Your First 2021 Gift for Yourself

If you are even marginally like me, you get pleasure from playing your guitar, regardless of where you fall in the continuum of skill. Sometimes however, a much loved instrument just isn't doing what you want, or feels "not quite right" to quote my English friends.

A new pedal, or new amp, or even a new guitar may take your mind off things for a bit but all are expensive to some degree or another, so consider a low cost investment in making that guitar great again.

How?

Get the guitar professionally set up.

I've been playing for over 45 years now and while I have built some skill in doing setups on all manner of guitars, it's safe to say that in that time, I have probably done over 200. Given the time required to become good at this skill, I would conservatively say that 50 have been decent jobs and still none as good as one done professionally.

A proper set up is a series of steps that go in a particular order and some of those steps involve tools that in the hands of an amateur can do more harm than good. Let me take you through the basic steps of a proper setup.

Get the old strings off and polish the frets. This is much more than using a rubbing stick from Amazon although at the minimum it doesn't hurt.

Check the frets themselves for flat spots and ensure that every fret has a proper crown that delivers minimal string contact. The more surface area of the fret that touches the string, the poorer the tone. That's why so many people struggle with the old Gibson "fretless wonders". If the frets are misshapen, or loose in the slot, STOP here and get your guitar to a trained and proven technician. If not, cover your pickups with masking tape and get yourself a set of fingerboard protectors. These come in different widths for different width frets. If you have a maple fingerboard mask off the fingerboard areas with low tack masking tape (like the blue painters masking tape - regular tape could lift the lacquer finish). Now GENTLY polish the frets with #0000 steel wool. This is going to leave detritus everywhere so put something that you can toss away under the neck first. When you do each fret one at a time, check it not only for lack of crown but for nicks and divots. After polishing and wiping, run your finger over the fret. If it does not feel perfectly smooth, STOP here and get your guitar to a trained and proven technician. You can play a guitar with damaged frets, but you may not like it, especially once you know you have damaged frets.

Side view of fretwire. Image courtesy Premier Guitar

The material used in fretwire varies. Stainless steel is most expensive and hardest to work. So called Nickel Silver has no silver at all and is typically 18% nickel and 82% copper and other metals. Popular fretwire suppliers are Dunlop, Jescar (not to be confused with Mandalorian Bescar armour - as far as we know) and Stewart-MacDonald. Stew-Mac is the best place to buy luthier's tools when you really want to learn and or make a mess of things.

If you do find flattened or damaged frets, your technician will be able to advise whether he or she can recover the frets using proper fret finishing tools or if it is time to have the neck refretted. Some people lose their sh*t when they think about refretting as if it will diminish the guitar. Does your car perform better with good brakes or bad brakes? A well played vintage guitar has likely already been refretted at least once. A refret job is not cheap, so think about the value of the instrument to you first. Also note that the type of fretwire used is one of the places where you find lower quality softer fretwire found on instruments made in the far east. Some builders are very specific about the fretwire that they use, but don't expect Dunlop or Jescar fretwire in a guitar built to sell under $500. I will talk about refret work in a different article.

A precision straight edge to determine if you have frets that are high or low. Image courtesy Stewart-MacDonald

Take a proper straight edge and measure the neck relief (amount of bow or lack thereof) with the strings off. If the neck has a lot of forward bow with no string tension, it's going to have more with strings on it. It takes time and experience to set the neck relief without strings and on many Fender guitars, you can only adjust the truss rod with the neck off. If when you check the truss rod, it is already tight and the neck is still forward bowed, STOP here and get your guitar to a trained and proven technician. The amount of bow that will work is going to be impacted by the strings that you use. Assume that if you are changing string gauges that some level of neck relief adjustment will be needed. If you are going from 0.010s to 0.009s there is adjustment required. If you are going from 0.008s to 0.011s more adjustment is required because you are increasing tension significantly.

