Hi Andy,
That twanging is usually caused by the groove in the bridge pin not being
exactly lined up with the string. It should be facing right up the neck,
otherwise I think when they come under tension they twist into line, which
is that terrifying twanging you describe.
As for picks, have a look at these babies
<https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000EEJB16/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1>.
Me and my wife found them by accident, and it's all we use.
Sorry about the pack size, but I just linked you t the ones we bought, so I
know they're the ones I'm talking about haha.
You get a sharper, more defined sound to my ears, and because of the sharp
(clue's in the name) tip, my playing now feels less jelly-like.
Take care,
Chris Norman
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 at 21:35, Andy C <andyc003003@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Well I went ahead and swap the strings, and I now have the new Elixir on
my Martin 000-15m. Wasn’t sure at first, found it to be a little too
bright, so I played around with a few different pics and now I have a
combination that’s really nice.
meantime I’ve dropped one of my pics through the sound hole, and no amount
of shaking will set it free, so I guess it’s stuck in there until my next
restringing.
I don’t know how well I have strung this instrument, and it certainly kept
slipping out of tune for a little while, but now seems to have settled down
a bit. Just need to finish off fine trimming the string lengths now so
there’s no nasty sharp bits to attack me.
don’t know if anyone has any tips, but one thing I did notice that might
be an error in my stringing attempts was that with a couple of strings,
when they were getting close to being in tune, they twanged! And slackened
off considerably. Once I had held the tuning peg near the hole where the
string goes through for a couple of turns, things became more secure and I
was able to tune it as required.
Andy Collins
Sent from my iPhone
On 27 Aug 2020, at 8:34 pm, (Redacted sender stevehdryden for DMARC) <
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hey Chris,
Each and every person to their own my friend. I’m certainly not saying
that is how it should be done, simply what I do, nothing more. You carry
on doing what you do, I’m sure it’s right for you smiles. As for Martin
Guitars, never actually owned one so can’t really speak with any authority
but, I’ve never heard anything bad about them. Certainly not in terms of
tuning issues. For myself, I quite favour Faith.
Steve
*From:* vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On Behalf
Of *Chris Norman (Redacted sender "chris.norman2" for DMARC)
*Sent:* 27 August 2020 18:59
*To:* vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [vibe] Re: Guitar strings for a Martin acoustic
Sorry mate, I do them all at the same time after stripping the guitar
(mainly to wipe the salt off the body), then to wear them in I take them
between my index finger and thumb, and pluck them extra hard to make a
snapping sound like slap bass. Sounds terrifying, but 2 rounds of that and
they're in for good.
Also, the Simon Patric I'm using rarely goes out of tune, not like them
Martin monstrosities! :)
Take care,
Chris Norman
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 at 15:10, Redacted sender stevehdryden for DMARC <
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Andy,
Sorry mate, I’ve just been up to the neck with things over the last few
days. I think, the suggestion of Elixir strings and Martin strings are
sound. I’ve even used Martin strings on my Faith guitar and they are
great. It does also depend on your style of playing. You might have
mentioned this before, if so, my apologies as I’ve forgotten. But, a
heavier gauge is nice for strumming as you get a really deep resonant
tone. They’re not so good for fingering as they’re thicker and therefore
more difficult to manipulate, particularly if you want to bend strings. A
little string lubricant will certainly help to lessen the audible squeaking
noises you can get. Also, try to train yourself to reduce the level of
pressure on the strings when you change chord. Obviously you will do this
anyway but, I mean even less pressure than you might leave. This would
particularly be the case when, as I think you mentioned, you were using
power chords.
As for changing the strings. The way I do it personally is one at a time
starting with the bottom E. This helps with maintaining the tension and
integrity of the strings. Never ever take all strings off at once. I tend
to only feed the string through the tuning peg only once for E A D and G
but leave a reasonable amount of string slack so as to allow the peg to
wind in the slack. I never tighten the string right up as this applies a
considerable amount of pressure on the string at the point of the edge of
the hole. I generally double thread the B and E strings just to give some
extra strength but, again, leaving some slack to allow the winder to pull
in the slack. Once all the new strings are set up and initially tuned.
For a few hours and even more, I will constantly give the strings, each of
them, a gentle pull to give them the opportunity to stretch a little. They
should settle in a day or so. I’d also keep them lubricated with a little
guitar string oil.
Hope that helps a bit mate.
Best wishes
Steve
*From:* vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> *On Behalf
Of *Andy C
*Sent:* 27 August 2020 13:58
*To:* vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [vibe] Re: Guitar strings for a Martin acoustic
Thanks everyone for all the help and shared experience on this topic.
