The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger
    Rick,

    Fingertip pain (which started at age 61) has caused me to revisit light strings (which I used way back in my rock and blues days)

    While I still keep most of my guitars strung up with TI 12 flats, I have gone to DR Pure Blues 10's on a few guitars. They are a 10-46 set with a plain third and are pure nickel with a round core. I have to change my attack on the guitars that I have strung up with the 10's, but am able to get a great jazz sound. I would buy a wound third, but the lightest they make is a 24 and I feel that would be unbalanced, so the plain third remains. I can see a day where all my guitars will have the DR's and if I live long enough, I may go down to 9's.

    Getting old ain't for sissies (or guys who like heavy strings).

    HTH
    All things being equal (strings that is) do you notice your ES-175 with its shorter scale length, to be more comfortable than your longer scale guitars in terms of the pressure require to press the string down?

    I notice a big difference between my Gibson semi and archtops (short and long scale respectively) but the strings on the semi are much lighter so that's not apples to apples. The feel on the semi is downright rubbery and like someone above said, I too have to be careful not to bend them out of tune by playing heavy handed. I may move a couple of my archtops to a shorter scale, so I'm curious.

    I have already moved down from 12s to 11s on my archtops and may move to 10s, although I am dreading it.

    Thanks!

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    await ss's reply..but will comment...the longer scale gives you more room for error...the note will not be pulled out of tune with light strings due to fingering as noticeably...

    basically its a re-learning experience...you have to work towards a lighter touch...let the electricity do the work..thats why it's an electric guitar!!! takes time and rethinking..but worth it..given the alternatives

    after that a short scale jaguar or byrdland can have all the nuance of a long scale guitar...it's up to you ultimately..not the guitar!!

    play on friend

    cheers
    Last edited by neatomic; 11-13-2019 at 10:24 PM. Reason: typo

  4. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    await ss's reply..but will comment...the longer scale gives you more room for error...the note will not be pulled out of tune with light strings due to fingering as noticeably...

    basically its a re-learning experience...you have to work towards a lighter touch...let the electricity do the work..thats why it's an electric guitar!!! takes time and rethinking..but worth it..given the alternatives

    after that a short scale jaguar or byrdland can have all the nuance of a long scale guitar...it's up to you ultimately..not the guitar!!

    play on friend

    cheers
    The tailpiece and bridge are relevant to feel. The more string available to stretch, the softer the feel. That includes the non-vibrating portion of the string, as long as it can slide over the bridge and, to some extent, the nut. The breakover angle may matter too, if it's so sharp that it inhibits sliding.

  5. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
    Very interesting, Do you tune down to Eb?

    I recall hearing that Jimi and SRV did that, I assume to help with aggressive string bending.
    Not sure about Jimi but SRV used super heavy strings and tuned down. To go to lighter strings and also tune down seems wrong to me...then you're just compounding the reduced tension.

  6. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by coolvinny
    Not sure about Jimi but SRV used super heavy strings and tuned down. To go to lighter strings and also tune down seems wrong to me...then you're just compounding the reduced tension.

    Ah, yep. As opposed to compounding the PIP and DIP joint inflammation.

  7. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
    All things being equal (strings that is) do you notice your ES-175 with its shorter scale length, to be more comfortable than your longer scale guitars in terms of the pressure require to press the string down?

    I notice a big difference between my Gibson semi and archtops (short and long scale respectively) but the strings on the semi are much lighter so that's not apples to apples. The feel on the semi is downright rubbery and like someone above said, I too have to be careful not to bend them out of tune by playing heavy handed. I may move a couple of my archtops to a shorter scale, so I'm curious.

    I have already moved down from 12s to 11s on my archtops and may move to 10s, although I am dreading it.

    Thanks!
    Yes. My 175's strung with 10's are incredibly easy to play, more so than my L-5's. But the ease of play requires a very light touch.

    I prefer the feel of 12's and 13's and the thicker tone. But I love to play. Not experiencing pain outweighs great tone.

  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by coolvinny
    Not sure about Jimi but SRV used super heavy strings and tuned down. To go to lighter strings and also tune down seems wrong to me...then you're just compounding the reduced tension.
    SRV used 13's and tuned down a half step. Jimi used a 10-38 set and tuned down a Half step.

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    The tailpiece and bridge are relevant to feel. The more string available to stretch, the softer the feel. That includes the non-vibrating portion of the string, as long as it can slide over the bridge and, to some extent, the nut. The breakover angle may matter too, if it's so sharp that it inhibits sliding.
    This is interesting. I noticed my Telecaster feels quite stiff to play compared to my Epiphone Emperor. The Epi has a frequensator tailpiece ,so there's a lot more string length there. Both are 25.5'' scale, but tension-wise there is a difference.

  10. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger
    Yes. My 175's strung with 10's are incredibly easy to play, more so than my L-5's. But the ease of play requires a very light touch.

    I prefer the feel of 12's and 13's and the thicker tone. But I love to play. Not experiencing pain outweighs great tone.

    Thanks for your reply. I agree completely with all of your points as well.

  11. #35
    Quote Originally Posted by entresz
    This is interesting. I noticed my Telecaster feels quite stiff to play compared to my Epiphone Emperor. The Epi has a frequensator tailpiece ,so there's a lot more string length there. Both are 25.5'' scale, but tension-wise there is a difference.
    Glad it was interesting.

