Changing string gauge

[riverrick]

I have a guitar with 10-46 strings on it. I want to change to Light Top/ Heavy Bottom type string 10, 13, 17, 30, 42, 52. Will this have an affect on the guitar at all. Will I have to readjust anything??? I know when I went from 9's to 10's I had to have it set up again.

[Spudman***]

I'd suggest to just make the change. Things will immediately feel different due to the gauge changes. To bring the action more in line with the old feel you may have to slightly tighten the truss rod to adjust for the increase in tension, and you might have to do some slight bridge tweaking (height and intonation).

If that is the gauge set you want to run and aren't running it now then a few minor tweaks may be necessary but it's nothing to be overly concerned with. It's all quite simple to remedy on your own. You don't need to know rocket science - just who to ask for advice...and 2 allen wrenches and a screwdriver.

[deeaa*]

Will need some adjustment, yeah.
I like to use a custom set, and use it on all my axes xept acoustics...9 11 17 32 42 50...no reason not to keep it lighter in tops than regular sets, I think ...

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[marnold***]

My guess is that the tension changes might not be significant enough to require a truss rod tweak. You might have some binding at the nut depending on how the slots were cut.

[sunvalleylaw]

I was considering putting on some light on top heavier on bottom strings on my acoustic. Was wondering the same thing. I would think a solid body electric would be less susceptible to changes due to that, but I might be wrong. On an acoustic, it will put more tension on the bridge than a set of all lights I would think, and I am thinking I might have to adjust things.

[deeaa*]

I guess it depends much on what do you accept as change. Me, I'll tweak the truss rod anyway 4 times a year and with any slight change. Unless you keep the guitar at quite stable temp etc. it will need some now and then anyway.

Even changing from same gauge set with a different manufacturer may mean needing to adjust the rod, but it's no biggie.

[sumitomo]

Here's something I thought Id never do,I got this from Kenny Blue Ray,so now I'm using 9's (I have always used 10's and up)and I set my action WAY high,so when I'm bending the other string's are on top of my finger nails,yep you got it,not only is it easier to bend and vibrato,but tone's better with the action high,go figure.I am truly convinced now that tones in the hands(I know,I know it's a big debate,but I know!) Sumi

[deeaa*]

Higher action means less interference from frets, magnets etc. and it also makes the intonation less accurate which may give a better tone in some cases as well with more lively and varying harmonics due to variations in tune. The only problem I can see is the latter, high action can make intonation hard to adjust and maintain while playing.

I do a lot of bending all the time, both chords and notes, and thus I don't set my action as low as possible...I hate it when it's so low the strings slip underneath the fingers when bending. The taller/bigger the frets, the lower the action can be, but then again that may cause problems for some players (for instance I used to not be able to play jumbo frets and sing at the same time properly, I'd always press too hard at times and go out of tune) but in recent years I haven't found that to be a problem no more.

[deeaa*]

BTW I checked out some of Kenny's playing on video. He's got a very nice blues tone, I usually don't dig that type of tones so much, but his is nicely clear and sufficiently roundish, not that biting usual Fenderish twang only, and with that kind of tone and playing it doesn't much matter if intonation is also a wee bit off/high at times, with some fretted notes sounding a bit too high...it just helps it stand out a little.

Old studio trick is to have a perfectly in-tune track, be it vocal or guitar, and tune it up just a touch, and either apply as a backing for the first track or just use it as is. Gives the track a nice boost and makes it sound 'above' the rest. Humans usually don't notice very easily slightly higher notes, they just perceive them brighter or having more impact if it's just right. Abba's ethereal dual female vocals for instance rely heavily on that trick, and they used to do it the hard way, having another tape machine run at a slightly faster speed for vocal playback. Must have been a biatch to sync it up :-) easy to do these days with autotune etc. I should try it on my vocals sometime.

[sumitomo]

Yea deeaa Kenny is mister tone,and I am really blessed to get some private lessons with him.I asked him if I could share any info with you guys and he sure I didn't invent any of this.I have been taping some in my shop,and want to post some on youtube but I think I will have to buy a newer cam corder(mines 10yr old)I can't find a PC link cable anywhere here in the town.What blows my mind is he will ripping off some Albert King licks then just maybe roll back the tone on the guitar a little on start on some jazz stuff,I should reword what I said before and say first hand I am finding that the tone STARTS in the hands.That's a cool trick there,I can see how that would work.Sumi