Fingerstyle / Larrivee / strings

[Don W]

I have been playing finger style for 3-4 years now and use a Larrivee L09. The high end is kind of weak (lacks volume) on this guitar...the bass is beautiful. This upper end weakness is real apparent when I tune to DADGAD which I'm doing more now, even when using a capo. I was thinking that I should increase the gauge of the B and E string (I'm using Elixir light gauge phosphor bronze nano web strings). If this doesn't do the trick, any ideas, tips? Would love to get a Martin OM28 or a Louden or a Goodall but the expense is out of the question. Eventually I want to use the Larrivee for C tunings and other lowered bass tunings as it is incredible and then have a second guitar for standard, dropped D, and DADGAD. Those of you out there that play in DADGAD a lot what do you use - guitar? strings?

[RodB]

Yes, I would go for thicker 1st and 2nd strings to up the tension in DADGAD and give fatter trebles. If you like Elixirs then HD lights would be a good starting place.

Also how you play has a large influence as a tone modifier, I get quite a change with nail length - the first indication I have that my nails need attention is a thinning of the treble and just a small amount of filing / buffing gets it back.

You might not need to change guitar!

[Pitar]

When you're fingerstyling, are you using natural (or artificial) nails? I find most steel string guitars, played acoustically, weaker in the upper register making it necessary to dig for that range. My preference is an aggressive up-tempo playing style that exposes my nails to much abuse from steel strings. I switched to a nylon string guitar with electronics, balance the ranges with EQ, and now my nails stay in pretty decent shape. I still use a thumb pick.

The Larrivee OMV-09E I had was probably the most balanced guitar I ever owned but I still had to coax out the treble response.

BTW, that Goodall you defer to? It lacks bass response so the reverse is encountered on it. You'll have to get a decent celluloid 1mm thumb pick coaxing out the bass notes on that guitar. That was my experience on an RCJC that was my go-to for nearly 8 years. I used a hybrid set of strings on it to get a heavy bass range under the trebles, tuned down 1 step to afford the tension and capo'd two for regular in-pitch play. That put a much better balance across the board and your experience on the L09 is why I'm mentioning it.

You might want to consider experimenting with mixing string gauges to balance the guitar. On the Larrivee OMV-09E I mixed a set of .013 trebles with a set of .012 bass strings. It helped. Once you have that worked out, you can buy individual strings rather than continue wasting money on mixing two sets.

All the time invested in the futzing around creating soundboxes for acoustic guitars by all the factory and private builders to build a guitar that responds in a balanced manner, without having to nuance (coax) it into balance, has yet to be anything I've experienced. Jean Larrivee's OMV-09E was the closest. Dreadnaughts are about as poorly designed to that end as one can imagine. The thinner body guitars give up the trebles but emit boxy sounding bass notes. Jumbos approach it but, hey, they're jumbo sized guitars and better at stand-up strumming that parlor finger picking. The so-called concert, orchestra, 00, 000 ranges seem to be the better guitars to physically play on but none have brought to the ear a comfortably balanced (easily played) response. The high-e string, in particular, is usually poorly voiced and dies on the vine (up the neck). That's why I always used a .013 for that string. The larger the mass set in motion, the longer dwelling and louder response. Except on Gibson acoustics. Nothing seems to invite, nor otherwise modify them away from their muffled grunts.

[Don W]

Originally Posted by RodB

Yes, I would go for thicker 1st and 2nd strings to up the tension in DADGAD and give fatter trebles. If you like Elixirs then HD lights would be a good starting place.

Also how you play has a large influence as a tone modifier, I get quite a change with nail length - the first indication I have that my nails need attention is a thinning of the treble and just a small amount of filing / buffing gets it back.

You might not need to change guitar!

Will try the string change for more tension...just got a nail change...didn't help...thanks for the tips.

[Don W]

Originally Posted by Pitar

When you're fingerstyling, are you using natural (or artificial) nails? I find most steel string guitars, played acoustically, weaker in the upper register making it necessary to dig for that range. My preference is an aggressive up-tempo playing style that exposes my nails to much abuse from steel strings. I switched to a nylon string guitar with electronics, balance the ranges with EQ, and now my nails stay in pretty decent shape. I still use a thumb pick.

The Larrivee OMV-09E I had was probably the most balanced guitar I ever owned but I still had to coax out the treble response.

BTW, that Goodall you defer to? It lacks bass response so the reverse is encountered on it. You'll have to get a decent celluloid 1mm thumb pick coaxing out the bass notes on that guitar. That was my experience on an RCJC that was my go-to for nearly 8 years. I used a hybrid set of strings on it to get a heavy bass range under the trebles, tuned down 1 step to afford the tension and capo'd two for regular in-pitch play. That put a much better balance across the board and your experience on the L09 is why I'm mentioning it.

You might want to consider experimenting with mixing string gauges to balance the guitar. On the Larrivee OMV-09E I mixed a set of .013 trebles with a set of .012 bass strings. It helped. Once you have that worked out, you can buy individual strings rather than continue wasting money on mixing two sets.

All the time invested in the futzing around creating soundboxes for acoustic guitars by all the factory and private builders to build a guitar that responds in a balanced manner, without having to nuance (coax) it into balance, has yet to be anything I've experienced. Jean Larrivee's OMV-09E was the closest. Dreadnaughts are about as poorly designed to that end as one can imagine. The thinner body guitars give up the trebles but emit boxy sounding bass notes. Jumbos approach it but, hey, they're jumbo sized guitars and better at stand-up strumming that parlor finger picking. The so-called concert, orchestra, 00, 000 ranges seem to be the better guitars to physically play on but none have brought to the ear a comfortably balanced (easily played) response. The high-e string, in particular, is usually poorly voiced and dies on the vine (up the neck). That's why I always used a .013 for that string. The larger the mass set in motion, the longer dwelling and louder response. Except on Gibson acoustics. Nothing seems to invite, nor otherwise modify them away from their muffled grunts.

Using liquid gel artificial nails...love them...get them redone every month or two and keep them smooth in between.

[TBman]

+1 on a higher string gauge for the 1st and 2nd strings.
My Larrivee OM-5 lives in DADGAD, but it rings out well even with 11s on it.

[Neil K Walk]

I've found that mediums work best on my OM-03R. I happen to think that the treble strings on it are pretty loud - at least when compared to my Martin D-16GT. I noticed a significant change when I swapped out the tusq saddle (which made IMO made my particular guitar sound "brittle" and I had to use a pair of pliers to pull it out) and installed a Colosi bone saddle (which seemed to "warm up" the tone) but admit that this observation was completely subjective to my ears and my particular guitar.

Personally, I would have a professional (or if you already have go to a different luthier) to have it set up. I was not initially satisfied with my DIY efforts and had a local tech set it up, which helped but only after I had a real luthier set it up did I feel that my guitar finally reached its potential.