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Pro Series C25/CR - String gauges and other questions

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mbenigni	Pro Series C25/CR - String gauges and other questions		Lead	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 22, 2008 18:57:04	Tags : None Hello all! First post, first Breedlove. I'm in love with my new guitar, as expected, but I have a couple of reservations, and a couple of questions. Hope you can help? First the obvious question: does anyone know what gauge strng is recommended for this model? The documentation I received covers this for several other models, but not the Pro series, and none of the string guages in the docs match what the calipers read on my guitar. So maybe Guitar Center just threw whatever on there? Thing is, the guitar plays exceptionally well right now and I don't want to do anything to jeapordize that. Right now its strung with: .012, .016, .024, .034, .045, 056. Would going with a set of Adamas 1818 lights (.012, .015, .023, .032, .044, .053) be likely to throw the setup out of whack? And this brings me to my reservation: I need to change the strings to see if the guitar will get just a wee bit louder/ brighter. I know a cedar guitar will tend to be darker and perhaps a bit quieter, but this particular guitar is very quiet. It followed me home in spite of this, because the playability and tone overall is quite nice (understatement) and quite honestly, the aesthetics had all but sold the guitar before I even got it off the wall. But I would like to be hearing a bit more of the highs out of this guitar. So I guess the question there is, is this common of the cedar Breedloves?
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powerandwisdom		#1	[url]	[-]
Gatekeeper Slope Shoulder Posts: 2369 January 22, 2008 20:40:24 Guitar & Technique moderator	Hi mbenigni, Welcome to the forum. I can't answer the strings spec questions, but I do have a C25 myself (engelmann/macassar ebony). Strings I have liked on mine include John Pearse 80/20 New Mediums and Elixir PB lights with a medium string (.13 and .17) substituted for the e and b strings. I think the stock strings are D'Addario PB lights, but I may be wrong on this. For whatever reason, I tend to prefer 80/20 bronze strings to Phosphor Bronze on guitars with dense rosewood (and ebony in this case) woods. Regarding the cedar top... what style do you play? If fingerstyle, are you playing with bare fingers, fingernails, fingerpicks? If you are using a pick, what thickness? I have a cedar/mahogany OM, and I find the cedar top to be wonderfully responsive and alive for fingerstyle playing (a bit of nail in my case). The tone is very warm and more subtle than my spruce guitars. I don't think it's as "projecting" in tone as the spruce tops, but rather more open and perhaps on the mellower side. This doesn't mean it can't be "loud," but to my ears, the tone is just different, in a good way. In fact, I think cedar-topped guitars tend to sound more broken-in right out of the gates. On my cedar-topped guitar I have used and enjoyed the JP strings listed above and also GHS True Mediums in Phosphor Bronze. The latter - to my ears - give the guitar a bit more brightness and zing. Hope this helps. Enjoy your new Breedlove! Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. -William Butler Yeats
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ragtime man		#2	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1949 January 22, 2008 23:25:10 Northwest Lounge moderator	I tend to keep a set of 12s on my Masterclass C25. I get quite a bit of volume out of them. I sometimes put a 13and 17 on but more often than not I just put a set of light D'Addario Phosphor Bronze on. On my Breedlove I seem to get a little brighter sound with the phosphor bronze than with other strings. However, after about a week they seems to loose just a little of the brightness to me at which point the 80/20 bronze strings seem a little brighter to me. mbenigni your 5th and 6th strings seem a little heavy to me. The D'Addario lights are 12, 16, 24, 32, 42, and 53. I can not tell you what strings are recommended for your model but I am guessing if you called Breedlove directly they would tell you what they ship them out with. Welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy yourself here. ragtime man
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Capt06	Lights on my Pro Series	#3	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 72 January 23, 2008 00:07:27	I own a C25 Pro Series and believe it came with lights. That's what I've been stringing it worth and have found Cleartone strings to be my favorite.
