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Refined 50s SJ or TV SJ


ezra1

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I played her yesterday. I am going to change the strings tomorrow. The 12s are a little stiff for me.

If standard 12s seem stiff to you, try strings wound on a round core rather than the more typical hex core. DR Sunbeams are round-core strings, and their 12s are quite a bit more flexible than a comparable hex-core string.

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Yes, 12’s are good. Just first be sure that there doesn’t seem to be an issue with string height, which can increase if the guitar is in an over-humidified condition, is not set up correctly, or if there is a problem with the neck angle.

 

And if you decide to try the round-core Sunbeams, when installing, don’t cut the string ends for the wound strings until the strings are up to tension, as they’ll come unwound on the core.

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Yes, the coating.

 

So- why was it that you wanted to drop down to 11's? How is your string height, and can you measure it or compare it to the Bedell?

 

DR sent me a set of the Dragon Skins to try along with a replacement set of Sunbeams after getting a set of Sunbeams that had thuddy, dead string issues. This is not altogether unheard of- they are a small, New Jersey-based company who might not be the most consistent, but they want to make it right. 'Never tried the Dragon Skin strings, but the ad copy has them wanting to address a longevity issue with the Sunbeams. There are a few of us here (hello, Nick) that actually like the sound of aged Sunbeams, maybe a month or two old.

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The DR site says the Dragons are hexagonal and the Sunbeams round core.

Well then, maybe we should both try them, but if, as a comparist, you truly wish to confirm the Goldilocks principle, you would want to put both the Bedell and the Woody SJ on strings of the same brand, and of the same age. Isn't this a lot of fun? (#jaded)

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UPDATE: ezra has sent some photos of the '08 Woody Southern Jumbo ngd that just came in:

 

zwOZI85.jpg?1

 

And a good little break was had off of the asking $: https://reverb.com/item/18473879-2008-gibson-southern-jumbo-sj-woody-guthrie-acoustic-electric-case

 

some strangeness might be visible in the headstock area, but ezra suggests it's just a trick of the lens.

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  • 1 month later...

The DR Sunbeam 12s did not work for me.I know many folks here like them.

The big E was dead out of the package and they felt odd.

I had my luthier put Elixir Nanoweb Phospher Bronze 11s on there and he adjusted the saddle.

It is now warm and loud.

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Good of you to circle back to this thread. Sorry the Sunbeams did not work for you. . . I like them after they've been on for maybe 3 weeks. And the dead (low?) E string? Even if the round core wound strings were correctly installed as described on the inside of the string pack, it wouldn't be the first time to get a DR string out of the pack that was a dud, but they are very good with customer service, and if called, would most likely send out a new pack of Sunbeams and a set of their Dragon Skins to try out as well.

 

Hope you've been well.

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