The Rev

I have a Yamaha acoustic, which I like, but the strings are really stiff. How light a gauge can you go with and still get a good sound out an acoustic? I'm kinda used to an electric, and would prefer to be able to play my acoustic more like one.

Thanks,



The Rev

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Captain Cannabis

you can get pretty light strings but you may have to do a setup if you are changing the gauge by a large amount. i would go for 9s (0.009 is the highest E) if your fingers hurt. more expensive strings are mega-awesomely better, but absolutely overpriced. by this i mean maybe they are 3 times as good, but also 7x the price. what i do is buy the affordable strings and change them often, so they always feel new. old strings dont keep their tune very well and make guitar playing sad.

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HTAM

I string .11's on my electric, but I don't play with anything more than .10's on my Taylor. It's a lot of strain to put on the neck playing heavier than that.

I posted recently about the 'O Port'. I bought one for my guitar which sounded great to begin with, but the O Port helped to round out the sound.

Take your guitar into a music store that sells them and tell them to install it in your guitar. Play it. That will make up for some of the 'thin' sound you're talking about if you play with a light gauge.

There's also a link in that thread that V3d4 posted that shows you how to make something similar to the O Port so you can try it at home.

krangs_androidbody

Any idea what gauge you're using now? I'd just bring it into a guitar shop and ask them to put light gauge and set it up. See how it is after that.

You might need to experiment with different strings to see what's best for the guitar. I usually use Martin but I'm using Curt Mangan now.

krangs_androidbody

You can even try putting electric strings on the acoustic. I've done it before, not bad. Don't think the converse would work too well though.

farmergiles

Like HTAM says if you put electric strings on an acoustic it's going to put a lot of tension on the neck, many acoustics have no truss rod so are difficult to adjust.
However because the body of an acoustic resonates this gives a richer tone anyway.
Maybe try nylon strings?
It's all about trying stuff and seeing what works for you.

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HTAM

Bookmark this link. You may not need it now, but you might want it for reference later.

It's based on the metric system but you can convert if you need to.

MPUSTC String Tension Calculator

Specifically, one reason you would use this would be to help you assemble a custom set of string gauges for an unorthodox tuning that would sound better with a more balanced set of string gauges.

Post questions you have, I will answer if I can, or direct you somewhere else.

Mafoo

i think rev would like nylon strings. less sustain but more flexible and a bit easier on the fingers.

just go down to a guitar shop and mess around with some of their classical guitars, often times those are nylon stringed

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

Captain Cannabis

i wouldn't put nylon strings on an acoustic guitar, but maybe that's just me.

if you want an even easier way to lower the tension, tune down every string by the same amount (for example a full step), and put the capo on the 2nd fret. now you have shorter frets, lower tension, and standard tuning

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farmergiles

^ and the intonation has prolly gone to hell.

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Captain Cannabis

its just a crutch to develop nasty tough guitar fingers. once you achieve this you can go back to normal

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Mafoo

i dont know much about using different strings on X guitar body, i do know that the easiest action ive ever felt, aside from a les paul custom, was on a goya classical guitar with nylon strings.

and i think nasty guitar fingers are cool

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

The Rev

I have a steel string Yamaha acoustic, so I kinda have to go with steel. I also have an electric, tho, and I find that I don't have to press nearly as hard to play and the strings are WAY easier to bend on the electric. I'm just trying to make my acoustic more comfortable to play. Are some strings just more pliable or something? I'm pretty much used to the electric; haven't played acoustic much.

Thanks,



The Rev

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farmergiles

One brand is not that much different from another if that's what you ask. Nylons are prolly the most pliable if that's what you ask. But if you bend nylons it doesn't make much difference to the pitch.

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Captain Cannabis

switching from electric to acoustic requires a bit of patience. just play as much as you can. in a week or two you won't care about it because your fingers will be tougher.

after that, going back to electric is always nice

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krangs_androidbody

This is the main reason many instructors (and guitarists themselves) recommend learning on acoustic before switching. there's nothing that's going to make your acoustic play as easy as your electric. Sorry. Are the strings old? Just get a new set of med/light gauge strings on and play that sucker.

Good advice in this thread, but definitely experiment. It's not always fun but it's the only way you'll find what works best for you.

The Rev

Are the strings old? They're like 15-20 years old, actually! I think they're the strings that came with the guitar when I bought it. Thanks for all the advice. I will get some light guage new strings and see how it works.

My electric totally spoiled me. I have a Carvin DC135 with ebony fretboard, large frets, and a Floyd Rose Tremolo. You could have advanced arthritis and still shred on it, it plays so easy.



The Rev

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Captain Cannabis

just imagine how easy it will be to play with your fingers are actually strong

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krangs_androidbody

haha, damn dude! no wonder they aren't treating you right. new strings will make an enormous difference.

if you play a lot you should change your strings at least a couple times a year.

my electric gets new strings usually every month and a half or so. my acoustic much less. my bass much much less.

The Rev

When I was in college, my buddy Lee and I had a band called Bad Fish. We wrote all kinds of hardcore songs, mostly punk. Well, one of our great accomplishments was achieved by Lee (bassist) who actually played so hard he broke a bass string. It was a proud day for us both. He used to keep the broken string up on his wall, with a note describing the date of breakage, and the song we were playing. Sometime, if I'm drunk or high enough, I will have to upload a tune or two for your listening, um, "pleasure".

As for my acoustic, I picked up a couple sets of Ernie Balls today, .010 through .050. I'm sure they'll make a big difference. Thanks for all the help, everyone.



The Rev

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