String gauges & choices

[drlj]

What string gauge do you dudes and dudesses use?
I find I am favoring the lighter or hybrid gauges rather than the mediums I used to put on my guitars. I use True Mediums a lot & have lights on a couple others. Playing finger style on mediums is not “digit” friendly. I can do it, buy why bother?
I have a feeling most of you favor lights?
Is this a sign of aging or just good sense?

[howard lee]

I still use .013s on my acoustics, .012s on the archtop, and .011s on the electric. Everything is dialed in with great intonation; I just don't feel like changing the tension and having to go through adjusting them all over again. And in my experience, when I have strung with lower-tension strings, the intonation goes a little wonky.

Perhaps I have no sense, and aging.

[drlj]

I have no problem with the intonation with the lighter or hybrid gauges. And, yes, I know how to check it.
I don’t think there is a one size fits all when it comes to guitar strings. It all boils down to what a person likes or is used to, though.

[howard lee]

Apr 2, 2023 9:21:23 GMT -5 drlj said:

I have no problem with the intonation with the lighter or hybrid gauges. And, yes, I know how to check it.
I don’t think there is a one size fits all when it comes to guitar strings. It all boils down to what a person likes or is used to, though.

I had no intentions of giving you any grief about your knowledge and expertise. Not after about 22 years of friendship. 🙂

[drlj]

Apr 2, 2023 10:29:46 GMT -5 howard lee said:

Apr 2, 2023 9:21:23 GMT -5 drlj said:

I have no problem with the intonation with the lighter or hybrid gauges. And, yes, I know how to check it.
I don’t think there is a one size fits all when it comes to guitar strings. It all boils down to what a person likes or is used to, though.

I had no intentions of giving you any grief about your knowledge and expertise. Not after about 22 years of friendship. 🙂

Didn’t say you were. I was just expressing an opinion.

[Cosmic Wonder]

Lights, 80/20s on the Collings. Lights either 80/20s or Phos/bronze on the Seagull.


Mike

[howard lee]

Apr 2, 2023 10:36:08 GMT -5 drlj said:

Apr 2, 2023 10:29:46 GMT -5 howard lee said:

I had no intentions of giving you any grief about your knowledge and expertise. Not after about 22 years of friendship. 🙂

Didn’t say you were. I was just expressing an opinion.

I wonder why I took it personally... hypersensitive, maybe.

[epaul]

I think LJ is full of beans and light gauge strings are for wusses that don't care what their guitar sounds like. Me, I use nothing but .012-.53s, sometimes .011s if my fingers are sore. But, none of that wussy light noodly crap.

[John B]

My new guitar has a slightly longer-than-normal scale (25.75"). It comes with 13-56, but I was not a fan when I was playing it at Sweetwater - it just seemed like it took me an awful lot of work to play. That might have been because I haven't been playing guitar since the last IJam. Sweetwater put on a set of 12-?? on for me before I bought it to see if I liked them better, and I did. With the longer scale length and wider nut I was still nervous about wrist and finger problems, so I decided to look for some lower tension strings.

I bought a few different sets of strings: Optima VintageFlex low tension lights (12-51, 131 lbs tension) and Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum (11-50, 127 lbs tension) to try lower tension strings. I also bought a set of Cleartone EQ hybrid metal strings, which uses a mix of pure copper wound, 80/20 and phosphor bronze windings for better tone, I guess? I figured I'll give each set a try, and see if I like any of them better than the Elixers I've grown accustomed to.

Interestingly, my guitar model is a stripped-down version of a signature model by an artist named Jon Gomm. He has a set of signature strings by Newtone, that are 14-68. But his standard tuning is tuned to D, and he often tunes lower than that.

Many, many years ago, ePaul and I spent a lot of time discussing string tension, scale length and string gauges on the AG forum. It seems like dropping a string gauge makes a significant difference, as does simply tuning down to D and capoing at the 2nd fret. Much bigger difference than a 25.5" vs 24.75" scale lengths, for example.

