Yeah, the looks of something are very powerful to the sighted. I was reminded of this when researching guitars and warned about low to mid-range price guitars that look like a million bucks. Some companies play on it by putting all their money into pretty cosmetics piled atop a piece of junk guitar.
Thanks for all the information on strings. I'll file it away in my guitar folder.
Merry Christmas, Tom On 12/24/2011 4:32 AM, Chris Belle wrote:
Well, in a way, we have an advantage because we're not so lead by asthetics. Something practical that works better also appeals to those of us who like utility and pretty doodads are the bastion of sighted people. I think maybe I mis typed, or window-eyes mangled some letters 'grin', it does that you know sometimes. I meant to say a balanced broken in sound. That means regular strings are very bright when first put on, but as the finger crud gets in the windings, they dull out. So the thicker poly web coating on the elixir strings tends to make the string not quite as bright, but more like that nice place where you've stretched your string out, and it's stable but before it goes dead. YOu give up a little bit of string life for a thinner coating but retain more of that brand new brightness, pre-stretched state purists love. And dry acid free hands can enjoy. If your using regular un-coated strings, popping the string smartly against the finger board, grabbing it and releasing it can knock loose gunk from the string windings for a little more string life. I used to carry a rag with wd 40 on it there are all sorts of stuff which is supposed to help string life, finger ease is a silicon spray which helps your fingers slide easier on strings, and many products have come and gone to help the cruddy string syndrome. But even wiping regularly after playing with a clean lint free cloth will help. Some folks have been known to boil their strings, especially bass strings which are more expensive, but I think I'd just change them, guitar strings aren't worth doing that yet, and I'm not quite that broke yet 'grin'. I really love elixir strings. There are other brands of strings which are supposed to be treated to resist corrosion, but I think elixirs are head of the herd. You'll have to experiment to get your piece of guitar heaven, but for me, elixirs are really a big help. I can play my guitars normally, and put them away and know when I need them 3 months later, I won't pull my ax out only to find rusty strings waiting for me when i got that session in 10 minutes 'grin'. At 06:38 PM 12/23/2011, you wrote:Very interesting. Could you elaborate on exactly what a broken in balanced sound is? I'll check them out, but I'm curious to hear a practical explanation from an experienced user. It's interesting that you mention the usual purists balking at anything new. I don't recall how we got into the discussion, but I was chatting with my piano tech about this the last time he was here. And I asked if there was any real sonic reason for pianos still using wood hammer rods.He said absolutely not. Companies have been playing around with composite materials for years that work much better and have no effect on the sound or feel. And it's not typical marketing either. They've done blind taste tests with pianists, none of whom could tell the difference. Yet it's still perceived as a hedonistic breaking of God's design of the piano. And, he said, that's not the only change that could improve piano actions, stability, durability, and maintenance. But we're too used to looking at all those nice wooden parts that make it a virtual work of art. How ridiculous it is how often we are our own worst enemies. But that will probably never change. Tom On 12/23/2011 5:50 PM, Chris Belle wrote:I told you, they're condoms for your guitar 'grin'. They help keep your fingers from getting sores and blisters on them. And they keep metal munching micro-organisms from moldering your musicallity. I should go read up on how they make those, but all I know is they sound good, last long, and there are two versions, polyweb and nonoweb, the nanoweb's have a thinner coating but are brighter, and the polywebs have a broken in balanced sound, but more coating. Some purists thing coated strings stink, but we know how purists are, that and a cup of coffee won't get a days work done 'grin'. maybe they're from the dry hands tribe. But us slimy hands primates need raincoats 'grin'. I would be forever changing strings or playing with dead rusting strings if not for elixirs. At 08:59 AM 12/22/2011, you wrote:Eh, what a let down, man. I thought you were gonna give me a 4 page geek report on every last detail about the creation and manufacturing process of elixir strings. Ha! Tom On 12/22/2011 8:27 AM, Chris Belle wrote:I used to buy those at stringthis.com and get a pretty good bulk price. Those elixirs aren't cheap. But they're worth it for slimey paws like mine 'grin'. At 09:33 PM 12/21/2011, you wrote:Yeah, I had the tech put them on the guitar I just had setup because the Taylor comes with them. And I was surprised to feel the difference. Of course I have no clue as to exactly what the deal is, but the strings just feel more smooth and easier on the fingers. Tom On 12/21/2011 5:35 PM, Chris Belle wrote:Those strings have the added benefit of not squeaking nearly as much like regular bronze wound. You'll like them. They feel good on the fingers. Kind of like a hybrid between metal and nylon strings, and they come in two different thicknesses of coating, lightly coated for brighter, or thicker coating for more protection. At 01:46 PM 12/21/2011, you wrote:Thanks for all this great information, Chris, Yeah, I figured that not having been tuned for years, other than the one time I did it a year or so ago before giving up after a couple days, and the fact that it's never been setup probably contributed rather generously to this whole adventure. Otherwise I'm not going to worry any more about this little beast. It's certainly playable enough for me to keep working, and when I return it to my nephew it will probably never again do anything but be a decoration. But this is a lot of good info to store away for future reference. And I'll try to remember to use those Trojan strings you mentioned. grin. Tom On 12/21/2011 12:25 PM, Chris Belle wrote:yes, yes, and no all at the same time 'grin'. See, that guitar hasn't been played in a while and it might be settling a bit. Also, sometimes fretts need to be filed. when you have a low action, this is a common problem, you give up some ease of playing to be able to avoid frett buzzing easily, and lighter strings are more likely to buzz. Also new strings before they're stretched out will do that sometimes, and round wounds and flat wounds act differently too. I stretch hell out of my strings, bending them hard when I put on a set, sounds like a dying cat around here, but this insures I'm not