Unbleached natural bone nuts. Image courtesy Stewart-MacDonald

The nut should then be examined for cracking and wear. A nut slot needs to allow the string to move without binding. If your guitar came with a plastic nut (many so called "bone" nuts are actually bone coloured plastic, yes F company I am looking at you) and you are sending the guitar in, you might consider having the nut changed to real bone (many players prefer the tone of bone although if you live in heavy distortion world, you probably won't notice a difference). Other options such as graphite or so called Tusq Ivory (a marketing name) exist. You want the strings to slide in the nut smoothly and ride in the slots enough so they don't pop out easily. Some guitars come from the factory with the string riding the top of the nut slot. This is a choice of course, but in my opinion, sub-optimal as I prefer the string to sit in the slot and do not care if the top if the nut is higher than the string in the nut. Your choice.

Next you want to measure the distance between the string and the first fret. Your technician can recommend the proper distance for you and to measure this you need a proper technician's ruler to measure from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string. You may need a magnifier to see the measurement. A nut slot that is not deep enough makes fretting at the first harder and one that is too low needs replacing. If the slot is too high, you can try a nut file. If you do, I recommend budgeting for the file, and a nut replacement by a competent technician since your odds of messing this up the first several attempts are high.

Before you restring, clean the fretboard. If the fretboard is not maple or lacquered maple, you can use one of the popular fretboard cleaner oils. There are a zillion of them. I have found that my preference is the Taylor branded fretboard oil. Apply gently and rub it into the wood a bit with your fingertip then wipe off. If the fretboard is untreated maple, a damp cloth followed by a dry cloth is ok. Lacquered maple can handle a gentle damp slightly soaped cloth, followed by a clean damp cloth and then a dry cloth. You don't want a lot of water because it can cause the wood to expand and also contribute to corrosion in the frets due to the high copper content.

Graph Tech String Saver Classic Saddles for Stratocaster bridge. Lined with teflon - no binding! Image courtesy Stewart-MacDonald

Examine the bridge saddles for burrs and sharp edges. If they exist, they are going to contribute to string binding and increased risk of breakage. Cheap bridges have cheap saddles. You can use a needle file and and then a cream polish to try to smooth them out but if the saddles are chromed, the chrome is going to come off.

My personal custom set of Extra Light Balanced Tension strings used on my Explorer, Flying V, Moderne and some Les Pauls made by Curt Mangan.

Put new strings on. Strings are relatively cheap, so don't try to reuse old strings. Use whatever strings that you like, but if you want maximum life before you have to change strings, consider one of the coated strings from D'Addario or Ernie Ball, or if you like, custom strings from a dedicated supplier such as Curt Mangan or StringJoy. There are many fine string brands, but not all brands actually make their own strings. Choosing strings is the subject of a different article.

Bring the strings up to tune whilst stretching them many times. Stretch now and enjoy stable tuning or don't stretch now and spend the next two weeks constantly retuning. Your choice. If you do not know how to stretch strings, a quick way is to bring the string to tune, then pull up on it. Then fret every other fret and keep pulling up. Once all the strings are done, tune to pitch and stretch the strings again. As an aside, I've noticed over the years that PRS guitars come with properly stretched strings and are typically in tune right out of the box. I have not found that with any other maker. 

Now check the action of the strings. This is commonly done at the 12th fret using your luthier's ruler. A common setting is .4 for the high E and .7 for the low E. The higher the action the greater room the string has to move because a struck string vibrates in a mostly round pattern with anchor points at the saddle and the nut. Too low an action is going to create fret buzz. If you play through a bunch of Metal Zones all the time, you won't care probably, but if you don't there you go. Most acoustic guitars do not have adjustable saddles, so if the action is still too high or low after setting the neck and nut, STOP and get your guitar to a proven and experienced guitar technician. On electrics, there are a variety of ways to adjust the action from single string saddle adjustments such as found on Stratocaster style saddles (note that Mexican and Japanese made guitars have saddles that usually need metric Allen wrenches whereas American made guitars typically have saddles requiring Imperial Allen wrenches), or dual string saddles such as on most Telecasters, or a single height adjustable bridge such as Gibson style Tuneomatic bridges. Loosen off the strings a bit before changing the action, down a few full tones, and then retune up after adjusting. Check and refine until you are happy and the guitar "feels good" to you.