I'm starting to come to the conclusion that my biggest issues with my new guitar are because I haven't been playing at all recently. After 2 weeks with this new guitar, the neck width doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

However, I did put the Optima strings on. This set of 12-51 tuned to standard feels "easier" to play than the 12-?? set tuned to D standard. The high E seems a little stiff, but that might be because my most recent string set of choice has been Elixer custom lights 11-52 (150 lbs of tension). After I while I try one of the other sets to see how I like them.

[RickW]

I use mediums still, elixirs or D’Daddario XS, 13-56. I like the tension better, how it feels, and how it sounds. I think they stand up better to the capo doing bad things as well.

[james]

Elixir nano 13-53 HD light phosphor bronze. (Mostly). I rarely play barre chords or do big string bends. Also I am  generally in lowered alternate tunings.

[drlj]

Apr 2, 2023 12:32:17 GMT -5 epaul said:

I think LJ is full of beans and light gauge strings are for wusses that don't care what their guitar sounds like. Me, I use nothing but .012-.53s, sometimes .011s if my fingers are sore. But, none of that wussy light noodly crap.

I belong to the I Am Not A Wuss Club for Manly Types so you are obviously wrong.

And, I hardly ever eat beans.

[TKennedy]

For my archtop I use 11’s but sub out the e an B for a 12 and 16.

Pretty much 12’s on my acoustic but as I approach 80 I may go for the same lineup as my archtops.

[Russell Letson]

Depends on the guitar. My Cloutiers are designed for compounds--originally silk & steel, but I suggested 11-49 silk & bronze to Steve, and he agreed. I've used silk & bronze on most of my flat-tops--most often the GHS medium-lights--but am just as likely to use ordinary lights with a 53 or 54 low E. The 1920 0-18 gets the lightest set I can find that sounds decent, currently the Thomastik Plectrum AC111 (11-50).

Archtops used to get pretty hefty sets--up to a .058 low E--but I've backed down to mere mediums for the acoustics and Thomastik BeBop mediums for the usually-amplified Eastman and Crandall. Selmer-styles, of course, get Argentines. And the six-string banjo gets GHS Thin Core lights.

[drlj]

I assumed most of you use light gauge of some variety on acoustics. I am retired and extremely rich so I have been experimenting using different strings, round core vs hex core, different gauges, and materials. It’s interesting to me & probably boring to a few of you but I find there is no one string fits all.
Guitar nerdy, I suppose.
I have never used the silks that Russell mentioned so I will put them on my list to try. 👍


Correction. Barb says the extremely rich thing I said may not be true. Uh oh.

[RickW]

Apr 2, 2023 12:56:56 GMT -5 drlj said:

I assumed most of you use light gauge of some variety on acoustics. I am retired and extremely rich so I have been experimenting using different strings, round core vs hex core, different gauges, and materials. It’s interesting to me & probably boring to a few of you but I find there is no one string fits all.
Guitar nerdy, I suppose.
I have never used the silks that Russell mentioned so I will put them on my list to try. 👍


Correction. Barb says the extremely rich thing I said may not be true. Uh oh.

She’s preparing for your next guitar purchase request.

[Marty]

Here goes Marty again.

Use what feels right for the guitar. The shorter the scale the less tension and more intonation problems with heavier strings. But the heavier strings will probably feel better due to the higher tension and less "slinky". Longer scale guitars will be feel stiffer with heavier strings but will also be louder and fuller sounding.

Many makers use to put mediums on from the factory. Then it was lights and now many makers are shipping the guitars with Custom lights .011-.050 because that is what's popular. Fender shipped guitars with Flatwound strings until the early 60s because that's what Leo liked. The Wrecking Crew and Ernie Ball had a lot to do with Fender changing the strings Fenders were shipped with.

