Taming the brightness on a F150

I picked up a F150 jumbo a while back. It sounds great, with a big, bright, three-dimensional sound. However it doesn't sound great as an accompaniment to singing. The brightness just pulls too much focus from the vocals.
I've tried a thicker pick. I've not change the strings yet.
Any suggestions before I give it up as the wrong guitar for the job?

If you poke around and exhume some of the bazillion string threads around here, you might get some ideas. For instance, I have a vague (and possibly wrong), recollection that the silk 'n steels and/or coated strings might tame some of that unwelcome brightness.

Alternatively, can can try to hit up another player for an old, "way past its sell-by date" set of strings at their next string change.

80/20 bronze strings are usually bright.
Phosphor Bronze strings tend to be darker or deeper.
Which strings are you using?

One thing I noticed about the GAD F150 series is that they they have a poly finish as opposed to the Nitro finish of its American Made counterpart the Guild F50R. When I was doing side by side comparisons the F150 did not have as much warmth to the sound as the Guild F50R did. Then again there is a huge price difference so if you can find a set of strings to tone the F150 down a bit it might be the perfect guitar for what you want.

Do you know what gauge (Mediums, Lights?) and type of strings (80/20's, Phosphor Bronze, Coated or Uncoated?) you are running now? Mediums will have more projection and a higher headroom than the lights but the lights still sound great as well and are a bit easier on the fingers. 80/20's will have a brighter sound to them and work great on dark sounding guitars. Phosphor Bronze strings sound much warmer than the 80/20's. Coated strings will have less brightness to them as opposed to non coated strings. My suggestion to warm things up on your guitar would be to try a set of Daddario Coated Phosphor Bronze strings. Lights (12-53 gauge) would be Dadarrio EXP16's and Mediums (13-56 gauge) would be EXP17's. If either of those takes too much brightness out you can try uncoated Daddario Phosphor Bronze strings. The uncoated Daddario's are EJ16's (lights) and EJ17's (Mediums) respectively. If the coated PB strings don't take enough brightness out you can go to a "Silk and Steel" set but they also don't project as much volume as the Phosphor Bronze do. When you install a new set of strings make sure to allow for a short break in period for them to settle a bit. That will allow you to have a true representation of how the guitar will sound.

Wishing you the best and I hope it all turns out like you want it to.

TX

Along with strings, experiment with picks - nylon picks should be less bright.

walrus

Switching to ebony bridge pins might help.

hessodreamy said:

I picked up a F150 jumbo a while back. It sounds great, with a big, bright, three-dimensional sound. However it doesn't sound great as an accompaniment to singing. The brightness just pulls too much focus from the vocals.
I've tried a thicker pick. I've not change the strings yet.
Any suggestions before I give it up as the wrong guitar for the job?

Click to expand...

Martin Retro Strings:

Martin Retro Nickle Wound Strings

They make it sound less brassy and more "woody." As another benefit, they are really easy on the fingers!

This might seem counterintuitive but if you're using .012 gauge strings, changing out the first and second strings to heavier .013 and .017 sizes can tame the brightness by making the high notes less twangy. Taylor does this on some of their smaller body instruments. Elixir actually sells .053-.017 sets like this made for Taylors. They call them HD lights. I've tried this and instead of just making the treble notes louder, it gives them a darker tone.

walrus said:

Along with strings, experiment with picks - nylon picks should be less bright.

walrus

Click to expand...

Yes, try different picks. I have used the same pick for around 20 years or more. I was always open to trying new picks but after a few minutes of playing something else I went right back to my Jim Dunlop nylon .46mm. I recently ordered 12 sets of picks all in the same or close mm to experiment and one stood out for me, Clayton Frost-Byte nylon, .53mm. Much louder than what I was using. Been using it every since. Many of the picks had a scraping sound. Pick your pick.