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| Med or Light Strings??? http://www-.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=1439 |
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| Author: | WalterK [ Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:00 pm ] |
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Hi Folks, I have noticed lately that the Manufactures of production guitars recommend light gauge strings most of the time. Why is that?? Is it because they don't want extra stress on their guitars due to warranty reasons? I have always used Med strings and seem to get more out of the guitar when used. Many years ago when strings were cheaper I would put heavy ga. for the E, A, & D. And use Med. Ga. for the G,B, & E. Great sound!! Now I just use Med. Any ideas?????????????? Thanks, Walter 
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| Author: | Dickey [ Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:18 pm ] |
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Taylor recommends lights on their Grand Auditorium and Grand Concert. But I prefer mediums on their Grand Auditoriums, but agree the Grand Concert is better with lights. Mediums on my Dreds and Grand A! sound good. Smaller, lighter guitars usually are best with lights. I get a kick out of some acoustic players who play mediums. When they pull out an electric and play exlights they actually complain it plays all out of tune.... wonder why? |
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| Author: | Mario [ Tue Mar 22, 2005 2:48 pm ] |
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I know of nobody who plays anything but mediums. I'm the "music store" in our little town, and all I sell are mediums. I have one last set of lights that are about to rust they've been on the shelf so long.... Manufacturers suggest lights to cover their butts; if the top bellies or something goes wrong, and they see mediums on it, they can blame it on that. As for Moi, even my OM ships out of here with mediums. I'd say that light gauge strings are for girls, but even my wife, who has reumatoid arthritis and has bad hands, plays mediums. <g> |
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| Author: | Don Williams [ Tue Mar 22, 2005 11:36 pm ] |
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Just out of curiosity, I wonder if medium and heavy gauge strings may be one reason why so many old guitars sound so great today. They sure do a good dreadnaught justice. I have relatively small hands, and I don't get callouses hardly at all, so I'm stuck playing lights. I would prefer mediums if they didn't cause pain... |
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| Author: | John How [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:30 am ] |
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The pain goes away eventualy and you know what they say........no pain, no gain  |
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| Author: | crazymanmichael [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:11 am ] |
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i think that if it were simply a warranty claim prevention strategy mfgr's would specify lights for all their guitars, not just their large bodies. i think it has more to do with their opinion of what produces better tone on the smaller bodies. i fit lights to my smaller bodies because i think they sound better that way also. as for string sales, my clients seem to be evenly divided. the blue grass/country pickers, almost all dred players, go for the mediums, while the solo singers tend to favour smaller bodies and lights. michael mcclain |
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| Author: | Colin S [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:24 am ] |
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I think that saying everyone should use mediums, and that if they don't their girly, is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard recently. Use the string that the guitar was braced for and which you prefer the sound and the playing experience. Unlike Mario, most of the players I know over here use medium on their dreadnaught guitars and lights or even extra light on their smaller bodied guitars. Most of my guitars have light strings and my 00s tend to have extra lights, with a mixed balanced set for altered tuning playing, and no I'm not a girl Mario nor have I built a hundred guitars since christmas but I am a player with more than 40 years experience and I know what suits my guitars and my playing style. Colin |
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| Author: | Don Williams [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:46 am ] |
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John, the pain won't go away....like I said, my fingers don't develop callouses. Hardly at all. What tiny bit does develop flakes off in no time. So imagine playing medium strings with no callouses for a couple hours.....yikes! No pain no gain? Then I'll settle for no gain.  |
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| Author: | Mario [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:17 am ] |
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Guys, I never said anyone HAD to play mediums. I just said I don't know of anyone playing anything but. Even the girls. And it's the honest truth. But in my world, nobody plays fingerstyle, and nobody plays anything smaller than an OM(and those are rare, too). Everyone knows(or I assume that everyone knows) what style of music I am into, and that needs to be taken into account. I also joke and tease allot, so take all my comments with a grain of salt, puhlease. Life is serious enough; our on-line time need not be! Lighten up! In the overall market, the best selling acoustic guitar strings(according to D'Addario) are light gauge. Don, try coated strings; no matter what the gauge, they will feel nice to your fingers; my wife also can't build calouses, and she can't play anything with non-coated strings, no matter how light they are. Non-coated strings burn her fingers. I've cut as much as 1/8" off the end of a finger, and didn't draw blood, my skin's so thick. Really! When I was a young lad, I used to work in a grinder room, where we man-handled logs all day with a pike pole. We used to have to work our hands in a sand box or sand bag when we were off for more than a week, to keep our callouses up. Maybe this is something you could try. It's just a box or bag with fine sand in it, and you work your hand(s) in it, basicly just making a fist, releasing, and making another fist, etc... Give incredible strength to the hands, as well as building thick skin. I know some folks can't build callouses at all, but this would be worth a shot. Even light gauge strings must hurt without a callouse! |
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| Author: | Don Williams [ Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:09 am ] |
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[QUOTE=Mario]Even light gauge strings must hurt without a callouse![/QUOTE] You can say that again... and it keeps me from playing for any length of time. Which might be a blessing for anyone listening.  
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| Author: | bob J [ Sun Mar 27, 2005 5:32 am ] |
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Try the fine sawdust/cyno on tips of fingers to reduce pain greatly. |
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