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Heavy gauge strings
I have a 2015 Gibson J185 Deluxe quilted maple guitar I bought. I always loved that J185 body size. I think they made these quilted J185 like 60 per year, for a number of years. This is not that "Quilted Vine" model that's more expensive, with I think an Adirondack top.
"Underwhelmed" would be the wrong term...I know it's an all maple guitar but I just like a little more beef. I imagined it would have a little more beef. But I love the general vibe of the guitar. So...If I tried heavy gauge strings (.14-.59) and kept a 2015 Gibson always tuned down a full step, would the guitar stand those extra stresses? I've never used heavy gauge strings before. I do fine with mediums, just being really a rhythm player. I imagine heavy gauge strings tuned up to pitch still do bad things to a guitar, reading all those stories about Martins and what heavy gauge strings did to them. |
#2
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Why not try medium-gauge strings with a thicker pick?
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#3
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I've owned two J200 Standards. One was phenomenal, one sounded like cardboard and strings didn't change that unfortunately.
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#4
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I have tried that. It's ok.
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#5
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Yes, there is that possibility. Or the guitar doesn't suit me personally...in which case I'll sell. But I have to try a few things first, not there yet.
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#6
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#7
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The total tension is what should matter. Use a string tension calculator with the heavy gauge strings on tuned down. There will be a point where trial tension with heavy strings equals total tension of a normal light gauge tuned to standard pitch.
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The past: Yamaha AC3R (2016) Rose, Eastman AC822ce-FF (2018) The present:Taylor 614-ce (2018) Clara, Washburn Dread (2012) The future:Furch Rainbow GC-CR (2020)Renata? |
#8
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What strings are you using and what other strings have you tried?
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Brucebubs 1972 - Takamine D-70 2014 - Alvarez ABT60 Baritone 2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo 2012 - Dan Dubowski#61 2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo 2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird |
#9
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Acme, so long as you're tuning the guitar down a full step, your Gibson J-185 should be able to handle heavy gauge strings. For a few years I owned a really nice-sounding Gibson WM-45, which was essentially a natural finish J-45. It had the same Gibson short scale that your J-185 probably has.
That particular guitar sounded great tuned a step low, but because it had the short scale, the strings were kind of floppy tuned there, even though I was using mediums. So I experimented with beefier gauges, starting with the D'Addario Heavy set and eventually settling on the John Pearse 3100 Resophonic set, which has these gauges: .016, .018, .027, .039, .049, .059 I found that the .018 wasn't quite right for what would be the B string in standard tuning, but was an A tuned down. So I swapped out the .018 for a .020 plain, and it was perfect. Naturally, you're going to need to experiment with gauges, but you should be perfectly safe going with a heavier set so long as the tensions on the strings don't exceed what a medium gauge set tuned to standard pitch would generate. I realize that recommending a heavy set of strings is going to leave some forum participants aghast, but some of those same folks are aghast at the thought of medium gauge strings on a guitar. But others among us use mediums and it hasn't yet caused our guitars to pull apart, or made airliners start falling out of the sky, or caused the Hoover Dam to fail and burst open. I don't expect those catastrophic results to happen any time soon, and I think you'll be fine stringing your guitar with heavies so long as you keep the guitar tuned D to D instead of E to E. Just keep a close eye on what the guitar does once for the first days and weeks once you've got those heavier strings on there. A truss rod adjustment or two might be necessary as the guitar settles in, but it should be fine in the long run. Hope that makes sense. Wade Hampton Miller |
#10
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#11
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