Always a wound 3rd? (does anybody do bends?)

[omphalopsychos]

Or maybe use a wound g but shorten the scale length to maybe 19 inches.

Yeah this is my trick too. Sometimes when I run out of plain G’s and have to use a wound G, I just shorten the scale length to 19” and voila! Plays just as good.

[chris32895]

I really try to like plain G's just because they are so common. They just sound terribly loud and don't intonate as well so I never keep them. Conversely, wound G's I find a touch quieter than I'd like but with some setup it's manageable.

[s11141827]

I really try to like plain G's just because they are so common. They just sound terribly loud and don't intonate as well so I never keep them. Conversely, wound G's I find a touch quieter than I'd like but with some setup it's manageable.

A Wound G would be easier to bend if you shorten the scale length to 19 inches

[s11141827]

So why not have all the 25.5 inch scale Full Sized Guitars cut down into 19 inch scale Quarter Sized Guitars?

[sgosnell]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ is the main reason. Are you serious?

[AllanAllen]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ is the main reason. Are you serious?

a capo is only like ten bucks. You could slap it on the 5th fret and retune. lol.

[Jonathan0996]

I haven’t used a wound 3rd string in years.

Do whatever works for you. You don’t need anyone’s permission. If it doesn’t work out, change it back. It’s just a string, and finding your setup and sound is a trial and error thing that only you can do.

[RJVB]

A wound G is harder to bend? That doesn't seem to make sense to me; the whole idea of winding a string is to be able to reduce the gauge of the core wire while maintaining the unit weight by adding a layer that's much less stiff. As far as I can tell you'd maybe have to pull/push the string over a greater distance to achieve the same increase in tone, but that should be easier on the fingers?

Anyway, I've just realised (again) how much easier wound steel G strings are to "bend" (vertically) than non-wound nylon G strings, practising a couple of the classical pieces I'm working on on my archtop. That required both a firmer LH grip to get a clean sound but also a more delicate one to avoid audibly sharp notes on the mid-high strings.

[reventlov]

I've recently tried flatwound strings with wound third on an Epiphone Casino. My main guitar for years has been - and still is, really - a Gretsch; I wanted, for certain things, a more traditional, woody sound than the Gretsch has, so I strung up the Casino and I can get the sound I wanted from it. My Gretsch is strung more lightly, and has a plain third but that's not really for string-bending purposes. It's strung that way because I do most of my playing with no pick, just fingers and sometimes a thumb pick.

I too, like the original poster on this thread, play lots of western swing as well as more standard jazz, and I find the plain third gives me the tone I want for that. String bending, though, plays very little part in my jazz playing, and not much more in my western swing but having said that, I really find the wound third on the Casino not good for bending, so I guess I'm now in 'one guitar for jazz and one for western swing' territory. So be it.

In my younger days, I did lots of gigging and sessions of various kinds, and because sometimes a gig required either more rock or more blatant 'country' sounds, I acquired a telecaster to facilitate the string bending that those styles have. I still own it today, although I literally haven't played it in 10+ years - I'm about to donate it to a young relative.

The best answer though, to the original question, surely is to experiment a bit with strings until you find the sound and feel that suits you, because there is no 'one size fits all' answer, and the opinions of others shouldn't be your main influence in making the choice.

[Brian859]

I used to do bends with a wound g on the acoustic all the time intil I noticed it seemed to really be wearing down the frets in those locations. I had to stop. Don't regret, save your frets. Ok, that was corny.

[Stringswinger]

My archtops all have wood bridge saddles that are intonated for a wound G. I use TI Flats on most and roundwound 80/20's on a few. 11's and 12's are the sizes though as I get older, I may eventually go down to 11's on all of them. In fact, if I really need too someday, the electric archtops may get metal bridges and 10's with a plain third. I am already using 10's with a plain third on my solid body guitars.

I even foresee the day coming where I may go down to 8's or 9's on my electric guitars, all with a plain third. Aging fingers need to be compensated for as much as an unwound third string. I have never done bends on the third string and I have never had a problem getting a good jazz sound with a plain third.

What I have found is that my right hand attack needs to change when playing with light strings. It has become an easy transition for me to make.

I have also found that pickup screws need to be changed when going from a plain third to a wound third. Fender pickups that are non-adjustable may be optimized for a wound third (57/62 pickups) or a plain third (American Standard pickups). Using non-optimal third strings with Fender pickups results in unbalanced volume when going from one string to another, and that impacts my playing. YMMV.

[jumpnblues]

Like others here I used to bend strings quite a bit. But since I started studying jazz I now seldom bend my strings. Same with finger vibrato. However, I know of jazz players who frequently bend strings. Preferences. No right or wrong.

[ruger9]

I'm the OP. This thread started 12 years ago LOL

[John A.]

I bend both plain (10-46 gauge set) and wound G’s (13-52 gauge set). The wound G is harder to bend, but it’s also a much thicker string. FWIW, I can do whole step bends, but not as seamlessly.

It has been a very long time since I played a plain G of comparable thickness and don’t remember for sure how hard it was to bend, but I’m sure it was harder to bend than than the G in a 10-46 set. I guess I’d say that gauge is more important than plain/wound when it comes to setting a guitar up for bending.

[bluejaybill]

OK, to me, nothing says "rock" versus jazz as much as a whole step bend on the third string. I've been doing that all of my life for those styles, but for jazz I really prefer a wound third. It just sounds and feels more like I what I want when I'm playing jazz.

Sure there are plenty of players that use a plain G and even do whole step bends. I'm fine with that, and I have several guitars I can pull out for that. But I prefer the feel and sound of wound for jazz styles.

For those starting off in jazz, I would even recommend trying a wound third for a while, you will find that you are starting to bend less and slide more for legato tones. And if you watch the greats, that is what they do. Of course, everyone is free to do as they please. So long as I am playing jazz and have dedicate guitars for other styles, it's wound thirds for me. I'm even thinking about throwing one on my vintage telecaster- that's what they were designed for!

[Hammertone]

I blame Aaron Thibeaux Walker for this entire mess.