String bending on acoustics...

[Hertz32]

Hey all, I just got my first acoustic after playing electric for a fair while, I usually play with 9's, but they seem to be hard to get hold of for acoustic. I really bend quite a lot and It's becoming a bit of a problem. would thinner strings affect tone? It's supposed to on electric as well, but I have used 8's and not noticed anything. I can see more reason for it having an effect on acoustic though.

Thanks in advance
-John

[richardhomer]

Electric gauge strings on an acoustic sound awful. They lack sufficient tension and mass to adequately 'drive' the top. Tuning a regular 12 or 13s set down a full tone may help, or you might change the third for an unwound one. As with most things, you have to decide what compromise is least injurious; playability, or tone. If the guitar isn't great (especially if it has a laminate top), you may decide playability matters more. If its a good one, you probably need to develop your strength... There is a physicality to playing acoustic guitars that is really unavoidable, if you want a good tone.

[ICBM]

I don't think there are acoustic strings lighter than 10s, at least not from any of the major makers. I also don't think they work well on anything with a bigger body or heavier bracing, in my opinion.

I find 11s a good compromise that gives electric-like playability with good acoustic tone, although it does depend to some extent on the guitar... but I use them on a maple Dreadnought and they're fine. (Admittedly, it's a long-scale one which helps keep the tension a bit higher, and 'electric playability' for me is using 11s as well, so it may not be a totally accurate comparison for you!)

The useful thing for bending is that most acoustic sets of 11s have a too-light G string, compared to the other strings and also the Gs in 10 and 12-gauge sets. The problem with that is that you tend to wear out the G very quickly...

The usual gauges are 10, 14, 23, 30, 39, 47 for 10s; 12, 16, 24, 32, 42, 53 for 12s; but 11, 15, 22, 32, 42, 52 for 11s... which is odd! The G is lighter than the one in the 10s and the D and A are the same as the ones in the 12s. There are some makers who use slightly different sets, too.

[DynamiteKid]

Learn to bend on normal guage acoustic strings. Just power through it until you can do it. It'll sound good and when you go to an electric you'll be able to do ridiculous bends. I learned to play on a terrible acoustic and it meant that by the time I got an electric I was doing two-tone bends all over the shop.

[octatonic]

I'm going to suggest not playing an acoustic like it is an electric guitar.
I'm not saying 'don't bend strings' but there is a whole bunch of techniques that fit better on acoustic guitars than string bending.

Have a look at the amazing Tommy Emmanuel:



He does bend strings every so often but mostly it is vibrato and other techniques.

I'm going to suggest not powering through it.
Tendonitis is a real issue with bending on acoustics.
If you are going to do it a lot then work up to it.

Adjusting technique to suit the instrument you are playing is IMHO the best approach.
You learn a new bunch of skills and it generally sounds better.
YMMV of course.

[Big Paulie]

I'm going to suggest not playing an acoustic like it is an electric guitar.

This.

Two different instruments that, for most people, require a different approach.

[Viz]

That tony emmanuel clip is awesome

[ICBM]

This.

Two different instruments that, for most people, require a different approach.

I used to think so too, but the more I tried to really develop my own sound, the more I realised I wanted an acoustic to sound kind-of like an electric, and an electric to sound kind-of like an acoustic... eventually to the point where I really want them to be the same thing, play them the same and just have them sound a bit different.

That's why I've ended up playing a semi-acoustic electric strung with 11s with a wound 3rd, through an acoustic amp...! (Some of the time, anyway .)

[Hertz32]

The guitar Is a Vintage V400MH, so it's mahogany anyway, really quite dark on the bottom end. love it I was just listening to some of the Slash Acoustic stuff, it doesn't seem to hinder him at all. Will work on my technique a tad more... Thanks so much you guys! will try and stick with 11's but if I really fail I'll try 10's... i think D'addario make 9's btw...

[Big Paulie]

I used to think so too, but the more I tried to really develop my own sound, the more I realised I wanted an acoustic to sound kind-of like an electric, and an electric to sound kind-of like an acoustic... eventually to the point where I really want them to be the same thing, play them the same and just have them sound a bit different.

That's why I've ended up playing a semi-acoustic electric strung with 11s with a wound 3rd, through an acoustic amp...! (Some of the time, anyway .)

I thought you might say that, John.

Hence the caveat "for most people"