S4 Vs Songbird

[adorshki]

Sooo, I went searching for what gauge string Songbirds came with and I can't find it anywhere.
Also, should one string their songbird with electric strings or acoustic strings?

Thank you…
Just out of curiosity, would you happen to know what string gauge they came standard with?

Like F65ce's, they actually came with .010's. most likely to give as close to an electric "feel" as possible:

Those XL300 strings would be D'Addario EJ15's

EJ15 Phosphor Bronze | Acoustic Guitar Strings | D'Addario

EJ15 is an extra light gauge Phosphor Bronze string providing lower tension ideal for vintage instruments and playability. Since D'Addario introduced Phosphor Bronze guitar strings in 1974, they have been synonymous with warm and well-balanced acoustic tone.

www.daddario.com

D'Addario was Guild's string supplier at the time, "private labeled" 'em in Guild packaging.

I was gonna try to keep it to original specs… the guy who sold it to me seems to have have 9s or lighter on it and theyre definitely electric strings… Ive been putting 12s on my acoustics… you think thats too heavy?

12's are fine for most acoustics but it all depends on the the top. They were definitely too much for my F65ce although 11's seemed to work ok (D'A EJ26 Custom lights)

The first thing to be determined in any new (good) guitar design is what string gauge (tension) the top will be built for. Using heavier than design spec strings can put stress on the top which actually inhibits its ability to vibrate, besides just stressing the wood into warping (bellying), and puts additional stress on neck joint.

Too little tension can make a top vibrate about as well as a slice of bread, but in practice going up or down one gauge from the design spec usually works out ok.

 

[mavuser]

i use ernie ball 11's on anything hollow or semi hollow/chambered electric like a Starfire or nightbird. I found 10s dont really give that same hollow resonance...aka that "bite." on acosutics, i always use 11's. fairly light tension John Pearse 550SL's. for the Songbird i'd maybe try a different set of 11's. 10's or 9's I suppose if u are really shredding some leads.

 

[adorshki]

It has a transducer, not a mag pickup...hence, acoustic strings are appropriate...the preamp/ust will be voiced for acoustic.

It's short scale so use what you are comfortable with...lights, custom lights,11's, all work fine.

RE: no back door...you get to access your battery thru the soundhole.

Jane so nice to hear from you! Hope all is well.

Thanks so much for contributing your S4ce knowledge, I only remember bits and pieces from over the years, and didn't recall if those used batteries or not, but it just turned into a "headslap moment": PC board, duh, there must be a battery..

 

[adorshki]

i use ernie ball 11's on anything hollow or semi hollow/chambered electric like a Starfire or nightbird. I found 10s dont really give that same hollow resonance...aka that "bite." on acosutics, i always use 11's. fairly light tension John Pearse 550SL's. for the Songbird i'd maybe try a different set of 11's. 10's or 9's I suppose if u are really shredding some leads.

Yeah, like I said, I suspect in this case it was to give as close to an electric feel as possible while still yielding a good acoustic tone to an amp. But for strictly acoustic play I'd trust 11's on 'em, as long as the bridge was tight.

I'd probably run .11's on my F65ce if it didn't have that slight bridge lift, the old "glue gap", and I actually did for a while.

 

[grmps]

I had my tech put 12s on my S4... It sounds fine but I don't want to do damage to the guitar... Although I can't see him doing something like that if it was gonna mess it up...(the dude's a straight up pro, full on luthier, took the classes. been doing this 35 years. he's awesome) Although, he may have made some mods to it to support it. He has my '92 Songbird right now. maybe I'll give him a call and tell him 10s instead of 12s.

 

[adorshki]

I had my tech put 12s on my S4... It sounds fine but I don't want to do damage to the guitar... Although I can't see him doing something like that if it was gonna mess it up...(the dude's a straight up pro, full on luthier, took the classes. been doing this 35 years. he's awesome) Although, he may have made some mods to it to support it. He has my '92 Songbird right now. maybe I'll give him a call and tell him 10s instead of 12s.

If he knew they were originally spec'd for .10's, he may change his judgement. I suspect the tops were also thin enough/braced to respond better to a slightly lighter tension, since the goal was to deliver a true acoustic sound through the UST.

But still think .11's are safe especially if you play primarily unplugged.

Have you seen the Clapton/Knopfler clip? (Sorry, I forget who I'v shown it to recently). I think they're even tuned down a half-step to lend a little extra "sitar drone" tone:




And in any case lower tension can only extend the life of the neckset, if that's also a goal.