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mbenigni		#4	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 23, 2008 08:38:23	Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I'm still in the "don't even look at it" phase with this guitar, but then again, I have 30 days to put it through it's paces and see what it's capable of, so I guess throwing a variety of strings on it makes sense. Do the truss rods on these instruments tend to be stable, or will slight variations in string guage change the setup appreciably? (I know I'm repeating myself here, but the guitar just plays perfectly at present - a blessing and a curse LOL.) Acoustic strings sets seem to be more varied than electric sets in terms of the guages of lower strings. With an electric set of .009's for instance, you generally know you're headed for a .042, and how you'll get there, unless there's some specific branding (eg. hybrid) otherwise. It's slightly frustrating that the setup is so spot-on with this unidentifiable collection of string guages. Powerandwisdom, I don't really have a style of my own at the moment, having just returned to the instrument after an extended hiatus. But previously I played mainly guitar-ensemble music with plectrum - in my case medium. Now that I'm writing more solo instrumental material, I'm using more hybrid technique: pick and fingertips, no nails. Actually, the string balance and warmth of the cedar top are perfect for blending the picked notes with the fingered ones, so it seems to be a perfect fit. My concerns only reflect my tendency to look for "one guitar that can do it all." Which is probably inherently foolish anyway... Thanks again!
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David Ingram		#5	[url]	[-]
00 Posts: 100 January 23, 2008 09:24:35	Stock strings on there should be D'addario EXP light gauge - 12/16/24/32/42/53. As you note, they might have been switched out at the store. You can normally make a jump up or down the string continuum (lights to mediums, etc.) with just a small truss rod tweak to compensate for the string tension change, although there can always be something unexpected that crops up. To make a reversible change, note exactly how far you turn the truss rod so that you can return it to its original position if necessary. David Ingram .............................................. David J. Ingram Marketing Communications Breedlove Guitar Company www.breedloveguitars.com ..............................................
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mbenigni		#6	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 23, 2008 11:05:17	Thanks, David. That's very helpful!
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powerandwisdom		#7	[url]	[-]
Gatekeeper Slope Shoulder Posts: 2369 January 23, 2008 19:15:51 Guitar & Technique moderator	mbenigni wrote: Actually, the string balance and warmth of the cedar top are perfect for blending the picked notes with the fingered ones, so it seems to be a perfect fit. My concerns only reflect my tendency to look for "one guitar that can do it all." Which is probably inherently foolish anyway... Oh, I could get by with just one, but hey - where's the fun in that! For your "hybrid style" I'd say cedar ought to work very well. Continue with your "tweaking and experimenting" and I bet you find the right combination. Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. -William Butler Yeats
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mbenigni		#8	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 24, 2008 08:16:00	Thanks PaW. I threw a set of Adamas 1818's on it last night (because that happened to be what I had laying around) and it completely changed the character of the guitar. Not for the better in this particular case, but it was nice to hear that the guitar can acheive a range of voices depending on how it's strung. I think I'll try the recommended D'addario EXP's next and see where I land. This is the first time in years that I sit at working thinking, "Can't wait to get home and play guitar!"
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ragtime man		#9	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1949 January 24, 2008 08:26:33 Northwest Lounge moderator	mbenigni wrote: I think I'll try the recommended D'addario EXP's next and see where I land. This is the first time in years that I sit at working thinking, "Can't wait to get home and play guitar!" I tried different strings on my Masterclass C25 and as I have said above I ended up with the D'addario EXPs being what I keep on it now. They seem to work for me in normal tuning and in altered tunings also. The altered tunings that I play in are G and D. I have found that I can even use a slide on my guitar with the 12s on although I can be less exact when I put a 13 and 17 on strings 1 and 2. Most often I just keep the full set of 12s on and acknowledge I am not as proficient with them when I am sliding as when I have a 13 and a 17 on. By the way try playing in G and D and see what a wonderful full sound will come out of that Breedlove. Regarding you not being able to wait to get home all I can say is welcome to the Breedlove world! ragtime man
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mbenigni		#10	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 24, 2008 09:31:08	Thanks, ragtime man. I've always been a little cautious about using one guitar (esp. if it's a valued one) for multiple tunings, because of the stresses it puts on the instrument. Am I being irrational here? (Note: one of the tunings I use a lot varies pretty widely from standard tuning: C G D A E G, known in some circles as New Standard Tuning. But I try to keep that on a guitar setup specifically for the purpose, in terms of string guages etc.)
