Adi needs to be driven harder or just need medium strings?

[goodry]

I have an Eastman e10d-tc... It has a thermocured/torrified Adirondack top. I find that with that guitar I feel like I have to dig in or pick the strings harder. This makes finger picking more difficult and just less enjoyable.

I don't gig, I don't need to cut through a mix... it's just me on my couch. I have another Eastman... e10ss/v that responds a lot better to less aggressive attack and to finger picking...


So, am I right that the Adirondack topped e10 just needs to be driven harder or would it benefit from a set of mediums as compared to the pb lights that are on it right now.... For what it's worth, they are d'addario xs coated lights, 12 - 53.


As always I appreciate any responses and thanks for reading my post!!!

[FingahPickah]

Interesting post.

I was primarily a heavy-handed dread player for years, before expanding to different body types.

My grand concert sized (small body) Eastman AC108CE-LTD is Adirondack/ Sapele; strung with light gauge (.012 - .053).

Realizing there's more than just wood type to consider - (Adi, Sitka, Engelmann, etc - I got'em all)) - I do feel I need to push this particular guitar ("fingah"-style or flatpick) to get the tone I like. How much to attribute to the Adi top is debatable. It handles it nicely. Good balance / no mush.

I'm reminded of other posts describing Engelmann as having a lower volume-with-clarity threshold than Sitka, Adi, etc.. but my Engelmann/Black Walnut SS 12 fret dread disputes that generalization in a loud and clear way (insert rim shot here - I'll be here all week folks - try the veal).

[TennesseeWalker]

could be your particular build, bracing and such -

i have and have had adi topped guitars that 'can' be driven harder and 'can' use medium strings, but don't necessarily need such.
Other wood tops such as cedar or some lighter sitkas can respond nicely to a lighter touch.

[Marshall]

I imagine it's something about the bracing and such. I have an E1SS-LTD-CLA that I love. It supposedly has an Adi top. No thermal nuclear treatment. It's somewhat quieter than my other guitars. But well balanced and very warm. Plays great. Less filling. I like it a lot.

[martingitdave]

It's a function of the full design of the guitar. Eastman are braced and designed to be more resistant to humidity changes and are thus built a bit heavier. Adi, relative to Sitka, from the same manufacturer will be a little stiff until it's had time to break in. The break in process is unavoidable for adi. It's a pay to play endeavor.

[redir]

It doesn't matter as much what spruce species the top is made from. What matters most is how thick the top is and how it was braced. The back plays into this as well but mostly the top. If the top is heavily braced then a medium set might do what you want and is at lest worth a try.

[Jdenkevitz]

Originally Posted by goodry

I have an Eastman e10d-tc... It has a thermocured/torrified Adirondack top. I find that with that guitar I feel like I have to dig in or pick the strings harder. This makes finger picking more difficult and just less enjoyable.

I don't gig, I don't need to cut through a mix... it's just me on my couch. I have another Eastman... e10ss/v that responds a lot better to less aggressive attack and to finger picking...


So, am I right that the Adirondack topped e10 just needs to be driven harder or would it benefit from a set of mediums as compared to the pb lights that are on it right now.... For what it's worth, they are d'addario xs coated lights, 12 - 53.


As always I appreciate any responses and thanks for reading my post!!!

I have an older (2011 ish) e10d - so non torrified. Its a cannon, but I don't need to play hard at all, its just that if I do it responds and has the dynamic range. I have an e20d, which is also Adi, but doesnt have the same umph as the e10. I believe this is due to age (the e10 significantly changed over the 12 years I've had it).

I use mediums or true mediums on most of my acoustics, but thats because im in DADGAD most of the time.

[Glennwillow]

I have two guitars with Adi tops: my Gibson Advanced Jumbo (Adi/BRW) and my Collings OM1A (Adi/Mahogany).

I don't use medium strings on either guitar --I use light gauge -- and they work fine for me whether I am strumming, flat picking, or finger picking. But both of these guitars have had enough time to age so that they don't feel any different than any of my other guitars. The AJ was built in 2002 (22 years old now) and the Collings in 2009 (15 years old now).

I don't know if my experience is typical for red spruce tops.

- Glenn

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by goodry

I have an Eastman e10d-tc... It has a thermocured/torrified Adirondack top. I find that with that guitar I feel like I have to dig in or pick the strings harder. This makes finger picking more difficult and just less enjoyable.

I don't gig, I don't need to cut through a mix... it's just me on my couch. I have another Eastman... e10ss/v that responds a lot better to less aggressive attack and to finger picking...


So, am I right that the Adirondack topped e10 just needs to be driven harder or would it benefit from a set of mediums as compared to the pb lights that are on it right now.... For what it's worth, they are d'addario xs coated lights, 12 - 53.


As always I appreciate any responses and thanks for reading my post!!!

While the accepted very broad generalization is that Red Spruce/Adi tops are stiffer, and need more break in time when new, and need to be played harder than other spruce tops species, the much more likely reality is that the particular top on your guitar is just stiffer and either needs more break in time, or that is just how that top is always going to respond for you.

Red Spruce tops can be very responsive and dynamic, as much as any other spruce species, and produce lots of volume and tone with even a very light touch.

It just comes down to the given individual top, and how it is braced and voiced to some degree...but...mostly...just the particular unique "voice" that each top has naturally. Just like human voices.

You don't say how long you have had the guitar, but at this point, if it is less than a couple of years, you can try to play it as much as you can and see if it does indeed "break in" and loosen up over the next year...or...if you have had it more than a year or two, what you are hearing may just be what you are going to get with that guitar with your playing style and technique.



duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[jaymarsch]

I have a red spruce/Bois de Rose small D that was built in 2013. I bought it 5 years ago. It responds well to both a light touch and a heavy flatpicker. I have 12-53s on it and it sounds full and resonant.
It’s never one thing with guitars. Overall design, bracing pattern, material and thickness, and what voicing the luthier was intending, all play a role in determining how a top behaves. Exploring string alloy and gauge will give your ears and hands invaluable information.
Best,
Jayne

[davenumber2]

The E10SS/v also has an Adi top, just FYI.

[Bluenose]

My 2012 E10SS has a Adirondack top too.

[goodry]

Originally Posted by davenumber2

The E10SS/v also has an Adi top, just FYI.

Hmmm. You're right. I thought it was spruce. This one I have... The previous owner put a sound port in... Just cut an oval into the side that faces up ... So it must just be that for that guitar.

[Bowie]

I think the idea of adi "needing" to be driven harder is one of those made up things that gets passed around so much that people just believe it. I play fingerstyle on adi topped guitars and it can be very responsive to a light touch. In my experience, even more so than sitka. Where it's different is that you CAN drive it hard without the sound hitting a ceiling. You don't have to though.

Now, how your Eastman responds is down to that specific guitar. The density, stiffness, etc are going to vary from top to top.

[leew3]

The Eastmans I've played seem to be more heavily built than the two adi topped Martins I own so that may color my experience. I use light gauge strings on both of the Martins and they do well with them. What I notice about these adi tops is that they're responsive to a light touch but don't 'break up' in sound when driven harder, they just get a lot louder. YMMV.