Hi. Tomorrow I am trading in a CS Strat for my first Guild, a maple F-512 12-string. It has d’Addario 10-47s installed. I love Thomastik-Infeld on my two Martin 6-strings, and would like to use their 12-string set for the Guild. Theirs are 10-50, though. Will this be OK? Don’t want to spend a fair amount of money on two or three sets, only to find they are too big/not right somehow, for the Guild. Is the difference between 47 and 50 nothing to worry about? Thanks!
Strings for my first Guild
- Thread starter Vicshere
- Start date
Someone elsewhere has confirmed this won’t be a problem, same gauge, minimal difference, no set-up required. Looking forward to Guild world.
Cougar
Enlightened Member
Wow, super major congrats! F-512 Maple -- can't get much better than that!
Those should not be a problem. Oddly, the octave strings for the low E and A strings are heavier in the d'Addario set. Really weird, though, is the octave G string for the Thomastik-Infeld (Spectrum Bronze) set: d'Addario's G strings are .023w .008p while the Spectrums are .022 .095 (!) I wonder if that's a typo?
Cougar
Enlightened Member
Oh, and welcome to the forums! Post some pics when you get that beauty!
Will do!
Welcome to the forum, Vic. Any word on your first Guild (was it a successful trade)?
Guild's top-of-the-line Maple 12 string guitar, known by more than one model number over the years, is quite a choice for a first Guild! I hope "Congratulations on your acquisition" are in order!
As Cougar already pointed out, there *should* be no issues with switching to the Thomastik-Infeld extra-light 12 string sets (Spectrum or Plectrum).
d'Addario EJ38 (10-47)
Thomastik-Infeld SB210 (10-50)
If anyone reading this ever cares to know, the primary issue that could arise when swapping out string brands and gauges on any guitar would be nut-related. *If* a nut had been filed very precisely to accept only a smaller gauge wire, and you attempted to replace the string with a heavier gauge wire, the string may not seat properly into its respective nut slot, potentially affecting action height and/or intonation, and may introduce buzzing. Such a scenario is not very common (if it were to occur, it would be more likely on a 12 string than a 6 string), and is typically readily resolvable. Most nut slots are cut with enough room to accommodate at least some variation in wire gauge size. In your case, I would be very surprised if you experience any issues moving from the d'Addario to the Thomastik-Infeld.
Not that it matters, as string choice may be more subjective than any other aspect of outfitting an acoustic guitar, but I am curious...
...I assume (as does Cougar) you are thinking of using Bronze (Spectrum SB210) as opposed to Brass (Plectrum AC210) strings? The Maple Guild comes with a reputation for being "bright" sounding, and brass strings will definitely add to that "brightness" (when contrasted with "warmer" sounding bronze/phosphor bronze strings).
Thanks, Christopher, some good info there. Yes, it’s the Spectrums. I’m hoping to hear from the store and have trade-in finalised tomorrow. Spectrums should arrive tomorrow, too, so I’ll try the d’Addarios first, just out of interest and as they sounded OK in the store. Looking forward to beginning to bond with my first Guild - it’s a big old neck, so I shall have to play it often to get it to fit me and me to fit it.