Maybe I should say APPARENT string tension.
Does anyone have insight into what causes an otherwise similar guitar to have the feel of different string tension??? Same scale length. Same basic construction and timbers. Same strings.
I just bought what I think is my dream guitar or close to. After a whole slew of semi acoustics including various Ibanez’s, Yamahas, Washburns etc.
I have an Ibanez LR10 which, for me, has an ideal neck profile (something I find very important). Ideal sound. Ideal look. Etc...Just had it set up and it plays really well... except!!... the string tension seems that bit tighter than the other guitars some of which I’m still in the process of letting go of.
I THINK I’ve noticed in the past that just playing the damn thing actually makes it feel easier (how can that be???) and I know that I don’t cope well with a really low action (I’m playing 11-48s so I really need to get under the strings if I’m going to do big bends and reasonable vib).
Any insight welcome, ta!
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Comments
2. Thickness of the core wire in wound strings.
3. The longer the string the easier it is to bend. So how much string length is there beyond the nut and behind the bridge? Six a side makes it easier to bend the top strings than three a side.
4. Action height. Too low makes it harder to grip the string when bending.
Vibrato system
Break angles at saddle and nut
Action height and relief
Stiffness of neck
Fret height
Probably in about that order.
But string gauge makes more difference than any of them except possibly the first two, so if it feels too stiff you might as well use a lighter gauge. The rest of them are too small to bother about other than out of curiosity.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
I seem to remember someone on here talking about some manufacturers offering strings of the same gauge but with different tension.
Maybe they're getting confused because the thinnest and thickest strings are the same gauge so they're assuming the rest are?
Newby is an Ibanez LR10 which I absolutely love many things about. The outgoing is the Ibanez AM70 advertised on here and possibly in the near future a Yamaha SAS and if I’m honest with myself, the LR10 is not quite as easy playing as the AM (Tim also set that up years ago and I do remember fine tuning that a few times before I’d got it Goldilocks). It’s subtle but it still feels like it has more string tension even with a very similar string height. I was at the same point with the Yammy a year ago and I swear I just played it a lot and everything seemed to fall into place??? The guitar gods waved their magic wand??? I really have gone lockdown crazy?? I’m just chatting shi’?? Who knows? I will persevere with the LR10 cos I’m totally in love with everything else about it.