string guage question

midlifecrisis

on my acoustic guitar I have been using custom lights, 11-50.  I have recently tuned down a fret to e flat to help my lousy singing. im finding the lower strings a bit rattley and buzzy. would it help if I had heavier guage strings or do I need lighter guage, im too lazy and tight to just try so im asking here, thanks.

The23rdman

Heavier. Don't be a pussy.

midlifecrisis

thanks. not afraid of heavy strings,(as long as I can get the packet open). just wanna stop the rattle.

ICBM

Heavier. 12-53 tuned down a semitone will have about the same tension as 11-50 at standard pitch.

The rattling is probably because the neck has moved back slightly with the lowered string tension, so going back to the original tension will fix it.

midlifecrisis

tempted to go to 13-56. or is that too extreme? might even tune down a full tone then.

 

The23rdman

Make sure the bracing can handle 13's if you do, although going down a full tone will reduce the tension. 

midlifecrisis

The23rdman said:

Make sure the bracing can handle 13's if you do, although going down a full tone will reduce the tension. 

how does one do this? apart from doing it and seeing if it breaks

The23rdman

What is the guitar?

ICBM

What kind of guitar is it?

It's a pretty rare one that won't take 12s at standard pitch, and thus 13s a tone (or even a semi-tone) lower.

midlifecrisis

its a Vintage VE-500, elcetro acoustic, I also have a V300 which I may change too.

ICBM

It will be fine. The only ones you really have to worry about are vintage parlour guitars and such, which are sometimes a bit fragile to take 12s at standard pitch.

Remember that although they're the most common gauge now, 12s are 'light' in acoustic guitar string gauges. 13s are 'medium' and 14s are heavy.

midlifecrisis

tbh its really beaten up anyway so im not that worried about it but itl be fun to try heavier strings, will I need to do anything with the nut or will it be ok taking heavier strings?

ICBM

midlifecrisis said:

tbh its really beaten up anyway so im not that worried about it but itl be fun to try heavier strings, will I need to do anything with the nut or will it be ok taking heavier strings?

It would be unusual if the nut wasn't cut to take 12s, but possibly not 13s since almost all acoustics come strung with 12s from the factory.

midlifecrisis

thanks,,will experiment

midlifecrisis

have done it....put on a set of martins 13-56. did an open mic last night, really felt nice to play in e flat tuning, no buzzes, sounded good (to me anyway) not as heavy as I expected.  wonder how heavy I can go.

The23rdman

I wouldn't go any heavier than that on a Vintage guitar. You might find it'll go pop.

bertie

I use 13s tuned down 1/2 step on my parlor

richardhomer

On my Martin Dreadnought I use 13s tuned down a full tone. They are very playable. Acoustics really do need to be 'driven' by heavier strings.

The23rdman

richardhomer said:

On my Martin Dreadnought I use 13s tuned down a full tone. They are very playable. Acoustics really do need to be 'driven' by heavier strings.

That is a total fallacy. A solid and well braced dred like a Martin will work great with 13's, but you can drive it just as well with 12's. We're talking about a cheap Vintage here though. 

ICBM

I think it depends a lot on the guitar. Some guitars need heavy strings, others don't - and some can sound 'tight' or 'tied up' with too-heavy gauge.

Generally I prefer guitars that don't need heavy strings to sound good. It's not always related to the body type either - my Gibson Dove (maple Dreadnought) sounds great with 11s, although to be fair it does have a longer scale than most acoustics.

It's rare to find an acoustic that sounds good with 10s though, and even rarer to find one that actually sounds better with them - although I do know of some.

My Martin 12-string sounds much better with 11s (that's medium/heavy, for a 12-string) tuned down a tone than it does with 10s at standard pitch.

richardhomer

The23rdman;192600" said:

That is a total fallacy. A solid and well braced dred like a Martin will work great with 13's, but you can drive it just as well with 12's 

I'm not sure how you can state this quite so emphatically, as from recollection you have not tried both gauges on my guitar.

Nonetheless, thanks for putting me right.