Advice wanted

[Knottyhed]

Hi, I'm an electric player - i've got a rather battered tanglewood electro-acoustic which was fine when I just used it round the house to bang out a few chords on those rare occassions i felt like singing. Recently I started doing a few acoustic open mike nights and increasingly we're writing songs in my band that sound better using an acoustic guitar.

 

My problem is that the my tanglewood has kinda a thin and {censored}ty tone when plugged in (it don't sound great when not either) and very little definition between notes - the percussive sound of the pick on the strings almost seems to drown out the notes when I start hammering it.

 

Basically I'm looking for a mid-range electro-acoustic with a cut away, nice action and full bodied tone. Any suggestions, or do I just need to buy thicker strings (i currently use 10's)?

[ddlingling]

 

Originally posted by Knottyhed Hi, I'm an electric player - i've got a rather battered tanglewood electro-acoustic which was fine when I just used it round the house to bang out a few chords on those rare occassions i felt like singing. Recently I started doing a few acoustic open mike nights and increasingly we're writing songs in my band that sound better using an acoustic guitar. My problem is that the my tanglewood has kinda a thin and {censored}ty tone when plugged in (it don't sound great when not either) and very little definition between notes - the percussive sound of the pick on the strings almost seems to drown out the notes when I start hammering it. Basically I'm looking for a mid-range electro-acoustic with a cut away, nice action and full bodied tone. Any suggestions, or do I just need to buy thicker strings (i currently use 10's)?

 

 

10's are extremely light, which i guess is because you're an electric player. put some 11's or 12's on there, you'll notice a definite change in volume and sustain, and it might even get rid of that annoying percussive picking sound.

 

if you want advice on buying a guitar, give us a price budget and we'd be able to help a lot better.

[solitaire]

Depending on size, whether it's a Folk, Dread or Jumbo you can choose strings specifically for that guitar. Tanglewoods I fear can't take .013 gauge but .012 could be a great choice. I personally love DMS phosphor-bronze strings for their fullbodied and smooth sound (they make any guitar sound huge), but Martin SPs is another great choice (though they go dull rather quickly). Both great rythm strings whilst quite soloable.

 

Noteworthy: Acoustics need rahter heavy gauge strings to ring out properly. The bass tones come from the edges of the top and lighter strings can't convey vibrations that far. They're harder to play obviously, but then some electric guitarists even prefer these gauges for their electrics as well.

It also has a few things to do with the lenght of scale and size of body. A shortscale guitar (like the Tanglewood) requires heavier gauges, thus does a Jumbo size. It's the nature of the beast: more top or less tension requires more steel as a compensation.

[Knottyhed]

 

Originally posted by ddlingling 10's are extremely light, which i guess is because you're an electric player. put some 11's or 12's on there, you'll notice a definite change in volume and sustain, and it might even get rid of that annoying percussive picking sound. if you want advice on buying a guitar, give us a price budget and we'd be able to help a lot better.

 

 

Hi thanks - yeh, i'm used to light gauge strings, so that's what i stuck on my guitar. Sounds like swapping for 11's or 12's will make big difference then. Budget wise I was considering spending around

[Knottyhed]

 

Originally posted by solitaire Depending on size, whether it's a Folk, Dread or Jumbo you can choose strings specifically for that guitar. Tanglewoods I fear can't take .013 gauge but .012 could be a great choice. I personally love DMS phosphor-bronze strings for their fullbodied and smooth sound (they make any guitar sound huge), but Martin SPs is another great choice (though they go dull rather quickly). Both great rythm strings whilst quite soloable. Noteworthy: Acoustics need rahter heavy gauge strings to ring out properly. The bass tones come from the edges of the top and lighter strings can't convey vibrations that far. They're harder to play obviously, but then some electric guitarists even prefer these gauges for their electrics as well. It also has a few things to do with the lenght of scale and size of body. A shortscale guitar (like the Tanglewood) requires heavier gauges, thus does a Jumbo size. It's the nature of the beast: more top or less tension requires more steel as a compensation.

 

 

Probably should've mentioned what sort of guitar - it's a tanglewood tw-47. It's fairly small bodied with a cut-away and (i think) 25.5" scale.

 

Thanks for the string recommendation

[ddlingling]

 

Originally posted by Knottyhed   Hi thanks - yeh, i'm used to light gauge strings, so that's what i stuck on my guitar. Sounds like swapping for 11's or 12's will make big difference then. Budget wise I was considering spending around

[Cldplytkmn]

if you decide to get a new guitar, i'll be the first to suggest a look at Larrivee and martin -15s... i love the OM15 with cutaway and electronics