lighter gauge strings

Jimbo55 · February 2022

I'm mainly an electric player but occasionally pick up the acoustic. Did an acoustic backing on a couple of songs at an open mike recently, entailing a few weeks practicing before ...and gosh my finger tips are still a bit raw. Being a forever beginner I'm probably gripping the neck a bit tight but rather than the '11' strings fitted it has been suggested that I try some lighter gauge on the acoustic (PRS electro-acoustic). May be gentler of the digits and enable bending a bit easier. and I guess the volume may be a bit lower.
Any comments/advice most welcome.

greejn · February 2022

You could reduce the tension by tuning down and using a capo to compensate..not sure 10s are a good idea on an acoustic.

BillDL · February 2022

Do you know the scale length of the PRS acoustic?
If it's a slightly shorter scale than most the strings will already be at a lower tension because the longer the string the more tension it takes to achieve the same pitch. That being the case, 10s would most probably buzz a lot on the frets.

The most common gauge on acoustics is 12, and a significant number of heavy use players use 13s. I would suggest sticking with 11s and perhaps other players might be able to suggest alternative types of this gauge that are designed to be lower tension. Even though the guitar is a PRS, a brand that generally comes very well set up, it might be an idea to see whether it could benefit from a setup. I do what greejn has suggested, i.e. 11s tuned down and a capo applied when necessary.

If you were playing a lot of open chords and felt the strings were hard to press down, it could be that the nut slots are not quite as deeply cut as they could be for comfort and improved intonation. Fret the low E at the 3rd fret and tap it down against the 1st fret with your other hand. There should only be very slight movement of the string before it touches the 1st fret, and it should actually be hard to discern any movement other than hearing the slight tap as it touches. If you have to press the string down, then the nut slots could be cut a little deeper. Do the same for the other strings.

Ideally you need a slight concave (forward) bow (relief) in the neck. Fret one of the strings at the 1st fret with one hand. Fret the same string around the 15th fret with the pinky of your other hand, and using the thumb from that hand extend it up the neck and tap the string around the 8th fret. It should not already be touching the frets there, but should have a very slight gap between the underside of the string and the fret. Tapping the string should make a quiet "ting" and you should just be able to see the string moving as you do this. If you have to tap the string fairly hard to make it touch the fret, then you probably have too much relief and tightening the truss rod in small increments should reduce the bow. You should still be able to play all strings right up the neck without buzzing and dampening of the vibration by the next frets above.

Adjusting the action on an acoustic entails sanding or filing a sliver off the underside of the saddle. This is usually best left to somebody who has experience doing this, although they don't necessarily have to be luthiers or full-time guitar technicians.

Tannin · February 2022

I fully agree with BillDL's suggestions.

Another trick to try is putting a capo on the first fret. That always feel a bit different, even on a perfectly set up guitar, but if it is very different, then take it to a tech to have the nut slots adjusted.

Tuning down one or two semitones can be a very good way to get used to playing acoustic. It gives your fingers a chance to toughen up. After a few weeks in D, take it up to Eb, and eventually back to standard.

As for strings, I agree with @greejn and @BillDL that going too light is not a great idea - with an electric, you just dial in as much gain on the amp as you want, but with an acoustic you need to get the top moving and very light strings don't do that very well. (It's not just about volume, it's tone as well.) But you can switch to a lower-tension string while staying with 11s. I've been impressed with the Pyramid round-core ones I have on one guitar at the moment, but there are numerous others.

BillDL · February 2022

Given that testing out different types and brands of strings can be an expensive experiment I am not going to specifically suggest strings, but you might want to consider trying a set of the strings that I use on a few of my acoustics when you are ready at a later date for a string change. They are quite expensive though, and they don't sound great on all my guitars.
Thomastik-Infeld Spectrum Bronze SB111 11-52
These 11s give me the tone I would get with 12s of most other brands but have a softer feel to them. There is one drawback I have noticed with some of the sets I have bought in that the wound portion at the ball end is sometimes quite thick and can make it awkward to get the ball up under the bridge plate because the windings are taking up more space in the bridge hole.

sev112 · February 2022

Another trick to reduce the pressure on your fingers/ left hand, is to use the elbow of your RIGHT arm to “pull back” on the body of the guitar towards your as you fret with your left hand.
this means you don’t have to squeeze the neck to death with your left hand, and relieves some of that pressure

Danny1969 · February 2022

I use 10's on my acoustic and it's fine. I use an acoustic set with a wound G but it's basically a 10 set. There's never really a situation where I need more volume. It's plenty loud enough at home and at a gig it's plugged in the PA, there's never a situation where I'm playing it live to a crowd not plugged in.

TheMadMick · February 2022

A good set up is the right way to go. Lighter strings may be an option as, I assume from the OP, you are plugged it. However, they will also give a quick attack and less sustain.

bertie · February 2022

stick with the 11's if you can........and try and work up to 12s

Lewy · February 2022

A slightly tangential answer but....you say you're an electric player who occasionally picks up an acoustic. I wonder if one of the reasons you're struggling is that you're approaching the instrument just the same as you would an electric - lots of full barre chords, bending strings, spending a lot of time higher up the neck and just generally doing too much rather than approaching it as an acoustic with maybe more of an emphasis on open chords, open string licks, partial voicings and such. I ask this because 11s on an acoustic are generally considered to be really quite light and not something that should cause anyone to struggle particularly. For example, I don't have strong hands - I regularly give up on trying to open a jar and hand it to my wife! - but I play 13s without a problem because what I play doesn't feel materially harder with them than it does with lighter strings (but I get much more projection). If anything my fingertips get less sore with heavier strings because they feel less "cutting" .... bigger contact area I guess.

There could also be set up issues as others have alluded to. Nut height and excess relief are the two playability killers for acoustics in my experience, more so than action at the 12th fret which tends to be seen as a universal indicator of playability.

bertie · February 2022

Lewy said:

bending strings, spending a lot of time higher up the neck and just generally doing too much

whats wrong with that ?

Tannin · February 2022

Lewy said:

There could also be set up issues as others have alluded to. Nut height and excess relief are the two playability killers for acoustics in my experience, more so than action at the 12th fret which tends to be seen as a universal indicator of playability.

Good point @Lewy On an acoustic action at (say) the 2nd fret and the 7th fret is much more important. An F barre chord is the acid test. of a well set-up guitar.

tomjax · February 2022

Try some Newtone Heritage strings, they are a lower tension string but you can keep the gauge at 11 or even 12.

Jimbo55 · February 2022

my gosh, thanks everyone for your many thoughts and advice - just got back here and I need to go through each of the points to consider - back on the electric and practicing more than in a while and the sore finger tips aren't being given chance to recover soon enough ! I'll come back with my thinking ! thanks so much again

MtB · February 2022

There were 12s on my Peerless acoustic when I bought it (second hand). I struggled with that setup and after reading another thread here on the same subject swapped over to 10s. The difference was huge, and as a result I now play the acoustic a lot more.
As you get used to them you can always move back up a gauge or two if you find it necessary.

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lighter gauge strings

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