Light vs. Medium gauge string question 2

[L20A]

My suggestion would be to take the guitars to your Tech and discuss your thoughts with Him/Her.

I really like the medium/light strings no matter what they are called.
Start with one guitar that both you and your Tech agree need the set up the most.
When that one is done, you will have a better idea of what you will want for your next guitar.

I have found that a set of Bluegrass gauge string can be set up the same as a normal medium gauge set.

Be sure to have neck relief addressed and now would be a good time to replace any saddle that you may be thinking of replacing.
If you don't already have a bone compensated saddle on the guitars, I would highly recommend it.

FYI,
Many years ago, I set my Martin D-35 up for light gauge strings and was not happy with the loss of sound.
If you do want to try a set of light gauge strings, you may want to use them on your loudest guitar so you will have less loss of sound, if compared to a quieter guitar.

You will also want to decide if you want to use Phosphor Bronze,80/20 or Monel strings.
These choices will also affect the sound and volume of your guitars.

Have fun with your adventure and report back with your results.

One more thought.
Keep your old saddles in case you want to go back.
DO NOT!!! put any kind of shim between the saddle and the bridge!!!!

[Wade Hampton]

Jon Z said it before I could:

Originally Posted by jzach46

Don't forget the option of the so-called "Bluegrass" sets: medium on the bass strings, light on the trebles.

I’ve always been more of a medium gauge strings guy, but during the past two years I’ve been gradually shifting over to bluegrass gauge strings on guitars that I would have strung with mediums in the past.

Don’t get me wrong: there are still a lot of my instruments strung with mediums, including my 000-42 and my Larrivee OM-03W. Those guitars play like a dream and sound wonderful with the mediums that they’ve always had on them.

But both of my Martins - my D-18 and my 00-21 - have bluegrass gauge strings on them. They’ve retained the bass response of the mediums and the treble response and playability of lights with these bluegrass gauge strings on there.

So definitely experiment with a set or two of bluegrass gauge strings; the brand I use, prefer, recommend and endorse are the John Pearse strings. I’ve got phosphor bronze on the 00-21 and 80/20 on the D-18.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Boozehound]

I find that my Martins want Mediums. Froggy, SCGC, and Gibson dreads sound great with lights.

Plenty of folks love lights on their Martins, though.

I recently tried the Santa Cruz strings - I like them for fingerstyle on my OM's, but hated them on my dreads. I thought that they sounded too 'metallic' on the D and G strings.

[ntotoro]

Classic answer... try it and see what they like. A truss rod adjustment should be all you need between the two.



I had a Bourgeois Country Boy Dread with a sitka top that liked either Medium or Light and didn't sound a whole lot different between the two, but mediums felt better to me on it. I also had a D-18 GE with an adi top that was sooooooooo tight, it needed Mediums to get any kind of "body" from the tone.


Nick

[brencat]

Originally Posted by ntotoro

I had a Bourgeois Country Boy Dread with a sitka top that liked either Medium or Light and didn't sound a whole lot different between the two, but mediums felt better to me on it. I also had a D-18 GE with an adi top that was sooooooooo tight, it needed Mediums to get any kind of "body" from the tone.
Nick

Yep...rare is the Martin dread that sounds its best with Lights. And the Bourgeois vs Martin example above reveals the limitations of Martin not optimizing/tap-tuning their tops, vs a boutique builder that does, and who makes in a year what Martin makes in 3 days.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

As I said in the other thread, I’ve always used lights or medium/lights (Bluegrass) on all of my dreads. Any loss of volume is minimal. At least to my ears. My favorite by far are Santa Cruz Mid Tension strings. Gets the top moving like mediums but play like lights.

Yes, and while the Medium Tension are recommended for larger guitars built for the higher tension, they can also work on a little box too. I have a set on my parlor sized CF guitar (super strong, no bracing) and they have lit this guitar right up. Aside from good projection and resonance, one of my favorite things about these is the harmonic dynamics and EQ. The sustain, interplay between the notes, and balance is unrivaled from any other set I've tried (and I've tried a lot). If there is one slight negative I would add would be that they tend to be on the bright side. Even after 5 days they haven't really warmed up much and remind me of what I don't like about the industry standard EJ16s.

