Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
- Thread starter Artie
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PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
IMO...
Wound G intonates better, especially as you go bigger, plain G allows you to bend easier and further, especially as you go bigger. (Once you have a large gauge plain G, simply fretting the string too hard can cause a note to go sharp)
Again, IMO, a lot of what we think of as the "rock sound" is that plain G, and the Chuck Berry style full step bends followed by notes on the B and E. For playing cowboy chord style accompaniment and pure rhythm guitar, the wound G is an interesting alternative to the plain.
IMO...
Wound G intonates better, especially as you go bigger, plain G allows you to bend easier and further, especially as you go bigger. (Once you have a large gauge plain G, simply fretting the string too hard can cause a note to go sharp)
Again, IMO, a lot of what we think of as the "rock sound" is that plain G, and the Chuck Berry style full step bends followed by notes on the B and E. For playing cowboy chord style accompaniment and pure rhythm guitar, the wound G is an interesting alternative to the plain.
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
Hmmm . . . this might be counter-productive to what I was seeking. The crux of my playing is thumb-nail picked leads to slow-ish blues backing tracks. I just picked up a couple packs of D'Addario strings to try something new. XL Chromes (Jazz lights), flat-wound in 11's with .022w G, and XL nickel wound 10's with a 18w G. This could be interesting.
P.S. Would I be better off trying these on a shorter Gibson scale, or longer Fender scale axe?
Hmmm . . . this might be counter-productive to what I was seeking. The crux of my playing is thumb-nail picked leads to slow-ish blues backing tracks. I just picked up a couple packs of D'Addario strings to try something new. XL Chromes (Jazz lights), flat-wound in 11's with .022w G, and XL nickel wound 10's with a 18w G. This could be interesting.
P.S. Would I be better off trying these on a shorter Gibson scale, or longer Fender scale axe?
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Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
Wasn't the wound G standard on electrics early on? I think the vintage stagger of strat pickups was designed around the wound G. Blues and rock players began expanding styles with a lot of bending and that wound G was a ***** to bend. So they went to a plain G. But the plain G is much louder and brighter, so the stagger of strat pickups changed to accommodate. Feel free to correct my history cause I'm just going from memory and I may have never had it right.
At any rate, I've tried a wound G on and off. It is a ***** to bend. If memory serves, they wear out a lot quicker too if you do a lot of bending (but I was using as light a wound 3rd as I could get). Takes a while to get used to the tone and it may be too soft anyway, depending on pickups/stagger. But I think they sound better ... the plain G sounds "off" to me often, even when in tune and intonated. And I don't have golden ears. But it's just too much effort for me to bend the wound G, especially nowadays.
Find them as singles and pick up a few, try them yourself and see what you think.
Wasn't the wound G standard on electrics early on? I think the vintage stagger of strat pickups was designed around the wound G. Blues and rock players began expanding styles with a lot of bending and that wound G was a ***** to bend. So they went to a plain G. But the plain G is much louder and brighter, so the stagger of strat pickups changed to accommodate. Feel free to correct my history cause I'm just going from memory and I may have never had it right.
At any rate, I've tried a wound G on and off. It is a ***** to bend. If memory serves, they wear out a lot quicker too if you do a lot of bending (but I was using as light a wound 3rd as I could get). Takes a while to get used to the tone and it may be too soft anyway, depending on pickups/stagger. But I think they sound better ... the plain G sounds "off" to me often, even when in tune and intonated. And I don't have golden ears. But it's just too much effort for me to bend the wound G, especially nowadays.
Find them as singles and pick up a few, try them yourself and see what you think.
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
I think you got that dead on.
I think you got that dead on.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
Probably because it has higher tension and is heavier gauge.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
The plain G strings are too stiff and that raises the frequency of the first overtone quite a bit. Think about the "knick" at the nut and saddle. It isn't. It is rounded so the effective "swing" length of the string is a bit less. Only the lower overtones care. The higher overtones just have less individual swings.
The plain G strings are too stiff and that raises the frequency of the first overtone quite a bit. Think about the "knick" at the nut and saddle. It isn't. It is rounded so the effective "swing" length of the string is a bit less. Only the lower overtones care. The higher overtones just have less individual swings.
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
As stated already, bends will be quite a bit more difficult on the wound G. Ever try playing blues licks on an acoustic? Like that. So unless you're not bending much, it'd be easier on the 24¾" scale.
As stated already, bends will be quite a bit more difficult on the wound G. Ever try playing blues licks on an acoustic? Like that. So unless you're not bending much, it'd be easier on the 24¾" scale.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
Blues is about bending strings, I can't see using a wound G string unless you're just playing chords. Plain strings are louder than wound strings; thick strings are louder than thin ones. Going from a plain G to a wound G means the loudest string will become the lowest volume one. Too many tradeoffs for me.
Blues is about bending strings, I can't see using a wound G string unless you're just playing chords. Plain strings are louder than wound strings; thick strings are louder than thin ones. Going from a plain G to a wound G means the loudest string will become the lowest volume one. Too many tradeoffs for me.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
The wound strings bend much easier with their thinner core.
The wound strings bend much easier with their thinner core.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
The significance of having a plain G means you were born after James Burton.
Remember, we're talking guitars here.
I should know the answer to this, but it escapes me at the moment. I know I could "google" it, but I like tapping into this pool of info better.
Thanks;
Artie
The significance of having a plain G means you were born after James Burton.
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
Well dang! Deep blues bends is what I'm all about. I suppose I can toss these on one axe and call it my "chord" machine. Thing is, I bought a 3-pak of the EXL110W's. Then again, it's fun to experiment with new things. :cool2:
Well dang! Deep blues bends is what I'm all about. I suppose I can toss these on one axe and call it my "chord" machine. Thing is, I bought a 3-pak of the EXL110W's. Then again, it's fun to experiment with new things. :cool2:
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
Yup. He was 14 when I was born.
Yup. He was 14 when I was born.
Myaccount876
Amira-Maker
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
It's not hard to bend a wound G unless you plan on bending past a step and a half. It only takes a few sessions of playing to get used to it.
It's not hard to bend a wound G unless you plan on bending past a step and a half. It only takes a few sessions of playing to get used to it.
Re: Remind me of the significance of having, or not having, a wound G-string.
How hard a string is to bend depends only on it's tension and flexibility, not wound vs unwound, and besides hardly anyone ever subs a wound of the same gauge as their plain G.
Try replacing a plain 17 with a 17w tuned the same and then see if the wound is harder to bend.
How hard a string is to bend depends only on it's tension and flexibility, not wound vs unwound, and besides hardly anyone ever subs a wound of the same gauge as their plain G.
Try replacing a plain 17 with a 17w tuned the same and then see if the wound is harder to bend.
