Dead G (3rd - 0.26) Strings

[Robin]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and reso playing but have come across a problem and could do with some ideas!

I seem to "murder" G (3rd) strings within 3 or 4 hours of playing - in other words they go dead and pick up a buzz (which isn't the bridge, nut or frets) that I think is caused by finger pick damage. At least, the 3" of the string struck by my finger picks is marked and noticeably stiffer when I remove the poor dead string The most annoying thing is that I'm going through 3 or 4 G strings over the lifetime of the rest of the set. I play a Resound "Blues" which is usually fitted with Newtone Phospher Bronze 15-56s (although I have tried a few other brands of wound 3rds (GHS, D'Addario in 0.26) but kill them equally fast). I play mostly in G so the 3rd gets a lot of attention for solos/fills. Although I also play in D and standard, so I can't afford to go too heavy with my strings. I use Propick Fingertones and a Dunlop thumpick.

Some answers to the following would be great: Could playing with a plain third be the answer? If so, what sort of tonal impact would that have and what gauge of plain string should I use to replace the wound 0.26 with?

Would Newtone nickels last better? And what are the likely effects on tone?

Finally, is there some point I am completely missing as a rookie reso player?

[Richard]

This is probably of no great help but, seeing as no-one else has ventured an opinion I'll be brave and stick my head above the parapet and veture to say that it sounds as though you are 'going at it' a bit heavy also with my engineering hat on it are you actually 'work hardening' the string!

[Robin]

Thanks Richard,

I think that I may be leaning in a little hard in my attack and "tempering" the 3rd string. I'll try a few changes to my right hand angle and pick attack.

However, I'm still interested in comments from those who may have had a similar problem and have tried plain 3rds or nickel strings as a solution.

[Colin Brooks]

Robin, you are not the only one with this problem

www.reso-nation.org/viewtopic.php?t=441&highlight=dead+3rd+string

I'd certainly try a plain 3rd, and if you find a size that suits buy them in 10's.

I wish I could still play that hard!

Colin Brooks

[Michael Messer]

Hi Robin,

Your problem with breaking G (026) strings is not to do with string gauges, materials or whether it is wound or plain, it is to do with the way you are playing. When a drummer hits a drum he bounces his hand, rather than hitting like a hammer. It is the same with guitars; if you play hard, you have to learn to play 'controlled hard' and not just heavy handed.

Shine On,
Michael.

[Richard]

When a drummer hits a drum he bounces his hand, rather than hitting like a hammer [/quote}

Very close!

For the record, the theory is to bounce the stick in the hand\fingers so that the stick does the work and that way you can get two (or more depending on practice!) controlled beats for the price of one hit, hence speed.

[Robin]

Thanks everyone,

I think that I'll work on my right hand technique first and see where that leads.

Robin

[Simon Thompson]

Have just read all the above, and having picked up my guitar (Regal RD45 with Newtone 0.15-0.56 strings) noticed a dead third string. On closer inspection, the winding has broken just on the body side of the nut. Presumably the solution is as above, ie go easier with the right hand, but as a newcomer to slide guitar ,and using G D & Dobro (high G with a nut raiser) tunings as the mood takes me, I've no idea how long I should expect strings to last.
Any advice?

[Michael Messer]

Hi Simon,

The life of a string is one of those questions.....how long is a piece of string....etc! I have used Newtone Strings exclusively for the past 13 years and have only once or twice had dead or malfunctioning strings. I must have literally used thousands of sets.

I am not a great one for changing strings for every gig, in fact I leave them on for two or three shows and I play pretty hard. Sometimes on a particularly hot night I can only get one show out of a set, but that is very rare. I have just recorded a new album and used the same set right through the whole project.

I have to say that I think you are experiencing one of two problems....maybe both! No strings like to be re-tuned up and down over and over again and that will weaken/deaden a string. And the other point .....is that you are playing too heavy-handed and need to control your right hand. I used to do the same when I was less experienced, but somehow without realizing it my touch improved and I can't remember the last time I broke a string during playing. Another possibility is that your slide is making the string hit the fret and over time is cutting through the winding.

Shine On,
Michael

[mike lewis]

Hi , for the G string you can ask newtone strings to make you a 26 with a slightly
thicker core ,he does this for me , it stops breaking & perhaps it could help with the sound !!
à bientôt
mike lewis

[fitchmeister]

Hi all

first off , i play slide with a parlour guitar so i hope you reso heads don't mind (this is a cool site for slide period) - The manufacturer recommends 12s for my guitar - i put 13s on which caused the nut to bind and sounded really dead when fretted - but sounded great when used with a heavy slide. Having got a bit fed up with the 'binding' have swapped back to 12s which now sound very bright and jangly and no low end drive - nice to finger pick but weak for slide (to my ears) The top is cedar, which is soft so i am a bit worried about the top bowing up/neck bending permanently. I'd like to go back to 13s so any advice on setting up/precautions to take with bigger strings would be gratefully received.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Fitchmeister,

I too play slide on a parlour guitar. I have a Dave King Parlour which I string either 13 to 56 or 12 to 54, depending on what I am doing. I only open tune in DGDGBD or DADF#AD and take it to regular EADGBE, but never above to E & A tunings.

This is not easy to explain on the Internet without seeing the guitar, but you have to use your own judgement to feel when you are using the right string gauges. A 13 to 54 or 56 set of good quality strings should be fine, but you have to be aware that you are going beyond the recomended gauge. Try just changing the top 12 to a 13 and leaving everything else the same, that should help. If it is too tight for the guitar it will sound and feel choked.

Shine On,
Michael.

[fitchmeister]

Thanks for your advice Michael - the 13 instead of the 12 really does make a difference - sounds alot stronger - am playing in DGDGBD.

Cheers

[Robin]

I thought that I would post a follow up to the Dead 3rd "G" string issue I first posed in June. I identified the problem (finally) as the dammage I was causing to the phospher bronze windings with a nickel (propick fingertone) pick. This damage changed the way the string vibrated and caused it to buzz or completely deaden. I've solved the problem now and found out a few things along the way that may be of interest.

Firstly, I play a Resound "Blues" wood bodied buscuit bridge single cone. One option was to change the 0.26 phospher bronze for a plain 0.24 (closest tension to a 0.26 i could get in plain guage) - this worked but didn't change the sound in a way that I liked - plus it was hard on the left hand in standard tuning. The second option I tried was to play without picks (using flesh not nails) - took a few weeks to harden the right hand but the sounds and tonal colour soon came. However, the best option I have tried was to change to a set of Newtone Nickel 15-56 - WOW - the tone on this little guitar is absolutely fantastic with these strings. The nickels give more clarity, particularly for inside slide work up the fretboard, but a little less bass depth. This is not a problem with my wood bodied guitar as it has plenty of bass to spare. With the nickels I certainly get the feeling that I'm really working the Quarterman cone for tone, rather than body.

I play in standard, DGDGBD and DADF#AD, mostly without picks now (but not all the time). If you are having the same problems that I had, try nickel strings. Just replacing the 3rd with a nickel string may be all you need.