Master Guitar String Tension | Unlock Better Tone & Control

12-54 Martin lifespan 2.0... all 3 of my guitar are Sitka and Mahogany.. Hummingbird Original, Southern Jumbo Original and a beautiful 1933 Ambertone finish Martin D18...

Hey Jason. So my String gauge lately has been Santa Cruz Mids on my dress and Lows on my OM28. I really like this video because it speaks to me in a way that sort of breaks down the nuances of playing a guitar or any instrument. There are so many little things that may be overlooked in this or any journey, as you say in life. Keep it up my friend you are very needed here.

Very thoughtful, thanks. Somewhere along the line I became aware of a tonal quality in the playing of acoustic and electric players I admired. I call it a "percussive undertone", for what it's worth, that comes from playing closer to the bridge using, I suspect, a fairly thick pick. Years before the web and easy access to video footage, players might drop hints in magazine interviews. I recall John Scofield saying he needed to feel the resistance of the string by playing towards the bridge. I heard it in Tony Rice's playing and he probably got it from Clarence White. It allows for intricate (and loud) playing, but it's not just for picking. Listening to old blues players from the 20's you can hear a similar quality of definition in the fingerpicking. Check out John Hurt's original sessions. I know some of that is the recording tech and small body guitars with who-knows-what strings - but the sound is there. You mentioned Segovia and, having studied classical guitar and listened closely to his recordings, the combination of that taut string quality and a mostly flesh finger technique has always attracted me and is something I still consider my "home tone". Jerry Garcia had it as well in both his electric and later acoustic playing with David Grisman. That said, there's plenty to enjoy at the other end, closer to the fingerboard. I play swing on a 1940 Gibson L-4 and there's something I've heard described as the "reverb effect" on many archtops, a kind of hollow warmth, when strumming and picking just beyond the fingerboard. It's a sound I think I first heard on my parents' Mills Brothers records that had these wonderful brief guitar kick-offs played on archtop. What can I say - once a tone guy, always a tone guy!

String tension can bother me to hell. When my guitar is a too dry the strings feel stiff and hard to play not buttery and resonant. When it’s humid in the room my guitar always feels and sounds bettter.

Martin Marquis custom lights for my Martin dreadnought.

What’s your go-to string gauge? Share your thoughts below!