|
|
Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 20
Location: SE Minnesota | During the past two weeks, I've been experimenting with various string gauges on my newly acquired Longneck. My goal was to find a set of strings that allowed me to tune the instrument to a B and have it remain in tune up the neck. Here's what I found.
- The Longneck came with lights tuned to D. They work, but you really can't tune it any lower with these strings.
- I ordered some D'Addario baritone strings online. Initially the bass string (70) was too large to fit through the hole in the saddle. After pinching the winding that holds the ball, the string JUST fit. It easily tuned to B and really rumbled, but the guitar was noticeably out of tune by the 5th fret. I dropped it to an A. It rumbled even more, but but was out of tune by the 4th fret. Moreover, I didn't like the feel of the instrument with these strings - its as if they were 'too loose.'
- Next I picked up a set of D'Addario EJ17 mediums at GC. They worked VERY well tuned to C - remaining solidly in tune to the 9th fret. But when I dropped to a B, the guitar was noticeably out of tune above the 4th fret.
- I then ordered a set of D'Addario EJ18 heavies online (nobody carried them locally). Tuned to B, the guitar is solidly in tune to the 11th fret, and is off just slightly at the octave. Tuned to an A, the baritone begins to go out of tune above the 6th fret.
Of the strings I've tried, the Heavies are far and away the best bet when tuning the Longneck down to B - and are workable when tuned to an A. They can be strummed aggressively without buzzing, yet can be fingerpicked with ease.
Your mileage may vary. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | Thanks!
Maybe I need two so I can experiment... :rolleyes: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 848
Location: Munich, Germany | Thanks for that!
One question: How is the setup on your LongNeck? How many shims in the bridge?
Best regards,
Kurt |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Could it be the guitar?? or is this typical of the baritone set up. ?? Curious because I am working on obtaining a baritone ovation now and I had not heard of fretboards or strings that do not work correctly before. I thought the extra frets at the nut were designed to give the range of notes like a standard guitar?? perhaps the lack of any intonation adjustment on an acoustic is more of a problem with the lower range guitars?? What think you gentlemen?
By the way here is an auction of eixirs. they are 68's but will last a while might be worth a try.
Very curious about the opinions of other baritone guitar owners in here. I am a little worried by this news because of the price tag I am trying to meet.
Randy |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I've got the John Pearse baritones on mine and have no problems ... I think the set is 15-62. I've played up the neck in various tunings and did not notice any intonation problems whatsoever. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Time had expired, here's the link.
15's sound about right me I mean that would be my guess considering what I use now and as low as I tune sometimes now and a standard acoustic neck using 11's & 12's.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ELIXIR-NANOWEB-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-STRINGS-BARITONE... |
|
| |
|
Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 20
Location: SE Minnesota | The John Pearse Baritones (15-62) are so close to the D'Addario Heavies (14-59) that I suspect they would work similarly. I'll have to give them a try when these wear out. For now I'm done experimenting - I can't afford to throw away any more new sets of strings (though I did recycle the mediums onto my son's guitar).
My Longneck is dead stock - no shims.
No guitar, baritone or regular, remains perfectly in tune on every string as you play up the neck (though my Huss & Dalton CM is VERY, VERY close). When I talk about being noticeably out of tune, I can both hear that one or more strings are off pitch - and confirmed this with the built-in tuner. However, I do have relative pitch and tend to be somewhat overly sensitive to intonation issues - often the built-in tuner was blinking slowly. |
|
| |
Longneck String Experiment
