String Gauge Aha!

[Shadowfox]

So when I was in College and had only been playing for a year or two, my roomie also had a Martin Dread that I thought sounded killer with 11 gauge. So I put 11's on my DX1.

However, right around that time my Worship Pastor got a nice Martin D28V, and would swear by the 13's.

So for a while I went to 13's and loved it. Eventually I went back to what I started on with the 12's.

But this last string change I thought I'd go back and try 11's. Never again. They sounded decent (EB AB), but not enough drive to cut through the mix at church. So back to the 12's last night, and was a night and day difference! 12's for my Martin DX1!!!!

[tippy5]

Good detailed report. Cutting through the mix is a good thing. I have had luck periodically with 11's and hybrid 11-54 sets but it definitely is a good cheap experiment to find the voice you need in the choir or on stage.

Sometimes a good preamp can help with a mix. If you have a sound man you can ask him or her for their preferences.

Periodically I have had even short scale sound good with 11's. Conversely most, to me, need 12's or 13's. Funny how the different tensions and string construction can make the grade or not. Remember to give them an overnight settling during the new string experimentation phase.

[vindibona1]

Strings- It all matters. Gauge, construction, material. All of it.

I've recently been reminded about string gauge myself. I've been happily using DR Sunbeam 12's on my Martin D-35. They've been sounding awesome. So, I had a set of 13's in the draw. What the heck. If 12's are good, certainly 13's must be better, right? Wrong. Going up to 13's should have given it more mojo, but in this case it did not. That's sonic vibe that I was getting just wasn't happening with the 13's. Just more out of balance than with the 12's.

So I'll be changing back to the 12's on Wednesday, 2 days before the next gig.