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Capt06		#11	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 72 January 24, 2008 13:17:42	mbenigni wrote: Do the truss rods on these instruments tend to be stable, or will slight variations in string guage change the setup appreciably? (I know I'm repeating myself here, but the guitar just plays perfectly at present - a blessing and a curse LOL.) \ Thanks again! They seem to be stable. I do occasionally check the relief on my guitars and have found they rarely adjusting. The Breedlove seems to be this way as well. Like others, I believe your hybrid style will work great on the cedar top. I play mostly fingerstyle with some stumming and it sounds great on the cedar top. My action is rather low so I have to watch my attack to I don't get alot of string noise. Good luck
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ragtime man		#12	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1949 January 24, 2008 22:33:12 Northwest Lounge moderator	mbenigni wrote: I've always been a little cautious about using one guitar (esp. if it's a valued one) for multiple tunings, because of the stresses it puts on the instrument. Am I being irrational here? I guess I have never been to worried about the change in stress. I tend to drop them down and leave them there for a week or so and then put them back in standard tuning. So far I have not had a problem. I guess if I was worried about it I would drop them down and when I was done for the practice or play time I would bring them back up the standard tuning. However, as I said I haven't been to concerned about it and having done it now for a couple of years I haven't noticed any problems with my guitars. ragtime man
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mbenigni		#13	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 25, 2008 08:21:44	having done it now for a couple of years I haven't noticed any problems with my guitars. Good to know. Thanks again.
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ragtime man		#14	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1949 January 25, 2008 09:21:27 Northwest Lounge moderator	I guess I should add that I have not been tuning up only down. So when I go to an open tuning I am putting less tension on the strings and not more tension on the strings. I don't think I would be very comfortable tuning up and leaving the guitar for a week in a higher tuning. If I remember correctly when I got my first National Resophonic I called the company or maybe they sent me something, sorry but I don't remember exactly, and their suggestion was if I was tuning up that I not leave it in the higher tension. They said it was OK to play in the higher tuning but when I was done playing to put the guitar back in standard tuning or a lower tuning. Hope this helps, ragtime man
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mbenigni		#15	[url]	[-]
Parlor Posts: 20 January 25, 2008 09:26:13	ragtime man wrote: I guess I should add that I have not been tuning up only down. So when I go to an open tuning I am putting less tension on the strings and not more tension on the strings. I don't think I would be very comfortable tuning up and leaving the guitar for a week in a higher tuning. If I remember correctly when I got my first National Resophonic I called the company or maybe they sent me something, sorry but I don't remember exactly, and their suggestion was if I was tuning up that I not leave it in the higher tension. They said it was OK to play in the higher tuning but when I was done playing to put the guitar back in standard tuning or a lower tuning. Hope this helps, ragtime man Definitely helps. I have a guitar specifically set up for the wacko tuning I cite above anyway, but I have been wanting to occassionally drop a whole step to play Yesterday and such. Anyway, now that I've begun experimenting with strings, the anxiety over alt tunings is fading fast. Thanks!
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Greg F		#16	[url]	[-]
000 Posts: 325 January 25, 2008 12:14:39	I keep the "stock" D'addario's on my Mastercraft C25. If breedlove believes in them that's good enough for me! Know then.....on my other guitars I have found Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 bronze to work out great. I play outside alot in the clubs on the Gulf of Mexico and don't ever let anybody tell you salt air won't hurt your strings (and the blowing sand in the sliders and every other hole in the mixing board). I've had strings go "brown" on me in 2 days. The Ernie Balls can last along time in this environment. Not only that they sound great. Nice and bright and stay sounding good for the life of the string. I'm betting these strings would sound awsome on some cedar. Greg
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ragtime man		#17	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1949 January 25, 2008 21:28:52 Northwest Lounge moderator	I used to use the Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20s on a dred that I had. I forgot all about them. They were very good strings and very easy to play. Thanks for reminding me of them. ragtime man
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powerandwisdom		#18	[url]	[-]
Gatekeeper Slope Shoulder Posts: 2369 January 26, 2008 01:57:14 Guitar & Technique moderator	I too forgot about the Earthwoods. My recollection is that they are also quite reasonably priced. Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire. -William Butler Yeats
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omegaman41658		#19	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1567 January 26, 2008 07:08:18 BGMF Owner & Founder "Fame is but a fruit tree" Nick Drake	String recommendations
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ragtime man		#20	[url]	[-]
Concert Posts: 1949 January 26, 2008 11:45:37 Northwest Lounge moderator	omegaman41658 wrote: String recommendations If all else fails check the Breedlove website. Way to go omegaman! I guess that clears this one up. ragtime man
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