Can I control the tone of a new guitar with specific strings?

[BobbyMocha]

I have new guitar that's smaller, lighter and sounds very bright compared to my 10 year-old dreadnaught. I'd like to get the tone on this new one a little deeper, a little warmer and closer to the dread. I know there's only so much you can do, given that it's a completely different guitar, but how much CAN you do?

Will different strings get me closer to the warm tone I'm looking to get from this guitar?

Side note: the guitar is completely brand new and came from the luthier yesterday. Will it grow into its tone as well?

[musicman1951]

Some. A little. But not enough to make a little guitar sound like a dread.

Most people find it's worth trying a bunch of strings to see what most pleases your ear.

[Bob56R]

I would need to know more information. You say that you just got it from the luthier...so i assume it is a nice solid wood guitar. Did you order it smaller for a reason? Is it a concert size guitar? Does it have a wider fingerboard, meant more for fingerpicking? What is the wood composition on each guitar. Is the Dred rosewood back and sides, and the smaller one mahogany. There's many variables. Need more information.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by BobbyMocha

I have new guitar that's smaller, lighter and sounds very bright compared to my 10 year-old dreadnaught. I'd like to get the tone on this new one a little deeper, a little warmer and closer to the dread. I know there's only so much you can do, given that it's a completely different guitar, but how much CAN you do?

Will different strings get me closer to the warm tone I'm looking to get from this guitar?

Side note: the guitar is completely brand new and came from the luthier yesterday. Will it grow into its tone as well?

I've read here that guitars have to realize they are guitars when they are first built, , yes someone said that once or twice.....

A quick fix would be to use 13 and 17 trebles instead of lights. Plus new strings always sound, well, new.

[The Bard Rocks]

It's a cheap and easy way to alter what you hear. But not transform.

[Lillis]

Maybe nylon picks?

[Joe Beamish]

I think of string selection in terms of bringing out what’s best in an individual guitar, rather than making it sound like a different kind of guitar. Just experiment with types of strings; they do make a difference in that way.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by BobbyMocha

I have new guitar that's smaller, lighter and sounds very bright compared to my 10 year-old dreadnaught. I'd like to get the tone on this new one a little deeper, a little warmer and closer to the dread. I know there's only so much you can do, given that it's a completely different guitar, but how much CAN you do?

Will different strings get me closer to the warm tone I'm looking to get from this guitar?

Side note: the guitar is completely brand new and came from the luthier yesterday. Will it grow into its tone as well?

Hi Bobby

First the easy answer...

YES! Your brand new just off the bench luthier made guitar will absolutely grow and improve in tone as time goes by, and the more and longer you play it, ...BUT...it will happen over time in stages. Very early on...the first few weeks or months, the tone...if you play it...will improve fairly quickly and noticeably, but it will slow down considerably after that and improve in ever more nuanced ways over the years...like your dread has, and will also continue to do, with play and time.

Now the harder answer...

Yes, you can warm up the tone of your new guitar to some degree by trying different types of strings, and seeing what works best on your guitar. Some guitars tone can change very decisively via different strings, and some guitars only very subtly. Some guitars have very strong string brand, type of material, and string gauge preferences, and some don't. You will simply have to experiment with yours.

As to whether you can make you new SMALLER guitar sound more like your LARGER dread bodies guitar? No, not really. Your smaller bodied guitar is never going to sound like a large bodied guitar. The "timbre" of the notes/tone are affected by the size of the body. You won't/can't get the same bass response, the same depth of tone to the note from a small body compared to a big body...too different animals. You have to appreciate each guitar for the tone and response that they can give you.

Also...some of how your new guitar sounds is entirely dependent on your technique playing it. You have some control over the tone you can get from it by your playing technique...your right hand "picking" technique, so you will need to play and experiment and learn how to create tone on your new guitar...which is part of the great fun of it.


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[jaymarsch]

I have used both experimenting with techniques and playing with flesh rather than nails as well as changing the gauge of the treble strings as TBman suggests. You can tame a guitars tendencies somewhat but probably not change it’s natural overall voice.

Best,
Jayne

[SJ VanSandt]

A couple of string sets I've tried that might help. I recently tried some D'Addario nickel-bronze lights on my OM and liked them. They seemed to smooth out the trebles without muting them, and added clarity and a little depth to the bass. I once tried some Thomastic-Enfeld Spectrum med.-lights - or maybe they were mediums - that were fantastic: they seemed to add depth and complexity like no other new strings I've tried. They are rather expensive, though it might be worth it if they really fit the bill. I hope this helps.

[Fresh1985]

If I wanted to make a guitar sound brighter I would try 80/20s, If I wanted to darken the tone I would use PB. Another thing you could try is downtuning half a step or even a full step. This can change the tone considerably, adding greater fullness and warmth to the tone. Give it a try.

[MC5C]

I'd tune it down to D-D, a full tone lower. Every guitar I've tried that on sounded a lot fuller and more mellow. I only tune E-E on electric guitars now.

[Goodallboy]

The short answer is no, no matter what tricks you try. Too many times there are suggestions offered that should be replaced with, “get a different guitar that sounds like you want it to the first time you hit the strings.”

[Bax Burgess]

Originally Posted by BobbyMocha

I have new guitar that's smaller, lighter and sounds very bright compared to my 10 year-old dreadnaught. I'd like to get the tone on this new one a little deeper, a little warmer and closer to the dread. I know there's only so much you can do, given that it's a completely different guitar, but how much CAN you do?

Will different strings get me closer to the warm tone I'm looking to get from this guitar?

Side note: the guitar is completely brand new and came from the luthier yesterday. Will it grow into its tone as well?

Relatively inexpensive for your goal ($27-30 US), Thomastik Infeld KR116, they might take you deeper/richer than you want to go. Their tension is very low, and I wonder if their nylon winding would hold up under pick use as well as standard steel strings, though, for fingerstyle they will last for a significant time.

[jaan]

Try buying a thicker Blue Chip pick. I find they tend to mute the treble some, and can help a brighter guitar warm up some