Joe is one of my favorites, and the dude is crazy nuts
makes me feel more normal...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3lEqVAroX4&feature=related

 

another great

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8kcuqIqmIU&feature=related

 

I was weened durning this song, I think...
it was probably the first time me MaMa
noticed I was interested in something other
than her big Italian jugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGXP_UBog4

 

Alison could marry me if she wants... I mean if Orianthi will let her, or she doesn't talk to Shania first...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w6TggWtOgU&feature=related

 

dar-dar-duh-duh-duh-day-day-day-deah-deah-dee-dee-D-D-D-D...D#-D#-Daug7th- Dsus4 DINK (string breaks)


Here are some of my notes on strings for any geeks. I use D'Addario XL's.
The gauges vary according to my guitars. which have 24.75", 25.5", and 26.5" scale.
I mostly play the electrics, but also have an old acoustic and nylon string classical, (Martin strings)


I generally like to play instrumentals and use a whammy bar. Thank God for the locking nut! Once the strings are stretched, you pretty much hold tune until you toss the strings. I like having various floating bridge and fixed bridge guitars set up with strings for certain music I like to play. I don't mind changing out strings, but I try to keep enough setups, so I'm not. I change strings more often than most guitarists. I spoil myself, as I really like fresh, bright sounding strings. I get about 20 hours of playtime on a set, and I toss them.
When I first started playing a set might last me months... those grubby dead strings were my best excuse for my crappy playing.


Main thing I like in my string selection is balance. I like to keep the string tension well balanced across the neck.
It comes out basically split gauges, like 10 bottoms with 9 tops...as an example. Some guitars do need either the 5th or the 2nd string to be a hand picked gauge. (those are typically the most unbalanced) All guitars are going to react different to the same string, because of stuff like head or tail angles. A Gibson head angle drops steeper than say an Ibanez head. The total string tension will vary between approximately 100 lbs. to 140 lbs. according to scale length, tuning, and gauge, with most important as uniform a tension as I can get with the wound string groups and the plain string groups.
[simplified... I'm looking to keep the same string tension on all 6 strings...and stay within a total of 100-120 lbs. total]


Most guitarist don't know about this...and have some strings with a big tension next to a string with lessor tension...and it will screw with you... if you are doing fast licks, string skipping, arpeggios, legatos, etc. You really want your fingers playing against the same tension, so you aren't over or under fretting. That's how a lot of players give horrible sharp or flat notes,.... they may not hear it, but everyone else does.


Outside of alternate tunings which require special attention to gauge selection, my standard tuning (or) Eb tuning if a very well balanced tension, will help with harmonics, intonation, and due to uniform string action, improves picking, and note voicing.


The shorter the scale neck, the lighter the tension, so I do tend to stick with 10's on the 24.75" necks, and 9's on the 25.5" necks.
The 26.5" neck (Baritone guitar) is a whole different animal, and I'll run anything from 10's to 13's and get more involved in alternate tuning...but basically I'm lazy in that regard. It's a lot of work setting up...even though that guitar is a string through fixed bridge. The floating bridge are even more fussy and time consuming, but I've gotten good at setting them up.


Where I live, the humidity affects the neck, and I have to adjust the truss rod on all my guitars twice a year. The average humidity in the winter is 25% and in the summer 60%.


Any time you change string gauges, you also have to adjust your neck and intonation, string height, and bridge adjustments, on floating bridges.
You can play a set of 10's set up on Eb, and it will have about the same tension as 9's set to E standard.


Lot's of people think a larger gauge string with lower tension may tend to buzz more. Actually, the opposite is true. When you go up in gauge, you can go down in tension. Too low a tension regardless of gauge, will cause fret buzz, as well as poorly set action, a damaged or high fret, or even heavy handed picking. Common bad habit is picking too hard, and blaming your guitar neck or strings. Most guitarists pick too hard...and I'm one of them.


Consider the neck scale too. 10's on a 24.75" neck will have less tension than the same strings on a 25.5" neck. Watch how your strings are fitting the nut, when you change gauges. Larger gauge may bind on the nut, and you will have tuning problems, unless you are willing to file the proper relief. Most set ups, anyone can do, but messing with the guitar nut, is best left to someone experienced.


"Standard" string sets have always never satisfied me. One size does not fit all. We all have different physical characteristics, or personal preferences and styles of music, as well as look at all the different guitar configurations. I remember back when these lights and ultralight gauges came out. Until then almost all the gauges were 11's, 12's or 13's. Those lights and ultralights meant lower action, and easier bends. Then later came thinner faster necks too.


