moving up from lights to mediums

[Barry_Blink_a_lot]

Hi folks,

About 6 or 7 years ago, I bought a Martin D-15 which came strung with medium gauge strings. I had it set up for a lighter gauge because it was tough on my fingers. Now I am a much stronger player and the light strings feel a little wimpy right now.

For any of you guys who've made the switch, is it worth it? How's the tone difference? And did you find yourself struggling to bend notes on the top 3 strings? I typically don't bend much, and when I do, it's usually on a half step or so.

Any replies are very appreciated.

[OldGuitarPlayer]

Hi folks, About 6 or 7 years ago, I bought a Martin D-15 which came strung with medium gauge strings. I had it set up for a lighter gauge because it was tough on my fingers. Now I am a much stronger player and the light strings feel a little wimpy right now. For any of you guys who've made the switch, is it worth it? How's the tone difference? And did you find yourself struggling to bend notes on the top 3 strings? I typically don't bend much, and when I do, it's usually on a half step or so. Any replies are very appreciated.

I think you should at least try the mediums and see how you like them.
I think there are even custom sets you can buy like Bluegrass gauges and the like. You will notice an increase in tone with mediums for sure and it really won't hurt your Martin.

[totamus]

the tonal difference makes it worthwhile to switch. I went through a period where I switched to all lights and even custom lights due to the onset of arthritus. That lasted for about a year, I switched back because of the incredible difference in sound.

[Freeman Keller]

While I have never done a side by side comparision, it is my belief that as long as you do not change composition or coating, there should not be any tone difference - ie, if you play an E note it should have the same complexity of harmonics, brightness, and probably sustain. What I believe that you will probably get is a little more volume, combined with a little stiffer feel and a little more difficulty in bending, sliding, etc. The difference is about 15 percent in tension - you should be able to feel that.

If your git is right on the edge of setup you may have slightly less buzzing and some people report that they need to tweak the setup (altho I've never understood why). You might see a thousands or so more relief and you might see the action go up a hair, but mostly I think you will feel it more than measure it.

The rule of thumb is that dreads and flat pickers tend to like mediums, smaller guitars, finger pickers, people who bend and slur, playing up the neck all favors lighter strings. FWIW - I'm happy with lights on everything, including my old D-18 unless I'm going to tune down dramatically, but remember that I fingerpick, even the dread.

Give 'em a try and see what you think - Martin would have shipped that git with mediums.

[Bitt81]

I tried mediums on my two acoustics about a year ago. Recently I restrung one with a set of lights that were laying around. I noticed the difference immediately and don't like the feel. I find I overbend the lights because of how used to the mediums I have become.

[Barry_Blink_a_lot]

I think I'm going to make the switch. Will it be necessary to take it someplace to get it set up specifically for mediums? If I just throw them on, will it throw my intonation and action off?

Thanks for the replies, everybody.

[Freeman Keller]

I think I'm going to make the switch. Will it be necessary to take it someplace to get it set up specifically for mediums? If I just throw them on, will it throw my intonation and action off? Thanks for the replies, everybody.

 

 

Should not be a problem. Intonation will not change, action might creep up a tiny bit - you will feel it more than measure it. Nut slots were cut for mediums from the factory. If you feel the action has changed then you could have it adjusted.

[bigou]

I use Martin Bluegrass on my Norman ST40 and really love the sound and the feel of those strings. Beat of both world IMO.

[DeepEnd]

 

. . . Will it be necessary to take it someplace to get it set up specifically for mediums? . . .

 

Theoretically, there will be slightly more relief due to the increased tension and the action will rise (again slightly) as a result but, as Freeman noted, it really shouldn't be a problem. If you decide to keep mediums on it for the foreseeable future, you might want to tweak the truss rod a tad but that'd be about it.

[bjorn-fjord]

Chances are good that you'll need to give the trussrod a slight adjustment to counter the increased tension. The soundboard may pull up a little bit too. A few adjustments may be required to get everything just right. If you are really picky about action you might be pleased to hear that you can actually set the action a little lower with heavier strings because the vibration envelope is a little smaller that with lights.