Post by Deleted on May 4, 2019 19:22:02 GMT -5
This is something I posted over on the Eastman Guitar Fans site, but I wondered if people here have had the same experience with other brands of guitars or different body types.
When I had a K&K Pure Mini pickup installed on my E10D, the luthier swapped out the old D'Addario EXP-16s (.012 - .053) the E10D had come with for a pack of EXP-26s (.011 - .052) that I had in the case. When I got the the guitar back to the house and started playing it again, though, I had this sense that the E10D had lost a bit of the lovely deep voice it had when I first got it.
I started to wonder if it was because I'd gone from "Light" strings to "Custom Light" -- I've habitually used .011s on all my other acoustics because I preferred the feel of slightly less taut strings, but I'd never noticed any significant difference in the sound of the guitar from when it has .012s on. The EXP26s were my usual go-to string other than the Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze, where I also used the "Custom Light" version (.011 - .052).
But I started to wonder if maybe the Adi top on the Eastman wanted the extra tension from EXP/EJ-16 strings to help 'drive' the top. So as an experiment, I ordered a three-pack of EJ-16s (the uncoated version of the EXP-16) and put them on the Eastman.
AHHHH! That lovely warm and deep voice I remembered was back immediately!
So maybe it was the Adi top that didn't like the .011s, or maybe it was because my other guitars were Sitka tops (other than the Performer, which was Cedar). Or maybe I wasn't listening closely enough when I swapped out the .012s for .011s on the other guitars and they'd all sound better with .012s. And maybe .013s would sound better yet? (And we're not even talking about different string materials and manufacturers... Aargh! Too many variables!)
Anyone else have a thought on this or had a similar experience with different string gauges making an audible difference? 'Cause the difference, to my ear, was definitely noticeable.
OH, and another data point... The K&K Pure Mini sounded very nice, but there was a noticeable improvement in its tone too when I went to .012s. Honest!
When I had a K&K Pure Mini pickup installed on my E10D, the luthier swapped out the old D'Addario EXP-16s (.012 - .053) the E10D had come with for a pack of EXP-26s (.011 - .052) that I had in the case. When I got the the guitar back to the house and started playing it again, though, I had this sense that the E10D had lost a bit of the lovely deep voice it had when I first got it.
I started to wonder if it was because I'd gone from "Light" strings to "Custom Light" -- I've habitually used .011s on all my other acoustics because I preferred the feel of slightly less taut strings, but I'd never noticed any significant difference in the sound of the guitar from when it has .012s on. The EXP26s were my usual go-to string other than the Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze, where I also used the "Custom Light" version (.011 - .052).
But I started to wonder if maybe the Adi top on the Eastman wanted the extra tension from EXP/EJ-16 strings to help 'drive' the top. So as an experiment, I ordered a three-pack of EJ-16s (the uncoated version of the EXP-16) and put them on the Eastman.
AHHHH! That lovely warm and deep voice I remembered was back immediately!
So maybe it was the Adi top that didn't like the .011s, or maybe it was because my other guitars were Sitka tops (other than the Performer, which was Cedar). Or maybe I wasn't listening closely enough when I swapped out the .012s for .011s on the other guitars and they'd all sound better with .012s. And maybe .013s would sound better yet? (And we're not even talking about different string materials and manufacturers... Aargh! Too many variables!)
Anyone else have a thought on this or had a similar experience with different string gauges making an audible difference? 'Cause the difference, to my ear, was definitely noticeable.
OH, and another data point... The K&K Pure Mini sounded very nice, but there was a noticeable improvement in its tone too when I went to .012s. Honest!
- has anyone here had any experience with those?