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Post subject: Bending chore
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:27 pm
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Will setting the action real low make bending your strings harder to pull off?Seems real tight and whole step bends are a friggin chore. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks 8)


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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:51 pm
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If you set your action too low, your strings will 'fret out', especially on a curved radius neck (like a Strat's). When you bend a note, the string will start hitting the higher frets, causing it to first buzz, then squelching the note altogether.

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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:57 pm
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Its not so much that as it seems to be real hard to bend them.


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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:25 pm
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it should not be hard to bend strings of any gauge or action really.. i think anyway.

are you straigtening your fingers some and putting your hand behind them ? use your whole hand and not just the little puny muscles in your fingers. im sorry if your not a beginner and im not understanding this question right but i think it may be more to do with your technique than the action. i wish i could explain this better, but dont make like a cup shape with your fingers.


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:45 am
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kja wrote:
it should not be hard to bend strings of any gauge or action really.. i think anyway.


Have you tried to play with .013's ? It helps develop strength. 8)

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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:08 pm
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I slowly worked my way up from 9s to 13s over a period of months to build finger strength. I settled on 11s as optimal.


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:49 pm
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Will give that a try , thanks for the feedback!! 8)


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:36 pm
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Miami Mike wrote:
kja wrote:
it should not be hard to bend strings of any gauge or action really.. i think anyway.


Have you tried to play with .013's ? It helps develop strength. 8)


not on a strat. i used to play 13 gauge on a '66 mustang but that was cause the short scale made the strings feel like chicken wire.

im thiniking of going to 12 gauge on my strat from 11's i have on now but the problem is i cant find any locally.

have anybody tried 12's on a strat? how where they?


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:26 pm
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Are you playing with standard tuning? If so, tune your guitar down a half step, that's what most everybody plays in anyway. Your bending adventures should improve. You might also want to try a whole step down. Calluses is something that's helpful.

I'm currently playing with the gauges 13, 17, 18, 36, 46, 56 with a kinda high action (depending on what gauges they have at the time, I try to get the biggest I can). All my bending is done with my ring finger and my pointer finger. I use my ring finger to bend the string up and my pointer to bend it down (since it's not as strong). Whenever I need to bend a string to high heaven, I just group all three fingers together (ring, middle, pointer) and head to the moon.

That's the way I do it, might not work for some people though.


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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:53 am
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kja wrote:
have anybody tried 12's on a strat? how where they?


i use tomastik infeld swing flats 12's on my strat, and they sound wonderful. by far the best string choice i've made all my life.

a bit stiff, yes, but that's how i like it.


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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:00 am
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SRV played 1/2 step down using 15's!!!!!

I played 13's for a few years to develop finger strength. I now use 9's or 10's.

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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:08 am
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CAFeathers wrote:
SRV played 1/2 step down using 15's!!!!!

I played 13's for a few years to develop finger strength. I now use 9's or 10's.


Dick Dale plays standard tuning with 16's.


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Post subject: Bending
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:22 am
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Bending is all I do. I dislike the Whammy. I got my strength from bending 13's and from practice on my Fender Acoustic/Electric Cutaway. Now I've gone down to 11's on both and can pull off any attempt I may try as far as bending up and down the neck. Also lowered the action on both guitars with no buzz or unwanted feedback. When I wanna rock out to some hard rock or metal I'll put on some 13's, drop to D and go at it.

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:01 pm
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JoshHeartless wrote:
kja wrote:
have anybody tried 12's on a strat? how where they?


i use tomastik infeld swing flats 12's on my strat, and they sound wonderful. by far the best string choice i've made all my life.

a bit stiff, yes, but that's how i like it.


hey thanks! i think i might give these a try... i have been eyeing them. im worried its gonna pull the action up to much though where the bass strings will buzz when i lower it back down since there so thick. im using boomers 11-50 now and maybe a 52 low E will be ok. i know 13's will ruin my current setup. maybe because of the more tension they will buzz less?

good to know somebody uses these and likes um. they seem up my alley.


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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:21 pm
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what kind of music do you play? i play surf, and the flatwounds are perfect for that. they are definetely lower tension than chromes or GHS flatwounds. maybe you should try to bebop series if flatwound isnt your thing. but yes, having a round core really makes them sing. of course, i like my strings dull and thuddy, bright strings don't really sound good through a reverb unit.


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