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Post subject: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:48 am
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I have been using 13's on my beloved '72 Tele Custom for the past year. It took a little while to get used to the heaviness but I went from a point of "I can tolerate them for the bigger tone" to actually preferring the way they feel & play over smaller string sizes. I play in standard tuning.

My question is: Will having 13's take a toll on the neck or guitar in general? They won't cause any long term neck warping effects will they?


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:32 pm
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Good question, I am actually wondering the same. I am now with 12s, all my guitars have the small vintage frets as they're all from the 70s and I feel weird going up in gauge, fearing long term damage on the neck. I can tell you that the bigger the gauge, the faster the frets wear but let's wait to hear from someone who's had them on for years.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 4:40 pm
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http://www.professorstring.com/archives ... _partI.php

Well I found this article. I suppose it was a little bit helpful. Apparently 12's and 13's are still considered medium gauge. Where 14's to 18's are considered heavy or very heavy. I read somewhere Dick Dale used 18's. Couldn't imagine that. I'm still a little unsure about long term stress on the neck. I suppose I'm not too worried. It has been a year and I haven't noticed any difference in the neck or action.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:02 pm
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I've used 13's on all my electrics for the past... well lets throw a wild guess, six years. I have had no trouble what so ever. But I must say, none of my guitars date back that far;-)


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 5:25 pm
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Actually, come to think of it, acoustics handle heavier gauge on a what seems to be a more fragile neck. My 30's dobro has 11s on it because action is high but 13s is not unusual on them. Wonder what could take more pressure though, glue on or bolted neck. What annoys me with anything above 11s is the G is wound.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 7:29 pm
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When I toured in the early-mid 90's I used 12's . Keep in mind it was top 40 country tuned to 440....I was playing a Telecaster Plus 5-6 nights a week, 5 sets a night....within 1 year, I had to get a re-fret. After almost another year I had to buy an aftermarket neck.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:24 am
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I had 12s on a Jazzmaster reissue. I used for it for slide Open G tuning and that neck took it like a champ. Of course the tone was great and just a bit different being a JM and I didn't have a problem with fret ware :mrgreen:

Enjoy

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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:51 pm
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As long as you don't have to have the truss rod cranked to the max to support those strings, you will be just fine! One good thing (or bad in some cases) is that with wood that old, it is not stiff and stuck in it's ways more than grandpa! What I mean is on may old guitars like yours, the wood took a "set" years ago, and is probably as stable as concrete and doesn't require seasonal adjustments anymore. This is GREAT if you kept the guitar in top shape and adjustment because now it will NEVER change. It is bad if you left the guitar in poor condition, with an excessive bow or warp in the neck without strings on it for years. The truss rod on your guitar likely has become alot less effective by now, it may still work, but overall that neck is likely so stiff that you can swap strings gauges around without much affecting the relief :D


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:52 pm
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oops! Typo! I meant to say the wood is now stiff and stuck in it's ways!


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:55 pm
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Actually it's about right, I've gone from 10 to 12 on my Strat over a few years and I didnt have to adjust the rod.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:01 pm
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Rossfloss wrote:
My question is: Will having 13's take a toll on the neck or guitar in general? They won't cause any long term neck warping effects will they?

I can only offer an opinion, as I can't speak from having used 13's.
I would think that as long as you keep your neck straight by adjusting the truss rod, you shouldn't have any warping issues.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:06 pm
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Then this raises another question, since the neck itself does not take the pressure as much as the rod, how much can the rod handle?


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 12:46 pm
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Rossfloss wrote:
My question is: Will having 13's take a toll on the neck or guitar in general? They won't cause any long term neck warping effects will they?


No. Back in the 1950's and early 60's, 12-13s were the regular string-gauges everybody was forced to use (unless you were wise enough to change the top strings for banjo ones! 8) ), what means that Telecasters and Strats (and heck, even Gibson solid electrics!) were designed with those gauges in mind.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 2:15 am
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It would seem possible that the 13's could cause some neck instability, since I believe that the '72 Tele Custom is a 3 bolt neck, if I'm not mistaken.


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Post subject: Re: 13's - too much neck tension?
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:45 am
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Rossfloss,

Your Tele will be fine with 13's. You may need to adjust your TR, Action, Intonation, and recut your nut, but the neck and the TR should handle it fine. Telecaster's were designed for much heavier gauge strings than modern players use.

Many people equate the gauge of the string to tone, but I believe your pickup and amp settings have far more to do with tone than the gauge of the string. Billy Gibbons, who many consider to have a monster tone, plays with 8's or lighter.

I, myself, prefer 10's as they offer the best compromise between playability and tuning stability for me.

Have fun and post some pics of the Custom!

Don


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