CA Cargo strings.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by psr-740

Hi Tom,

That's so funny, I knew its Composite Acoustics. I don't know what I was thinking when I added the Cargo to my signature. ( Probably the speakers I had years ago...)

I felt so stupid now...

Thanks for the remark.

Haha, I’m sure you did...was probably that auto-correct pain in the butt!

[weisser]

Originally Posted by carbonfiberfan

I have a pre-Peavey Cargo and alternate between the Elixir nanoweb 80/20s and PBs, as I like the tone of each for different reasons. The 80/20 seems to add a little shimmer and extra brightness to the tone, whereas the PBs seem to have a little more warm rich complexity, but I find it a little difficult to explain the difference in words and am not fully satisfied with this description--you have to hear it to truly appreciate. I've gone a year or more with one, and then I switch to the other and decide that is my new favorite, only to find myself switching back after a while.... Both options are great, and it's common for ears to be fickle with longing for variation in the form of a new guitar or strings (strings are cheaper). Might as well buy both, and save in your case whichever set you don't prefer, because you may just switch to it after a while when your ears seek something fresh.

I do prefer Medium strings on the Cargo, as I like the boost in volume and I sometimes get a little carried away with driving it too hard since it's so small and comfortable in my lap. The lights felt a little too slinky for my fingers, but I can see it being a joy for others. There is a volume difference.

Due to the shorter scale length, the pounds of tension on the strings is less than it would be with a full-scale guitar, so medium strings on the Cargo are actually easier to play than on a full size guitar. It's definitely worth trying medium strings out to see if they suit your style, or I would recommend at least trying a set of Light-Mediums (.012 .016 .024 .035 .045 .056) if you're not sure about going to the full set of medium strings. I have found light-mediums to offer almost the same playability as lights, as the GBE strings are light gauge and where your fingers often feel the most strain, and the EAD strings are medium gauge which don't hamper playing despite the volume boost.

I've had a Cargo (raw, no electronics) since 3/08 and have enjoyed it very much. I ordered it after playing one of the prototypes that the CA rep. had brought around to the shop that I was working in at the time (Mandolin Bros.). I tried mediums (Elixer 80/20) and used them on and off for quite some time. About three year ago I noticed that the action had come up a bit and the neck had started to deflect somewhat. I immediately changed over to lights. The saddle was really too low for any adjustment....this was a problem with many of the early CA's. I did get in touch with the factory but they had been bought out by Peavy by this time. I was told that this was a common issue and that the new guitars (naturally!) had been improved and this was no longer a problem.

The guitar is quite playable and I'm still loving it. I did experiment with other brands of strings (lights only) but have been using the Elixer Nano 80/20's for the past several years.

[psr-740]

Thank you for your response.
One thing I don't understand about low saddles, Why not to make a new saddle for the guitar? Long ago, I lost the saddle of one of my guitars. Strange and long story.... But I ended up without a saddle. I took my guitar to my luthier, and he made a new saddle, perfect fit and better than new. It wasn't an expensive thing also.
My question is, why do people are worried if the saddle is low, if it is not a big deal to replace it?

[weisser]

Originally Posted by psr-740

Thank you for your response.
One thing I don't understand about low saddles, Why not to make a new saddle for the guitar? Long ago, I lost the saddle of one of my guitars. Strange and long story.... But I ended up without a saddle. I took my guitar to my luthier, and he made a new saddle, perfect fit and better than new. It wasn't an expensive thing also.
My question is, why do people are worried if the saddle is low, if it is not a big deal to replace it?

I wish it was that simple. Most steel string guitars are made with an adjustable truss rod that can control the "relief" of the neck with a couple of turns of the appropriate wrench. The CA guitars were supposed to have necks that were permanently stable and would never need any adjustment, so truss rods were not included. The only way I could lower the action would be to take a little material off the saddle. You need enough saddle showing above the bridge to have the proper break angle. Unfortunately, the saddle on my Cargo is too low for that fix.

[psr-740]

This I understand. But why not to ask a luthier to make a saddle?
It costs me something between $50-100 if I remember correctly. He took a raw rectangular bone and shaved it in the right shape to make exactly the perfect saddle. He did some calculations for the height and the angle. Took him maybe 30 minutes.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by psr-740

This I understand. But why not to ask a luthier to make a saddle?
It costs me something between $50-100 if I remember correctly. He took a raw rectangular bone and shaved it in the right shape to make exactly the perfect saddle. He did some calculations for the height and the angle. Took him maybe 30 minutes.

weisser said his saddle is already too low, can’t be made lower.

weisser, as long as the guitar is playable and you enjoy it, just carry on, I guess. If it gets worse, you might have to have something done to shave the bridge, if that’s even possible on this guitar.

I also have a March ‘08 Cargo with charcoal road tough finish since new that I still really like. Thankfully, mine’s not showing any issues such as you’re experiencing.

[Earl49]

The only other thing I can think of it to down-tune, maybe D-d instead of E-e. That would reduce total string tension from ~165 pounds for a light gauge set, down to about 140 pounds total, give or take. You can look this up using the D'Addario tension guide PDF: http://www.daddario.com/dastringtens...0-53f6d4383e1a

The good thing about CF is that the neck / body geometry generally does not change. But if it does, or was not quite right to begin with, there is very little that can reasonably be done to fix it. Shaving the bridge and routing a lower saddle slot would be the only decent options. Otherwise you are into sawing off the neck and reattaching it at the proper angle -- risky and scary major surgery.

[psr-740]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

weisser said his saddle is already too low, can’t be made lower.

weisser, as long as the guitar is playable and you enjoy it, just carry on, I guess. If it gets worse, you might have to have something done to shave the bridge, if that’s even possible on this guitar.

I also have a March ‘08 Cargo with charcoal road tough finish since new that I still really like. Thankfully, mine’s not showing any issues such as you’re experiencing.

Yes, of course.

[weisser]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

weisser said his saddle is already too low, can’t be made lower.

weisser, as long as the guitar is playable and you enjoy it, just carry on, I guess. If it gets worse, you might have to have something done to shave the bridge, if that’s even possible on this guitar.

I also have a March ‘08 Cargo with charcoal road tough finish since new that I still really like. Thankfully, mine’s not showing any issues such as you’re experiencing.

Thankfully, nothing has changed in the past couple of years. I keep it available in a stand and it's my go to guitar in the cold dry winter when I really don't feel like fetching a case.....taking the Oasis humidifier out...

Still very satisfying.

Thanks Acousticado!

[BT55]

Question
Are medium-light the standard strings for all CF guitars? I have a new Rainsong on order. No string specs are listed so I called Rainsong and they told me that Elixir 80/20 12-53 strings are their OEM offerings. Has anyone tried Elixir light 10-47 strings?

[Earl49]

I have not tried "extra light" (10-47) strings. My only electric guitar has 12-53 on it, to better match the tension on my acoustics. My Rainsong has been wearing mediums (13-56) for the past year or so. I use altered tunings -- usually lower -- a lot, so I need slightly beefier strings. Rainsong isn't any louder with mediums, BTW. I just need the extra tension for playing feel. Some of my slack-key tunings lower the sixth string to C.

Our Cargo has regular light gauge on it, and tuned to Open G (DGDGBD). Cargo is my wife's guitar, and that is her favorite tuning. Generally it takes a step up in string gauge to keep the same tension on a shorter scale length. It is an easy experiment, however.