9s on an acoustic guitar

[Mulga]

Hello all
I've joined the forum because I'm seeking advice on something which is probably impossible.
I'm an old bloke with arthritis in my fretting hand. I have a Stratocaster and a beautiful little Taylor GS Mini acoustic. Covid has shown me that I want to become a better acoustic fingerstyle player.
BUT the strat with its original 9 to 42 strings is much easier for me to play than the Taylor, even though the Taylor has been re-strung with 10s. The luthier who set up the Taylor with 10s advised that 9s would be a step too far.
So I need an acoustic guitar with 9 to 42 strings, a strat-like neck and a pick-up. It needs to sound good and have no intonation problems.
Any thoughts?

[Msedg]

Well - obvious place to start is a Fender - they make a whole bunch of different “acoustasonic” models now which are exactly as you describe, strat-ish acoustics with pickups. Not my thing but plenty love them. And D’Addario make at least one set of 9-45 acoustic strings (EZ890) and I’m sure there are others. So not so impossible as it seems. Play in good health!

[Msedg]

Also (and I realise it’s not typical forum behaviour to suggest something other than a new guitar) - I’d push the luthier a bit on what he means by “too far”. Might it sounds quite as good as the same guitar strung with 12s? Possibly not. But it might be playable by you, and that’s the whole point! The world won’t end if you drop a string gauge from where it’s currently set up. I’d try that first before getting my wallet out.

[colins]

Welcome Mulga!

I used to play with a similar gauge on my strat, and I tend towards light strings and low tension strings on my acoustics because of a hand & shoulder injury. Low tension strings are significantly easier to play than normal tension strings.

I have not tried 9-42s on an acoustic but I do use 11-50 on one and low tension strings on others. The neck length also plays a role, with a 24.9 inch neck offering slightly lower tension than a 25.6 inch neck.

So, I use GHS Vintage Bronze 11-50s at normal tension on my 24.9 inch necked guitar. My low tension strings on two other guitars are Newtone Heritage 12-51s and GHD Thin Core. I order direct from Newtone in the UK (really cheap postage) or from Strings and Beyond in the US (pricy postage!).

These strings all drive my guitars just fine as I am not looking for volume. With similar string choices you can probably buy whatever guitar you want, although a more lightly-built guitar may give you a more responsive top that is easier to get moving with lights.

Can't help with the neck issue.

[axeman69]

I also have a similar problem being mainly a electric player.

What I did to successfully alleviate the tension problem was:

1. I have only short scale (24.9) acoustics (Martin 00, Gibson Parlor AG, Martin Dreadnought Jnr) - Scale length does make a hugh difference.
2. String the guitars with a hybrid of 11s on the wound strings & 10s on the plain strings. Easy lead playing and string bending. You could trying 10s and 9s (or 9.5) mixed together.
3. Use Elixir 80/20 strings. No Phosphor Bronze strings!!!
4. Lowered the action.

All these changes together made a hugh difference. I found the "high performance neck taper" shape from Martin to be the most comfortable to play.

I hope these will help you as well. All the best.

[rmp]

I like the Fender Acoustasonic suggestion. May be just what you're looking for.

[dnf777]

Hi, and welcome to AGF!

First, if you like the Taylor mini, put some 9-45s on it and see what you think. You either like it, or you have another string change.

You may find a longer scale more to your liking also.

[lowrider]

your GS mini has one of the easiest playing in necks you'll get on an acoustic guitar. The problem will be how to get decent sound with 9-42 electric strings.

I think you can do it with a sound hole pickup. There are a lot of different ones and there are a couple of threads about them on the Acoustic Amplification page of this forum. I just installed a Mojotone PU in my Martin J-17. Played through my Fishman Loudbox acoustic amp, it sounds like a great acoustic guitar with no electric sound.

I think it will work for you and welcome to the forum.

[Osage]

Curt Mangan Super Lights are 9-42. I've setup several guitars with them for people in a similar situation as yours and they work great. They're going to have less overall volume and bass response but they don't sound bad at all. Give em a try.

[RJVB]

Do you want to stick to playing steel strings? 9s will have a comparable tension to (heavy) nylon strings in the trebles; a typical (heavy) nylon set will probably have less tension in the wound strings (and despite that those definitely sound richer to my ears).

Try a set of d'Addario Folk (EJ33) on your Taylor; those are meant for acoustic guitar.

It might be a better option to go for a guitar with a shorter scale length or a 12 fret to the body design (if your Taylor doesn't already have those!).

[Bob Womack]

Another, probably better approach is to use taller frets which allow you to use less fretting pressure. In fact, if you fret with too much pressure you will pull the strings sharp. When I experienced a year of drug reaction that felt just like arthritis I found that my guitar with jumbo frets was the only one I could play. I've since confirmed that medium jumbos to jumbos (.043-.054) allow much less fretting pressure to be used. I would try re-fretting with jumbos and starting with 10s and see if that is easier to play.

Don't raise the bridge, lower the water.

Bob

[Mulga]

Thank you all, for your considered advice. And so quick!

I have tried a Fender Acoustasonic in a shop here in Adelaide, South Australia. It didn't fit the bill as the strings are 11s and the tone was not as nice as that from my Taylor GS Mini. The Acoustasonics are expensive here, too, even the Player version.

A couple of you suggested re-stringing the Taylor with 9s, so I'll give it a go. I won't be able to do it or report the results for a few weeks as I'm off to the desert (with the Taylor) for a boys' trip.

Any more ideas would of course be appreciated.

[Wellington]

It's certainly not going to hurt anything to try 9's if you can find them, the Mini is already extremely short scale so you do already have very low tension so I'm not sure low tension strings wouldn't be too floppy but you could try that as well, but low tension GHS probably aren't as low of tension as regular 9 guage acoustic strings anyway, because GHS low tension I think only go down to 11?

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by Mulga

Thank you all, for your considered advice. And so quick!

I have tried a Fender Acoustasonic in a shop here in Adelaide, South Australia. It didn't fit the bill as the strings are 11s and the tone was not as nice as that from my Taylor GS Mini. The Acoustasonics are expensive here, too, even the Player version.

A couple of you suggested re-stringing the Taylor with 9s, so I'll give it a go. I won't be able to do it or report the results for a few weeks as I'm off to the desert (with the Taylor) for a boys' trip.

Any more ideas would of course be appreciated.

Hi Mulga and welcome to the forums! I agree — first, and least expensive, thing to do is just try the nines on the Taylor. It won’r hurt anything, and you might be surprised. It might require a slight Truss adjustment - but there’s no reason it won’t work.

[brad4d8]

Originally Posted by dnf777

Hi, and welcome to AGF!

First, if you like the Taylor mini, put some 9-45s on it and see what you think. You either like it, or you have another string change.

You may find a longer scale more to your liking also.

Agree, a set of strings is just a little cheaper than a new guitar, and if it works for you, fine, if not you're only out a couple bucks.