Guitar Strings 101

smitty_p said:
I try to press the strings as lightly as possible and use economy of motion by not moving my picking hand or my fretting hand further than necessary. Sometimes, I’ll practice in front of a mirror and watch my hands to be sure I’m not wasting motion, either while picking or fretting notes and chords.
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Interesting you say this. Was watching a ZZ Top concert on tv several years ago. I did not know at the time that Billy uses .007s for strings. But what I did notice was the economy of movement with his picking hand. As in….. it was almost imperceptible there was ANY movement.
 
Cadorman said:
Yes. Plus if you chord too hard you pull the strings out of tune.
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Played acoustic only for decades before getting my first electric in 2009. My acoustic is strung with bridge support cables, so in the beginning on the electric, I had a serious problem fretting notes and chords sharp. Once I forced myself to not do the death grip, I got better. And frankly. It made me a better acoustic player as well.
 
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iblive said:
Interesting you say this. Was watching a ZZ Top concert on tv several years ago. I did not know at the time that Billy uses .007s for strings. But what I did notice was the economy of movement with his picking hand. As in….. it was almost imperceptible there was ANY movement.
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Yeah. Sometimes I catch myself using a bit too much energy, either fretting or picking, and have to brush up on being a bit more economical with my mechanics.

Always practicing; always learning!
 
smitty_p said:
Yeah. Sometimes I catch myself using a bit too much energy, either fretting or picking, and have to brush up on being a bit more economical with my mechanics.

Always practicing; always learning!
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I've seen very light players and those with very good mechanics and I am always impressed with them. Yngwie is one of those.

I think most of my bad habits date back to my first guitar which had very high action and heavy strings.

This is why we named my custom DiMarzio humbucker the "Neanderthal" because it is an ode to how I play.

But, at the same time, when I play lightly, my playing lacks a certain urgency. There is a way to convey pain and frustration in how the notes are pulled from a guitar and I literally wrench the notes from them. Once I am in the zone, the transformation is beyond my control.

I can work on a variety of studio projects for hire and play with restraint, but it never feels right to me.

In consideration of being self-taught and having personality disorders, I've discovered that I'm an unusual person and my style doesn't appeal to everyone, but that's OK because it's my adaptability as a "musical actor" that has kept me steadily employed in the music field.
 
I don't know if it is a genetic thing but my hands don't sweat much and I seem to have a very light touch. I have 9 - 42's on most of my guitars. I usually just buy whatever is on sale but I'm partial to Gibson Brite Wires. I change them when they start to sound dead, usually around six to eight months. Some of them get played every day. I actually like the feel of them after I've played them for a while. I've never broken a string except for immediately after changing strings while stretching them. My Swingster hollow body is the exception. It has 11 - 49's with a wound G. My acoustics are all over the place. Each one seems to sound better with a specific brand and size. Acoustic tone seems to really vary with string choice while electrics not so much.
 
Robert Herndon said:
I've seen very light players and those with very good mechanics and I am always impressed with them. Yngwie is one of those.

I think most of my bad habits date back to my first guitar which had very high action and heavy strings.

This is why we named my custom DiMarzio humbucker the "Neanderthal" because it is an ode to how I play.

But, at the same time, when I play lightly, my playing lacks a certain urgency. There is a way to convey pain and frustration in how the notes are pulled from a guitar and I literally wrench the notes from them. Once I am in the zone, the transformation is beyond my control.

I can work on a variety of studio projects for hire and play with restraint, but it never feels right to me.

In consideration of being self-taught and having personality disorders, I've discovered that I'm an unusual person and my style doesn't appeal to everyone, but that's OK because it's my adaptability as a "musical actor" that has kept me steadily employed in the music field.
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I can identify with the first guitar and high action. Got mine at the local hardware store for maybe 25 bucks. If memory serves action was 1/2” at the 12th fret. I did not keep it long. Bought a 12 string that was 100 times easier to play…. And as I look back. It was not a good example of a 12 string. I’ve played way better ones since. Martin. Taylor. I can do bar chords on them. If my life depended on it, I cannot do bar chords on mine. But it was that much easier to play than the “toy” one I bought, it kept my interest to keep at it till I could afford to buy the Ovation I still have.

And as they say. The rest is history…. Whoever the heck They are.
 
iblive said:
Are you kidding. I’d love to hear these things played properly.
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I don't know that I do anything 'properly,' but here's an example of the urgency I impart into my playing.

About midway through the song, you will hear some of my "harmonic sweeps" that sound almost like a person shouting.

Listen to Road To Hell - Rory Gallagher Cover - 02/25/2019 by Von Herndon on #SoundCloud
soundcloud.app.goo.gl

Road To Hell - Rory Gallagher Cover - 02/25/2019

I Am Playing All Instruments And Performing Vocals On This Track
soundcloud.app.goo.gl soundcloud.app.goo.gl
 
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