Loar 309 string change fyi

[moondoggie999]

So I bought a "The Loar" 309 back in late 2011 / early 2012 and it came with electric strings on it. I kept trying different electric strings on it, hoping to find something that would work with the pickup and still work halfway well acoustically.

I tried flatwounds (Great with the pick up - absolutely the worst acoustically), some GHS White Bronze (about the same as what came stock sonically) and a variety of other electrics (Retro's, Elixirs, D'Addarios etc) The Retro's were the most interesting of the bunch acoustically and I might've stayed with them but...

Then I put on a set of Elixir 80/20 Polyweb 12's and holy smokes the guitar came alive! Of course they don't work great with the p-90 but it still comes thru, and if I had to do some serious stuff electric-wise, I'd put the flats or the retros back on. I don't know why I waited so long to try some acoustic strings on it, I guess just got my mind stuck in a rut because electrics were "what it shipped with" you know?

It seriously is like a whole different guitar. Anyway, just wanted to share!

[Steve DeRosa]

Have you tried:

1] Heavier-gauge strings - they'll really bring out the acoustic tone, and you can compensate for the extra tension with a bridge/neck adjustment - personally, I wouldn't use anything lighter than a 13-56 set on a traditional archtop if I wanted any kind of acoustic response

2] Adjusting the polepieces - lower the ones on the B and high E and raise the others to compensate for the non-magnetic wrap on the 80/20's

3] Although they're not marketed as a set, Ernie Ball makes pure nickel wrapped strings up to .056 gauge; don't confuse them with the far more common nickel plated strings, these were the ones a lot of guys used in the early days when they needed both acoustic (rhythm) and electric (solo) tone with no compromises - a medium-gauge set assembled from singles (13-17-26W-36-46-56) should give you authentic '40s tone both plugged and unplugged

4] Monel strings - these were also popular back in the day, and Martin's making them again in medium gauge as the Tony Rice set; since you seemed to like the Retro lights, these might just be the ticket

[moondoggie999]

Thanks for the info Steve! I'll certainly try the pole piece adjustment. I used to have 13's on my old Gibson J160e and it really took a toll on my forearms but since then I have really adjusted my playing technique so maybe it's worth another shot.

[moondoggie999]

Steve, out of sheer morbid curiosity, I ordered a set of Tony Rice Retros today. thought it was a good suggestion and just had to try em at least once.

edit 9/3/2014: Well Steve, I think you nailed it, the 13's sound fantastic, they really drive the top harder , and the Monel Nickels work well and feel good. I'll have to try some pure nickels one of these days. The 80/20's were great when I first put them on but my enthusiasm waned after they broke in. Thanks for the advice.