jw3571 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Does anyone use medium strings on a hummingbird? I usually put mediums on all my guitars but am unsure about how the bird will respond to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Funny you should ask........... Just today I strung up my Vintage model with a set of DR Sunbeams in medium, .013-.056, just as an experiment. I had tried this set on a Hummingbird Std I had a few years back and felt the heavier strings dampened the top, kind of choked it a bit. But so far so good on the Vintage. Lots of volume, good strong low end and very good overall balance in the sound. Not choked at all. With just a couple hours on them I am impressed, but I'll give it some time before I decide to make the change from light gauge a more suitable option for this particular guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 About the only mediums I really like are Martin Monels. They have a little less tension than 80/20's and Phosphor bronze too. If you give them a try be sure to give them three to five days to settle in before judging them. I run them on my Larrivee walnut guitar and love how the woodiness comes through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Does this guitar happen to be of maple back & sides, as in the Viper Blue Hummingbird that you recently "triggered upon" (thx, Gotomsdos) ? Sometimes it's necessary to lighten up on the string gauge to let the guitar show it's voice, and with maple, the sound can be hard enough as it is. Definitely heavier gauge strings for more hard-driving (think 'bluegrass') styles of playing, though. Let's see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Yep, tried it both on the HB TV and my old 69'er whch has since been moved on, and in both cases found it choked the top too much, did not add any value. Im actually considering putting Elixir 11's on my HB TV to see if it will be easier to EQ in a live setting. I find this guitar is really hard to EQ as the bass is really strong and has a lot of that nectar overtone that needs to be dealt with, usually by bringing up the trebles and pulling back on the bass. (With the maple J-150 i just leave everything flat and its perfect to go) With 11's it might bring the overtones and bass down a bit, im quite curious about trying this experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Nope. Never. Tried them on my J45C and didn't like 'em, so had no desire to mess with them on my HBird TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Well, after a couple days of playing medium gauge on my Vintage model I must say I am very impressed. Hard to describe accurately, as are most things "guitar", but the instrument has a very solid feel in it that .012 gauge didn't impart. The top and body vibrate much more vigorously and the sound is several degrees more powerful. The tone is rich, perhaps not quite as much brightness, strong mids. But as much as anything it's the way the guitar feels..........it's the same Hummingbird but seems like it's on steroids. I'm really digging this! While I know that such things are particular to the guitar and the player, for this guitar and this player mediums are the real deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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