Do you lose volume with SCGC strings?

[jw3571]

I’ve been playing 1934 D Mahogany alot today and noticed that it’s not as much of a cannon as my Collings and Martin’s.  Do you think this has to do with it having SCGC strings on it?

[Acoustic Soul]

Not sure about Collings as I haven’t spent much time with them… but a 34 D mahogany or rosewood in my experience has always been a glassy cannon.  How new is the guitar?  Could just be a quiet one, but if it’s brand new that’s probably a lot to do with it.

[jw3571]

It is brand new, i’ve had it for 4 months.

[indexless]

I’m gonna jump in here with a tease. This months podcast is on strings and tops, and it’s going to change the way you think and hear your guitar.  It’s THE BEST information I’ve ever heard told in a compelling and understandable way, it’s long but there is a LOT of meat on the bones. Will be posting on T-Day for those that would rather not watch football

[Chrisakadigdog]

More meat on da bone please!! Lay it thick with gravey

[sdelsolray]

SCGC strings, both the low tension and medium tension sets, have a total set tension in the range of common light gauge string sets from other string makers.  Compared to medium string sets from other string makers, you should notice a slight volume decrease when comparing them to any SCGC strings, more so with the SCGC low tension set.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by sdelsolray.

[Matt Hayden]

Maybe it’s due to the balance between strings – I find them very even in perceived volume. But I don’t think they’re quieter.

[jw3571]

Maybe i’ll throw on another set and just see what happens.

[tadol]

The problem with these perceptions is we have to make sure we are all talking the same language – does “cannon” just mean “loud”? Or does it mean less bass? Or maybe, something else? The eq curve on different guitars can affect what we perceive as volume, and that curve is most easily affected (and changed) by the strings. So first, I’d say that a Santa Cruz guitar isn’t gonna ever sound the same as a Collings or a Martin, but hopefully, you chose it because you thought it sounded and felt better.  Second, to get a better apples-to-apples comparison, put the same strings on both guitars – either SCGC strings, or maybe even sets of something completely different. Then, you’ll have to play them to break the strings in, and then you’ll need someone else to play them so you can get a better sense of how they sound from out in front. That will really give you a better sense of what the balance, and volume, of each guitar is.  It could very well be that its the SCGC strings, but you might find something else.

I’ve always been intrigued with how guitars can sound, or be perceived, so differently by the player, the audience, and the microphone – is it in the build, or the materials, or the builder? But that may be the essence of another podcast –

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Lots o’ SCGC guitars! But never ask which is my fav

[Hank]

I would submit with All  IMHO.

Regardless of builder it is what each individual  hears when he/she makes the first strum on a guitar….It Is THE Most Personal of ALL inputs…..The first vibe, the first feel in the chest, the  first percussion of the ear drum, the first feel in the finger tips….ALL these things establish our attraction to an iconic builder.

I was a man who was very happy with a 1993 Martin HD-28…. I could not have imagined a better sounding instrument.

Then….I discovered a SCGC Da-1 at a Guitar Center in Ft Myers Fl.

Since the discovery of that guitar I have spent enough $$ on Santa Cruz guitars to have bought a Bentley and then some.

WHY ??…..because when I play them, their voices ( just me, for myself) let ME fly…. I can be free of all cares, I can sail into the wind and heel hard to weather……. I can SOAR.

I am a better player because of the artistry and the science that Richard Hoover and his tribe have created out of wood and glue and steel…….and the history they have learned from.

Thanks.

Hank

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1993 Martin HD-28 IR/Sitka
2001 SCGC F Cutaway Maple/German
2008 SCGC OT Madi/Italian
2015 SCGC OM “The Tree” Hog/ European
2016 SCGC 1934 D45 Braz/ Adi
2016 Taylor K62 CE Limited Edition 12 string all Koa
2019 SCGC FTC Granadillo/Redwood
2022 SCGC 000 African Blackwood/Moon Spruce.
Life is a journey…not a guided tour,
The Bay,The Gulf Stream , The Open Ocean are particular about who they share their secrets with.

[tadol]

A Bentley?  Jeez – I think all mine probably add up to a nice used Audi –    😉

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Lots o’ SCGC guitars! But never ask which is my fav

[Hank]

A Bentley?  Jeez – I think all mine probably add up to a nice used Audi –

Well a used Bentley ……..A VERY used Bentley.

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1993 Martin HD-28 IR/Sitka
2001 SCGC F Cutaway Maple/German
2008 SCGC OT Madi/Italian
2015 SCGC OM “The Tree” Hog/ European
2016 SCGC 1934 D45 Braz/ Adi
2016 Taylor K62 CE Limited Edition 12 string all Koa
2019 SCGC FTC Granadillo/Redwood
2022 SCGC 000 African Blackwood/Moon Spruce.
Life is a journey…not a guided tour,
The Bay,The Gulf Stream , The Open Ocean are particular about who they share their secrets with.

[Matt Hayden]

Hey, you can buy a used Rolls for under $20k if you spend time on Auto Trader.

If I add up what mine are worth, I’d have two sets of numbers – resale value and replacement value.  There’s a delta between the two that is not inconsequential.   Insure for the latter, prepare for the former.

 

[Author]

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