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February 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Triangle area, NC | Could putting a real heavy gauge of string on my elite cause any structural problems? I have done it with all my other guitars but wanted to be sue before I go ahead. Thanks |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | What do you consider 'heavy gauge'?
13's should be OK. The only structural damage I could foresee is ripping the bridge off. Make sure you never try tuning it to open 'E' though. |
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Joined:
February 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Triangle area, NC | I would likely never use that tuning, don't think I ever have. Is that due to the inc tension? I am thinking about going as heavy as I can to minimize buzzz when I downtune to like drop Bb or drop C. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | See the other thread about the longneck. If you're tuning DOWN you can go WAY heavier. I assumed you were talking about standard tuning. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4049
Location: Utah | Mediums tuned to concert pitch should be just fine. There are charts out there on the web which show the total tension of different gauges tuned normally. I bet you could find a tension chart for alternate or down tunings. I think if you are not going over the tension of mediums at concert pitch you would be safe.
One dirty approximation of tension would be to measure the height of the high and low strings above the 8th fret (or thereabouts) with your normal strings at normal pitch. More tension will increase it, less tension will reduce it. Put on the heavier strings and tune them as desired. Remeasure the string height. This won't be a precise method, but as long as the string height is not greater you can have some confidence the tension is not greater. |
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Joined:
February 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Triangle area, NC | Ok. After I saw a video of how to remove the bridge to change the action I became concerned that it may be "weaker" than a traditional bridge. Probably not, but this is my first ovation and don't want to bust it. It sEems like an ox but just makin sure. Thanks again. |
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April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | I doubt that the bridge is any weaker than any other bridge. The saddle is the plastic(?) bit that come out - it just sits in the groove and is held in place by the string pressure. The bridge is the wooden bit that the saddle sits in, and it is glued to the soundboard (top). The strings pull on the bridge with great force, which can sometimes cause the glue to fail (or a cracked top to fail) with catastrophic results. But (thankfully) this is a fairly rare occurrence and unlikely to happen with medium strings in standard tuning. |
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July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | I use 13s on a number of guitars |
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November 2008
Posts: 400
Location: Northwest Arkansas | Put heavies on it, but tune it down a half step then capo to the first fret. You get the tone and great tension! That's how Stevie Ray Vaughan did it. |
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Joined:
February 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Triangle area, NC | mymartind35 - 2012-03-08 12:19 PM Put heavies on it, but tune it down a half step then capo to the first fret. You get the tone and great tension! That's how Stevie Ray Vaughan did it. Wow. Never heard of that. That's awesome! Gonna trythat straightaway! Thanks |
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Really heavy gauge strings a problem?