Most strings are hex core but you can get round core, they are wonderful for flexibility and sustain but don't wear very well. Old style strings are round core with Monel or Nickel alloy windings. Hex core came later.

I've always liked lights on both acoustic and electric. But I do think True or Pure Mediums are a good in between choice, especially if you use some different tunings, but not all tunings.

Phosphor or 80/20 alloys are nice for controlling the brightness. Even some of the Retro string windings can be pretty cool sounding and nice if you use a magnetic pickup. Don't put electric strings on an acoustic that have a plain 3rd, you will be sorry.

Pontification over. Time to get a kitty or two and take a nap.

[Dub]

I’ve always selected strings based on tone and volume first and feel second. Until the mid 1980s, most of my playing was on stage playing bluegrass rhythm and the rest of the band had to be able to hear the guitar without monitors. We played at least three nights every week and would have one and often two rehearsals. I was using up a set of strings every week. I was trying lots of different strings but often buying Black Diamond because they were cheap and sounded good. Always they were 13-56.

One time we did a show with Jamie Brockett, an East Coast folksinger who was popular at the time, and he put me onto James Boyce strings. Boyce was a Massachusetts based guitar maker who had the strings made to his specifications. I’m guessing they were made by Euphonon but I don’t know. They were $19.00 for a dozen sets and they sounded great on my D-41 so I stuck with those for years. I could just call Ursula, James’s wife, and she’d have them out the same day.

In the late 1980s I was turned onto S.I.T. (Stay In Tune) strings, still 13-56 and phosphor-bronze, and used those for quit a while.

At some point, I happened to try a set of D’Aquisto nickel strings that were to Tony Rice’s specification. I wasn’t going through strings as quickly anymore and no longer cared about the price. I used those for a while even though their intonation was a little weird. I’d be surprised if D’Aquisto actually had a string foundry and I don’t know who actually made them.

These days I use Martin Retro Nickel strings on my D-28CW. I used the MTR13 set for a while but now I find that the MM12 set feels sooo much better. I love the sound of the Nickel strings and since I’m using my (née Marshall’s) ToneDexter, volume is no longer an issue.

In the last few years, I’ve also been using Optima Vintageflex low Tension strings. These are phosphor-bronze strings made in Germany. I get them through Strings By Mail. On my late brother’s ‘67 D-18 I use light set (12-51) and on my D-41 I’ve used the medium set (13-55). The tension on these sets is 114.86lb and 154.98, respectively. That compares to 188.8lb for D’Addario EJ17s and 184.75lb for the Martin MTR13 set. The Optima strings sound nice and feel nice for fingerstyle playing.

I als use StraightUp strings sometimes. I use them on my mandolin and the guitar sets are nice too. The tension is balanced so every string has the same tension and the total is less than the Martin and D’Addario strings.



On edit: It took too long to write the above and I see John B. got to the Optima strings before I did. Give them a try.

[drlj]

Dub, I use Martin Retro LJ’s Choice on my Larrivee D-10. They are True Medium Monels & I love them. I tried the D’Adarrio Nickle Bronze but they are not true Monels and they sounded dead to me. I am going to put a set of the LJ’s(gee, I like that name) on my D-18 and see how they are.
I have not tried Optima, but will.
I have used StraightUp strings and like them but you have to pay attention to the gauges and not what he calls them. If you like lights and try the StraightUp lights, they will probably be too light for you.
I haven’t tried the Santa Cruz strings that I have read about. I can’t recall the name.
I used to buy bulk strings from Euphonon back when I played guitar with the crazy guy. I would get a dozen sets of lights and sometimes I got a dozen sets of True Medium gauge. I liked those strings a lot and would probably still buy them if I could.

[Village Idiot]

The best piece of string advice has come at one time or another from each one of you over the years. It comes when I say I can't remember what kind of strings I use. "Keep the package so you can get the same thing next time". After being told that about 50 times over the past ten years I'm starting to remember to do that.