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I bought a used 2011 SCGC Custom F all mahogany about 2 ½ years ago from a forum member. I enjoyed the guitar quite a bit (fingerstyle, flesh and nail) and preferred it over a SCGC 000 1929 I also had at the time. However there was a dead spot right on the high G note (3rd fret, 1st string) that became annoying as time passed. In addition, I found that I had to increase my right hand attack force to bring the guitar into a better sonic and behavioral operating range. I had the setup adjusted (part of the G note problem was a bit of buzzing when the note was attacked forcefully). I tried tuning down ½ step but that only moved the dead spot up one fret to the G# note. This all occurred with light gauge strings.
About three months ago, I tried something else…change to medium gauge strings and lower the tuning about ¼ step (to A = 432). The dead note pretty much disappeared, the dynamic range increased and I can use less right hand attack force to get the instrument into its preferred operating range.
In looking back, I can see how this was the solution. The instrument is a F body, and it is all hog, so it is very well mannered (like F models tend to be) and the mahogany top limits the dynamic range.
Funny how simple things can occasionally improve the sonics and behavior of a guitar.
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It took the right strings to fine-tune my OM. I’d used D’Addario EJ16s on everything for twenty-some years, with the general proviso that strings don’t really matter. The EJ16s were fine – or so I thought.
Swapped out to the SCGC low tension set several years ago, and bang, the midrange on the instrument came out, string-to-string clarity improved (important for jazz chords), and the voice overall is better balanced. It handles dropped tunings better as well. And I’ve had to eat my words insofar as acknowledging that string choice really can make a significant difference.
Little things matter more than we let on sometimes.
ps I may have played that F – it’s a non-cutaway, right? That is a BIG guitar.
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Yes, non-cutaway, flamed mahogany with full body sunburst, adi braces and HHG. I got it from Tadol who got it from Keith.
It’s quite startling how much better this guitar sounds behaves with medium strings.
I don’t care for medium strings on any of my other guitars, except for .013 and .017 for strings 1 and 2, which adds a bit of roundness to those strings and facilitates many dropped tunings.
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Good to know that beautiful F has found an appreciative home – after trying a few different all mahogany guitars from SCGC, I’ve settled on a wonderful ‘29 OM that has the balance I wanted between body size, and tonal response. So far, the SCGC light tension strings have been great, and I find they give the guitar a nice sparkle on the high end, and a full, responsive bass at the same time. I would be intrigued to try the medium tension on it, but these strings last so long, I know if I change them out I have to live with them for a few months at least, and I’m not really inclined to change something I like –
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