Ray wrote
Ja well, I'm pretty happy with the guitar. The Cort CJ5X that is. Just these damed strings seem to be pretty difficult to do anything with. The Cort site says the guitar comes with D'Addario EXP11 80/20 Bronze Light. Nothing lite about this lot. Chewing up my fingertips as I ty to bend them. Also it sounds like opening your fly everytime you slide your finger a bit on the strings. I dont mind a bit of that but this is serious zhweep zhweep stuff. Anyone know anything about these strings? What would be a good replacement? Or do I need to do some finger strengthening stuff?
If you're accustomed to playing electric then what you're describing above IS the finger strengthening stuff ?
The squeaks can be a problem, but you'll find they mostly go away because your technique will adjust. It'll make you a better, cleaner player.
You might also console yourself with the realisation that even the very best steel-string acoustic players get a squeak every now and then when they're really pushing things.
Or you could switch to Elixir Polyweb strings - which, as discussed elsewhere on this forum recently - will last longer as well.
You can go lighter on an acoustic, but there will be a change in tone.
I peutered with different strings on my acoustics. I went to lights, then "bluegrass" (medium on the bottom 3, light on the top 3) then medium on the Morgan as my hands got stronger. You might want to experiment over time - but it will be a trade-off between ease of playing (and your hands will get stronger), tone and what the guitar can take.
Check on the manufacturer's web site to see if they say what the guitar can take. You never know... you might want to go heavier in the pursuit of tone. And ask your local repair guy. I mailed the Morgan workshop and they said that it will take mediums with no problem. They fit mediums and set up for mediums, and the guitar is generally built like a tank. My Taylor Big Baby is much more lightly constructed and ships with lights. Taylor say it will take mediums, but the guys at McGibbons have seen problems with mediums on Big Babies so I stuck to lights but went to phosphor-bronze which are the same physical gauge but the alloy used is a little heavier. The "Acoustic Guitar Owner's Manual" says that the way to think of PB strings is that light PBs are basically light-and-a-quarter 80:20s in terms of loading placed on the guitar.