    The rest of the story is about bending. To bend to a specific pitch, you have to push the string a greater distance if you have a trapeze. That's because some of the stretching takes place behind the bridge and nut. That may be an advantage for everybody but Albert King (who bent several half steps routinely.) If you deflect the string a little by accident, you don't sound as out of tune.

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
    Very interesting, Do you tune down to Eb?

    I recall hearing that Jimi and SRV did that, I assume to help with aggressive string bending.
    Mostly D and C#.

  13. #37

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    Standard tuning is just a suggestion. A lot of singer/guitarists use capos to get their cowboy chords to work with their voices. I use .13 top E and .48 bottom E tuned down a half or full step depending on the guitar. I kinda feel that the guitar is partly responsible for determining the tuning.

  14. #38

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    D'Addario does a set of Chromes which are flats and are 10-48 gauge. They're generally brighter than most flats in my opinion but they're not a tense feeling string on a Gibson scale length. For Jazz playing I have a preference for Rotosound Monel Flats which only come in 12 gauge and are very easy to play although I prefer lighter strings (9-40 or 10-38) on most guitars.

    If the whole sonic spectrum is limited for you and you really need to have lighter strings then you could try an electronic solution by changing pots or caps on your guitar. For example change out a 0.022µF cap with a 0.033µF, 0.047µF or even 0.1µF (which would be very dark). Or, if the pots are 500k's switch to 300k, 250k or even 100k (the latter being very dark).

    Up to 1967 Telecasters shipped with a wiring scheme that included a preset dark neck pickup tone that used a 0.05µF cap. It wasn't particularly liked by anyone except for Leo himself but Jazz players are said to have used it:
    Factory Telecaster Wirings, Pt. 1

  15. #39

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    Great info. What are some more favorite 9s and 10s for jazz? I have trouble with 9s staying in tune.

  16. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by wildschwein
    D'Addario does a set of Chromes which are flats and are 10-48 gauge. They're generally brighter than most flats in my opinion but they're not a tense feeling string on a Gibson scale length.1
    I've been using these on all of my guitars for the last few years. I prefer the softer sound of TI's but I used a custom set and they eventually became too hard to get after I left the US. I think the D'Addarios intonate better than the TI's especially for the bottom strings when I'm tuned down and I seem to be able to get where I want tonally with them.

  17. #41

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    I may be a fool, but I use Earvana nuts on my Fender style partscasters and Hosco nut shims on my Gibsons and my Guild. I like the intonation results that they provide.

  18. #42

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    Having switched to fingerstyle 95% of the time, I find lighter strings work better for my right hand. 10s on some guitars but 11s with wound G on most. I've never tried 10s on my archtop...

  19. #43

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    Someone set up my Tele and with .11s it’s now absurdly slinky. I can’t imagine finding that set up ever being hard to play, but there’s time eh?

    I actually find guitars with rock gauge strings really hard to play. I have a bashy right hand I guess....

    I think set up plays a large role....

  20. #44

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    I played a Hondo strat copy with D'Addario .010s for a number of years, and it sounded fine. I even played on an album that got a good review in Downbeat.
    It's all a matter of touch. If you've got a light touch, you might sound better with a lighter gauge of strings.

  21. #45

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    10s on all my guitars for 35 years. When I got my tele, it had 9s on it, kept them on for a long time, even with big band. I use my thumb a lot.

  22. #46

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    For me it was about consistency going between electrics, archtops, acoustic and classical guitars. So I have 10s or 11s on strats and teles, 11s on Gibson scales, 12s flats on archtops, 12s on acoustics, extra hard tension on classical and flamencos. But I had 10s rounds on my Elferink and I have tried 11s on a Taylor 810 dreadnaught. Hated it at first but as you become used to it, you adjust your touch and it works fine. I would definitely use anything without thinking about it if there was a medical or comfort reason. Same thing with guitars, if your hands can only handle a small solid body with 007s, just go for it! It can still play all the music in the world..

  23. #47

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    I use 11-48 pure nickel, round wound strings on my laminate archtop and I really like the sound and feel. I use mostly hybrid picking and sometimes just fingers.

    Will these strings work on a carved top with a floater? Must I use heavier strings to get the top moving?

    -Charley

  24. #48

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    i use TI 13 flats on a 24.75 scale jazz box ....
    the B is 17
    but ive just swapped the B string for a 15 for easier bending
    i can bend ok on the other strings
    the B was hard to bend a tone
    (we’ll see how that goes)

    if it goes ok I might go to a 16

  25. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by charleyrich99
    I use 11-48 pure nickel, round wound strings on my laminate archtop and I really like the sound and feel. I use mostly hybrid picking and sometimes just fingers.

    Will these strings work on a carved top with a floater? Must I use heavier strings to get the top moving?

    -Charley
    The top doesn't have to move to amplify an archtop. It might make a difference in the sound, though, and heavier strings will certainly make a difference. I like to use lighter sets and replace the E with a .013. It just sounds better to me, and balances the output of the B and E better. That's a matter of personal taste, though. Use whatever strings you like. It doesn't cost so much to try different strings, to see if you like them better. All that really matters is that you like what you're using. I just can't resist trying different strings and string combinations.

  26. #50

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