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I have been playing acoustic guitar on a standard Yamaha for several months. As the title suggests, I'm looking to restring it so that I have an easier time bending and sliding!

Could you recommend any strings/techniques for this? I've read that buying thinner strings and/or tuning down can help a lot, but would you mind highlighting any other advantages/disadvantages that I may have missed?

David Valduriez
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Bending and sliding are two different things.

For slides, by which I'm assuming you're talking about sliding a note up and down a string with your finger and not a glass or metal "slide", you want to be able to move the note without generating too much of the annoying string noise you can get. For that, using coated strings to lubricate the sliding a little would be good. As a technique, it isn't a technique I use that much.

If you are talking slide in the "slide guitar" sense, you want higher action and reasonably heavy strings, but unlike with electric guitar, you might not need higher than you have already.

For bending, you hit a problem. For volume's sake, you want thicker strings and higher tension. For bending sake, you want thinner strings with lower tension. If you're plugging in an electro-acoustic guitar (piezo bridge or the like) then electricity has fixed that balance issue for you. If not, start developing hand strength and be resigned that you won't get great slinky Buddy Guy bends on an acoustic without the tone sounding weak and the sustain going away.

Dave Jacoby
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  • Thank you for the response - I wasn't talking about slide guitar - but that's my fault for not making that clear. I didn't consider the possibility of an electro-acoustic guitar - is it possible/practical to install an amp on my current guitar? Or do you really need to just buy a new electro-acoustic? Again, sorry for the vague questions and lack of information - but I am clueless here! – David Valduriez May 29 '13 at 10:07
  • I didn't think you wanted slide, but there was enough ambiguity that I felt I should cover it. There are magnetic soundhole pickups which are fairly easy to install and sound pretty good, so you don't have to get a new instrument. – Dave Jacoby May 29 '13 at 14:28
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For increased bending you have three solutions:

  • Change to nylon strings - this will cause all sorts of changes in the setup of your guitar, and will sound very different, but you will be able to bend much higher
  • Downtune the guitar - lower tension = easier bending
  • Improve your bending technique. I can get 5 or 6 semitones on the 7 th fret on my G-string, but to do that I use three fingers and I pivot around the side of my first finger by rotating my wrist, not by extending my fingers!

For improved sliding using the fingers:

  • Once your callouses develop, you will be able to slide rapidly without problems
  • Coated strings, such as Elixirs, make sliding much easier, as does use of Fast Fret to coat steel strings before you play
  • Part of the art of sliding is deciding on the speed profile you want. Certain speed profiles maximise the squeak from the winding, and others minimise it, so practice different types of slide.

For sliding using a metal or glass slide:

  • You want higher tension, so the slide doesn't push the strings out of tune too easily
  • You also want a higher action, as you don't want the string to touch the frets
Doktor Mayhem
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  • Many thanks for the response - I've heard positive things about Elixir strings in the past. Would you recommend anything in particular within the Elixir range - perhaps something coated and thin as VarLogRant mentioned above - given that I am willing to give up sound quality? I apologise for the vague questions and lack of information - but I am rather clueless on this matter. – David Valduriez May 29 '13 at 09:59
  • I generally use Elixir .009's on my faster electric guitars but the noise would be extremely thin on an acoustic. As @VarLogRant mentioned, a pickup would help - see http://www.seymourduncan.com/acoustic/how-to-choose-an-acoustic-pickup.php for examples. – Doktor Mayhem May 29 '13 at 10:27
  • We've covered the ups and downs of using electric strings on acoustic guitars ( http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/3570/why-shouldnt-i-put-electric-guitar-strings-on-my-acoustic-guitar ). You want SOME mass to drive the string, so I wouldn't go much lighter than .010s for the strings. Beyond that, it makes more sense to just go electric. – Dave Jacoby May 29 '13 at 14:51
  • IME, Fast Fret and coated strings make it harder to bend as things are slippery... Tuning down to Eb or D would probably be the better idea for bending. Sliding is a different story. Choose your poison! :) – JimR Jun 05 '13 at 10:57
  • interesting - I have never noticed fast fret or coatings doing anything to affect bending. Your fingers don't really slip off strings when pushing sideways... – Doktor Mayhem Jun 05 '13 at 16:02
  • @DrMayhem: It happens for me... Especially with a brand new fast fret application. The strings slip from under my fingers in all cases. I've been playing for about 32 years and have tried FF several times since it was first created. – JimR Jun 05 '13 at 20:40
  • I'm guessing it must be the type of guitar neck or playing style then. Having been a guitar player for a little over 25 years I play very much in a blues rock style, so bends are a key part of what I do. – Doktor Mayhem Jun 05 '13 at 23:12
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This looks like a good spot to mention flatwounds (again and again). You can slip and slide with no squeeks! <rant> All that extra top-end is just noise harmonics anyway, siphoning energy from the fundamental </rant>

On an acoustic, you can go a little-bit lighter on the gauge without too much loss of power. 12s are the "standard" for dreadnought acoustics, but 11s would give significantly more flexibility. |12-11|/12 = 1/12 = 0.0833333% change (scaling factors out). As VarLogRant says, I wouldn't go lighter than .010s: you'd lose too much power and presence.

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luser droog
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I personally have found the best strings for bending or slide on acoustic guitar. I have a twelve string acoustic but if I just put in the lighter strings rather than the second that's slightly heavier gage string for each string they bend and slide really well okay my electric guitar blends easier but the sound is fantastic and I can get just as good bend and slide effect's but I do put them on a twelve string .I Use Martin 12 strings E .012 to E .054 they stay in tune really well to .

John M
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