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Post by ninworks on Nov 20, 2021 12:13:25 GMT -5
What is the consensus for using electric guitar strings on an acoustic? I strung up my Sigma DM 3 acoustic with electric strings so I could get the gauges I need to set it up for Nashville tuning and it sounds fine.
I am first and foremost an electric player and even 010 strings on an acoustic bug me unless I tune down a step or more. I may give it a try just to see if I can live with the sound. If I could make it easier for me to play I would play it more.
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Post by hushnel on Nov 20, 2021 12:30:29 GMT -5
Just of the top of my head I’d say it may have the effect of making the acoustic sound a little anemic if the gauge/tension is diminished too much.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 20, 2021 13:12:55 GMT -5
For Nashville tuning I like the idea.
The biggest thing is that a plain G rarely works well for tone or intonation, unless you're making an acoustic to be a springboard for something truly weird, like putting in an electric pickup and playing something bizarre on it. With a wound G, the only difference at that point is the winding material. A few brands have been selling nickel acoustic sets, and I can't figure out for the life of me what is different about those from a heavy set of electric strings (though there does seem to be some difference).
Sometimes they have a good sound, but most of the time I'm just wishing I had bronze on there. Nickel seems to be a good thing to experiment with if you have an acoustic archtop (an electric archtop being in the "well, DUH" category), weirder, vintage instruments like ladder braced guitars, or guitars that are built very lightly and don't have a lot of body to them. For bigger/heavier guitars, you kinda need big strings to drive them.
I'm a big fan of 80/20, which has more nickel than phosphor. I like that it has more fundamental tone and less "bbbrrrlliiinnnggg", and makes it nice if you want to do anything other than strum open chords. I wonder if a 70/30 or 50/50 alloy could work.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Dec 1, 2021 19:44:07 GMT -5
I use some of Ernie Ball's heavier gauge strings on some of my acoustics and banjos. Right now my 6 string banjo is sporting Ernie Ball Not Even Slinkys. I used them because I mounted an old DiMarzio acoustic humbucker under the banjo head and I wanted a hot signal to my amp. My Fender plectrum banjo sports the top four Slinkys in a Chicago tuning. I also used Slinky Skinny Tops/Heavy bottoms on a couple of older cheap acoustics for slide and regular playing.
There are a couple of things to note: Nickel- and steel-wound strings won't have the bright sparkle of bronze 80/20s. And the unwound electric G string sounds "boingy" for lack of a better term. That is why acoustic strings have a wound G string. This isn't a problem for a banjo but can be unpleasant on an acoustic.
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Post by 6l6 on May 12, 2022 10:59:27 GMT -5
When my kids and then grandkids started playing, I put Extra Light's on their guitars for initial learning. MUCH easier on their fingers.
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Post by Rick Knight on May 21, 2022 6:36:04 GMT -5
I used to put electric strings on a lower end acoustic years ago. They were easier to play, at the cost of some sound quality. I loaned it to a girl who I had been dating in New Orleans and never saw her or the guitar again.
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Post by Lefty Rev on May 27, 2022 13:56:58 GMT -5
I loaned it to a girl who I had been dating in New Orleans and never saw her or the guitar again. Probably went "up in smoke" - if you know what I mean...  |
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Post by Rick Knight on May 27, 2022 15:56:14 GMT -5
Probably went "up in smoke" - if you know what I mean...  Perhaps. She was supposed to be going out of town for a week or so. AFAIK, she never came back. Maybe it was planned, maybe something unexpected happened? Who knows? My cousin lost a Telecaster and a D28 to theft. At least mine wasn't a big loss; and I had some fun with her before she and it disappeared. |
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Post by walshb 🦒 on May 27, 2022 17:04:50 GMT -5
Probably went "up in smoke" - if you know what I mean... At least mine wasn't a big loss; and I had some fun with her before she and it disappeared. So...I was gonna suggest that she actually did, um.... oh, never mind! |
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Post by LTB on May 30, 2022 2:24:17 GMT -5
When my kids and then grandkids started playing, I put Extra Light's on their guitars for initial learning. MUCH easier on their fingers. 6 I wish my someone thought of that when I started playing at age 12 in 1964 before my fingers bled. Great idea😊 |
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