Do Baritone Strings always sound a bit dull/dark?

[jackbraglia]

I had no idea what sub-forum to put this in, so I just stuck it here.

But anyway, I tune low, G#, and typically I just buy a 7 string set and only use the 6. But this time around I decided to try out some baritone strings for the first time (all they had were D'Addario Nickel wound "Baritone Light" strings, heaviest gauge is .062)

I noticed they sound really dark. Do baritone strings typically sound kind of dark? is it because I'm not using them with a baritone guitar? or are these just shitty baritone strings?

any advice would be appreciated since I have zero experience with baritone strings/guitars

 

[hurdy]

Wat gauge do you usually use??

 

[jackbraglia]

well if we're just talking about the low string, either 56 or 58

 

[hurdy]

Yea the 62 is a big leap man, think of it like a bass guitar string, the phatter the string, the more bass it hauls

 

[hurdy]

Might have to bring the HPF up quite high to get it sounding thinner

 

[JakeAC5253]

Probably just sounds darker because there isn't a layer of fret buzz on top of every note.

The D'Addario strings are good, but you should have probably gotten the Medium Baritone set, 14-68 I think. That's what I use in that tuning.

 

[hurdy]

Probably just sounds darker because there isn't a layer of fret buzz on top of every note.

The D'Addario strings are good, but you should have probably gotten the Medium Baritone set, 14-68 I think. That's what I use in that tuning.

Could you elaborate on that fret buzz theory?? I dont understand exactly what you mean??

Just because that gauge works for you, doesnt mean it will work for some1 else IMHO

 

[TheWinterSnow]

Thick strings dampen highs. High tension on any string dampens highs. Add both together and you are in a world of dull guitar strings.

I am one of those guys that refuses to play with super thick strings, I have a 25.5 inch scale guitar that is in drop B with 11-54, I would prefer more a long the lines of 11-58 but meh. If I wanted to tune lower, in order to keep lighter gauge strings on, I would increase the scale length and go to a baritone. Smaller strings in general vibrate more freely because they are more flexible allowing frequencies with less energy (highs) to resonate.

My guitarist had this problem because he insisted on using 10-60s on his PRS Baritone, he had so much tension that I calculated it out to him having a little over 200lbs of total tension which is dangerously high for and guitar. Every time we would practice, he would palm mute some notes and he was always pissed that his tone sounded like shit. Then he went to his 7 string regular scale with the same strings and found they sounded better. I kept telling him his baritone had too much tension and he wouldn't really listen. He eventually tried it out after wanting to abandon that guitar, thinking it was the pickups, putting on 11-54s in std C#/Drop B and low and behold all the crunch, tightness and snap was back in the guitar. His bad habit of playing huge strings though has caused him to think that more normal gauges are "too floppy". Yeah, of course they do, when you are used to playing strings that don't budge when you about break your pick attacking the motherfucker.

 

[jackbraglia]

Might have to bring the HPF up quite high to get it sounding thinner

yeah I'm used to having it at 8khz, i might want to push it all the way up to 12 and maybe add some harmonic excitement in that area too.

 

[jackbraglia]

Probably just sounds darker because there isn't a layer of fret buzz on top of every note.

The D'Addario strings are good, but you should have probably gotten the Medium Baritone set, 14-68 I think. That's what I use in that tuning.

68!! thats even heavier! I'm not sure how that would help.

and yea I'd liek to hear about this fret buzz theory too

 

[jackbraglia]

Thick strings dampen highs. High tension on any string dampens highs. Add both together and you are in a world of dull guitar strings.

thanks wintersnow, your whole post was super helpful. I guess I'm going back to the 11-58's or 10-56's

i do have that same problem as your guitarist, I like the feel of tight and heavy strings, but want the tone of more "floppy" strings.

also, your saying baritone's put more tension on the strings? maybe i didnt mention it, but I'm not actually playing a baritone guitar (just a Jackson RR3) although I have been thinking about picking one up.