Chris, I live in Devon, so a bit far to travel up to Coventry, especially
with all the considerations these days. I bought my guitars from Andertons
in Guildford, and all the reviews I read before doing so, commented on how
well they played straight out of the box as it were. Have to say that does
feel pretty true, they have already been well set up with a low action
which is what I like.
as to Elixir strings, I’ve actually found a set that I’ve had for a few
years but never used; they are the nanoweb ones. I’m going to give them a
go later today. I would really appreciate some stringing tips to help get a
good result. Is it best to begin with the thinner strings or the thicker
strings when attaching them? Do I push the string just once through the
hole in the tuning peg? I read somewhere about thumbing/stretching the
strings when they’re new and are being attached in order to help them stay
in tune.
All help much appreciated.
Andy Collins
Sent from my iPhone
On 27 Aug 2020, at 11:46 am, Chris Norman (Redacted sender chris.norman2
for DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I've never heard -or felt - strings wear "in", but definitely feel them
wearing out quite quickly.
It entirely depends on how much you play, and your body type. I'm a pretty
sweaty player, so I'd warrent my strings go off faster than my wife's, even
though she plays more than I do.
To check, run your hand down the strings from the neck to the bridge.
Where your pick has been, you'll likely feel scuff marks. They get there
fast, but they definitely get worse.
As a rule of thumb: If you're wondering whether your strings need
replacing or not, they probably do.
Also, a good guitar setup can make all the difference. I didn't realise
this until fairly recently, and my god has it made a difference.
The bloke we use in Coventry is an absolutely wizard. One of his clients
comes all the way from Wales with his instruments, just so John can do them
up. If you're living near Coventry, or you don't mind traveling, I'd highly
Recommend Noise Works on Far Gosford Street.
I'm not saying everyone should come to Coventry, but I do know there's
plenty of ways to do a bad guitar setup.
Take care,
Chris Norman
On Thu, 27 Aug 2020 at 08:12, Andy C <andyc003003@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks David and Chris.
It rather sounds like it’s a problem here to stay because the problem
really isn’t so much in the string type as it is in the hands that play.
I’m still using the same strings that came with the instrument six months
ago, and I’m beginning to think the problem is getting worse not better
with age. I also have an electric with its original strings on from 12
months ago. This last year is the first time that I’ve started being
serious about my playing, and have dedicated more practice time to it. I
know strings wear in before they wear out, but those of you that are more
experienced players than me, how much life is there in a set of strings
used on a daily basis?
Andy Collins
Sent from my iPhone
On 26 Aug 2020, at 11:28 pm, DandGReay (Redacted sender dandgreay forDMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I put it down to feeling my way around the frets. I use a lot of rather
Hi, Andy,
This is a subject dear to my heart. I'm a very squeaky player. Sometimes
tortured jazz chords and go up and down the neck a lot. String squeak is
the bane of my life. I recently made some recording sfor a solo album and
bought loads of sets, coated and non-coated. I even went to the lengths of
putting six bottom E strings on my own Martin OOO to see which squeaked the
least. Guess what! They all squeaked exactly the same. The one thing I
thought made a difference was the gauge. I normally use Martin lights with
the E string at 12. I thought 11ss, with their slightly lighter winding
squeaked less than 12's. I didn't try 10's, but the same may apply. Of
course, power chords on 5 and 6 are likely to be pretty squeaky. The more
wound strings you play and slide about on, the more squeak you'll get. I
did once find some ground strings, which are wound and then ground smooth.
I think they were D'Addario and supposed to be for blue grass. I tried to
find them recently on the Strings Direct website where I originally got
them, but couldn't find them. Trouble was, I didn't really like their tone
much anyway. On an electric jazz guitar I use tapewound strings for less
squeak and an authentic sound, but I've never seen these for acoustics. I
believe John Williams put a lot of work into learning to lift the fingers
off the strings when moving up the neck to avoid the squeak, but it takes
some doing! A sound engineer I recorded with recently said you should rub
your fingers on your scalp to get a little grease on them to help avoid it.
I also find new strings squeak more than used ones and that using
lubricants such as Fastfret make it worse. Hope something in my ramblings
is helpful,
Behalf Of Andy C
Cheers,
David
-----Original Message-----
From: vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:vibe-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Sent: 26 August 2020 22:27the recommended strings for this model. The whole guitar is solid mahogany
To: vibe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [vibe] Guitar strings for a Martin acoustic
I bought this Martin acoustic 000-15 M 12 months ago, and it came with
and it has a lovely tone and is very playable. However, I’m getting a lot
of string squeak, particularly playing power chords on strings five and
six. anybody got any suggestions for strings that produce warm tones but
with less finger friction sound?
Andy Collins
Sent from my iPhone
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