Medium gauge on Recording King OOO

[bbb]

Hi folks, I wondered if anyone could tell me whether it is ok or not to put medium gauge (.013 - .056) on my Recording King RO 127. Sent email to company, but they haven´t answered yet. Actually, it´s a D'Addario flat wound and I'm turning it (this guitar) into a lap steel with a high nut. Thanks, Bruno.

[gitnoob]

Short scale and robustly build. It should handle mediums fine. In fact, it'll probably sound a lot better with mediums.

[bbb]

Thanks for the reply. A question though: is 24.9" considered a short scale? I guess it is, right? Since long scales are considered 25.5", that would make this one a short scale, am I right? Bruno.

[gitnoob]

Yes, most people consider that short scale. The reason it's a factor, of course, is because the string tension is lower than 25.5" scale.

Most factory-made guitars will handle medium gauge fine. Yours especially.

[bbb]

Thanks a lot. I'll do. Bruno.

[bbb]

Hey Gitnoob, I'm using this guitar with a high nut to emulate a kind of Dobro or Resonator. You son't see any problem, as far as a higher tension just because of the height, right? Thanks, Bruno.

[gitnoob]

I assume you're planning to use one of those metal nut extenders, right?

No problem at the nut. But if you raise the saddle height as well, that'll put more torque on the saddle. A too-tall saddle can crack (and sometimes take the bridge with it).

[bbb]

Actually I made one from scratch, out of bone and I also made a saddle, but not a tall one. I only made very flat, and with no radius. At the moment I have extra light gauge, and very old. Before I go ahead and change for the flat wound medium gauge I intend to put some bone powder on the high E string and put some super glue (super bonder) because it's buzzing kind of weird when I put the tonebar on it. I believe I filed the slot a bit too deep and since I'm learning and experimenting from scratch anyway, I hope that will solve the problem. Can't wait to give it a try when the medium gauge will allow me to study more effectively the whole usage of the bar on the fingerboard. Any ideias why this high E string is buzzing? I have a feeling it's the extra light gauge combined with grooves that are too deep on the nut. Thanks again, Bruno.
PS Check out the three songs I'm playing on the Show and Tell, Just Like a Woman, Cocaine Blues, and Blue Moon. Hope you like them.

[gitnoob]

Nice playing! Was that your RK in the vids?

A buzz is sometimes hard to diagnose, but I assume the frets are out of the equation if you've installed a tall nut. A bad nut slot can sometimes create a high-frequency buzz -- sort of a Sitar effect. Try damping the string right at the nut to see if it goes away.

I've used something like this in the past:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002Z3N8O/...SIN=B0002Z3N8O

It makes it easy to switch back and forth between lap slide and fretted.

[bbb]

Hey man, thanks. Actually that's a poorly built Brazilian copy of a Martin OOO. I did see that nut extension before, but when I bought the tonebar I forgot to include it. Could I use a square neck capo on a regular guitar? Or is there a brand you'd know, meaning that the capo is indeed for a guitar turned into a Reso? Thanks again, Bruno.

[bbb]

Gitnoob, I forgot to ask you that too... Even when we're raising the low E a whole tone A to B), wouldn't that be considered too much tension on the guitar? I know that the low strings aren't the ones which pull the strings most, but I thought should ask. Thanks again, Bruno.

[gitnoob]

Sorry, no experience with capos for resonators.

Increasing the pitch of a string can increase the tension by quite a bit.

You might want to experiment with this calculator:
http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html

Taking the low-E up to A, for example, would increase the tension of that string from 28lbs to 50lbs!

[bbb]

Sorry, I messed up on the writing. Low E to G (1 and 1/2 steps up) and low A to B (1 step up). And also lowering the high E to D (obviously decreasing tension). That 's what I meant. What do you think? But thanks for the info there. Bruno.

[gitnoob]

That would take the string tension up to 180lbs -- getting towards the high end of what most 6-string guitars are built for.

For comparison, a 12-string would be under 200-220lbs of tension, and they have additional bracing to handle the additional load.

The RK braces I've seen have been pretty beefy. The tops are relatively thick. And since it's a smaller body (000), that makes it even more robust.

So it could probably handle 180lbs, but if you start to see the top bellying below the bridge, I'd back off the tension.