Can Acoustic Strings Sound GOOD on Electric Guitar?

[@andreavitali207]

Some archtops with P90 work pretty well with acoustic strings. Like Epiphone 1966 Century, The loar 309 and 301 for example

[@michaelgrahamwongacutemadness]

that’s because they have adjustable pole pieces a bunch of morons think they don’t do shit a quarter turn will I hear it but realistically you don’t test them for this with mid or high gain

[@arnyarny77]

I just put three sets on my guitars. I had been frustrated with tuning issues lately especially as the weather changes. now I put the BALANCED se with the 9 gauge. For me it was a shot in the dark but now I am impressed, the tuning up was so much easier , no waiting days to stretch, no intonation problems, my guitars feel such a high quality now, even the guitar with the Floyd rose. thank you string joy you have a customer for life!

[@mattc2674]

Not to make it more complicated, but it would be cool to repeat this experiment again on a guitar (like a PRS or other) with a blended Piezo + Magnetic pickup scheme. When blending in piezo signal I bet it would sound move even.

[@oniichief6479]

I’m actually going to get a Grote jazz hollowed body soon and now I’m inspired to put Ernie ball’s Rock & Blues strings on it, with a decent fuzz and overdrive pedal! Cause that sounded amazing! Thanks dude!

[@denisnetto_2024]

Although I didn't like the clean sound at all, I'm really digging the sound with fuzz! It adds a lo fi character that is definitely awesome. Thanks for sharing the experiment.

[@Stringjoy]

agreed! it kind of has a cool thing to it.

[@denisnetto_2024]

@@Stringjoy I have just ordered two sets for guitar on your website, but I was also looking fot flat wounds for bass and couldn't find it. Do you make it?

[@RobertFisher1969]

I was thinking for a moment that you were going to go Nashville tuning with all plain strings. 🙂

[@dimiaraujo90]

Maybe if you mix up the plain strings from a thinner gauge, with the rounded ones from this 0.13 set, and then use a very heavy compressor before the amp, we won't even be able to tell those strings are Phosphor Bronze.

[@genri.a9128]

Try monel strings, like on the old Martins and Gibsons til' the 70's

[@Stringjoy]

Monel is neat! It is not too different than pure nickel but we're curious about it for it's neat cross acoustic and electric applications.

[@JoshuaBlatman]

Could you do another video experiment with steel acoustic strings??

[@timrussell1559]

Am building a 3/4 sized acoustic into an all electric guitar. Am going to cut out and install a fairly hot humbucker(only have room for one) and mount an electric bridge as well. Going to wire in and install pots for just volume and tone control. With some 10/48 electric strings this thing should sound very unique if nothing else. I paid 20 bucks for the acoustic and am going to cannibalize the components off of an old electric i have laying around with a broken neck, so i should have next to nothing wrapped up in this project money wise. Time will tell if this thing turns out to be a winner or a complete waste of time. Either way, it will be a fun little project to do. Great vid!

[@brownie_the_3rd]

I have an idea for a video series for you to try when you can safely get a few people together for it, Celebrity String Shoot-out. What it'd be is you'd string up different guitars with the same string gauge as assorted famous guitar players and then you and whoever else is there would then play the guitars and discuss what you like/dislike about the string sets and possibly try and create hybrid set based on the 'best' elements on each set.

[@aleksandrnestrato]

It is exactly the reason why Stratocaster staggered magnet pickups appeared! Back in 1950s-1960s all the wound strings were wound with a non magnetic metal, so that only the cores of the strings interacted with the pickups. And the plain strings were completely of steel, i.e. completely magnetic. They were causing way more magnetic disturbance, thus more electric power, than the wound ones. Reminder: E and B were plain, G, D, A, E were wound ones. Leo Fender pulled up the four magnets corresponding to the wound strings closer to those strings-the thinner the string, the closer the magnet. And he pushed away the two magnets corresponding to the two plain strings, again the thinner is the string, the higher is the magnet. Then the new generation of strings appeared-with magnetic winding. But the idiots didn't walk away. They stayed and continued building pickups with staggered magnets, totally unsuitable for the new modern strings. Thanks to these idiots we now have the plain G string -a really thick one, with really strong magnetic properties- hanging right above the highest magnet in the bunch, and the B string -with just slightly less magnetic properties than the ones of the G- hanging above the magnet buried in a deep pit. On the Epi in this vid it is possible to recreate those staggered magnets of a Strat single, thanks to the adjustment screws in the humbuckers. Since only one coil in each humbucker has the screws, slightly more profound stagger will be needed, but the tone balance is totally achievable.

[@bennyroman9632]

I’ve seen both the videos here on putting acoustic strings on an electric and was really happy he decided to try it with an electric arch top and not a solid body or semi hollow electric. I suspected myself the screws in the pickup would solve the issues of the volumes of each string and a remedy for balancing them so it doesn’t sound so dysfunctional. I hope he does another attempt/test and either puts a lighter gauge high e and b along with balancing with the pickup screws or height. And also maybe run the guitar electrically through an eq pedal to really get the best tone possible. I have a Godin Night Club electric arch top that I’m hoping could function acoustically more loudly with acoustic strings and also still sound great plugged in . It has a 3 inch thick body and is not a cutaway so I’d like to make the most of its acoustic/unplugged possibilities.

[@ClearColorCloud]

I’ve always heard the reason for the staggered pole pieces was to match the 7.5 inch radius more closely, and looking at a staggered pickup, only the middle two magnets are significantly higher, it’s not like the bottom four magnets are higher, and the top two lower - so I’m questioning what you’re saying here. Where did you hear what you’re saying?

