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Heavier gauge..Difference in tone?


Metal_Storm

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Posted

Might sound like a stupid quesiton but I live in a smallish town in Australia and I just bought this Cole Clark Fat Lady 2 acoustic which im loving except it seems to sound 10 times better when the Elixer Nanoweb strings that it was shipped with are on the guitar. I've tried a few other types of strings that just didnt have the same sound the guitar had when I first bought it. With the Elixirs on there it had this really sparkly/twangy sound when you plucked the strings which i really like. Anyway I found an Australian company that sells the strings online but they dont have 12-53's however they do have 13-56's. My question is will a slight change in string gauge effect the tone greately? Would a heavier gauge give off a more twangy/buzzy/sparkle sound?? (if so thats good). Or would i be best to go with a lighter gauge to acheive that sound (eg 10-47). If heavier gauge's better produce that sound im lookin for then I'll go heavier than 56's because im used to playin heavier gauges on my electric anyways.

 

If someone could help me out here it would be much appreciated because I'm gonna have to pay $34 Australian for one set of these Elixirs so I'd prefer not to find out the hard way!

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You will get a clearer, more projective sound with more overtones with strings of heavier gauge. Lighter strings is like tuning down your guitar or playing a guitar with shorter scale, eg. they will sound thinner and bluesier.

 

Though Elixirs does not appeal to me, Elixirs are known to be rather thin and bluesy sounding to begin with. Therefore I couldn't say whether a heavier gauge would be to you liking or not.

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$34!!! ..I don't like the Elixer sound, but if you have to have 'em..I would NOT recomend the lighter guage you mentioned. I think the most noticeable thing about heavier strings is that they are louder, and require more work.

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Thanks for your help guys. I got the Elixir Nanoweb 13-56's in the mail and they sound great they definetely make the guitar sound better. Thanks for the link to that site JasmineTea but keep in mind i live in Australia and that company charges $39 for international orders REGARDLESS of order size. And i only go through strings once ever 4-5 months so i dont wanna be ordering in bulk. I just wanted to try out one set to see if they were definetely the right strings. But thanks anyway!

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Posted

 

Originally posted by solitaire

You will get a clearer, more projective sound with more overtones with strings of heavier gauge. Lighter strings is like tuning down your guitar or playing a guitar with shorter scale, eg. they will sound thinner and bluesier.

 

 

One cannot make such a statement without considering the specific guitar. Some guitars are designed for lighter gauge strings; they will often not sound as good with mediums. What you are saying is correct with respect to heavily-built or larger guitars, but not necessarily with respect to small-bodied, lightly braced guitars.

 

Ken S.

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