Dead strings or dead guitar?

[swazi]

Basically, is it possible to tell if one set of strings is "deader" than another?

I've just bought myself another guitar, an SG clone, maybe a year or two old. I already have a les paul special clone, maybe 20-25 years old. I'm only going to be keeping one of these guitars, and I'm trying to work out which is the better. Considering they both cost me the princely sum of AU$100 each, there's not much between them They're both twin humbucker models, the SG has dual volume/tone, while the LP has a master volume/tone setup.

Distorted or unamplified, there doesn't seem to be much between 'em, but clean the LP seems to be the better sounding, but...

I'm a bit of a miser with my strings, the LP has had a set of Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms on it for about 3-4 months and I don't know what the SG has on, maybe 09's of an unknown manufacturer. Even so, the LP sounds brighter and more lively but the heavier strings wrecks the intonation on the LP and the neck needs some repairs. To put a new set of strings on both guitars represents a significant investment in these instruments

In this situation, would the strings be a factor, or is the SG just a duller sounding instrument? I'm already (still?) a bad enough guitarist that I don't need my instrument making me sound any worse..

Cheers,
swazi

 

[silverburst]

Should be about the same between the LP and the SG, relatively speaking. Of course if they were made by different manufacturers with different pickups, who knows. How about spending $5 on a set of strings if you are wondering a bunch?

 

[swazi]

If I were to restring both guitars, for a fair comparison, it'd end up being closer to $20 'round these parts. Not outrageous, true, but that's a week's pocket money for me. And the scrooge in me balks at the idea of putting a fresh set of strings on a guitar I'm going to sell... :O) Which makes two reasons why I was trying to ascertain if the strings on the SG might be deader than the Les Paul or not - if they're not, it's a pretty dull axe...

 

[super slinky]

deader...hmmm...the grim reaper's noun/verb...

I forgot the English term for that, swazi.

I see you posted of the skinny tops on another thread here, swazi.

Of course. Are the 'deader' strings coming from your bass strings?

If they are. The resonance will be indeed less than the ones from the tops that would have practically longer sustain on them.

To keep my resonance going I wipe down my strings after every playing either with a wet rag daubed with dishwater detergent or 'Wet Wipes' or similiar item.

Some micro particles may build up on the nut. So I clean them out every several months or so.

I met this bass player that could't afford to buy new stings for his bass guitar circa 1975. Said he was going to boil them. Gee whiz. He was from a village on the Yukon River. Two of his original bandmembers died; the lead guitarist and the drummer The rhythm guitarist is still playing as I've seen him playing bass in the Old-Time Athabascan Fiddling Festivals here in Alaska.

Easy to liven up guitar strings-- hard to revive former bandmembers.

 

[swazi]

Are the 'deader' strings coming from your bass strings?

Actually, it's more the treble side of things. The les paul just seemed to have more life to it, more sparkle. I wanted to try to find out if it was the guitar or the strings, especially since the strings on the LP were a good 3-4 months old and really probably shouldn't be "sparkling" )

In the end, it didn't matter - turns out I don't like the jumbo frets which were fitted to the SG. For all the pros and cons, there's not really much point if every time i fret a chord, I get all sorts of crazy bending.

Easy to liven up guitar strings-- hard to revive former bandmembers.

Umm, yes, indeed... )


Oh, and for the record, 2 sets of power slinky's from the local guitar shop would come to more than $32. Just a tad more than the $5 suggested by silverburst.. \


cheers,
swazi

 

[super slinky]

string height and magnetic pickup height...

There is a magnetic field on the pickups for electric guitars, swazi.

I used to have my pickups right up to the strings early on my electric guitar playing.

The magnetic field may be interfering with the natural resonance of the guitar string if coming from the treble strings.

I read a little of that in Guitar Player magazine when I suscribed to that periodical in the mid 1970's.

So, my electric guitar pickups are not right up to the strings anymore. I arranged them so I could have more space to pick my strings and pull-off and pluck better.

I angle the pick up with the thicker bass strings closer to the pick up and more space on the lighter treble strings. That gives the treble string free unmagnetized air to vibrate.

The magnetic pick up has a magnetic field that is induced by the vibrating metal string. Then that is amplified out to the power amp; of course with a speaker with BIG MAGNET!

Remember playing with magnets when you were a wee little orb of lad???

 

[swazi]

There is a magnetic field on the pickups for electric guitars, swazi. I used to have my pickups right up to the strings early on my electric guitar playing.

The magnetic field may be interfering with the natural resonance of the guitar string if coming from the treble strings.

I doubt the pickups'd be interfering with string vibration on either of my guitars. They're roughly between 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch below the string. I'm fairly well convinced now that the SG simply has less "interesting" pickups in it. They do the job, but it's a much newer instrument than my LP and quite possibly cheaper as well.


cheers,
swazi

 

[silverburst]

Oh, and for the record, 2 sets of power slinky's from the local guitar shop would come to more than $32. Just a tad more than the $5 suggested by silverburst.. \

Sorry to have misled you. They are about $5 a set around here.

Good luck with everything.

 

[Rossie]

I heard from a bassist friend that boiling strings does help a little, but the hassle just isn't worth it.