Heavy strings?

Philip Gustavson

Anybody know where to find a heavier gauge gypsy jazz style string? I have been looking, but have only found 11-47. I would like to try them, but I need something like 13-56.

Stringswinger

um...they would not be Gypsy Jazz strings in that gauge. Be careful about putting 13's on a Gypsy Jazz guitar. It could cause damage.

Cheers,

Marc

www.hotclubpacific.com

artillerie_lourde

gj guitars are not usually built to take strings that heavy.

simplygoodmusic

A google search found these

http://www.jazzguitarstrings.com/lenzner.htm

12-47 ...as heavy as you are gonna get.

I play with 13-56 on my flat top, but believe me, 11s suit gypsy jazz guitars just fine. The long scale length on the 14 frets especially makes them tougher, and even the 12 fretters just feel right with them.

MichaelHorowitz

BTW...I've got the Lenzer strings coming in soon! Will be fun to try these out...


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Soref

Hey guys, it's kinda funny that this came up, as it's related to a question I've wanted to ask lately.

I've got a lovely used 14 fret oval hole Michael Collins Selmer style I got from Denis Chang a couple years ago. It's not the one Andreas used at Django In June '06. It's the one he owned before that.

So, my question is, assuming I don't care about issues of action/playability (I'd be happy with the action wee bit higher anyhow, and the guitar is naturally very, very playable.) would there be any negative effects on the guitar if I switched from 10's to 11's?

Anyhow, the action is in the 2.5-3.0 mm's range at the 12th fret. I've always had 10's on it, because that's what he used, and I didn't see any reason to change. Lately I've been doing a lot more acoustic gigs. I broke a high E at a recent jam. Someone gave me a spare, which happened to be an 11. The volume was much better, and I think I'd like to switch to a full set of 11's.

I'm really only concerned with intonation, and putting undue stress on the instrument. Should I plan on having the neck adjusted? It would be really nice to just switch sets, but I want to make sure that won't be bad for the guitar before I do. Thanks in advance for any advice anyone has.

regards,
Jack

Bob Holo

Soref,

Going from 10's to 11's is fine. You're likely to put more stress on the guitar by raising the action than by changing to 11's. The only guitars I wouldn't recommend 11's on would be long scale Busatos. They have a big longer scale length and so have a higher tension to begin with.

Each guitar will react differently. You'll know instantly if it's a good change. Don't listen so much to the volume - listen to the tone of the guitar. Did the heavier strings give it more sustain or steal sustain? Did the heavier strings bring out its volume and voice or did they restrict it?

The only downside I know of in going from 10s to 11s is that in general, the greater the mass of a string tuned to any given pitch, the more difficult it is for that string to produce harmonic partials. So, if you like that bright shimmery sound - 11's may steal a bit of it.

Philip,

13-57... holy moses... don't go there. Seriously - if you want to play strings that heavy - then you need an archtop. Strings that heavy are bad for flat-tops and murder on gypsy guitars which are built light and with a longer scale length than standard American guitars. They're just not made for it and they will damage it either by caving the top over time or possibly by simply collapsing it one day with a big "Pop" ... etc... If you have a guitar with light strings that doesn't have any bark - it's because the guitar has no bark. Your best solution is to sell it and go shopping for a guitar with some bark. That may not be a gentle answer, but it's an honest one.

MichaelHorowitz

Bob Holo wrote:

The only guitars I wouldn't recommend 11's on would be long scale Busatos.

That's what I thought, and the same for Favinos which have the same extra long 675 scale. But I've got two Busatos here strung with 11s and they sound great. Of course, they need a lower bridge to make it work. On one of them I think I like the 11s/low bridge setup the best. On the other, it seems to sound best with a higher bridge and 10s. But the 11s work on either...

One thing that's worth mentioning is that if you play with a Stimer pickup you're probably better off with 11s and lower action. The heavier strings have more magnetic potential so they give a fatter tone through the pickup. The lower action puts them closer to the magnet which also helps. And last of all, I've found that pickups of any kind, but especially magnetic pickups, are not very forgiving. You hear lots of little pick and finger stuff that you don't hear when playing acoustic. With lower action a lot of that seems to go away. So I keep one guitar setup for amplified playing with lower action and heavier strings. Sounds best that way...

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Elliot

Bob, they're not going to want to look at an extra label telling them what they should know the first day they buy it for the rest of their careers. I'd say just simply put it on a small tag/pamphlet with other care information and your signature logo and hang it around the neck. That seems to work for a lot of manufacturers. Everybody likes to read about "care and feeding"!

BluesBop Harry

The tag idea is good, but those get lost real fast so I like the label idea better, maybe even both...
It could just be something simple like "Max. String gauge .011 - .047" in small print on the bottom of the label, you could add "Important:" or "Warning"... Although I think "Danger! followed by a bone-crossed-skull would be too much...

Good idea Bob, a guitar can have more than one owner in its life and who knows in whose hands it could end up. It'd be a tragedy if an uninformed owner ruined a great old instrument.

Elliot

I'd be more likely to assume that the people down the line after the initial purchaser would know that they can't use wider strings than .11 - after all this is commonplace wisdom. When the emphasis is making that first sale to the guy with the $$$ that Bob puts in his pocket it always makes sense to give the potential purchaser whatever information would be necessary TO MAKE THAT SALE. In it would be included finish and care, permitted adjustments, recommended bridge heights, and contact information.

The rest is gravy. By the time the guitar has changed hands, word of mouth from the prior owner if not everyone else should be sufficient to guide someone to the correct strings. It seems to have worked okay for every other guitar. I think that finding it necessary to give the people who choose this guitar extra help may have implications that would be better avoided, actually...