New Guitar Day!!!

[DangerousR6]

I'll take one of each, thanks.  :laughing7:

+1..... :headbang1:

 

[erogenousjones17]

Hey I just had a chance to play one of these at Rudy's music stop. I actually, really loved everything about it. The QC was really nice, the finish (black matte) was very cool, pickup was really great. Awesome guitar and awesome value I thought.
but it was strung with electric 10s, which I thought was very odd. The guy said it needed electric strings for the P90 to work, which didn't sound right to me. I would be playing a lot of slide and mixed slide / fingerstyle stuff. If you don't mind - what strings do you use, and do you think it could handle phosphor bronze 13s?
I went in to look at resonators but preferred this, it's just hard to really get a feel for something when the strings are so different than what they should be.

The guy where I bought it said the same thing: electric guitar strings. It made sense at the time, but upon further reflection I'm not so sure. I really don't see why it couldn't handle a beefy set of acoustic strings. To be perfectly honest, I don't know what kind of strings are on it, I'm still using whatever it came strung with from the factory. They're definitely not phosphor bronze, but they're heavy. Bending is a challenge, but I've been reluctant to change them because frankly I'm a little worried about what it'll do to the tone. I'd say go for it. This guitar is a great player and an incredible value. And if you do try it out and aren't satisfied, I'm sure you could return or exchange it!

Incidentally, if I switch to a lighter gauge of string, will that in any way affect the intonation/setup? This is my first archtop, so I'm a little wary of touching anything on it...  :laughing7:

 

[tfarny]

Thanks, so you've got electric strings on it, it sounds like? They're nickel colored, at least, right? One thing to look at is if the saddle is intonated for a wound G string or a plain string - if it's intonated for wound G, that will be a bit up from the others. I didn't look when I was in there. I guess I think of this as an acoustic guitar that has a pickup, not as an electric guitar that's very hollow - maybe I'm wrong. Maybe pure nickel or flatwound 12s or 13s are the thing for it (for what I would do with it).

I think the only thing to be cautious of is, replace the strings one at a time so you don't move the saddle when changing strings. Then once you change them, if it's out of intonation you can loosen them all a little bit and adjust. I've never done that, either, it sounds tedious.

I was really impressed by that guitar though, the neck was just like a nice '59 roundback, lovely finish, maybe Rudy's did the final setup and that's why it played so perfect, it really had a good setup. Why is it you Canadians can still build a great guitar and keep it affordable (my acoustic is a Larrivee)?  :icon_tongue: :icon_tongue:

 

[erogenousjones17]

I'm sure they're electric strings. Like you said, they're nickel-coloured (and finger-blackened from hours of playtime...I really should do something about that in the near future). And the bridge does seem raised every so slightly around the G string. I'm sure acoustic strings will work, if that's what you really want, but really thick nickel or flatwounds should do the trick just as well. It's an archtop after all, so it's already got a "rootsy" sound to it. For what it's worth, I also bought this guitar as an acoustic. My band was doing an acoustic show, and I wanted something I could plug in, without having to futz with a mic. Sure, it doesn't sound like an electric-acoustic when it's amplified, but it's damn close. Plus it's a real looker. Got a few compliments after our set. Though several people thought it was a Gretsch.  :icon_scratch: And maybe mine had just had a good setup, but it plays really well. Like butter. Four months down the line and I'm still in loveth this guitar. That's gotta say something.

Larrivée guitars are great. What model have you got? My acoustic is a Norman, another Canadian brand, and I love it too. Canadian guitars do tend to be of really good quality for the money. I don't know how we does it either. We just does it.  :laughing7: Maybe it has something to do with using local wood, like Godin/Norman/Seagull does? Just a thought...

 

[bpmorton777]

Ive heard from a few guitarists that they use flatwounds on f-hole archtops. you might give it a try.

Brian

 

[erogenousjones17]

I've played bass with flatwounds a few times and I really like the feel, and my old jazz guitar teacher swore by them, but I've been reluctant to use them myself in a rock setting. Also, and this may be a stupid question, how is bending with flatwound strings? Any noticeable difference?

 

[tfarny]

Flats are usually heavier gauge than rock guitarists usually use - .012 to .014 for the high E string. So bending becomes, ah, difficult. For rock and roll, flats may not work for you - but it's worth a try. I love to try out new strings and new gauges, it's really interesting to find out how much the string itself influences the sound - as much or more than most of the junk that gets talked about on this board.

I'm curious though - a bronze wrap may not be magnetic, but the steel core of an acoustic string is definitely magnetic - and soundhole mag pickups work just fine in acoustics. I wonder how bad a nice set of Martin SPs would actually sound through that P90 pickup.

Experiment and tell us!