Was it the fret or the strings?

[KingIgneous]

I was going to post this in general discussions, repair and/or custom shop. But some of the specifics I will be talking about are more common in archtops. If it doesn't belong here, I'm fine with the thread being moved

So I'm planning to get a custom archtop by Yunzhi this summer and want to get all my ducks in a row. My last archtop was the Epiphone Joe Pass, which I sold because I wasn't able to adapt to the neck (short neck width, medium jumbos, v neck profile, 12 radius). However, I switched between a few strings on it (I ended up liking 50-11 chromes the most) but the last set I had on it was the chromes 52-12 and I had them on the longest, so I don't recall if or if not I had this issue with the other strings. Now I am no newbie to heavier tension strings, however I am pretty new to carbon steel treble/chrome flatwound low sets and medium jumbo frets.


Anyway, here were the problems I was having. If I was doing a fingerstyle walking bassline/comp, and did a little fast bass fill - even though It felt like I was fretting it, the faster bass notes wouldn't sound. It wasn't uncomfortable or heavy, in fact it felt the opposite, but the fast bass fills wouldn't sound unless I put a lot of pressure on it. Now the next thing is, if I was doing fingerstyle arrangement then improvise a lick on the higher strings - AGAIN the hammer on/pull offs would not sound/and or have less snap to the sound. It wasn't like short and narrow frets, where you feel that you need to dig your string down to the fretboard. It felt like it was sufficient pressure. But when I did the hammer on/pull off, it sounded like the pitch bending wheel on keyboards.




I also wanted to put, that these issues lessened when I was doing strictly single string lines. But that's more specifically because, I'm putting sufficient pressure on one string at a time.


Now I'm convinced it was the medium jumbo frets just because it felt very comfortable but did not result the expected sound. I never had medium jumbo or any type of jumbo fret before I doubt it was the strings because I've played heavier tensions in the past, however I was still fairly new to the chrome/carbon sets. It could also be the medium jumbo/string combination. But anyway, I wanted to hear your input.

Also, I know some of you may think to yourself - the best way to find out is to do a comparison test. Now I do plan on going to a music store, to compare fret playabilities however I can't change the strings on them to compare.


Thank you in advance
-Raquel

[Robin, Wales]

It is more than likely your strings.

You have put on a lighter set. This will have reduced the tension on the neck and lowered the relief (the neck bends less) so the height of the strings from the fretboard will be lower than with your old set of strings.

So your hammer-ons are not as effective.

Lighter strings do not give as strong hammer-ons and pull-offs as heavier strings anyway. And a low action does not give as strong hammer-ons and pull-offs as a slightly higher action. So its double the problem for you with this string change.

I wouldn't worry about the frets being an issue - its most likely your strings and your set-up that's the issue.

[RJVB]

It is my understanding that most people find taller frets more comfortable - but I'm not sufficiently aware of all the different types & sizes to be certain that's all there is to "medium jumbo" frets.

You mention a "short neck width", which is more than a bit confusing. Did you have issues with the nut width, the neck (scale) length or both?

BTW: was there a point putting your entire post in bold face? Doesn't improve legibility! So forgive me if I misread but I'd think that a narrow and strongly curved fretboard could indeed make chord playing problematic. Esp. with fingerstyle: the highest (off the top) strings are the ones that fall most naturally under your longest fingers and free strokes of the 1st and 2nd string have much more chance to hit the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th strings with a more radiussed saddle than with a flatter one.

[mr. beaumont]

Honestly, the only way to answer this question would be to hear/see you play.

It's most likely a combination of things that made you uncomfortable, so your playing wasn't to where you wanted it to be.

Were you playing the guitar plugged in or unplugged?