You won't find these fellows to set your action or intonation, but this is where the work gets done.

Finally set the intonation by comparing the tune state of the string fretted at the 12th against the harmonic at the twelfth. Remember "flat forward sharp back" If the fretted note is flat compared to the harmonic, you shorten the length of the string between nut and saddle by adjusting the saddle towards the neck. If the fretted note is sharp, you need to lengthen the string to move it backward. Use a proper tipped screwdriver and do adjustments no more than ¼ turn at a time. Once you have the harmonic and the fretted note within a few cents, you are good.

I say this because it is not possible to get a guitar in tune at all places on the fretboard. It just doesn't work. You can get close and this is where intonation lives. If you have an acoustic guitar, you probably have no intonation capability natively. If your bridge floats as on many arch top guitars, use blue painters tape to hold it to the body when the strings come off otherwise you will be in intonation hell after restringing.

This has been a long article defining a BASIC setup. You can do most of it yourself with time and practice. If it sounds like a pain or too much work, that is ok. That's where you work with a professional.

I am very fortunate to be able to do so. My local guitar store The Arts Music Store has a pair of great techs in Kevin and Braeden. They are trained pros with many years of experience and thousands of guitars worked on. I trust them with working on my guitars as I have worked with Kevin specifically for years. He not only knows guitars but he knows me and what I look for in a set up. For the cost of a proper setup (about $75 or so, not including strings or any custom work), I get back a guitar that I can play right away.

COVID-19 has increased demands on techs as more and more people are playing now. Also many guitar stores offer a free setup on the purchase of some guitars and with the exception of PRS Maryland built guitars, I have never had a factory guitar regardless of purchase price that did not need some work done on it to make it ideal. COVID requires that instruments be in quarantine for a bit to protect the technicians and many are booked solid weeks out. If you only have a single guitar, that can be discouraging.

While you can buy instruments on line and often not from proper guitar stores, bear in mind that all guitars need maintenance just like your car does. Finding a good tech to work with is an investment that you make for yourself. It will save you time, money and frustration. There has only ever been one time where Kevin could not fix an issue, but he alerted me to a defect in the manufacture of the instrument and to their complete credit, Gibson gave me a full refund for the defective instrument which I applied immediately to a guitar that ultimately has made me much happier. That particular 1960 Reissue ES-355 has gotten even better with a set of Stormy Monday pickups from Tim Mills and his team at Bare Knuckle Pickups. Kevin installed those pickups and did the setup that the factory new guitar still needed to be awesome.

A good setup can make that old instrument feel new again. I own a 1993 PRS Custom 22 that had fallen out of favour with me. The original owner had changed the HFS pickups for PRS Dragon I pickups which I found to be muddy. I hired Kevin to install the Bare Knuckle PG Blues pickups in the guitar, and he called me to note that over the years, this guitar was in desperate need of a full setup. I told him to go ahead, and I can say with enthusiasm that the PRS that had fallen from favour plays better than it ever has since I bought it used in 1995.

Invest in a proper setup and enjoy your guitar more. If you are in the area of Newmarket Ontario, I highly recommend the team at The Arts Music Store.

What Does Balanced Tension Mean?

When I first heard Dan Steinhardt of That Pedal Show talk about his use of balanced tension strings, I became curious. To my science trained mind, it sounded like it meant that each string would exercise the same amount of tension on the guitar regardless of string gauge. 

When I started looking at tension charts, when the makers published them at all, it became clear to me that most string sets, including ones that I liked and even preferred, did not have this balanced tension thing happening, so I started doing some research.

I found articles that were qualitative but not quantitative and I wanted to see numbers and science to stand up the claims, and I also wanted to purchase a set of balanced tension strings to see if they felt different or sounded different to me.

