Strings and things

It’s been a while since I put strings on any of my guitars and I keep forgetting my strategy. I have a few stop tailpiece instruments and some floating bridge instruments. Different scale lengths and all of that. I was on a kind of exploratory mission a while back to start putting heavier and heavier strings on my instruments because I like a dynamic sort of playing style that tends to pull lighter strings out of tune. I’m aware that lighter strings can be “tighter” especially in the low end but I’m also aware that some of the blues guys went very heavy. Well I went all the way to Stevie Ray Vaughn territory (13s) and lived to tell the tale.

My primary instrument is a 1980 Ibanez AR50. It’s a bare-bones version of the artist models back then but has full binding which looks really cool. It doesn’t have that scalloped tailpiece which I also think looks cool. But I digress. It’s a heavy instrument weighing in at 9.5lb and is fully capable of handling some heavy strings. I like to play GHS Boomers strings so generally I put them on all my guitars. I used to think it was pretty silly to have a preference on strings but it kind of makes sense since every string vendor has different sets with different string gauges. Also I have had a lot of string breakages with certain brands for some reason which I don’t know is bad luck or not but if I’m going to be superstitious about something in my life it may as well be guitar strings.

So the problem with some heavier string sets is that I need to have a plain 3rd (G) string. This is because of the bending dynamics that happens with wound strings. I will have to look at the physics spreadsheet again, but a wound 3rd takes a lot of movement to bend the amount that I like to bend for double stop bends. Plain strings have more tension on them for the same pitch and while harder to bend, take less lateral movement on the fretboard to achieve the same interval. I worked my finger strength up to the heavier strings so the tension isn’t a problem for me (for bends at least) but the movement is limiting since you only have so much real estate on the fretboard before you have to bend all the surrounding strings too (or just run out of room).

Ok so with that out of the way, the only set of 13s that I have found is the GHS Boomers DYM which has a wound 3rd that I just replace with another string. Problem is, I can’t recall which string I replaced it with in the past, hence this blog post. I have never written down all the random learnings I have made so I’m starting with this post.

I have played a few jams now with the wound 3rd and this just cements my opinion that I need a plain 3rd. The DYM set is 13, 17, 26w, 36w, 44w, 56w. I honestly don’t think I need these massive bass strings, so I have experimented with creating “thick-thin” sets (which are also available commercially from several string vendors). The jury is out with the mixed sets. It helps with the setup especially on a floating bridge guitar where you need to have massive spring tension to offset the strings.

I think 13s are a little too heavy overall anyway now that I have been re-visiting this DYM set. It’s really beastly. Barre chords become a chore and I needed to adjust my truss rod again because it’s really a massive amount of string tension on the neck. Years ago I played a jazz guitar at a friend’s music school practice room and basically couldn’t play that instrument. I doubt it had anything heavier than 13s though which I now have no problem with. Question is, is it worth it? I like being able to palm mute the high strings and I like that I can really dig into the strings when playing. To some degree tremolo picking becomes easier because the strings barely move when plucking. I think there might be a sweet spot though. I use 1.14mm Dunlop nylon picks. I’ve found that I need to get just the right amount of friction between the string and the pick. Tortoise shell picks always seem to slippery. Maybe it’s in my head but the way the nylon picks wear seems about right.

This is just a rambling rant about picks and strings, I realize. I need to get this all down on paper though. My short scale guitars (Pignose) gets 12s. Shorter scale can go way up in gauge because the tension is just way lower at the short scale. That’s one instrument that could probably stand to get 13s and it would feel like 12s.

The Fenders are kind of a different story. A story for another time. I think I’m gonna go back to 12s. GHS has a set already available with a plain 3rd string and wow it’s just a bunch easier to play. 12s are still pretty dang heavy and don’t move around when playing hard.