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My father bought me a acoustic from a charity shop a few weeks ago. Haven't picked a guitar up in circa 10 years and the strings are too heavy for me. Feel like 13’s or 14’s.
Got a set of old Ernie ball 10’s upstairs - any particular reason I can’t use these?
The action is very high too so I’ve started filing down the bridge and given the truss rod a few turns too
The Ernie Ball Earthwood bronze wound strings should be fine but you can get a new set of lower gauge strings from Amazon at a reasonable price. Besides, if the strings are brighter it may encourage you to continue playing 👍Quote:
Originally Posted by WJ99mobile
Will be fine, but that is light for an acoustic so it might sound a bit thin.Quote:
Originally Posted by WJ99mobile
I'd wait and see what the action is like with the new strings before filing the bridge or adjusting the rod, the difference in tension between 10s and 13s will be massive and will affect the action just by changing the strings.
:thumbup:
They’re not bronze wound they’re just the standard slinky nickel woundQuote:
Originally Posted by Moodybluebird
I need something light as I haven’t played in so so long
It's 100% fine. I played gigs for years using nickel 11s on my(electro) acoustic.Quote:
Originally Posted by WJ99mobile
If you plan on recording your guitar then I'd use bronze for the depth of sound but otherwise nickel are fine (and often cheaper too).
Yeah you're fine with those.
Any details about the guitar, please?
Age?
Make?
Any 'bellying' to the top of the body between the bridge and the bottom of the guitar?
Is the bridge completely stable?
Opened the pack and there was one missing - I must have pinched one years ago. ARSE!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyclops
Ordered a pack of 11's off Amazon now
It's only a cheap thing for messing about with outside in the summer. A Hudson HD1BK that my dad got for a tenner.
I've filed/sanded about 2mm off the bridge but the strings are still sitting about 7-8mm above the 12th fret but only about 1-2mm above the first
Bridge is fine, no signs of bellying but will have to check
When I first started playing one of the most common guitar faults was a warped neck. However, as you have a truss rod, the neck is probably fine. You probably won't need t go below the 12th fret on an acoustic so I would try giving the rod a few turns with the strings slackened. Electric strings will do fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by WJ99mobile
7 or 8mm doesn't sound good. You can check if the neck itself is straightish by holding down the bottom string at the first and last frets, and using the string as a straight edge to view any bend in the neck. You would expect a 1mmish gap between the string and the fingerboard at the 12th fret.Quote:
Originally Posted by WJ99mobile
If the neck is reasonably straight, then the problem is either bellying as Cyclops suggested or a problem with the neck joint, which is far less likely.
Which is why I asked about the bridge being stable. Sometimes the string tension (and there have been thick strings on it) will lift the bottom side of the bridge slightly off the body.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veg1960
Would agree, in my experience by far the most likely issue. Just saying that I wouldn't want to be touching the truss rod until the guitar has the desired strings on it, and is in tune.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyclops
Surely if the strings are tensioned turning the truss rod would be difficult. I've only done it once on an old Hoffner guitar but before doing it was told that you had to slacken the strings first.Quote:
Originally Posted by Veg1960
This is partly correct: You only need to loosen guitar strings before adjusting the truss rod if you want to tighten the truss rod. This creates extra tension on the strings, which can cause problems. If you want to loosen your truss rod, you don’t need to loosen the strings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Vindec
Tune it to pitch first. Then measure and assess what the problem is likely to be. If you suspect the problem is a forward or back bowed neck, then slacken strings and adjust the rod. Changing the gauge of the strings will affect the relief of the neckQuote:
Originally Posted by Vindec
There are a number of other possible causes of a high action that need to be checked before touching the truss rod - Just my opinion. I find messing with truss rods makes me really nervous and I would only adjust by a maximum of a quarter of a turn at a time before rechecking.
Hi Cyclops, do you know an easy way to fix the belly on an acoustic? You do see a lot of them like that and the only method I've seen involves removing the bridge. I'm pretty happy doing everyday jobs on my guitars, but find that too daunting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyclops
Hi yerself :-)
Dunno about an easy way, but check out this video using a "Bridge Doctor" which is available in the UK for about £25.
If you haven't found this guy before, I recommend viewing his videos - learnt so much from them. There are other videos there which feature how to install Bridge Doctors.
I was going to suggest that WJ might try a neck reset using the Kung-Fu method, but thought that might be a bridge too far (pun intended!)
(Note to WJ: No, I won't :hehe: )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5m9...annel=twoodfrd
What a great little thingy - and far less daunting than taking the bridge off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cyclops
I learned a lot in that 20 mins, will check out some of his other stuff.
Cheers:thumbup: