Members apostrophe Posted January 6, 2005 Members Share Posted January 6, 2005 so....my guitar was strung with d'addario exp lights when i bought it. i later switched to phospher bronze lights (EJ 16's). so.....can i get some mediums or will that hurt my guitar? i just want to experiment. by the way, what could i look forward to with the mediums soundwise compared to the lights. do they make a light/medium? sorry for all the questions, thanks for all the answers! A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 54merk Posted January 6, 2005 Members Share Posted January 6, 2005 Mediums should have a fuller and more powerful sound. The difference will not be overwhelming, but they will sound different nonetheless. It will also be harder to bend strings, and your action will be higher as well. Without knowing anything about your guitar I cannot predict whether it will harm it in any way. Do you have a manual? If not check the manufacturer's website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UGB Posted January 6, 2005 Members Share Posted January 6, 2005 the mediums are thicker and will require more tension to tune up to pitch. This means your headstock will bend up towards the bridge slightly probably resulting in a very minor truss rod adjustment to angle it back a tad. I'd be inclined to go ahead and remove the old set of strings, make the minor truss rod adjustment, maybe a 1/4 turn clockwise, then string it up w/the new strings. Tune it up and get your strings to settle and then check the action as far as proper truss rod tension is concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members apostrophe Posted January 6, 2005 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2005 thanks guys! i think for now ill stick with the lights....i love bending and i love my current sound so why mess with it? might try some diff brand of strings though! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nylon rock Posted January 6, 2005 Members Share Posted January 6, 2005 Just yesterday I ordered a lot of different types of strings from juststrings.com. I'm experimenting too, but in the other direction. Trying not extra lights, but sets between light and extra light, to see how the bending increases, and to see how much the volume drops off. I have more than enough volume right now for my living room with lights. Since my scale is 25.4, I'm hoping that the reduction in tension will make the guitar like a 29.9 scale with light strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldghm Posted January 7, 2005 Members Share Posted January 7, 2005 There are sets with medium 4,5,&6 and light 3,2,&1 I think the Martin "bluegrass" set is packaged that way. Most quality instruments will not be adversly affected by Medium gauge strings. Changing to medium gauge strings may require a little work on the nut to allow the strings to settle in properly and still slide through to tune without sticking. If you do not have correct size files this is best left to someone who does. I try to change strings one at a time, this keeps a nearer constant tension on the guitar requireing less settle time after a string change. I believe if you check a good reference manual for guitar setup it will advise against using the truss rod for action adjustments. When a guitar string is against the first and twelth fret there should be a bit of clearence between the string and the second through eleventh fret, the truss rod is primarily used to maintain this clearence. (about the thickness of a business card at the 5th or 6th fret) Oldghm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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