 

[cupric]

If he knew they were originally spec'd for .10's, he may change his judgement. I suspect the tops were also thin enough/braced to respond better to a slightly lighter tension, since the goal was to deliver a true acoustic sound through the UST.

But still think .11's are safe especially if you play primarily unplugged.

Have you seen the Clapton/Knopfler clip? (Sorry, I forget who I'v shown it to recently). I think they're even tuned down a half-step to lend a little extra "sitar drone" tone:




And in any case lower tension can only extend the life of the neckset, if that's also a goal.

That was me. Great clip!

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

Jane so nice to hear from you! Hope all is well.

Thanks so much for contributing your S4ce knowledge, I only remember bits and pieces from over the years, and didn't recall if those used batteries or not, but it just turned into a "headslap moment": PC board, duh, there must be a battery..

Doing my best Al, thanks.

Yes, they have active preamps = battery

You're forgiven if after more than 30,000 posts, mostly while you were employed, and off on weekends, plus your extended 'vacation' afterwards from LTG...something slips your mind.

 

[Dadzmad]

While we are on the subject of strings - I've always used some flavor of Phosphor Bronze strings on my S4CE out of habit I guess. I have some other sets on hand that I have been thinking of trying out. Has anyone used silver plated strings like Pyramid or Black Diamond or Monels on a plugged in Songbird/S4CE? I have been using the silver plated strings on a O size Seagull flat top and Monels on my Kingpin. Might just have to go experimental.

 

[grmps]

If he knew they were originally spec'd for .10's, he may change his judgement.

You, sir, are correct, I called him up and told him the songbirds and S4s were shipped with 10s and right away he said oops and that we could get away with 11s... but the 12s have only been on a couple months so I'm hoping no real damage. So, we'll change them out and maybe need to do a little neck adjustment, but all things should be fine. The songbird he has right now will get 11s instead the 12s. and of course the unicorn will get 11s as well.

 

[grmps]

So My unicorn was sent with a Guild Owners manual book... It says the strings on electrics and acoustics should use:
Sidebenders
E-200 Super light
E-220 Extra-Light
E-230 Extra-Light wound 3rd
E-240 Light
I've looked this up many different ways, but I get nothing back. What gauges are the 200s-240s?
I've gathered that the Sidebenders are a guitar string made by Guild that no longer exists, but I can't find what gauges those strings are... any help?

 

[mavuser]

i don't think 12's will hurt or damage your songbirds, but the spruce top on a songbird is so small, and such a small acoustic chamber compared to real acoustic...same as my take on the F-20...12's are too heavy (tone wise) for such a smaller package...less is more. You don't need the same strings as a D-40 or F-50, on a Songbird or F-20. it's not going to give u the same results, tone wise. it should be scaled down proportionally. that is my experience, anyway. also 10's on a songbird for sure are meant to be plugged in. I've never even seen a set of acoustic 10's.

 

[fronobulax]

So My unicorn was sent with a Guild Owners manual book... It says the strings on electrics and acoustics should use:
Sidebenders
E-200 Super light
E-220 Extra-Light
E-230 Extra-Light wound 3rd
E-240 Light
I've looked this up many different ways, but I get nothing back. What gauges are the 200s-240s?
I've gathered that the Sidebenders are a guitar string made by Guild that no longer exists, but I can't find what gauges those strings are... any help?

Does this help? https://www.gad.net/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Guild-1978-Catalog-StringsAccessories.pdf

I only spent a couple of seconds but it does seem to list the gauges for various Guild branded string sets.

 

[grmps]

Does this help? https://www.gad.net/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Guild-1978-Catalog-StringsAccessories.pdf

I only spent a couple of seconds but it does seem to list the gauges for various Guild branded string sets.

That helped tremendously.
I searched high and low and got nothing like that.
Thanks for the link.

 

[mavuser]

oh and btw, just in case u somehow missed these the first 1,200 times i posted them here...which i'm sure u didn't...enjoy...

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

fronobulax said:
Does this help? https://www.gad.net/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Guild-1978-Catalog-StringsAccessories.pdf

That helped tremendously.
I searched high and low and got nothing like that.
Thanks for the link.

As you can see, the Sidebenders were really meant/gauged for electrics.
And this was Pre-Custom lights/11's.
You should be happy with the 11's.
Phosphor Bronze or 80/20 will work...whichever your ears prefer.