I began to notice how unbalanced most of these "standard" string sets were tension-wise. For quite a while, string companies didn't give a crap about tension balance. What was selling was lower tension...and they just want to take your money. No wonder a couple strings always seemed mushy, or sounded muddy or dull. Again, we were coming out with more and more effects, like distortion, delay, chorus, etc. so no one noticed the loss in tone, or cared really. (except a few) I've known with the popularity in the drop tunings, guitarists have been going with heavier bottoms, even just using a heavier low E (6) string for a drop D or drop C. Now we are getting back to vintage tone, and guitarists are wanting better strings, and string sets. You can buy your strings in singles for $1.00 each, with some of the wound sizes $2.00 each. Some companies have nice balanced out sets these days, close enough anyway, and sets generally run a couple bucks cheaper than buying singles.
--------------------------------------------------------


Here is my example of tension measured for my Schecter Baritone guitar.
I'll leave the tuning standard, just show the difference in gauges vs. tension
Standard tuning E/A/D/G/B/E at the 26.5in. scale.
---------------------------------------------------------
10's "standard set" [unbalanced, but mainly on the bottoms]
__________________________________________________ _______
.046--.036--.026--.017--.013--.010 string gauge
20.7--23.1--21.9--17.8--16.1--17.7 lbs. tension for a total of 117.3 lbs.


Heavy/light 10's set [better balance]
__________________________________________________ _______
.050--.038--.028--.017--.013--.010 string gauge
25.4--25.3--26.1--17.8--16.1--17.7 lbs. tension for a total of 128.4 lbs.
=============================================


Now showing an example in tension difference by lowering the tuning
using my heavy/light 10's gauge set on my 26.5 scale neck
standard tuning E/A/D/G/B/E
__________________________________________________ ________
.050--.038--.028--.017--.013--.010 gauge
25.4--25.3--26.1--17.8--16.1--17.7 lbs. tension [total tension 128.4 lbs.


drop the tuning 1 semi-tone to Eb
__________________________________________________ ________
.050--.038--.028--.017--.013--.010 gauge
22.6--22.6--23.3--15.8--14.4--15.7 lbs. tension [total tension 114.5 lbs.


Notice this last set of strings, are a heavier gauge set, but better balance,
with lower overall tension than a "standard set" with the tuning at Eb. (my opinion a better tuning)
You can customize this further with single picked string gauges. These are over the counter sets I calculated.

 

...next time you see a post like the one above.... run stupid.
if you actually read any of that, and it started to make sense to you, seek help.

Joe Bonamassa can play on rubber bands, if he has to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LZdizmrTcM&feature=related

 

if no one is going to stop me, I'm going to keep posting more Satch!
there were so many Satch in this video, Satch coming out of your pockets, and everywhere...

... and it's still not enough!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeuN9q4_QS8&feature=relmfu

 

Moron strings. (<<< see what I did there?)

..................


Coming up with string tension secrets, is the sort of thing a guitarist does, when he's smashed his no.1 fret finger with a framing hammer, and won't be playing for at least a month.

Being Guitarded doesn't happen all at once. You polish the necks and frets on all your guitars, and adjust everything 3 levels past a custom set up... and wipe off every fingerprint.
You sort out all your sheet music, in groups of genre, lessons, and current favorites. Sort all your CD's, and spend several hours a day hitting the redial button, hoping Shania will answer the phone.

.... then you start to play a little, and your smashed finger sends a jolt of pain... numbing your whole left side, and you pass out, waking up with a distortion pedal stuck to your forehead... but while you were passed out, you thought about string tension... and having a guitar play as smooth as air guitar.




We all know of course, this is just being desperate to come up with something else to do, since everything is polished, and all that's left is, you have to study theory.
I mean you don't hate theory enough, you'd actually go play your air guitar.... right?

 

I've thought about the Hawt chick in post #329 so much, I just got an FCC warning.

...annaways, she reminded me of the first song I learned on guitar, that wasn't some Mel Bay crap, like Jingle Bells.

I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan Show when they first came to the USA. Rolling Stones and all those Brit bands

..like dig it mannn, they were really far out!... but they are British...
there is an earlier version on youtube of this song, but this one is more fleshed out.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXcNQTa3zgs

 

YER GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL YOU KNOW!
Blaaaaaaaahhhh!!! yeah, that's right ...TURN IT UP!
DRINK YOUR DAMN BEER!

AC/DC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDYmDLiWsfc&amp;feature=player_embedded