String gauge quiz

viz

Oracle. What is the lightest gauge string set for acoustic guitar with a wound 3rd? In phosphor bronze.

steamabacus

I'd be very surprised if you could get anything with a wound third lower than 10s.

I don't know about phosphor bronze sets, but I use these on one of my electro-acoustics.

viz

22 for the G? I don't think I could press that down onto the fretboard! What's the lightest gauge wound G you've seen?

steamabacus

Just found these - the wound G is slightly bigger, the low E slightly smaller.

steamabacus

viz said:

22 for the G? I don't think I could press that down onto the fretboard! What's the lightest gauge wound G you've seen?

Maybe 20w?

viz

Ok - ta, might go for those ex lites thanks!

ICBM

22 is the lightest I know of, maybe 20 but I can't remember seeing any. A 22 wound is very light, about equivalent tension to a 16 or 17 plain. You won't get a set of acoustic strings lighter than 10s normally anyway.

Oddly, many sets of acoustic 10s have a 23W for the G, whereas 11s have a 22W! I have no idea why, it's very odd and annoys me somewhat since I like 11s and the G is usually too light, so I have to replace it.

I think I may have seen a wound string as light as an 18, but that may have been a flatwound so it's actually heavier, compared to a roundwound of the same gauge. You can get 20W nickel roundwounds quite easily.

If you go any lighter than 10s you'd probably want a plain G, even on an acoustic. The easiest way to do that would be to buy a set of 12s and a plain 9 electric E string, and move the other strings over one position - which is what electric players used to do in the 60s when there were no light strings. (They would use a banjo string for the 9.)

Then all you have to do is find a use for a lot of spare 53-gauge wound bronze strings .

viz

Wicked you 2 that's enormously helpful. At the moment I have custom lite lecky strings 9 11 16 26 36 46 lol. I think i need more depth of sound though, this acoustic sounds like a Jem.

GuitarMonkey

Here's a .018" phosphor bronze string 

viz

Awesome - is it round?

steamabacus

Is that definitely a wound string? It says it's from a 'JK' set - like these?

The equivalent 10s use a 20w. I can't see a set with an 18w.

viz

Er, I've just realised, the w stands for wound does it?

viz

I didn't know that.

steamabacus

Yes w is for wound.
B-)

I suspect that Rotosound is a confusingly labelled plain steel 18 from a phosphor bronze set. Plain strings are always steel.

viz

Ah ok. So i'm going for a 20w

steamabacus

Yes. Bear in mind a 20w will be less tension than a 20 plain.

viz

Less tension? Oh I thought they were harder, stiffer.

steamabacus

No - a plain string is all metal (steel).
A wound string is a (thin) steel core with a (thin, phosphor bronze) wind. It's less dense, there's some gaps in between the windings in there even though the overall maximum diameter might be the same.

In the post above, ICBM estimates the tension of a 22w would be equivalent to a 16 or 17 plain. That seems about right to me.

So a 20w might be as taut as a 14 or 15 plain.

viz

Ah ok brill, that's perfect for me then thanks.

ICBM

viz said:

At the moment I have custom lite lecky strings 9 11 16 26 36 46 lol. I think i need more depth of sound though, this acoustic sounds like a Jem.

You'll need to go up a fair bit to get it to sound like a 'proper' acoustic - even 10s don't sound full and 'proper' to most acoustic players. The low strings aren't much heavier than what you're using now.

I use 11s which even some look down on (expecting bertie to pop up any moment ) but they're a bit of a cheat since not only is the G string often oddly light, the D, A and low E are often the same gauges as in a set of 12s. (The low E is usually a 52 and many 12 sets use a 53, although that barely makes much difference.) So really they're "light top heavy bottom" by electric guitar standards. They might work for you if you're trying to get the fuller tone without making it too hard on your fingers. Try to find a set with a 14-gauge B not a 15 too, that makes a difference.

I'm a little odd though (I know... ) because I want my acoustic guitar to play like an electric and my electric to play like an acoustic, so I use 11s on both mostly. It's the little differences in the other strings which are more important than the top E gauge, to me.

viz

I hear you loud and clear, and I think you're spot on bcoz it's actually the high notes that sound extra tinny. But does that mean I won't be able to bend notes up a fourth? Also, as an aside, are the steel wound strings a) less warm than pb; and b) easier to bend? Because I seem to remember when i bought it, it was pb, rich and warm, and damn hard to play.