View Poll Results: What gauge strings on your archtop?
- Voters
- 812. You may not vote on this poll
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10
37 4.56% -
11
165 20.32% -
12
385 47.41% -
13
205 25.25% -
other
58 7.14%
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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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12-03-2013 04:01 PM
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I use Newtone 11 gauge strings, mainly due to arthritis making 12s, 13s unplayable, plus large hands and fingers don't help. find Newtones seem to have less pull/tension.
My Slaman is strung with Newtone Gypsy Jazz Nickel 11s, 1948 Rex /Harmony/Gretsch acoustic archtop Newtone bronze 11s. My DRL CT-09 (Google drl guitars) which is basically a thinline flat-top with built-in pickup and preamp, is strung with Newtone Heritage 11s, (a special light tension set) and used to play 30s/40s standards in a trio. I pick lightly, the action at 1th fret on the DRL is 2mm on treble and bass sides, but still get clarity and definition plus its kind to the old fingers.
Have to admit I don't think of myself as a 'real' jazz guitarist.Last edited by bananafist; 12-06-2013 at 02:06 PM.
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I use 0.14 TI's on an archtop with 25" scale.
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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian
It's possible to get your strings "bendable" with the right setup, even with heavy strings. Whole-step bends not so much, but the half-steppers are very possible.
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Originally Posted by ecj
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I use a 012 set but change the first two strings to 014 and 018 (by them by bulk). I can do half-step bends, not more.
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I had used 12s for years, sometimes roundwound and sometimes flatwound. Usually D'Addario strings as they are inexpensive, readily available and very consistent.
Recently I tried Pyramid Gold 11 flatwounds on my carved 17" archtop with a floater and was amazed at how much the tone opened up- warmer and more resonant. Maybe the 12s put too much tension on that top, or maybe it's a difference in alloys or even the round core Pyramid uses with those instead of the hex core that D'Addario uses (although the plain strings sound better, too). I tried the same strings on my GB10 and liked that change too, although it wasn't as pronounced as with the carvetop; the pickups on that guitar are so hot that I usually run the volume knob around 4-5 and the lighter strings seem to help with that.
The Pyramids seem a bit darker than the D'Addarios with the result that I roll off the tone knob less, which may help with the sense of resonance.
Last week I replaced the D'Addario Chromes 12s on my Tele with Chromes 11s and thus far do not like that change. The Tele seems to need the heft of the bigger strings, but it could be that "new string twang" that's bugging me. I don't know how Ed Bickert got that fat tone with the light strings he used. I would just get "plink, plink, plink."
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Originally Posted by 3rdOrbit
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I use .11's on my 175 and all my other guitars.But I mainly play rock and roll and blues and I do need to do a lot of string bending.But the .11's serve me pretty well on what little jazz we experiment with and don't seem to compromise my tone.Now I do use round wounds and get that extra little bite in my solos.
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Classical players have known for quite some time that strings that are too high tension for a given guitar constrict the resonance of the top and therefore the sound considerably. Lighter tension sometimes 'opens up' the resonance of the top and makes the guitar more lively and sound far better. I have found that with my own classical.
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Although I usually put 0.012's on my archtops I recently tried 0.013's on my Eastman AR605 . I took them off after a few days. I found that they indeed made the guitar sound dead and restricted. For me 0.012 is the way to go.
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A timely thread. In regards to string brands and gauge.
I've got a 25'' scale archtop and would like to loosen (reduce the tention) the feel of the strings. Primarily at the right hand. I understand TI's have the absolute lowest string tention because of the way they're made. Minimum metal core and a greater outside wrap. Can anyone verify this? Or just a general thought on loosening up the feel of a 25'' scale?
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Installing a shorter tail piece will do it.
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Originally Posted by teleboli
Jens
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Carvin SH550: T-I Jazz Swing 10s
ES-335: T-I Swing 11s
Ibanez AFJ91: T-I Swing 12s
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Thomastik Infeld Swing Flatwound 12s
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Originally Posted by teleboli
I use 0.14 TIs and can easily do half step bends on all strings. 0.13 Chromes made that much more difficult.
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I know they're not generally considered a jazz band, but Led Zeppelin used 8s, and their sound wasn't noticeably thin. Once you're amped, I suggest the electronics count for more than the gauge, particularly the EQ. In addition the choice of string material surely has a larger effect than gauge on final sound because it changes what the pickups pick up.
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Originally Posted by GaryCorby
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I remeber reading a Guitar Player article by Andy Ellis on Kenny Burrel and he (-AE) talked about "quarter-note bends." That was a new concept to me. It is an important one---Kenny B and Grant G could get a lot of feel out a slight bend.
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Rotosound Flatwounds 12s on solid body (before them DR Blues for a long time)
Lately, I'm switching on archtop between D'Addario's 13s: Half Rounds and Pure Nickiel (nickiels bring a little more tension which makes action a little higher - it really makes chords sound bigger).
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Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
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Originally Posted by coolvinny
I'll see if I can dig out my copy of the article over the weekend.
Used Ibanez AF 207 7-string archtop
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