#1
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11's of 12's?
I just bought an almost new Seagull S6 acoustic at L&M.
I play mostly with a thumb pick and have usually used Light strings with the 1st being a 12 on acoustics. I'm thinking of going with the Classic Light with the 1st being 11 when I change strings. What do you think? Any appreciable difference? |
#2
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I think there is a huge difference. I find 11's are more musical but the 5 & 6 strings are weak so I replace them with the 6th going to the 5th and the 6th from a set of 12's I buy individually.
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#3
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Quote:
The S6 is short scale (24.84" versus 25.5" on a standard steel string acoustic), so .012 tension on an S6 is more like .011 on a full-scale. |
#4
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I can't imagine using anything lighter than a 12 on an acoustic. Your guitar would surely need to be VERY lightly built for a .011" to move the top adequately.
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |
#5
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I play six different dreads.
Alvarez 5013, Alvarez PD85s, Alvarez ADA1965, Alvarez MD70ce, Alvarez-Yairi GY1, Taylor 110e. My “go to” strings are D’addario EJ16’s. (12-53). That said, I will use EJ26’s (11-52) if they will drive the soundboard. If I use Martin Strings, I won’t go heavier than 11-52’s. I find them to be “stiffer” than other brands. But, I am primarily a fingerstyle player and I prefer lighter strings, or lower tension strings for their ease of play. Play, record, listen back and see if the difference is significant enough to to play the heavier strings.
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A bunch of guitars I really enjoy. A head full of lyrics, A house full of people that “get” me. Alvarez 5013 Alvarez MD70CE Alvarez PD85S Alvarez AJ60SC Alvarez ABT610e Alvarez-Yairi GY1 Takamine P3DC Takamine GJ72CE-12-NAT Godin Multiac Steel. Journey Instruments OF660 Gibson G45 |
#6
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I use 11's, partly because I always think they're a little kinder to the neck and top as the tension is reduced and partly because they are slightly easier to play and bend.
For the price of a set of strings it's worth trying to find your own preference. On my Lowden they work fine, producing quite a good volume and balance. However, as you say, on my other guitars they do leave me wanting a little more from the high 'E'. They also work very well on my beat up bottom of the bottom of the range Yamaha which is VERY lightly built. |
#7
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Rule of thumb: Lighter strings produce more higher overtones. Thicker strings produce more fundamentals. A lot depends on your playing style and touch and the brand of strings you use. You can't really go by gauge, you need to understand there isn't a direct correlation between gauge and tension.
Here are a couple charts that will help to understand the differences.
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Assuming is not knowing. Knowing is NOT the same as understanding. There is a difference between compassion and wisdom, however compassion cannot supplant wisdom, and wisdom can not occur without understanding. facts don't care about your feelings and FEELINGS ALONE MAKE FOR TERRIBLE, often irreversible DECISIONS |
#8
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Try D'Addario Nickel Bronze 11-52's - probably the loudest and best balanced set of 11-52's I've ever used.
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Brucebubs 1972 - Takamine D-70 2014 - Alvarez ABT60 Baritone 2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo 2012 - Dan Dubowski#61 2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo 2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird |
#9
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Quote:
I know that's been the stock story 'out there' for years, but in reality, there are a lot of 'secret' .011 players…even on Martin D series guitars. I find that true especially of finger stylers, and older players, or players with hand injuries. Lightly built guitar or not, many players will sacrifice a bit of volume for the benefits .011 bring - including (for many players)...
And I've handed my Olson Dreadnought (which wears .011 sets permanently) to people and allowed them to play it, and they frequently say it's the finest sounding and playing guitar they have ever played. I don't bother to tell them how it's strung…because they have found a thing of great value…a great guitar. |
#10
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For me, there is a significant difference between 11 and 12s. Under full tension on a 25.5 scale.
The 12s feel like they're cutting my fingers, hard to bend 2 semitones. The 11s feel much softer, smoother, let me do pulloffs easier, and I hear no difference in tone
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The past: Yamaha AC3R (2016) Rose, Eastman AC822ce-FF (2018) The present:Taylor 614-ce (2018) Clara, Washburn Dread (2012) The future:Furch Rainbow GC-CR (2020)Renata? |
#11
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There was a recent, similar thread here that posted a YouTube video of Tony Polecastro comparing 3 different string gauges on the same guitar. The differences, to my ear (and some other forum members who watched it) were really very minor, and not obvious at all. Listen and make up your own mind. But I want guitar playing to be as pleasant as possible, and so I go for comfort nearly all the time. That means 11's or specialized strings (such as Newtone Heritage, Thomastic-Infeld Plectrums, or Martin Flexcore), or even silk\bronze or silk\steel.
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RM ----------------------------------------------------- Taylor 856, Taylor GC7, Martin 00-28, Breedlove Oregon Concertina, Breedlove Jeff Bridges Signature, Guild JF55-12, Guild D212, Larrivee OM3, Eastman E20 OM, Farida OT22w, Cordoba Fusion 12 Orchestra, Blueridge BR-361, Pono 0-15 mango, Journey OF-660, Tanglewood TWJP parlor (Nashville tuned), Paul Reed Smith SE Custom. |
#12
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Each to their own, of course, but I use a .014 E string on both my OM (light gauge strings) and D (medium gauge strings). Anything less just doesn't sound strong enough to me.
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2017 Martin D-28 2015 Martin OM-21 1974 William Kingsly classical Fender "Eric Johnson" strat 75' RI Fender Jazz bass |
#13
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Quote:
My Seagull S6 usually wears Martin Retro strings, bluegrass gauge (.013/.056).
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SoundCloud Last edited by H2O; 06-27-2018 at 03:16 PM. |
#14
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My Seagull Entourage Concert came with 11's. It sounds great. It's staying that way!
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#15
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I’ve tried 11’s on most of my guitars and they sound fine but I get a bit better out of 12’s so all but two of my guitars wear 12’s. Now my Martin DM didn’t really like 12’s but really came to life with 13’s so that’s what it gets. Also my Ibanez sounded great played lightly with 12’s but did not hold up well to strumming at all so I went to 13’s on it and it became deep and robust and a totally different guitar. I’ll never go back to lighter strings on that one. Moral of the story is you just gotta experiment to find a guitar’s happy place.
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