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  #1  
Old 08-26-2022, 04:51 PM
gerardo1000 gerardo1000 is offline
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Default Help me with choice of string gauge for Rainsong OM.

I own a brand new beautiful Rainsong CO-OM1000 N2, with the uni-directional top. The guitar sounds great, warm, and quite loud for its size. However, I play mainly fingerstyle, without fingerpicks, only the bare fingers with no nails. And probably because of my playing style I find that the sound is a tiny bit too much "dark" or "warm", I mean I would like to have more "crystal clear" tones. I had Rainsong guitars many years ago and I remember them for their bell-like sound. Maybe, in attempting to come close to a wooden guitar with the uni-directional top, they went too far and lost a bit of zing? Or may be it is only because, playing with my bare fingers with no nails and no fingerpicks, I already produce a dark/warm sound? So I wonder if changing string gauge (it currently has Elixir bronze 80/20 lights) could help ? If so, now here is my "non expert" question: should I go up in gauge (with 13-56 mediums) or should I go down (with 11-52 custom lights) ? Which option will give me a bit more "zing" ?
Thank you in advance for all your opinions!
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Old 08-26-2022, 05:08 PM
PeterM PeterM is offline
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I have never figured out Rainsong's model naming, but I own a Shorty. OM size, unidirectional top. Similar?
Anyway, the Elixir strings the guitar shipped with were in a word, awful.
Try Martin monel or the Dadarrio nickel bronze.
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Old 08-26-2022, 05:22 PM
seannx seannx is offline
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Santa Cruz low tension sound great on my RainSong and last a long time.
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Old 08-26-2022, 05:23 PM
gerardo1000 gerardo1000 is offline
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What about the gauge?
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Old 08-26-2022, 06:36 PM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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I can only speak from experience regarding the Shorty; different but similar.

It was the most picky guitar I've ever had regarding strings and I tried everything, I mean everything (probably over 20 different brands, gauges and alloys). I kept notes of what I liked and disliked about them all and Martin Retro (lights) were the winner.

But I like warm and mellow.

If you are looking for the opposite effect might I recommend something 80/20 and that is coated. Reason? Uncoated/ treated 80/20s will actually hit a sweet spot just a couple days after they have broken in and then may even sound mellower than PB- not even joking. But if you have them coated that brighter sound will last a very long time. About a year ago I played a set of D'addario 80/20 XTs on my Journey CF and they never lost that brilliance. Since I prefer warm I almost took them off early but I wanted to do the experiment to see how long that tone would last.

It lasted.

Someone also mentioned D'addario Nickel Bronze- yep, that's a good choice too.
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Last edited by steelvibe; 08-26-2022 at 11:15 PM.
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Old 08-26-2022, 07:53 PM
PeterM PeterM is offline
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I use light gauge. I did not notice any difference in tone or volume between light or medium gauge.
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Old 08-26-2022, 07:59 PM
BlueStarfish BlueStarfish is offline
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Hi Gerardo1000,

By all accounts the Rainsong OM’s are bright guitars, especially the ones with the 14 fret N2 necks. I’ve not played one myself, just going by forum comments. And impressions from demo videos I’ve heard.

Also, whenever anybody asks “what strings would give me a little more brightness” 80/20’s are on the shortlist. Those are the strings you’ve got.

Hmm … I’m a little cautious to pose my next two questions. I’ll go ahead … they are asked in a spirit of kindness and I hope that comes across …

Question 1 — would you consider trying playing with fingerpicks? Or maybe acrylic nails? I know it would take a little bit of time to get comfortable with them but either of those would surely give a little more zing.

Question 2 — is it possible you’ve had (without realizing it) some hearing damage? I understand that usually the trebles are the first to go. There are free hearing test websites and apps that you can run from your mobile phone, with a good pair of headphones, that could give you a rough indication.

Hoping I’m barking up the wrong tree with question #2 in particular but had to ask…
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Old 08-29-2022, 07:26 AM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Back when I played fingerstyle only with no nails I 'suffered' the same issue with most guitars sounding too dark and quiet. It's the nature of the beast. I could compensate for this when playing amplified by boosting the trebles (and volume) but when playing unamplified you're at the mercy of whatever tonal characteristics the guitar you're playing has. The unidirectional top RainSong models certainly add to that. Their Vintage models with the infused wood tops even more so. 80/20 Elixirs are about as bright as they come (assuming they are Nanoweb and not Polyweb). Changing to higher string gauge will add a little more volume at the expense of having more tension and I would assume the opposite of going to a lower gauge but I doubt it would be anything brighter. Going over to a more standard RainSong like their Black Ice models will get you that brighter tone that RainSongs were known for.

I've owned several RS guitars and just last year added a Black Ice dread specifically to get a louder and brighter tone for when I was playing live but unamplified. Since probably 15% of our setlists contain fingerstyle numbers (and I still play with no nails) I felt I needed that extra volume AND more brightness as compared to my RainSong Nashville OM Shorty which is even more warm than the those with the unidirectional tops. The Black Ice dread definitely delivered a much brighter tone. So much so that I actually use Phosphor Bronze strings to warm that tone up a bit. Conversely, I use 80/20 strings on my RainSong Nashville OM Shorty to brighten that guitar up a bit. You can try other strings but I seriously doubt anything will give you that much of a noticeable difference especially played fingerstyle with no nails. Going up to mediums might at least make the tone seem a little brighter just because of the volume increase.

Last edited by Methos1979; 08-29-2022 at 07:32 AM.
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Old 08-30-2022, 08:23 AM
gerardo1000 gerardo1000 is offline
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Thank you Methos1979. I think that your explanation and your impressions are spot on, and in fact I have returned the Rainsong CO-OM1000 N2 and exchanged it with a WS Black ICE, that I will receive in the next days!
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Old 08-30-2022, 07:50 PM
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Methos1979 Methos1979 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gerardo1000 View Post
Thank you Methos1979. I think that your explanation and your impressions are spot on, and in fact I have returned the Rainsong CO-OM1000 N2 and exchanged it with a WS Black ICE, that I will receive in the next days!
Good call. Since your OM had an N2 (long scale) neck, the WS model will play similarly but with a slightly larger and significantly deeper body PLUS the Black Ice build you should enjoy a louder and brighter tone with the WS-BI. I look forward to hearing your experience.

I went to a local music store today that has a Black Ice OM Shorty and took my Vintage Nashville Shorty to A/B them and it was shocking how much louder and brighter the BI was over the Nashville. Part of the volume increase was that the BI had a K&K in it (surprisingly, since it is new), so no UST to deaden things.
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Old 09-05-2022, 01:57 AM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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I have a "Shorty" which has the OM body, short scale neck and unidirectional top.

I thought the 80/20s it shipped with were awful. I'm sure I have a set of EXP-16s (phosphor bronze 12-53) on her right now. Not sure what I will switch to when I run out of those, but certainly it will be PB strings and not 80/20s.
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