I ordered a set of D'Addario NYXL Balanced Tension strings in their 11-50 set. I had to go through Amazon, because none of my local shops stocked balanced tension strings, thus my first learning was that this was not something in particularly high demand. 

I had to restring my old PRS CE22 as I decided to use it for some upcoming lessons that I signed up for. As happens, the strings on it were old but still sounded fine, a tribute to that last batch of PRS branded strings that I had used.

But, I had a scientific experiment to perform! First step was to find the documentation on how to best use the very old style PRS winged locking tuners. Lots of gripes and YouTube vids, but PRS does an excellent job of maintaining support documents and I found the official instructions on one page quickly. Suffice to say, that they were all I needed and I was reminded once again of how awesome those PRS winged locking tuners are.

Note that the package specifically states Balanced Tension. These are the 10-46 set. I could not find an image of the 11-50 set that I used in my experiment

Opening the package revealed, surprise!, guitar strings in a sealed pouch wound in pairs, just like every other D'Addario package I have opened in the last little while. The strings did not feel any different when mounting them to the guitar. They tuned up quickly and after a couple of stretches, have held their tune very well. Whether this is the nature of the NYXL build, or a combination of that and the locking tuners, I cannot tell. It's good enough to know that the string change was fast and easy and that the new strings once stretched are holding tune well.

The strings do feel different. Not in terms of slipperiness but more in terms of bending. The G, B and E strings require about the same amount of effort to bend, which is different from my experience with non-balanced tension strings. I suspect that with practice, that this might mean that bends will be more consistent. The bending of the E, A, and D strings were also very similar but heavier than the high strings as one might expect. My common high E is a .010 and for this set I went to an .011, again based on the opinion of Dan Steinhardt, who was using the 11 - 50 set on his red Telecaster some months back. It does make the E a bit tougher to bend, but as my intent for the lessons is to learn more jazz chording and chord inversions, I thought it might be worthwhile to give the nominally heavier string a try.

I found a video from a custom string maker called StringJoy out of Nashville. The video presenter offered a spreadsheet for download that allows you to enter some information such as scale length and string gauge that uses mathematics calculate the string tension, which could be handy if the maker does not provide this information. It also makes some assumptions about string weight, which is going to differ from maker to maker based on string construction, so I am going to call it close but not exact, except for StringJoy's own strings, which I admittedly have not tried. Their online web calculator is at https://tension.stringjoy.com

D'Addario offers a web based application that allows you to see how you could achieve balanced tension based on your own entries or starting with one of their existing packages at http://stringtensionpro.com It's interesting, but I missed how one could order a set resulting from the app.

As some of you know, I have been moving to Curt Mangan strings recently. That company does not have an interactive tool but does produce a string tension chart that is very usable. What I liked about these folks is the ability to build your own custom set very easily and to add your name and even a logo directly to the package.

In building packages for electrics, I used the PRS scale length and built a set of Curt Mangan strings based on the Monel construction with gauges, 10, 13.5, 17, 26, 36, 48. For my acoustics, I again used the Monel construction with gauges 11.5, 15.5, 20, 30, 42, 56 I admit to be really taken with the Monel acoustic tones and recently put a set of Curt Mangan Monel strings on my '57 Black Beauty and am really pleased with the tone. This Les Paul is very heavy and I think that the 10-46 standard Monel strings are good on it because it can be a bit boomy because of the excess weight, as it is nearly a 12 pound guitar.

The strings I install the Les Paul R7 Black Beauty

Hopefully this short explanation of what balanced tension is and why you might be inclined to give balanced tension strings a try has been interesting to you.

Play on!

