Quote:
Originally Posted by fazool
Also, if you are using a magnetic soundhole pickup, lighter strings have less iron mass and will create less output as they move through the magnetic flux. Meaning lighter strings = less magnetic force = less pickup output.
So, heavier strings are better with soundhole pickups.
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What you say makes sense theoretically, but I couldn’t hear a difference between 12s and 13s when I experimented.
One my Epiphone DR500MCE, I heard a noticeable drop in volume with Elixer strings from the Shadow magnetic pickup, but with my Skysonic FS-1 (magnetic soundhole pickup/microphone combination) the Elixer 12s sound just fine. This is likely because I turn the mic all the way up and just dial in a little of the magnetic pickup.
Be aware that there is a huge difference between wound and unwound 3rd strings over a magnetic soundhole pickup. The wound string has a skinny little steel core and the unwound string is all steel core. That might just mean using different pole heights. I know Laurence Juber uses an unwound 3rd string because he likes the way it bends. I personally like the sound of a wound G string better.
I highly recommend experimenting with strings if you get a soundhole pickup. The magnetic/mic acoustic guitar pickups are my favorite systems for fingerstyle. No, they aren’t necessarily the most authentic acoustic sound, but it is very pleasing and it brings out the inner voicings sort of like a jazzbox while still sounding very acoustic.