Jerry K Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I have some guitars with lights (12's) but I prefer either a medium-light mixture or mediums. Mediums are fine on most Bozeman Gibsons, I would say. The added force of the strings changes the neck a bit so you have to go through the setup process again, usually just a slight tightening of the truss rod to offset the addl force. The difference in tone can be quite striking and I found I my hands got used to mediums pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 I like lights and mediums. Overall, slight preference to the lights, but in any particular case it depends on the guitar and the song. I've used mediums exclusively on my Dove for over 21 years with nary a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo312 Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 "I like lights and mediums. Overall, slight preference to the lights, but in any particular case it depends on the guitar" I'm with Honky Dog John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballcorner Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 I have worked with about sixty guitars that needed neck resets. This is to say nothing of the 300+ needing a bridge or bridge plate fixed. What I learned from studying each guitar's history is that most of the reset guitars had a steady diet of medium to heavy strings. There are some guitars, such as a D-28 Martin, that are exclusively built for use with medium strings - and if these guitars are kept in proper circumstances with the right amount of humidity they should provide many years of service on medium strings without issue. Unfortunately, most people don't know how to keep their guitars stable with humidity controls and temperature modulation. So, when you add the higher tension of medium gauge strings and other forms of neglect like failing to change strings frequently, it often happens that the instrument succumbs to the pressures put upon it. I call it Guitarothermia, because it is the instrument's equivalent of being left out in a winter storm. So, there are indeed many models of guitar that can tolerate medium strings if the environment is suitable. They are still going to break down faster than a guitar kept on light strings, but they aren't going to explode in the first year. There is some give and take. The reason I don't use mediums on any guitar is because reality does not make it possible to keep the guitar in a perfectly stable environment. I am in a two year old house with climate controls I thought they only had on Star Trek. Still, there are fluctuations in many parts of the home of 12-20% in humidity and up to 6% for temperature. If you think of your guitar the same way you think of your hands, imagine what happens when constant change is imposed on the instrument - wet one day, dry the next, constant change. So, if a climate controlled home can create situations that are not ideal for medium strings - what happens when you take the guitar out to a gig or a jam, or just go for a tune at mom's house? Even with the climate controls in this house, I still have the guitar room on its own systems. I have hydration and dehydration systems working against each other to keep the room at 45%, 12 months of the year, and the room temperature is 70 degrees F. And even with such controls in place, I have only two guitars that use medium strings: A D-28 and a Santa Cruz, both made for that gauge exclusively. I did indeed lose one guitar completely that I really loved. It was an Epiphone acoustic that had been given to me by a friend who later passed away and when she gave it to me I think it was purchased with every dime she had. I got into using medium strings at the suggestion of a player I was learning some stuff from, and in about five years the guitar became impossible to repair as the cost would have been five times the purchase price. I did understand proper humidification, and in those days the deal was having those snake type hydrators hanging in the sound hole, but the realities of playing guitar in the park and being out with the guitar regularly conspired to allow the medium strings to destroy the instrument. At this forum, I see as many questions as I do answers. I am concerned about advising people to use medium strings without providing the education about instrument care in the same paragraph. I do agree that mediums can improve tone, but so can a lot of playing. The player's hands and the level of top activity from regular playing will provide much greater tone than a medium stringed guitar that gets played once a month by an irregular player. There are no absolutes for many of the topics we discuss here. But this one, for me, is a troubling issue because I have seen so many guitars damaged by heavier strings. In my experience, which includes 25+ years of collecting and more than 4000 instruments passing through my home, medium strings provide more downside potential than any other choice a person can make with their guitar. Belt sanders are also bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Hey,BallCorner - Outstanding Information! Thanks!! ..Impressive.One question though.. I think I am good with the belt sander danger but would you, if time permits, expand a little on your comment that NOT changing strings regularly is a harmful? I know most here change there strings as often as their socks. But, I grew up on Black Diamonds and replaced them rarely. Now, I understand that tone, vibration, etc. are a function of age, stress and amount of playing time. But since I tune my light long play elixers down in C instead of E, and don't play more than 30 minutes a day - I've grown fond of the 'broken in' sound of older strings. So - how do old strings damage a guitar and how often should they be changed to completely avoid that possibility. Sorry for the long question. Thought it might help you spend less time answering ! Tnxs, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Hey' date='BallCorner - Outstanding Information! Thanks!! ..Impressive.One question though.. I think I am good with the belt sander danger :) but would you, if time permits, expand a little on your comment that [b']NOT changing strings regularly is a harmful?[/b] I know most here change there strings as often as their socks. But, I grew up on Black Diamonds and replaced them rarely. Now, I understand that tone, vibration, etc. are a function of age, stress and amount of playing time. But since I tune my light long play elixers down in C instead of E, and don't play more than 30 minutes a day - I've grown fond of the 'broken in' sound of older strings. So - how do old strings damage a guitar and how often should they be changed to completely avoid that possibility. Sorry for the long question. Thought it might help you spend less time answering ! Tnxs, Jim OMG, is that true? I had not heard that before. I'm one of those who changes strings like socks but, that being said, I've got some strings on Magic right now that have been on there since November! They are medium D'Addario Flat Tops. They claim to mute the treble a bit so I thought I'd try them. The first few days took some getting used to, but I really love them now. And they've aged very well! Elmo has light strings on him. I alternate between light and medium, dpending on my mood, but I play better with lights (hammer-ons are more pronounced, etc) and my hand doesn't get as tired with lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajsc Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Lots of info on line about strings. http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/selectstringsa_skqb.htm http://www.flatpick.com/Pages/News_And_Reviews/Gear.html#ST1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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