Review : Martin RETRO Monel Strings

While I await the delivery of the Curt Mangan strings I wrote about recently, I was in my local guitar store The Arts Music Store, which is a very dangerous practice in my case and saw on sale a Martin D-35. I know this guitar reasonably well. It has been in the acoustic room for some time and as consequence, suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous test players. Meaning, she has a few life marks on her. Does this affect the tone? Not to me, but the strings on it, D'Addario somethings had reached the level of dead. As happens there was a bit of corrosion on the frets, and the guitar has been handled a lot. I have always wanted a D-35, but not so much as to pay full pop for one. I am also not so disciplined as to put all my guitar dollars away until Black Friday sales events. 

I told the Manager, that I was interested in the guitar and he agreed to let me try it out for a couple of days and if I was not happy could return it. I thanked him and they put it in a loaner case and also told me that they could have it restrung. Since I am rather picky, I asked to do that myself, since I knew I wanted to check the neck, and do a basic setup as well as polish the frets as well as clean and oil the fingerboard. I enjoy this kind of work, so with some Tony Rice playing in the background, got out my maintenance table and kit and went to work.

The strings that I selected were the Martin Retro Acoustic Monel series 12-54. They stretched in nicely and tuned up quickly and have held tune very well. As these are Monel wrapped steel (Nickel/Copper alloy) they are silver coloured instead of bronze coloured. As I mentioned in another post, Monel strings sound different than regular 80/2 or Phosphor Bronze strings. They are also naturally corrosion resistant, which is an important thing for me.

I have to admit, that initially I was not enthused. The D35 didn't have that powerful bottom end or upper midrange punch that I was used to with rosewood bodied, spruce topped bodies. The grain on the top is very widely spaced, suggesting Adirondack versus the documented Sitka spruce and there is plenty of top movement ability. As I sat and played however, I started to notice tones that I had never really heard before. The Monel strings reduce the impact of pick attack (I only fingerpick or use thick V-Picks) and are very neutral sounding. As a consequence, I hear a wider tonal palette, with more delicacy than I have in more traditional string choices. After several hours, I am looking forward to getting the Mangan strings that I ordered for my Gibson L4C arch top.

I am told that Monel strings handle amplification well. The D35 has no built in pickup, although if I buy it, I will install one at some point. The L4C has a Kent Armstrong pickup mounted to the end of the neck that I installed some years ago and once restrung, I will try that out through my acoustic amp rig.

The Monel strings feel different to the traditional strings as well. The high E and B are plain steel, but the rest are Monel wound strings. The guitar is not as loud as with the strings that were on it, but there is more clarity in the quieter tones. It took a bit of getting used to, but I am very impressed by these strings. I am not habitually a fan of Martin strings, but these are different. I do notice that my other acoustics, strung more traditionally, are louder and boomier. We will see what transpires, but I may end up transitioning my larger body acoustics to this different string structure. You might consider trying a set yourself.

Have a great day and keep on playing.

Acoustic String Considerations

I'm looking at what has been posted and I see that it is all related to electric guitars. Fair enough, but I also play acoustic and most of my peers do as well, some more than others of course.

As I have been studying and experimenting with electric guitar strings, I have also been doing so with strings for my acoustic guitars. This may be a larger area for discussion than even electric.

I had typically looked at acoustic strings as just being an enabler for the sound of the guitar, influenced by the woods used and the construction type. Most of the acoustic strings in the market are either Phosphor Bronze or 80/20 Bronze. Folks seeking a brighter acoustic tone would choose 80/20 and folks seeking a more mellow tone would choose Phosphor Bronze, presuming that they or the seller knew the difference. I have not completed any course of study when it comes to nylon strings so I'm leaving them out for the moment.

The major string makers typically offer many (too many?) choices in this regard, and then there is the choice over buying coated or uncoated strings. Like the tonal delivery, this is very much a personal decision. I prefer coated strings because they last longer with my skin oils in most cases. All my Taylor guitars came equipped with Elixir strings, a popular brand of coated strings, and while they are very popular, they do not work for me. Elixir has done a great job of education on the value proposition of coated strings and I appreciate this. In my experience, I get a fuzzy something on the strings. I am honestly not sure whether the strings use the Polyweb or Nanoweb coating so I have been looking elsewhere. Coatings have an impact on tone an on string feel.

