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  #1  
Old 01-05-2018, 01:44 PM
revellfa revellfa is offline
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Default Harmony Hollywood strings?

I have an old Harmony Hollywood with d armond pickup that I will be playing both acoustic and electric.

Dumb question--what kind of strings do you use for this? Regular acoustic strings? Electric ones? Is there a hybrid string?
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Old 01-05-2018, 02:42 PM
Bluemonk Bluemonk is offline
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Which model Dearmond pickup? If it's the 1100 Rhythm Chief with adjustable polepieces, you should be able to adjust the polepieces so that acoustic strings are in balance when you plug in. Otherwise, you will want to use electric strings for plugged in performance if volume balance between the strings is important to you.

Last edited by Bluemonk; 01-05-2018 at 02:42 PM. Reason: Changed "to" to "so"
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Old 01-05-2018, 04:57 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluemonk View Post
Which model Dearmond pickup?
TMK they used the same "Gold Foil" built-in pickups used on the rest of the Harmony line in any given year (there were several variations); the Rhythm Chief was (and is again - Guild is marketing them as an accessory) designed for owners of high-quality acoustic archtops who needed to electrify them in the postwar years, but didn't want to sacrifice acoustic response. As for strings, I'd recommend MM13 Martin Monels - they're a modern rendition of the strings used on the first electric guitars in the mid-30's, and IME they'll also provide better acoustic response than you'll get from either nickel-plated steel or flatwounds. Another possible option would be D'Addario Half-Round HR360 (13-56); I get great results on my Godin CW II, but they're not always a good match for all instruments if you want acoustic and electric capability - good news is that they're cheap enough that you can buy a set, install it, and change out if you don't get the results you're after...
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