Once again singing the praises of medium gauge strings

[kwakatak]

I had D'Addorio EJ-16 (light gauge phosphor bronze) strings (and also had a set of ebony/MOP bridge pins) on my D-16GT and it sounded kinda wimpy. I guess part of the Martin allure is that they need medium strings to come alive but then again maybe my other two guitars give Martins a run for their money.

 

Regardless, as I was sitting on my bed watching a PCN (Pennsylvania Cable Network) tour of the Martin Guitar factory I was putting EJ-17s on the D-16GT. The ebony pins were too big for the medium strings and the micarta bridge didn't have any give, so on went the stock white plastic pins. After tuning up to my preferred pitch of each string a half step down I picked up my preferred medium Cool faux tort pick and was in bliss once again.

 

So to all you guys who went down to lights or lower for comfort reasons I just wanted to let you know what you're missing! :poke:

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry - just a little humor and friendly rivalry on my part. I don't mean to offend, just to ruffle some feathers and challenge my peers without being overly competitive.

 

FWIW, I chose a Martin this time around because I loved the tone. There's just something about the sustain and bass response of a Martin, regardless of the price point. By putting lights on it last time around I did it a great disservice and for a time actually regretted buying it. Compared to my Tak and my Larriv

[rjoxyz]

I'm with you--mediums on all my dreads (excepting one lightly braced example with a bellying bridge). I have yet to find a larger bodied guitar that sounds "right" with anything less than 13's. I recently put a set of DR Sunbeam 13's on my Stanford OM and it took on a new personality.

[Danner]

I've got a few sets of mediums inbound from MF, should be here Tuesday. I'm going to Gibson medium PB's on the Southern Jumbo. Looking forward to hearing/playing that.

[Stackabones]

 

After tuning up to my preferred pitch of each string a half step down

 

 

Doesn't that alone change the feel of the string gauge you use? Do light gauge strings tuned to pitch feel like medium gauge strings tuned a half-step down?

[riffmeister]

I love mediums on my Collings dread......big volume, big basses, long sustain, all the good stuff!

 

On my OM I prefer light guage wound strings and medium 1st & 2nd strings.

[JasmineTea]

12 17 24 32 42 53

 

EJ-16s, swap the B, for me.

I'm too chicken to try "mediums"...I thought they were mediums.

[kwakatak]

 

Doesn't that alone change the feel of the string gauge you use? Do light gauge strings tuned to pitch feel like medium gauge strings tuned a half-step down?

 

 

Slightly, but it's still different. Lights were a bit too slinky even for flatpicking whereas mediums just feel more substantial to me. FWIW when strumming I like the strings to feel stiff so that I can get a truer tone without worry of inadvertently bending the strings. When I put lights on the D-16GT I found myself wanting to fingerpick it more, but like I said I bought it to strum and the lights just weren't cutting it.

[Oldskool Texas]

I love those mediums, but bending notes on a longer-scale neck is murder. I'm willing to sacrifice the bigger sound for playability, but I agree that on big-bodied guitars, .13s sound spectacular.

[KATMAN]

The only guitar I have to handle mediums is my resonator.The Takamine or the Epiphone won't handle them. I had an old Conn dread that I used mediums on,even after the neck snapped on it.Played better after it was fixed.

[Hudman]

Knock had mediums on the LL6 he sent to me. He tuned it down a half step. I gave them a shot for a couple of weeks. They sound great but I prefer standard tuning (I know - I could put a capo at the first fret). I put a set of 12's on it tuned it up to standard. I didn't notice a big loss of tone or volume. The 12's felt better to me. I had to tweak the truss a bit to account for the lighter strings.

 

I read an article a few weeks ago that stated some manufacturers advise players against putting mediums on engelmann spruce top guitars. Engelmann is softer than sitka.

 

The engelmann may be what makes the L Series sound so good. Some people describe engelmann as having a tone similar to aged / open sitka.

 

I would describe it as being somewhere between a warm cedar and a bright sitka. AKA "just right".

[Grant Harding]

I tune to regular pitch, so mediums aren't really practical for me. I use 12-56 bluegrass gauge.

[Tartanlad]

I use light/mediums 12s to 54s Martin 80/20 bronze strings

 

but think i may either go down to 11s or try P/Bronze 11s nxt.

[guildfire]

I prefer lights, better playability and little/no loss of tone. Sometimes I will put mediums on the low E and A to get a little more "bottom end."

[guitarcapo]

I just hate playing a song in F or B flat with mediums. E flat sucks too.

Especially some slow fingerpicked ballad.

 

Fun times strumming in E though..........

[Tartanlad]

I just hate playing a song in F or B flat with mediums. E flat sucks too. Especially some slow fingerpicked ballad. Fun times strumming in E though..........

 

Guitarcapo...Dae me a wee fav and get rid of that Beautiful burd on yer avatar

 

as she is dain ma head-in and i mean in a nice way

 

she's a bonnie wee burd likes