 

[hurdy]

jackbraglia
HPF = High Pass Filter = Filtering the lows, lets high freqs pass thru (e.g. HPF at 60Hz)
LPF = Low Pass Filter = Filtering the highs, lets low freqs pass thru (e.g. LPF at 8kHz)
You got it the wrong way around, i meant if your regular HPF is at 60Hz then you will need to try filter higher at, lets say, 100Hz to let more highs pass thru, therefore less bass freqs
Do you understand me jack? Im just hoping that you got them mixed up accidently

 

[jackbraglia]

jackbraglia
HPF = High Pass Filter = Filtering the lows, lets high freqs pass thru (e.g. HPF at 60Hz)
LPF = Low Pass Filter = Filtering the highs, lets low freqs pass thru (e.g. LPF at 8kHz)
You got it the wrong way around, i meant if your regular HPF is at 60Hz then you will need to try filter higher at, lets say, 100Hz to let more highs pass thru, therefore less bass freqs
Do you understand me jack? Im just hoping that you got them mixed up accidently

hahah yea I just read that real fast and wasnt thinking, I could've saved you all that typing...I'm not THAT lost

 

[hurdy]

Just becoz you think you like the feel of the thicker strings doesnt necessarily mean that you really do like them thicker
we adjust over time, to the 'feel' of the thicker string for bends, vibratos etc. so u just adjusted your playing to them being thicker
It is easy enough to adjust your playing again to the 56 or 58 just by practising the bends, etc. until you get used to the 'feel' again

 

[hurdy]

HAHAH all good man, someone else may find the HPF/LPF info useful

 

[TheWinterSnow]

thanks wintersnow, your whole post was super helpful. I guess I'm going back to the 11-58's or 10-56's

i do have that same problem as your guitarist, I like the feel of tight and heavy strings, but want the tone of more "floppy" strings.

also, your saying baritone's put more tension on the strings? maybe i didnt mention it, but I'm not actually playing a baritone guitar (just a Jackson RR3) although I have been thinking about picking one up.

I am the same way too, I like tighter feel strings on the low end, and I like thin on the high strings. My way of judging the tightness on strings, if I can't do a KSE style pinch harmonic on a low fret on the low string, its too thick, but I like to feel some tightness. its the same on all strings actually, I like as tight as possible but still be able to do whole step bends without needing to muscle through it.

From what I gathered, custom string gauges would be better. In most if not all strings available, the low E has the lowest amount of tension, while the B and G strings have the most, particularly the G, which is why they always go out of tune.

I did a custom string gauge that I need to order where the string tension is constantly increasing with each lower string, going from about 11lbs to about 20lbs on the low string. You would get a nice 58 on the low end compared to a 54, and would shave off almost 15lbs of total tension which your guitar would love, but the overall guitar will feel stiffer and more balanced. I will definately make a thread when I pick up the custom gauge.

 

[hurdy]

Fuck bro you know your shit about the tensions wintersnow lolz nice info man

 

[jackbraglia]

Just becoz you think you like the feel of the thicker strings doesnt necessarily mean that you really do like them thicker
we adjust over time, to the 'feel' of the thicker string for bends, vibratos etc. so u just adjusted your playing to them being thicker
It is easy enough to adjust your playing again to the 56 or 58 just by practising the bends, etc. until you get used to the 'feel' again

i don't THINK I like them thicker I KNOW I like them thicker...probably because I was originally a bass player and have large fingers/hands

and on the LPF/HPF filter thing, I've never really liked the terms, even 4 years out of audio school I still mix them up if I'm not thinking or just reading too fast. I know the filters are named this way because they are referring to the actual electronics of it, ya know like what the resistor is actually doing, but I still don't think it was the smartest choice in naming the filters in that way.

 

[hurdy]

ah that makes sense man, i would go with what wintersnow was saying. Floppy on the thin strings and Tighter on the fat strings. Thats how i like it too

 

[jackbraglia]

I will definately make a thread when I pick up the custom gauge.

yea please do. like hurdy said, you know your shit

there's certainly not enough string packs out there that address this type of setup. ernie ball's "slinky top heavy bottom" comes close, but with a .052 for the low string, it just isnt heavy enough for anything below drop C