bill67 Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 I've used thomasik 13-61 strings on epiphones and washburn guitars without any problem,Do you think they would be alright on my J-15.Has anyone used heavy stings on gibsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Yup- I wouldn't be afraid to. I would keep an eye on neck relief and not be in the habit of storing it with a capo on. I would not own a guitar that I could not string with my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Yup- I wouldn't be afraid to. I would keep an eye on neck relief and not be in the habit of storing it with a capo on. I would not own a guitar that I could not string with my choice. Whoa ! 61s ? My prediction is that with those sorts of heavier gauges on the low end you might be chocking whatever bounce is in the guitar clean out. Most medium gauges I am familiar with run 13 to 56, heavier than that, unless you tune done a semi-tone or two, sounds risky to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cibby53 Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I've used thomasik 13-61 strings on epiphones and washburn guitars without any problem,Do you think they would be alright on my J-15.Has anyone used heavy stings on gibsons. I briefly tried medium gauge Gibson 80/20's on my J15 . They gave me a great sound and did not effect playability at all.. I have been wondering if I could use mediums full time on the J15. Since then I have tried Medium Martin SP's which were not as good as the Gibson meds. Right now med/lights are what I'm playing med on 4-6 and lights on 1-3. I found mediums really give the bass a good improvement . It would be interesting to see if the J15 can handle a .61 lowE if it can there would not be much concern about regular old medium gauge strings . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Yup- I wouldn't be afraid to. I would keep an eye on neck relief and not be in the habit of storing it with a capo on. I would not own a guitar that I could not string with my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 What's the correlation between storing with a capo on and thicker strings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 What's the correlation between storing with a capo on and thicker strings? I should have qualified my statement. I do think that you are hastening the inevitable that results from string tension. My thought was that it is going to take some saddle height to accommodate that 61 and I would pay attention to anything that interrupts the trajectory from bridge saddle-nut. My opinions are not expert. I believe that Gibson recommends light gauge but asserts that their guitars can handle medium. I also agree with dd that you may be choking what the guitar offers naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I use mediums 13-56 on some of mine. They are ok on Gibson acoustics, though some of those lighter built ones like the recent J-35 might last a bit longer without repair if you put lights on them. I would hesitate to use 61 in standard tuning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Forgive me for possible ignorance , but putting strings as 'out there' as 61's to get enough bass not dictate that maybe a different guitar might suit better ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill67 Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 I've been using those 61 for about 4years on Washburn and Epiphone and they are longer scale so the string would be tighter on them than the J15.It really has nothing to do with the bridge height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill67 Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Forgive me for possible ignorance , but putting strings as 'out there' as 61's to get enough bass not dictate that maybe a different guitar might suit better ? The 61s gave to much bass to my $250 Washburn cedartop mahogany so I went ligher on that guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Forgive me for possible ignorance , but putting strings as 'out there' as 61's to get enough bass not dictate that maybe a different guitar might suit better ? Absolutely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 I don't know what gauges she was using, but I'll never forget in the mid-late '60s trying to play Mother Maybelle's Gibson archtop at root positions and I've never seen such heavy guitar strings. I'd been playing a lot of 12-string at the time and thought my hands worked fairly well. I couldn't play Wildwood Flower without muffing. I asked what strings she was using and she said they were Mapes Extra Heavy. I thought she'd stolen them from piano bass strings. <grin> In retrospect, she played capoed in everything I've seen and she played with what amounted to the same technique as used on the autoharp - a scratch rather than picking technique which, of course, gives rise to the term "Carter Family Scratch." For what it's worth, even muffing those cables was worthwhile. I met her while looking for my Johnny Cash interview when everybody, my editor, my publisher and Cash's agent warned me to be careful with Johnny because if anything wrong was said, he'd dump the concert. Mother Maybelle introduced me to Johnny after the shot at playing her old archtop and introducing me to other members of the band. "Johnny, this young man is from the newspaper? And he knows Carter Family music." I hate to admit this, but I remember far less about the successful interview with Cash than I do those huge strings and Maybelle Carter's grace and hospitality that were totally unnecessary but totally appreciated by a cub reporter. I figure that if she's not now an angel, it'd have to be the next closest thing for her kindness. But back to the topic... Those old Gibson archtops were doggone near bulletproof. I'm not so sure about a J45. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Nice story m! This is what I come to this forum for-perspective. Thank you for that. We seldom look through others eyes (I include myself)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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