Strings Feel Very Light

[alovetodiefor]

Hey guys,

I own a DeArmond (now bought by Fender) JetStar Special.

It has a tunomatic bridge.

I use fairly thick strings (.11mm-.53mm) but they just don't feel tight.


Could it be that I'm putting on my strings the wrong way?

Also, my guitar doesn't have the "plugs" between the neck and the tuning plugs.

Help?

 

[pikingrin]

Don't know much about DeArmond (other than I'd like to own one someday...), but it could be that the scale is shorter than what you're used to playing on. That would be my guess as to why the strings may seem looser than normal.

As far as the "plugs" go, I think you may be talking about string trees? If the guitar has an angled headstock, you won't need them.

 

[alovetodiefor]

Don't know much about DeArmond (other than I'd like to own one someday...), but it could be that the scale is shorter than what you're used to playing on. That would be my guess as to why the strings may seem looser than normal.

As far as the "plugs" go, I think you may be talking about string trees? If the guitar has an angled headstock, you won't need them.

Yeah, my head's angled. I just thought those would give a bigger pull on the strings.


Also, I forgot to mention that I play in Standard D p

 

[punkin]

I've been trying to read up on that guitar. Not a lot of info (tech/set-up wise). But in looking at it, looks to me that bridge angle might be low ( a good thing IMHO). This is a bit like wrap-over set ups on Gibsons with the Tune-O-Matic set up. I've done this and didn't care for the feel at first. Felt a little soft especially when finger picking.

If I were you, I'd make sure it was set up properly then just get to know it...play it and make friends. You'll come to see it differently. They're like kids...they're all short and goofy looking but each a little special. Just don't smack 'em.

 

[muttley600]

Can I just point out that the break angle at the headstock or the bridge, has no effect on the tension or way in which the string vibrates. The bit behind the bridge or nut is out of the equation in so far as "feel" is concerned.

A string of a given length and mass per unit length has a specific pitch at a given tension.. Changing the break angle does nothing. The one way in which it does have an effect is the downward static force it applies to the bridge, this will effect the tone but not the playability, particularly so on acoustic instruments such as archtops, less so on solid bodies. Any supposed improvement in playability from setting up an instrument with more or less break angle is imagined assuming all other things such as action are the same.

The three things I mentioned above, string length, mass per unit length (gauge), and tension (pitch) are the only things that are in play. Change one you change the others. Changing the break angle doesn't change any of these.

So this...

but it could be that the scale is shorter than what you're used to playing on. That would be my guess as to why the strings may seem looser than normal.

would be true...

This

Yeah, my head's angled. I just thought those would give a bigger pull on the strings.

would not be true.

This...

Also, I forgot to mention that I play in Standard D

is not really a good idea for shorter scale length guitars. From memory the Jetstar is a 24 3/4". Dropping to D is not a problem but the only way to increase the tension would be to go up a gauge on the strings.

 

[punkin]

He could be right ya know. It's one part instrument, one part skill, two parts perspiration, two parts inpiration and three parts luck!

I've got 2 parts nailed down.

 

[alovetodiefor]

So would attaching string trees help give me tension??

I'm in love with this guitar fyi, I just feel it's not strangling with me sometimes. ://

 

[robin watson]

So would attaching string trees help give me tension??

I'm in love with this guitar fyi, I just feel it's not strangling with me sometimes. ://

Muttley's lengthy white paper on the subject summed it up: heavier gauge strings.

 

[muttley600]

So would attaching string trees help give me tension??

I'm in love with this guitar fyi, I just feel it's not strangling with me sometimes. ://

More tension? No.

(Is reply that short enough for you Robin Watson?)

 

[Milnoque]

I'd like to suggest you leave the guitar as it is for a little while, assuming there is nothing else wrong with the setup. In my experience having guitars with very different setups forces me to adjust my technique for each instrument. This improves my chops all around. You can always up the gauge of your strings later.

 

[ggunn]

Can I just point out that the break angle at the headstock or the bridge, has no effect on the tension or way in which the string vibrates. The bit behind the bridge or nut is out of the equation in so far as "feel" is concerned.

A string of a given length and mass per unit length has a specific pitch at a given tension.. Changing the break angle does nothing. The one way in which it does have an effect is the downward static force it applies to the bridge, this will effect the tone but not the playability, particularly so on acoustic instruments such as archtops, less so on solid bodies. Any supposed improvement in playability from setting up an instrument with more or less break angle is imagined assuming all other things such as action are the same.

The three things I mentioned above, string length, mass per unit length (gauge), and tension (pitch) are the only things that are in play. Change one you change the others. Changing the break angle doesn't change any of these.

For some reason, many folks find this a hard concept to grasp. You can find "string extenders" that add spacers behind the bridge to make the string longer between the rivet and the saddle, and there are basses designed where the lowest strings extend all the way out to the butt end of the instrument. Birdsong even has this wraparound design where the strings go in through the front of the body and then back through behind the bridge. All these schemes are designed to increase string length to increase tension, and none of them do anything at all. The string length from nut to saddle (the scale), the gauge of the string, and the pitch to which it is tuned determine the tension in the string. The length of the string from nut to peg and from saddle to rivet have nothing to do with it.

 

[muttley600]

For some reason, many folks find this a hard concept to grasp. You can find "string extenders" that add spacers behind the bridge to make the string longer between the rivet and the saddle, and there are basses designed where the lowest strings extend all the way out to the butt end of the instrument. Birdsong even has this wraparound design where the strings go in through the front of the body and then back through behind the bridge. All these schemes are designed to increase string length to increase tension, and none of them do anything at all. The string length from nut to saddle (the scale), the gauge of the string, and the pitch to which it is tuned determine the tension in the string. The length of the string from nut to peg and from saddle to rivet have nothing to do with it.

Yep, it's amazing the lengths some go to to defy simple physical laws.

That said there is a role for the design of break angles into an instrument. As I said the only way it has an impact is by altering the downward bearing force of the strings via the bridge. This can and does influence the manner in which energy is transfered from the string to the body and consequently the tone that the instrument produces. In my experience it is negligible on solid bodies but does has a part to play on Archtops and violin family instruments.

Absolutely no effect on the "feel" or playability of an instrument though..