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Which strings for my Triumph?

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  • Bob HoloBob Holo Moderator
    Posts: 1,252
    My 1938 Epi Broadway sounds great with GHS Phosphor Bronze 12s. The Broadway is similar to the Triumph. It depends on what you want. The lighter the string, the more high-order harmonics you get... that comes across as presence / crispness. It's similar to the effect of longer scale lengths yielding more high order harmonics. People who like dark sounding guitars tend toward heavier strings & shorter scales and people who like brighter sounding guitars tend toward lighter strings and longer scales. Action height determines down-pressure as does string gauge and string length. Less down-pressure gives more sustain and more harmonic content. More down-pressure gives more damping and more fundamental. The guitar will tell you when it's under-driven or over-driven.

    Start with a lighter gauge string and low action and raise the action until the guitar sounds optimal to your ears. If the sound lacks body and "grip", then it is under-driven. If the sound is over-dampened, then the top is over-driven. If you have to take the action up to an uncomfortable level to drive the top to your liking, then try heavier strings and start with low action and raise it... rinse / repeat till you're happy. Alloys also affect brightness of tone and wrap-patterns affect the amount of pick & finger noise... lots of variables. I like rounds but my friend Matt plays half-rounds on his Blackstone for jump-boogie & swing and it sounds great.

    Also, some people like mixed string sets. I typically bump my treble-E up one on both my GJ and Archtop guitars. I find that it helps my high B & E strings balance better with mag pickups, and I also like the fatter acoustic sound of a larger high-E string without darkening the overall sound of the guitar with heavier strings. It's all what you like though.
    JSantaMichaelHorowitzJazzaferriMattHenrypickitjohn
    You get one chance to enjoy this day, but if you're doing it right, that's enough.
  • MattHenryMattHenry Washington, DC✭✭✭✭
    Posts: 131
    Thanks, Bob! I ordered the 13s yesterday so I'll try 12s for my next set and experiment a bit.
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