Loud strings?

Fab4ever

Fab4ever

Getting better
So I have a wedding to play this weekend, but the deal is it's on the beach - literally. No power. I'm accompanying a singer, thank goodness, but my acoustic will be unamplified.

There's no way it's gonna be loud enough no matter what, but... does anyone have any suggestions for LOUD strings? It's an old Washburn solid-top that's pretty loud to begin with, thank goodness. I usually play light D'Addarios... I think the high "E" string is .12. Should I go to medium gauge? Will that cause a neck warp?
 
Fab4ever said:
So I have a wedding to play this weekend, but the deal is it's on the beach - literally. No power. I'm accompanying a singer, thank goodness, but my acoustic will be unamplified.

There's no way it's gonna be loud enough no matter what, but... does anyone have any suggestions for LOUD strings? It's an old Washburn solid-top that's pretty loud to begin with, thank goodness. I usually play light D'Addarios... I think the high "E" string is .12. Should I go to medium gauge? Will that cause a neck warp?
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Good luck with that. If there's surf and/or wind, you will be lucky to be heard more than 6 feet away no matter what you do. A battery powered amp, maybe?

Bronze strings are a little louder, I believe, and the higher gauge strings you use, the louder it will be. Most acoustic guitars are strong enough to handle heavier strings than a 13 top, so that shouldn't be a problem, though you may need a truss rod adjustment for it to play more easily. For one gig it probably wouldn't be worth the trouble, though.
 
For the extra amplitude your going to get it really isn't worth it. Stick with what you have. If you want to step up a gauge it shouldn't do any harm but all you'll achieve is sore fingers. Sorry about that, but I've done a lot of acoustic gigs over the years and the secret is in what you playing and how. If you do put mediums on you can hit them harder but the difference on a beach is going to be lost. Try and keep most of your string work in the lower register and don't try and carry the sound too far. Get yourself up high on a barstool or something and keep the back of the guitar off your body. Those that want to listen will and the rest will just chat among themselves. Thats weddings for you. If everyone see's you having fun they will have fun with you no matter how loud you are.

I hope your not supposed to be providing entertainment as the focus but rather as ambiance and background. Approach it like that and you'll be fine. Otherwise both you and the singer are going to need some backline.
 
Thanks for the replies fellas!

I am supposed to do 20 minutes of solo acoustic work before the ceremony, and for that I'm gonna bring an amp or monitor and plug in. That's because they've rented a beach house, and I gather that people will gather at the house beforehand. I do fingerstyle and sort of strumming flatpick stuff where I emphasize the melody.

But the service itself is literally on the sand, all acoustic. Luckily it's just three songs and I'll I'm doing is accompanying the vocalist. So I'll just hit it as hard as I can each song.
 
Fab4ever said:
Thanks for the replies fellas!

I am supposed to do 20 minutes of solo acoustic work before the ceremony, and for that I'm gonna bring an amp or monitor and plug in. That's because they've rented a beach house, and I gather that people will gather at the house beforehand. I do fingerstyle and sort of strumming flatpick stuff where I emphasize the melody.

But the service itself is literally on the sand, all acoustic. Luckily it's just three songs and I'll I'm doing is accompanying the vocalist. So I'll just hit it as hard as I can each song.
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If your guit is acou/elec, Roland, Vox, and Traynor all make small battery powered amps for under $150. I've played the Roland Micro Cube, and it is freaking loud for such a small box.
 
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