NGD Found my low tension couch guitar!

[zionstrat]

I posted my search for a low tension guitar a bit back and learned that it takes a lot of work to find one...

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/for...20-please-educate-me-on-low-tension-acoustics

The good news is I found the Guild p240 and it's everything I was looking for. Small body, relatively wide neck but most important very low tension.

Although I prefer long scale heavy tension in my electrics, I wanted an almost classical guitar feel, partially to play classical guitar, bossa Nova and Jazz.. where I want very slinky strings that respond well to vibrato.

In my search I had mainly found plinky trebly parlor models but this one is incredibly well balanced.. tons of bass, not too much treble and, yes the steel strings feel very close to a classical guitar.

It's got elixirs on it so I won't be changing them in the near future, but when I do, I'd had a lot of good suggestions about silk strings and wi'll try them next.

It's still kind of surprises me that there's not a market for this. I'd gone so far as to consider getting a gypsy jazz guitar which is both big and long scale but does provide some of the sound I'm looking for.. The percussive snap...

But luckily I stuck with it and have a feeling I'm going to have this one around for many many years.

Thanks again for those who provided input!

 

[jeremy]

i like that! weird for a steel string guitar to have that type of headstock, but whatever

 

[Mincer]

i like that! weird for a steel string guitar to have that type of headstock, but whatever

My Godin Multiac Steel had a slotted headstock, too.

 

[zionstrat]

Yeah the slots are there to increase the brake angle, which increases resonance...

I can't say that it's the primary factor in my low tension search, but I played a lot of similar guitars that weren't slotted and this one definitely won the game.

But it does make sense that it adds to the feel since I was essentially trying to recreate a steel string classical guitar.

 

[Mincer]

I find slotted headstocks a pain to restring, though- either steel or nylon.

 

[zionstrat]

True.. on the other hand I tend to change strings less often on my finger style instruments..

 

[Mincer]

True.. on the other hand I tend to change strings less often on my finger style instruments..

Oh I get it. I wound up selling my Godin. But re-stringing was just a small reason.

 

[zionstrat]

Well as luck would have it, YouTube threw a video at me today that explains that the high break angle is what creates a low tension guitar...

https://youtu.be/gph96-Z2Tv0?si=ULklo92yq-Po_LGO

Assuming this guy knows what he's talking about, it feels good to have experimented and found that the slotted headstocks are a big part of the equation.

And although my Guild looks very conventional, it's amazing how funky some of these open headstocks, seen in the video, can get... But if they give that extremely low tension classical guitar feel on steel strings, I think I would love to try one.

 

[Mincer]

Thing is, I didn't find my Godin Multiac Steel (with slotted headstock) much different than a regular steel with a conventional headstock. Honestly, the tension feels the same to me.

 

[zionstrat]

Was it 25 and 1/2 or 24 and 3/4?

 

[Mincer]

25.5"

 

[Chistopher]

I've always thought that wider necks felt like they had less tension on them. Width of the neck probably doesn't actually effect the tension, but more so the feel.

 

[zionstrat]

25.5"

Yep, so that may be one of the variables.. The guild is a 24 and 3/4 so maybe that's part of the equation.

 

[zionstrat]

I've always thought that wider necks felt like they had less tension on them. Width of the neck probably doesn't actually effect the tension, but more so the feel.

Well the Guild certainly has a wide neck and the search was inspired by classical guitars with wide necks so maybe that's part of low tension as well.. but for the life of me I'm can't figure out where the width of the neck would impact the slinkiness of the string.

I bet there's a physics major out there that could explain all of this

 

[jeremy]

yeah, i cant see how a wider neck would make a difference in tension. as long as you like it, then who cares!

 

[Mincer]

Yep, so that may be one of the variables.. The guild is a 24 and 3/4 so maybe that's part of the equation.

Well, that would be my guess, too. That scale length with nylon strings would be a joy to play.

 

[zionstrat]

yeah, i cant see how a wider neck would make a difference in tension. as long as you like it, then who cares!

Yeah, but, I'm one of those people that can't stop trying to figure out "why " takes up way too much time...