UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45
String 'tension' and bending...
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This has been discussed several times before but, after some reading about and seeing conflicting information, is there a way to ease a bit of the resistance in strings when bending?
Appreciate they have to be at a certain tension to be in pitch but have one guitar that really fights back on bends. I've got 10s on most stuff (9s on one, 11s on a couple) but this one is Fender scale, trem decked for a bit of down wobble only, 10s and is the only guitar I have that I can barely bend a tone and a half on - I have to really force it. I've got a couple of others, same scale length, trem set the same, also 10s and they're so easy to bend up 3 semitones on.
I've tried 9.5s and they just don't suit it - don't think it's the gauge and it just needs a hair more 'bendability'. I've seen talk of adjusting the trem claw, raising the action, neck relief, some people insisting it's set in stone and others denying that it's a thing that can be adjusted... argh. Surely the bendy-ness under same tension is affected by the length of the string, or is that nonsense?
I've read all sorts after some Googling and happy to try things but, before I bugger about with it too much, is there a perceived wisdom with this?
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But some guitars just seem to 'fight' more even when everything else appears to be equal - which is why I genuinely think neck stiffness might be a factor, since it's one of the few things that can't be easily adjusted or compared. Your fingers become microscopically sensitive to small changes in feel - they have to, or you wouldn't be able to pre-bend in tune or produce smooth vibrato without thinking about it.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
Strings of a given nominal gauge vary enormously from one make to another. Some feel soft and easy to play, others feel like bar-taught razor blades cutting your fingers up. Some are harsh, some are gentle.
Now the obvious explanation for that is that (say) the D'Adarrios have lower tension than (say) the Elixirs even though the nominal gauges are the same. And that is partially true: different sets do have different tensions. But even after allowing for that, some strings are just easier on the fingers than other strings. And some of them even manage to be gentle on your left hand while still having some meat in the sound and a bit of weight under the right hand so they don't feel floppy.
(I can't recommend any particular ones as I don't play electric. Ask me about acoustic 12s.)
That said, many (possibly even most) round core strings are nicer to play than the average hex core string. Look for quality makers like Newtone, DR, Galli, Pyramid.
PS: there are many other factors, but I'll let an electric player deal with them, not my thing.
Regarding strings, not sure what it has on it but would be either Ernie Balls or maybe D'Addario's as have occasionally bought those in the past when they've been on offer - not sure if one are considered notably stiffer than the other?
Admittedly I could just have at it with some new strings of different brands, a screw driver and some hex keys and see if I can do anything with it but would be silly to not at least ask those who know more than me first
Seems a real shame as it puts me off what is an otherwise superb guitar as smaller bends are proportionally slightly tougher as well - it plays havoc with the muscle memory.
However, changing the neck angle/shim so the bridge saddles have to be higher or lower for the same final action might make a difference - it will change both the break angles at the saddle and the baseplate hole.
I can't actually say which direction will help - not least because different people have opposite interpretations of 'slinky'... some think it's when the strings need to be moved a long way for the same pitch change (eg Jazzmaster), some think it's when the strings respond more quickly to bending (eg Gibson wraparound). I'm the former, but I know people who are the other .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
That said, some guitars just seem stiff. The original US G+L Asats all felt really stiff to me, for example. Great for slide, though
I think the one thing not mentioned is polishing your frets. Old tarnished frets are much harder to bend across than shiny polished ones.
This can offset other harder to change aspects of the chain.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
I think I probably just need to accept that it's a bit stiffer than others I've got. It's really easy to play apart from that and sounds great - almost my perfect guitar if only it was just a touch less fighty when bending.
The string tension and tremolo were stiffer on the special. I bought some American standard springs. Fitted them and boom, after adjusting the claw the guitar feels almost identical to the standard.
it varies by guitar.
The shorter the overall scale and length of string the greater the ease of bending.
Fenders tend to have harder to bend top E then get easier as you go down. Which is why some people like to reverse the headstock a la Hendrix (who had a reversed headstock AND used skinny 10-38 strings by all accounts)
Try different strings in each position. There's one Strat I have where it goes 008 011 15 24 36 48 because it feels right when I'm playing.
You could take off and reposition the neck too don't know why but sometimes it helps..
Someone who likes a difference gauge or something a bit stiffer would probably prefer it.
If you have a digital luggage scale like the one below you can slip the metal hook under a string at about the 12th fret and pull the strings up perpendicular to the fingerboard, thus eliminating the factors relating to friction. See how much force it takes to bend the pitch one whole step. Use a tuner for accuracy and take several measurements and average them out. Compare this between guitars and you'll be able to establish if there is a noticeable difference in string tension. If there isn't it's a friction issue.
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9340345?storeID=286&istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=iamwrmqia&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157|acid:629-618-1342|cid:20368875273|agid:|tid:|crid:|nw:x|rnd:12022403763019209440|dvc:m|adp:|mt:|loc:9180889&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20368875273&utm_term=9340345&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=&utm_custom2=629-618-1342&GPDP=true&gclid=CjwKCAjwvfmoBhAwEiwAG2tqzHLZe8COQKaZhX62bekdP4j-Q_22IPdvbmFXYMa9eAsRxCjtBe9CohoCGY4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
stickyfiddle and I (among others) can't even agree whether long travel and gentle increase in tension, or short travel and rapid increase in tension, feels easier to play - although we agree that they feel very different. But if you measure both using that method, the force necessary to raise the pitch by the same amount should be the same.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson
Of course that is an extra-complex question, because if you have to push it further then the geometry also changes, because you're actually increasing the distance from bridge to fret when you move the string sideways. AND if your bridge is floating then it will be pulled towards the nut whenever you bend the string. AND if your guitar exists in the real world the neck also flexes slightly as you increase that tension.
I've never done the maths. I'm pretty sure I could if I got some old textbooks out, but I really don't want to.
It's easy to develop this. It's also ready to neglect this.
These days I'm mainly a rhythm guitarist but on the occasions when I play solos I really notice difficulty with bends at the highest frets. Usually some focused practice resolves that.
FWIW I used to be happy bending with 11s on a Tele in a previous band but have found with neglect that my current choice of 10s on a PRS 25 inch scale can feel a big effort.
This week I've been playing a Strat on 9s in D standard - it's a bendy dream!
This might be utter nonsense so be interesting to float and possibly get shot down.... but it 'feels' like my left hand fingers know exactly (well, exactly-ish) where to reach for say a half, whole and 3 semi-tone bend. The difference between, say, my Strat with 9s, Tele with 10s or PRS with 11s is in the effort required to get there rather than the distance it needs to travel during a bend: my fingers almost snap to position for different pitches from muscle memory regardless of the guitar and can get used to it in a couple of minutes. Then with problem guitar, it feels like 1. I need more effort and 2. I need to bend much further to get up to pitch.
I mean, maybe it's all in my head and I'm certainly not losing any sleep over it, but I enjoy getting the thoughts of others regardless. I don't have a universal 'this is how I like my guitars' and try and get them exactly as I envisage them. Much prefer to find what seems to be their natural sweet sport with strings, action etc. then maybe just some small tweaks to taste. I think this is just one where I want it to be something it's not but no big deal