**note that SCGC recommends Light Tension for smaller instruments/ wood instruments**

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Andromeda

I didn’t want to hijack the other thread because my question is a little different.

I have three dreads I am going to take in for adjustments and I’m considering going with light gauge strings instead of mediums.

I’m not a real heavy strummer or finger style player...my touch is on the lighter side. Would the lighter gauge strings affect the tone and volume that much (I like my action as low as possible) or should I stick with mediums because I play more lightly.....or should I just experiment and see?

The real point of dreadnoughts is loudness and projection. They are made to wear medium gauge strings.

Yes of course you can fit lights on them, many do, but yes of course it will affect the volume, tone as there will be less tension on those big ol' tops.

Just my opinion, but it kinda defeats the object of having dreads to me.

[edward993]

Originally Posted by Andromeda

....or should I just experiment and see?

It really is this. There is "conventional wisdom," then there is what works for you.

Moreover, each guitar responds differently to tension. Trying and hearing really is the only way to answer it.

Edward

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by donlyn

Light vs. Medium gauge string question 2




Andromeda,

Skipping an obvious question, many players like dreads for bass and loudness. If you want to play lightly on them but really like dreads, may I suggest something different.

Elixir PB HD Light gauge: .013 / 27, .017 / 26, .025 / 34, .032 / 31, .042 / 30, .053 / 26 174

Read as gauge / tension, and 174 as total tension. Details taken from Elixir's website.

These are in the ballpark with bluegrass or light mediums with overall tension, but are reversed in emphasis, as they use Light bass strings, a tweener G string, and Medium B and E treble strings.

My smaller Taylor Grand Concert 412 was shipped with this set, and I found that they work excellently with that guitar. I also found that my Taylor Grand Orchestra 818 likes them too. That guitar has a tendency for a heavy bass presence much like a dread. In fact the large bout body is nearly 17" across and the overall shape is similar to a jumbo with a less narrow waist (or a dread with a bit of a waist). Point being that I like the medium trebles a lot, and I didn't need such a booming bass.

I fingerpick everything using my nails as picks. The overall tone I get with this string gauge is very balanced and suits me very well. And it suits the 818 guitar very well too, or so my ears tell me. I also use this gauge on my J-200 size guitars, which I tend to not to play that hard either.

Might be worth a shot to try this HD gauge out, maybe on one guitar, before you commit to adjustments. I'm guessing you may be pleased with the results. By the way, Gibson used to ship all or most all of their guitars with Lights. And I like jumboes for their balance as well as the extra headroom.

Don
.

I like Don’s idea here. My chief complaint about light strings is the intense shrill my ears hear from them.
I also like a very low action, and being of greater mass, a heavier string will maintain it’s inertia better and requires a smaller string vibration travel path than lights so one can get lower no-buzz action from meds than you can from lights.
I have 12’s on most of mine. So I split the difference.

[L20A]

Andromeda,
have you made a decision yet?
So many opinions here that it can make you question your choice and decision.

[FingahPickah]

Originally Posted by Andromeda

Thanks that a real good idea!

While most dreads are built for mediums - Martin makes a "Light/Medium" set MA545 (gauges .0125 > .055) that I've used for years on my Martin dread (D40) - Great compromise - feel more like lights - sound more like mediums

[Andromeda]

Originally Posted by L20A

Andromeda,
have you made a decision yet?
So many opinions here that it can make you question your choice and decision.

I think I’m going to try the light/Medium set by Martin on one of my dreads and to see how that feels and sounds. There’s been some great advice in this thread!

[L20A]

Good choice.
To tell you the truth, when I put my first set on, I really didn't feel the difference between the Bluegrass set and normal medium gauge strings.

Like I suggested before, keep your old saddles.

[rokdog49]

Newtone Strings offers you the opportunity to create your own “hybrids” in any gauge and string materials. As a for instance, their Round Core strings will allow you to have a 56-46-36-26-16-12 high potency set that is plenty loud and easier to play with lower tension on the bridge as well.
You can create any variation your heart desires.

[musicman1951]

There are some Youtube videos that compare different gauges, and I was frankly surprised at the small difference in tone from the audience perspective. It's probably considerably larger for the player, but you won't know until you try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sZb9YjL-N8&t=17s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGXj_NQONYM&t=16s