Acoustic String Tension Problem

johnROSS

Bought a new Tanglewood Nashville III acoustic in May, lovely guitar but i have a weird problem with the strings. The action is pretty good, and the neck doesn't seem to be bowed or anything, but i find the strings (D'Addario 11's) very tense with very little give at all. I've tried adjusting the truss but don't really know what i'm doing. Does anyone have any ideas?

kevin65

Are you tuned to standard tuning?

Are you comparing to the feel of strings on an electric guitar?

If you don't know what you're doing when adjusting the truss rod, then STOP. Truss rods can be damaged from overtightening. Probably a good idea to get it professionally checked and setup.

johnROSS

yeah comparing to electric, but also comparing to many other acoustics. i will when i have money.

Ravelleman

Same scale length?

martinedwards

11s are a LOT heavier than you will have player on an electric.

if the scale length is longer then the strings will ba tighter...... strats are an inch or so longer than a Les Paul for instance.

and the truss srod?

why on earth would you mess with the truss rod?

come the revolution and I am president of the world, all trussrods will be behind a securely locked cover and you will need to pass an exam to get the combination. leave the truss rod alone until you know WHY you are messing with it!!!!!!!

Alanstrainor

There's nothing wrong here.

Change to a set of 10's.

johnROSS

ok, thanks guys. yeah i use 8's and 10's on electric, but a friend said to get heavier strings for acoustic, i find it really uncomfortable, so i think i'll go lighter.

wild turkey

I change the g string for an unwound one, makes a big difference for me when bending.
I played 9's on my electrics for years & took ages for me to get used to 11s on my acoustics so
I decided to bite the bullet & go to 11 hybrids ( 11 top /10 bottom) on all my leccies
Takes a while to get used to it but worth the effort.

johnROSS

got 9's for it today (with an unwound g). i am one happy guitarist. thanks for the advice guys.

wild turkey

Nines for acoustics can be hard to get
You can always buy a set of twelves & a single 9 gauge string & leave off the top wound e string

johnROSS

yeah i got them off strings.ie. i'll do that if needs be.

Alanstrainor

OP, I would have been in the same boat as yourself when I went from electric to acoustic. Wanting it to be as easy to play as the electric, and almost expecting the same kind of playing to translate between the two. In reality, the acoustic is a very different instrument, and imo it's better to persist with slightly heavier gauge strings with a wound G string. You'll learn to play it differently and you'll get far better tone out of the higher gauge.

All personal opinion and all that, but I had to say it!

johnROSS

Yeah i will do that in time, just, i needed the guitar to be as comfortable as possible for busking. Going for four hours straight on tight strings is a pain in the posterior.

Squidgy Black

8's on an electric are extremely thin/slinky so no wonder the step up to 11's was tough.

I play 10's or 11's so the changeover is easy. I use 12's or 13's on acoustic for thick tone, certainly no bending!

Alanstrainor

johnROSS wrote: »

Yeah i will do that in time, just, i needed the guitar to be as comfortable as possible for busking. Going for four hours straight on tight strings is a pain in the posterior.

Also, if you're busking, higher gauge strings = more volume too!

You'll get used to it in no time!