I recently jumped on the Dunlop Gator bandwagon and although I still prefer the Wegen Bigcity for acoustic guitars, the Gator proved to be very well suited for electric gutiar for me.
I do find however, that the strings are sometimes a bit unreliable. I think I use .13s on the archtop and although for the most part the pick glides through without problems, sometimes it's like it's "stuck to a string" in that there appears to be more resistance than usual. This becomes more prominent as the tempo increases or I pick harder.
So I wanted to ask those of you who play on archtops too, what kind of strings you prefer to use in order to make the transition from acoustic to electric as smooth as possible without too much transition.
Pick and string combination seems to be what makes or breaks it. George Benson said that light strings + heavy picks and heavy strings + light picks is the way to go. This has become apparent in that it is easier to pick .13s with the 1.5 Gator than the 1.8 Wegen, but perhaps I need to decrease strings to .12s for the optimal resistance.
Comments
I use bone or 2.5 mm picks. Since arch tops and Gypsy guitars are different instruments in terms of feel, sustain and tone there is still some transition.
My guitar just went in to get a refret and Lollar P90 s in place of the old single coil
Too hard to balance string volume for me.
From my experience, the only guitars that sound like Selmacs, are those that are built in that style. Any guitar can be played GJ style.... Thinner strings make it easier. Acoustic sound is different yet. Looking back, I am not sure what the question is.
You might try Fisoma .12-50's silk and steels. Might give a drier sound.
They are a MONEL STRING which is what was used back in the 30's & 40's.
here is a link to a interesting article...
Guitar String Composition and Swing Guitar
http://www.campusfive.com/swingguitarblog/2013/5/16/guitar-string-composition-and-swing-guitar.html
$5.99 here
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/martin-mtr13-tony-rice-signature-bluegrass-acoustic-guitar-strings?cntry=us&source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CPHDub_58cgCFQINaQodeRoC5Q&kwid=productads-plaid^80558389827-sku^J08287000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^51870555867
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