having to fiddle with it all the time while they stretch slowly out. Well, that guitar probably isn't the top dog, and sloppy machine heads are a sign of a guitar that corners were cut in, but I have bought inexpensive guitars and outfitted them with new machine heads and a new nut, and they played like champs. YOu can bet your new taylor will have first class machine heads. I like grover heads myself. That's why i put on an inexpensive alvarez I liked that came with junky machine heads. Part of the fun of being a guitar player is the incessant tinkering, right? Well, your problems are probably part of all three, cheap guitar, low action, and maybe a frett filing will solve it, sometimes a guitar needs a couple trips to the luthier to get it just right, even the expensive girls 'grin'. and yes, something inside the guitar could indeed be resonating causing a buzz, guitars that don't have pick-ups or junk inside them actually sound better recorded, that's why my old toc sounds so sweet, nothing to interfere with the sound inside the guitar. they can minimize this with miniature electronics, but still, when you have stuff glued and screwed to the guitar, it's another part of the equation you have to consider. Yeh, you have to tune those things more than once a week 'grin', usually even with locking machine heads, with as much as i bent and such even on my custom stratt, once a set does it. See, strings stretch as you play them, and even if your machine heads are rock solid, temprature changes, humidity changes, the amount of thick smoke in the air, the cheap perfume on the bar-maid, and the tilt of the planet and moon and stars can modify a guitar's tuning. It's just a hunk of wood and metal and glue after all. YOu know how hard it is to keep a piano in perfect tune, and your not touching the strings, even, but if your bending, and depositing oils and sweat, etc on strings, for guys like me who exude copious amounts of sweat and oil elixir coated strings were invented 'grin'. they're like putting condoms on strings, some say they're not as bright, but they last a lot longer than regular strings. I can wear out a set of strings in a few hours of playing, no kidding. they literally rust while I'm playing them. so, welcome to the real world of guitar 'grin'. You'll get to where you can hear a string slightly out of tune and just tweak it and do it on the fly, and remember, sometimes tuning to the piano because of stretch tuning and such, you have to compromise, like if you tune a fifth perfectly then your thirds might be sharp, so guitar tuning once you get past electronic tuners is all about compromise and give and take 'grin'. You think g;uitars are a pain in the butt, try tuning a twelve string or a mandolin. What's the joke about mandolin players, they spend half the time tuning, and the other half playing out of tune? I must admit my little honer mandolin is sweet as honey, she stays in tune well. I used her for the first time on a track recently and she records like a dream. Sweet and clear, and so very pleasing to the ears. At 08:44 AM 12/21/2011, you wrote:Be it that I'm a newbie virtuoso on the guitar I've been getting a healthy dose of buzz. But I expected that. But now, I seem to be getting a lot more, especially on the low E string. I even get it when plucking the string open. It has to be a pretty hard pluck, but I can't get the same out of any other string other than a little tiny bit on the D string. And that requires a real yank. Yet popping the open E doesn't cause it. I don't know if this has anything to do with the setup that was just done because this guitar was impossible to play prior to that. But the tech did say to bring it back if I had any problems or just wanted the string height adjusted. The strange thing about it, at least to me, is that it happens even when I pluck the string open. So I can't blame my weak left hand on that. And it's amazing how difficult it is to track down sound, even on an instrument this small. When I'm playing I'd swear it's coming off of the saddle. Yet if I put my ear down to it there seems to be part of it in the saddle, part up in the nut, but most of it seems to be coming right out of the sound hole as if something inside the body is resonating. This guitar does have a pickup. So there are some wires floating around in there. Now this morning I decided to try and track it down some more. I had to tune it the day after the setup. I expected that. And I was able to tune it very quick and easy with my piano. Then I had to do the same again a couple days later. Probably normal, I thought. But this morning I decided to stretch that low E string to see if it solved the problem. So I tuned it up about a step, let it stretch for a few minutes, then loosened it quite a bit and let it relax for a while. Then when I went to tune the whole thing to my piano I had a heck of a time getting the low strings, E, A, and D, in tune. I finally tuned from the high E up to the low E and that seemed to get me closer. But still I had to really battle with the low strings compared to the tunings I've done, even before it was setup and grossly out of tune. It only took a few minutes then. And now, finally, the open string buzzing is gone. So is this normal, a problem with the setup, or just a flimsy guitar? The tuning keys do feel a bit sloppy to me, as if the slightest little bump would move them, which I assume is not the norm. I'd appreciate any thoughts, words of wisdom, and experience on this aspect of the guitar. TomFor all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at www.affordablestudioservices.com or contact Chris Belle cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or Stephie Belle stephieb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx for customized web designFor all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at www.affordablestudioservices.com or contact Chris Belle cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or Stephie Belle stephieb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx for customized web designFor all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at www.affordablestudioservices.com or contact Chris Belle cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or Stephie Belle stephieb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx for customized web designFor all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at www.affordablestudioservices.com or contact Chris Belle cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or Stephie Belle stephieb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx for customized web designFor all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at www.affordablestudioservices.com or contact Chris Belle cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or Stephie Belle stephieb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx for customized web design
