... However, *how much* thicker sounding, and *how much* longer sustaining depends on a lot of other things too, namely the action and setup of the guitar. It won't hurt to experiment with different string gauges, but usually each time you change string sizes you have to make some adjustments intonation-wise, and sometimes truss-rod wise. I used to loudly tout the merits of super-huge strings, but now that i have tendonitis (not from guitar, btw) i feel that a guitar should be as *easy* to play as possible. ========= Speaking of setup/adjustments... I've got the 9's on my strat, and it appears that without the excess tension, the neck is too straight. In fact, it's perfectly straight. I need to adjust the truss rod and add some bow to it (called relief, right?). The larger strings buzz (through the amp) for about the first quarter-second of striking them, and the small strings just make a "pop" sound and don't sustain anywhere near as long as i think they should. Anything i should know before attempting this myself the first time? Should i do it with the strings tuned to pitch or should i relax them some? Which direction should i start going? How much to make the first turn of the truss rod? 1/8th turn? 1/4 turn? Any comments are greatly appreciated. Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James-Italy Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 phaeton, Sorry to hear about your tendonitis One of my other hobbies is tennis so I can understand. Painful and frustrating. Hope you find a way to complete recovery. Thanks for the info. On the 335 I just bought there were thicker strings (10's, 11's, 12's,???) and I changed them immediately. Not because they sounded bad or bothered me, but because I had to clean the crud off from the guy who had it before me. (Looked like he was gigging in Cambodia...) I put on a set of 09's as usual and now I'm worried the intonation and settings may be off. Gonna take it to my local tech and have him give it a once over. My Gear My Attempts at Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KARL FISHER Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 pheaton, I use 9's on my Explorer, I play mostly Classic Rock era stuff. I don't really notice much sound difference between the 9's and 10's. The 9's bend easier though. If I need a fatter sound (some slide stuff), I just turn the guitars tone knob down a little, not too much. I feel for your tendonitis!!! I was a gymnast in high school, circa 1980. I did a lot of floor exercise, and ruined my wrists. They don't bother me too much now at age 41, but... if I hold the guitar wrong and have to bend my wrist in toward my forearm too much to reach the strings, it hurts!!. By the way-I use D'Addario EX120 9-46 gage strings. Karl Skynyrd fan forever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 I've been debating moving up in my string gauge as well. I play a Strat and I use Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys (.009 - .046). I've used them for something like 15 years (no, not the same set!). I don't really know why exactly... habit, I suppose. When I was younger (and playing my Les Paul) I always used extra-light strings (.008's, sometimes .007's), and I got used to the light gauges... Anyway... Now I am reconsidering. I want a fatter sound. I suupose I will have to jump up to .010's or .011's. Any opinions about EB strings? Comments? Suggestions? May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel E. Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 Note that heavier strings don't necesarily sound "better". Just different. If you want to cop that SRV/Hendrix tone, you need heavy strings. But if you are looking for a high gain sound with a lot of note definition, heavy strings will probably be too muddy. Eddie Van Halen's tone has a lot to do with his use of very light (.09-.40) strings. I think Ywingie Malmsteen uses .08s. Different guitars also work better with lighter strings. I think my tele sounds better with .095s than with .10s. So go with whatever sounds good and is comfortable to play. "You never can vouch for your own consciousness." - Norman Mailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan_Frenchie Posted May 15, 2003 Share Posted May 15, 2003 My grain of salt ... On short necks (read Gibson) I use heavy strings (0.13-0.54), on long neck (read Finder) I use either lighter string (0.11-.48), or the heavy strings but tuned a half step down. In between (read PRS, Ibanez, Ovation) either guage seems to work. I get decent sound (to me at least ), in both cases and I can bent a step and a half. I try to use Maxima strings (gold ? plated), they really last longer, the only drawback is that they are hard to find. But I may not be the one to give advices as I also always use wound G (yes even for rock or blues ...). Bests. Stan. Love + Learning + Music = LIFE !!! (some money welcomed as well ...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesian Posted May 15, 2003 Share Posted May 15, 2003 Phaeton, just wondering why you didn't try 10's first before going to 9's. The jump from 11's to 9's is a big change in string tension and probably requires a substantial truss-rod adjustment. How's it working out? J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.