[@aleksandrnestrato]

@@ClearColorCloud Had an opportunity to briefly work with Leo in G&L. He hated staggered pups. It's worth asking... At what guitar do you look? If it's a Tele, it's fine, Tele's bridge pup stagger is and arch, not a zig-zag. I'm talking Strat here. How come can the staggered pole-pieces match 7.25" radius on a Strat? Radius is a portion of a circle. The fretboard has to be concave and convex like waves on water to justify that mess with magnets' height. Just take a look at actual Strat, you'll easily notice that staggered pole-pieces do not follow the radius *at all.* If you make equal distance between each string-and-magnet-that's when you get that arch that really matches the sting+fretboard radius. You can match even a 2" fretboard radius like that. Magnetic properties of the 4 wound strings with non-magnetic windings and of the 2 plain strings-that's it, that's the reason. At least what you can do with those stupid staggered magnets on a Strat is to buy a set of strings with the wound G. Its magnetic properties are a bit weak, so it won't scream as a plain G does above that really high pole-piece. Just think of it: plain G string with the strongest magnetic properties of the whole set hangs above the highest magnet. And the weaker B string hangs above the most remote magnet. Leo was that dumb? There is a modern stagger however. Which follows that same idea. Even modern, all magnetic strings have same phenomenon to a lesser degree: wound strings are a bit weaker, plain strings are a bit stronger. There are kinda two three-step 'stairs'. E-A-D and G-B-E. The thicker is the string, the lower is the pole-piece. The E-A-D set for the wound strings is a bit higher, the G-B-E set for the plain strings is a tad lower. Thus the highest pole-piece is gonna be the D, the lowest-the G. Cheers Nick!

[@ClearColorCloud]

..you are aware that nickel strings exist for acoustic guitars, correct? Why not use those on electric?

[@andrewreyna7539]

I'm trying to find out something simple and I've seen two videos on this I want to know how do the acoustic guitar strings sound on the electric guitar without plugging it in that's all I wish I could find out

[@NiRo_90125]

Could you make a video about strings for Lap/Pedal Steel guitars?

[@Emily_M81]

I kinda want to try some acoustic strings on my electric-acoustic Schecter >_> it has a Fishman Powerbridge (piezos) w/ a mix between the magnetic and piezos. I imagine it should sound decent since there are lots of electric-acoustic acoustics out there

[@beridus]

I wonder if a compressor would help this out!

[@redtapemusic]

So how do magnetic pickups for acoustic guitars (like to Seymour Duncan Woody and the various Fishmans) balance the string output? Most of them are passive and have no built in EQ, how do they compensate for the wound strings being so much quieter?

[@Emily_M81]

I just watched the SD video and the plain strings were still louder, with the wrapped strings maybe being a little louder than here. SD could maybe put stronger magnets on the strings with less ferrous mass? The guy playing did seem to spend more time on the treble strings, though.

[@Stringjoy]

Has your guitar playing led you down any experimental paths? What worked that probably should not have?

[@JonNewquist]

I'm revisiting this idea. What about those nickel plated bronze wound strings on electric? Or using a magnetic soundhole pickup on an acoustic, like an M1 Active?

[@darwinsaye]

Wait a sec… Acoustic bronze strings aren’t magnetic enough? Back in the 90s I used to play open mic nights every week with an acoustic with an electromagnetic pickup in the sound hole. Don’t remember any problems at all.

[@Stringjoy]

Compared to standard Nickel Plated Steel or Pure Nickel they have much less output, which is why you might not like them on a standard electric guitar. An acoustic guitar with a magnetic pickup has a lot more going for it that would make them work together!

[@thestratman7903]

I wonder if monel nickel acoustic strings would pickup well on electric?

[@Stringjoy]

Monel picks up through electric pickups, just a bit less than pure nickel strings do. The original Gibson electric guitar strings (Mona Steels) were Monel.

[@thestratman7903]

@@Stringjoy Awesome! thank you!!!!

[@thetonemob]

Oh yes. Fuzz is life. 😉

[@redskizedski7336]

It’s already been done yearrrs ago! It’s called a semi acoustic guitar

[@lordovwitchcraft1665]

Sounds great for black metal. Anything that sounds like crap is perfect for black metal.

[@richardlynch5632]

😎👍

[@leftyguitarist8989]

Electric strings on an acoustic guitar: Sounds perfectly fine with the correct gauges and is even preferable if you want a brighter tone. Acoustic strings on an electric guitar: Typically sounds like garbage unless you go out of your way to make it sound as good as possible and even then, it only sounds okay. This is why i never use acoustic guitar strings and never will.

[@chaddestroys]

Why do premiers? Just launch the video.

[@Stringjoy]

It gives us a nice chance to chat and answer any questions with the folks who are here for the launch. We love our community here and it's a fulfilling way to spend time together. Tune in tomorrow and you'll get to participate, if you're interested!

[@chaddestroys]

But you can chat when/after the video is posted. Prior to premier videos, I watched every upload. I dunno, seems silly.

[@idiotburns]

they are fun

[@sonicmistress]

Chad, it's called Hype!

[@idiotburns]

NOOOOO, haha, dont do it

[@sonicmistress]

Not being funny but next time get someone who can play, you were just bashing the f**k out of it and not representative of the effect, plus you do know the PU's are adjustable for getting the levels right....A Guitar is a mechanical device and when you change something it wasn't set up for from the Factory it won't work properly, as you've shown.