H550: what a difference a gauge makes

[tsp17]

For years I’ve strung my H550 with Thomastik GB Flatwound 12s.  They are expensive but last 3-4 times other strings and sound great, always.  Very easy playing, consistent and great tone. I use 14s on my Super KB, but have never tried 14s on the 550 because the 12s sound so good, warm, round but also a little sweet.   Very 60’-70’s jazz archtop.   The band digs it.

I went to change out the old 12s for a new set today….But…i was out of the 12s.  Never thought to put 14s on the 550; that was all i had and the old strings were already half off.  So….14s went on the 550.

Wow.  What a difference!  The guitar sounds bigger in every way.  A little darker, fuller and just more.  I was really surprised that it made that big a change in fullness and voice of the guitar.   Not as effortless to play, but not a huge change in fretting or picking force required, just takes a little more oomph all around.  

14s will stay on and maybe be the norm for this 550 from now on.  Gig on Friday, so we’ll see…

[rockabilly69]

Did you have to tweak the truss rod?

[tsp17]

8 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

Did you have to tweak the truss rod?

Nope.  Plays like a dream.  

[MartyGrass]

Next time go to 20s!!

[rockabilly69]

12 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

Did you have to tweak the truss rod?

Must be a pretty stiff neck to jump two guages without a tweak. Fantastic.

[Kuz]

For the record,  Heritage ships their archtops with 12s on them.  I, personally, would be a little concerned putting that much tension on the top with 14s.  Vince Lewis, a jazz master and Heritage endorser, uses 11s and 10s on his Sweet 16s.

[RJLII]

I used 0.011s on my ‘94 H-550. They were pretty slinky but still drove the guitar well. Lots of punch. 

[tsp17]

15 hours ago, Kuz said:

For the record,  Heritage ships their archtops with 12s on them.  I, personally, would be a little concerned putting that much tension on the top with 14s.  Vince Lewis, a jazz master and Heritage endorser, uses 11s and 10s on his Sweet 16s.

I’ve had 14s on my Super KB for years.  No problem.  But, your point is well taken.   

[DetroitBlues]

Wowzers, that's some series string gauges.  I used 12's on an acoustic, but I'm basically strumming chords.  On any electric, there is just no way I could do that when it comes to vibrato, bends, etc.  

Hats off to you!

[Gitfiddler]

When I had an H550 I used nothing but flatwound 12's, and it sounded great. 

Since 550's are plywood/laminate top guitars, shouldn't they be durable enough for 13's or 14's?

I miss this big blonde gitfiddle.

[tsp17]

5 hours ago, Gitfiddler said:

What a beauty!

 

[Kuz]

17 hours ago, DetroitBlues said:

Wowzers, that's some series string gauges.  I used 12's on an acoustic, but I'm basically strumming chords.  On any electric, there is just no way I could do that when it comes to vibrato, bends, etc.  

Hats off to you!

 

In Jazz guitar, there really aren't any bending or vibrato.  Usually, bends, and especially vibrato, is discouraged to frowned upon in "classic" jazz guitar playing.  Some of the more contemporary jazz guitar artists are doing more bends/vibrato, but they are using lighter strings.  It just a matter of personal taste and playing style.

[tsp17]

3 hours ago, Kuz said:

In Jazz guitar, there really aren't any bending or vibrato.  Usually, bends, and especially vibrato, is discouraged to frowned upon in "classic" jazz guitar playing.  Some of the more contemporary jazz guitar artists are doing more bends/vibrato, but they are using lighter strings.  It just a matter of personal taste and playing style.

Right. Very little bending in my playing.  Slides, and hammer on, yes, but almost no bends.

[tsp17]

Since we are sharing H550 pics....My 550.

Edited Wednesday at 03:19 PM by tsp17

[tbonesullivan]

I keep thinking about a Jazz box. My guitar teacher has a Herb Ellis and I keep thinking "maybe I should have one of those".  I'd probably only put 11's on it, as somehow I think i'd end up also playing more blues stuff on it.

Man these are some nice looking guitars in here.

[zguitar71]

Oof! 14s are some heavy hitters. I run 13s on a ‘47 Epiphone Triump but I don’t really bend strings on that. For an electric archtop with a cutaway I use 12s with a wrapped G. I can still bend the e and b strings up an octave with that gauge. I have no doubt that 14s sound good though, I’ve always been a fan of heavier string sound. 

[tsp17]

13 hours ago, zguitar71 said:

Oof! 14s are some heavy hitters. I run 13s on a ‘47 Epiphone Triump but I don’t really bend strings on that. For an electric archtop with a cutaway I use 12s with a wrapped G. I can still bend the e and b strings up an octave with that gauge. I have no doubt that 14s sound good though, I’ve always been a fan of heavier string sound. 

When i wanted to experiment with a heavier gauge to get a bigger sound on my SKB, i intended to go from 12s to 13s.  But Thomastik doesn’t make a 13 in the GB line.  So i skipped to 14s.  Had them on my SKB now for a few years.  I would have stuck with 12s on the 550 but didn’t have any left in the house.  It was an adjustment at first- definitely, but once i got used to it, it was not a big deal.  Going from one guitar strung with 12 to another with 14 you can feel it for sure, but it just takes a minute to remind yourself to give it a little extra oomph all around.   

On the other side- i tried heavier gauges on my Martin 000-18 and didn’t really like it.  I found it much harder to get what i wanted out of heavy gauge on acoustic. 

[zguitar71]

14 hours ago, zguitar71 said:

Oof! 14s are some heavy hitters. I run 13s on a ‘47 Epiphone Triump but I don’t really bend strings on that. For an electric archtop with a cutaway I use 12s with a wrapped G. I can still bend the e and b strings up an octave with that gauge. I have no doubt that 14s sound good though, I’ve always been a fan of heavier string sound. 

Let me fix what I said. I bend up a whole step not an octave! I would love to be able to bend up an octave but…….

[rwinking]

1 hour ago, zguitar71 said:

Let me fix what I said. I bend up a whole step not an octave! I would love to be able to bend up an octave but…….

I can actually bend up an octave if I use 8s. As far as strings on a jazz guitar. I have found that using big ass strings gives a certain fluidity to my lines. I have them on my L5 and my 576. I don't bend on those guitars. I did some stuff with Albert King and that man had some big strings and he could bend the shit out of them. Stevie Vaughn could all bend  big strings. I can't. I have guitars that I bend on, usually with 9s and guitars that I don't.