Guitar Interactive Magazine | 3 years ago
Electric guitarists are thoroughly spoiled when it comes to customising the sound of their guitars. Pickup changes, pedals, amps, modelers… is it any wonder so many guitarists spend more time fiddling with their gear than actually practicing?
But what about acoustic guitars? Surely an acoustic guitar sounds the way it sounds and that’s that, right? Well, not so much. Even ignoring the plugged-in sound of your acoustic (we have another lesson on that!), there’s plenty you can do to make your acoustic guitar sound it’s best.
Technique considerations:
First of all, let’s address the human element. How you play your guitar makes a huge difference on the tone. If you’re resting your arm on the guitar’s soundboard, you can expect it to sound a little dead, since the top needs to vibrate freely to produce the guitar’s best tone. Then there’s the way you pick the strings - your pick angle, the position along the string’s length, how hard you hit - all of these can have a big effect on your tone, and should be considered before you change anything else.
Picks:
On to the gear then, and we’re going to start with the thing that actually strikes the string (unless you’re playing fingerstyle of course!) - your pick. Different thicknesses, shapes and materials not only play differently, but they sound different too! A thin nylon pick will have a much different sonic signature than a stiff Ultex pick for example. Likewise, two picks of the same shape and thickness can sound very different - for example, an Ultex jazz III will have a very pronounced “chirp”, while the same pick made from Tortex will be relatively “chirp-free”. Even how worn the pick is can make a big difference, so it pays to experiment.
Strings:
Next up, the strings on your guitar can make a huge difference to your tone. We all know that dead strings sound rubbish, but it goes much further than that. There are three main considerations to make here - gauge, material and coating.
String gauge:
There’s a common thought among guitarists that bigger always equals better with string gauge, but that’s definitely not true. Firstly, the best string gauge is the one you can play your best on. But if you want to use string gauge to adjust your tone, you can expect a little more roundness and a more pronounced thump out of heavier strings, while lighter strings usually sound brighter, lighter and more snappy.
String material:
Probably much more important than string gauge is string material, and the two most common materials are phosphor bronze and 80/20 bronze. The former sounds full, rich and balanced, while the latter is brighter, zinger and more focused. As you’ll hear in the video, material has a much bigger impact on tone than gauge, so choose wisely! For poking through a mix with maximum authority, 80/20 bronze is the way to go, but for a richer, deeper tone, reach for phosphor bronze.
Coating:
Lastly, coating can make a huge difference to the way a string sounds. Elixir were kind enough to provide us with two different coatings - their thinner “nanoweb” coated strings and the slightly thicker “polyweb” coated strings. Even with the same material and gauge (12s in 80/20 bronze), the tone was profoundly different. The “nanoweb” set sounds bright, clear and zingy, while the “polyweb” has a warmth that’s reminiscent of a nylon string guitar, along with greatly reduced finger noise.
So if you’re finding yourself dissatisfied with the sound of your acoustic guitar, try some of the suggestions in this lesson. You’ll likely find the perfect tone for your personal style, and it’s way cheaper than buying a new guitar!
Are you an uncoated string player? Now is the time to try Elixir Strings’ NANOWEB Coated acoustic guitar strings. A featherweight coating protects your strings from tone-killing elements like corrosion, dirt, oil and sweat.
NANOWEB Coating delivers distinctive phosphor bronze warmth and sparkle together with extended tone life. End result – your strings sound and feel fresher for much for longer.
For more information, click here: https://www.elixirstrings.com/guitar-strings#acoustic
