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Strings again.

I have made 3-4 CBGs so far and I get the feeling that we are all in the same boat. Once you have made one you will always be on the lookout for materials for the next one and the one after and the one after that and hopefully always improving. And I haven't made a true Cigar Box version yet, because believe it or not cigar boxes are not easy to come by in Western Australia. So far one olive oil can, one biscuit tin one wine box, and one jewelery box.

I have only been playing for a few months so don't really have the experience to know what sound I am trying to achieve or prefer. I am actually quite happy if I can string a few notes together that sound vaguely like something that I have heard before.

Regarding strings.I have used strings that have been recommended to me in the past, but now want to purchase more. I have read much of the discussions about strings on the forum but don't have the time to read 400 pages.

Can anyone enlighten me regarding the string types. At C.B.Gitty the strings are described as "acoustic light" , "acoustic medium", "electric light", "electric medium". It is my understanding that pretty well all CBGs are electric. Why would I choose one over the other?

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on April 15, 2014 at 4:39am

In a nutshell, acoustic strings are not designed to react well with magnetic pickups. They are fine if using piezos for the pickup, since those respond to vibrations...not the disruption of the magnetic field above a mag pup. Electric guitar strings are made with different metals that respond better w/ magnetic pickups.
String gauge (light, medium. etc.) are by preference, mostly. Light strings are generally more on the treble side of the board, while heavier gauges will give fuller, deeper tones.

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Permalink Reply by jeff Cadzow on April 15, 2014 at 4:48am

Thanks Scott

to take that a bit further, obviously you wouldn't use acoustic strings on a magnetic pickup but would there be any disadvantage of using electric strings on a piezo built.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 15, 2014 at 6:10am

Well, you actually can use acoustic strings on a mag pup build. Maybe because that's all you have left in your string stash, or you actually are trying on purpose to achieve a muddy, lo fi tone, because that's what you hear in your head...String choices are just that: choices, that you get to make mistakes with, that, quite honestly, are neither that critical or earth shattering. In short, experiment. Do it for the hell of it. Find out what YOU like, regardless of what any experts tell you (even though they may have very legitimate reasons for their views).

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Permalink Reply by David McQueen on April 15, 2014 at 7:40am

I am putting electric lights on a piezo build. They sound fine. My reason for going to them was first they were cheaper and second they have a much lighter load on the neck then acoustic ones. But, as Ron said, try out a bunch of different kinds.

So far I have tried bronze, bronze phosphor and Silk 'n Steel ( steel classical hybrid) acoustic strings and light electrics. They all have a different sound. Silk 'n Steel give the bassiest so far and the others seem to give either more brilliance or warmth depending on the string. Light electrics gave the easiest action to me. I tried extra lights, but I think my tuners are not good enough. I could not keep tune.

I have not tried a classical string build yet. One would have to plan that one from the start because the bridge has no angle with classical strings.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff McFadden on April 15, 2014 at 11:39am

Strings are fairly cheap so it's not a big burden to experiment. If you're going to play slide you probably want relatively heavy strings to keep them from mashing down on your frets too easily.