Ques. for Those Who Swap Std. Gauge 1&2 Strings for Heavier Gauges

[advid]

...Don't forget that the scale length of your guitar can also make a difference to the feel of a string....
An '11' strung on a 23.5" 'Byrdland' a 24.6" ES 175, and a 25.5" L5 can feel a lot different...

[Dennis D]

...Don't forget that the scale length of your guitar can also make a difference to the feel of a string....
An '11' strung on a 23.5" 'Byrdland' a 24.6" ES 175, and a 25.5" L5 can feel a lot different...

I agree........And referring to my '50's L-7, I learned ( 'long' ) scale length as well as those skinny frets seem to dictate heavier strings, for me at least........I currently use 13-56's, but have been thinking of trying a set of 12's and adding heavier 1 & 2 strings....and sure wish that 6th string on a 13 ga. set were .052 or .054 !

Thanks !

[yebdox]

Warmer, slightly louder, less prone to intonation slip ups during fingering. I use 10's or 11's on strats, LPs or 335s and a 12 gauge TI or D'Addario flats, replacing the top two with 13 and 17. 12s feel flimsy now. A good setup should eliminate any challenge with extra pressure, and I have them on 24.75 and 25.5 scale archtops. So many small details to get a good setup, some of which is still a mystery to me, but this change is one I agree with.

[JCat]

Use whatever strings you like, then listen to "God Bless the Child" (1962) with Jim Hall and Sonny Rollins. Know that Jim favored light strings 11-50 flatwounds with a plain G and a medium pick. Nowhere near plinky.

[JazzNote]

Use whatever strings you like, then listen to "God Bless the Child" (1962) with Jim Hall and Sonny Rollins. Know that Jim favored light strings 11-50 flatwounds with a plain G and a medium pick. Nowhere near plinky.

JCat, are you sure that Jim Hall used 11's as far back as 1962 already - or might he have aqcuired the "taste" for them later?

Just wondering because as you write, by the sound of his old recordings i'd never guessed him to be using an 11.

[christianm77]

Didn’t Bickert use .10s at that?

Jim had a bit of ‘rolled off’ sound - one way of getting rid of the plinkiness.

[JCat]

JCat, are you sure that Jim Hall used 11's as far back as 1962 already - or might he have aqcuired the "taste" for them later?

Just wondering because as you write, by the sound of his old recordings i'd never guessed him to be using an 11.

No I don’t know what gear he used on that track, but listen to it anyway, It’s beautiful. Yes, a rollled off velvet tone that works really well in that context I think. Some cred to the old ”blanket”.

[s11141827]

I kept the top 2 strings the way they were when I used the JS110 Extra Light Flatwounds w/ Brass Plated Trebles because I replaced the original Humbucker Pickups on my Eastman Archtop Acoustic-Electric w/ these Railhammer Pickups The Bass Strings have Rails & the Treble Strings use these Larger Sized Pole pieces to compensate for the reduced Volume.

[pingu]

I think a lot of what different players like for gauges
Has to do with how hard they play

For example
Ed Bickert sounds incredible on light strings
but he picks very light

Pat Martini , the opposite thing