In addition to the blend of phosphor and bronze, some strings incorporate materials other than steel in their construction. For example, the D'Addario Silk and Steel strings use a silver plated copper wind, interwound with silk that produces a very mellow tone because of the damping effect of the silk.

For a bit brighter sound while staying mellow, we encounter silver plated copper wraps without silk such as the D'Addario Gypsy Jazz sets. Still very mellow and like Silk and Steel, well suited to finger style players.

If you like playing slide on your acoustic guitar, you might consider flat top strings where the Phosphor Bronze wrap is polished to be smooth so you don't get those extraneous noises when using a slide. I wish that I had realized this years ago, because I am not accomplished at slide and I find the sound of the slide on regular wound strings to be ear-jarring. Slide is a whole other learning opportunity with all kinds of different slide materials available. Regardless of the slide construction, in my opinion, a smoother string sounds better to my ears.

The traditional Phosphor Bronze blend tends to fall in the middle between mellow and bright. This is likely why this blend is so popular and a good choice for guitarists who have not yet come to a specific string type for their use cases. They are available coated and uncoated from a variety of vendors.

Makers like Ernie Ball offer an Aluminum Bronze option which uses a special blend of Aluminum and Bronze that gives more bottom and top end. I have never tried them but if you find your acoustic sounds too midrange punchy, this may be a viable option for you.

D'Addario calls their Nickel Bronze their premium uncoated string. They fit between Phosphor Bronze and 80/20 Bronze on the brightness scale. Again, I have never tried them as I tend to stick to coated strings given my amazing ability to kill uncoated strings in no time at all.

Could these be Monel?

80/20 strings use an 80% copper and 20% zinc wrap and deliver a very bright tone. Some makers, Ernie Ball for instance, offer wound strings where the steel core is brass coated before the wrap is applied. Only you can determine whether this makes a difference for your desired tone, but know that if you want bright tones, 80/20 is the way to go.

Interestingly the popular 80/20 was only developed in the 1930s, by John D'Addario Sr and famed luthier John D'Angelico. Prior to that there was another construction type, one that is exhibiting a resurgence. This construction is called Monel.

As I started looking into Monel, I discovered that construction was not completely clear, with some vendors invoking the "secret sauce" story. Fortunately custom string maker Curt Mangan is very clear. Monel is a blend of materials, 67% nickel, 30% copper with the remainder made up of iron, manganese, carbon and silicon. Monel is not new. The data tells us that Monel existed earlier than the more common 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze string but was replaced because it was more expensive to build Monel strings. Martin Guitars offer Monel strings in their Retro line as do Curt Mangan and Rotosound. Curt Mangan also notes that Monel is sometimes known as Nickel Bronze, so those premium D'Addario strings mentioned earlier may actually be Monel.

On a side note, if you have not heard of Curt Mangan, you might want to go online and try his strings. His set for the Rickenbacker electric 12 string is the best that I have ever played.

Mangan's Monel strings are available on either a hex core or round core. I have not played either yet and could not tell you what a difference that makes. I have however, placed an order with the company and will know more once I get the strings. In addition to the acoustic strings, I also ordered a couple of sets of electric strings because I enjoy trying things out.

You may be wondering why I would go to an uncoated string like Monel's when I have already said that I can kill uncoated strings really quickly. Well the composition of the strings are naturally corrosion resistant. More expensive to make, but may last longer. 

The other reason that I want to try Monel strings is that as you have gleaned so far, all strings we have discussed so far impart some colour to your guitar. Some minor research will reveal that different tone woods respond very differently as do different body styles. The story behind Monel is that they are the most colourless strings available, neutral rather than particularly warm or bright. I have guitars made with a variety of different tone woods and even with traditional strings, they sound different, and I am really super curious about what I will hear differently, if anything, by going with neutral strings that add no colour. Some folks have said that they do not like the sound of these strings while others love them. I will find out for myself and so can you.

Thanks for reading and play on.