Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton
There have been plenty of times, when figuring out how to best optimize a new guitar, that I've been less than satisfied with the tonal response and playability of stock gauge string sets. It's usually fairly obvious whether it's the tension of the treble, middle or bass pairs of strings that need to be tweaked a little; sometimes five of the stock set's gauges are perfect and it's only one that's the problem child....
Sometimes just replacing one regular string in a standard set can make a huge difference in how a guitar plays and sounds, so it's worth experimenting with. When that happens, I write down what gauges are needed and store that in the guitar's case pocket. ...
But sometimes it can help to experiment with other less obvious gauges on a string or two. Just depends on the guitar the strings go on.
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I agree completely. But to do so takes a discerning ear. A lot of times people don't know what to listen to or for. That is a whole 'nother aspect of tuning. A lot of times it is a matter of awareness- Do all the strings have the same volume when struck at the same intensity? Do all the strings have the same relative tone? Do you want your guitar to have a balanced sound, or do you (like some misguided music producers) have a bias toward louder bass? Is brightness a function of the guitar not being able to balance the overtones or is what you hearing the "shimmer" of resultant harmonics being mistaken for brightness? Those are just a few things that I think many players haven't discovered or even been told to listen for.
While I see the virtue in messing with gauges of a particular brand of strings, perhaps it is more time/cost efficient just to explore different standard pre-packaged strings first, at least to get you in the ball park. As I am not beholden or against any brand of string I've happily tested many different sets and in a few cases startlingly surprised (both good and bad). I'm finding that once you get close to optimal sound for your guitars the ear develops greater sensitivity to the nuances and then you become more picky.
JMO