Hello,
i may have seen a post on this topic but I can't find it.
Does or has anyone tried light guage strings on their D2H or D3?
If so how did it change things? Tone? Playability? Did you notice much of a drop off in volume, sustain etc?

Thanks,
Tom

I don't have a Collings "D", but after more than 20+ years of mediums on my Martin HD-28, I switched to lights and I actually like the tone better. It might not be quite as loud, but it's still plenty loud and I don't play with a bluegrass band, so the little bit of extra I might get from mediums is not missed at all.

Tom,

I changed from mediums to light strings not long after I got my '95 D2h this past spring, simply because I wanted to try some Nanowebs, and the lights were all I had at the house that night. I *immediately* had a string buzz on the G string, and it was annoying. After a few days, I switched back to mediums and it was still there, lightly.

The neck was straight, but the saddle was low when I checked it, so I made a new, slightly taller compensated saddle out of buffalo horn (my stealth saddle!), and went back to mediums, and haven't had a problem since.

http://members.aol.com/garybcollier/d2hbridge.jpg

Gary Collier
Atlanta

I had lights on my D2H for quite a while. I mostly fingerpick, and I found that easier to do with lights. Individual notes sounded just great with lights- not noticeably any worse than with mediums.

However, strummed chords sounded a lot worse to me with lights on the guitar; thin and separate, not integrated sounding. It was mainly due to this that I went back to mediums.

I encountered no setup issues with the guitar strung with lights.

Lights are absolutely appropriate on a D-2 or D-3 (or anything else for that matter). The question is whether you prefer mediums, lights or some other combination of mixed and matched strings -- feel, tone and volume all come into play here. Try lights and mediums (and different makes and types of lights and mediums) to see what you prefer. You will, I promise, develop a preference over time (not that your prefernce will always remain your preference).

As Gary noted, if you switch to strings (lights to mediums or vice versa) your guitar may require a small change in setup. This, however, is no big deal and should not keep you from finding the strings that are best for you, your playing style, the sound you want and the guitar you have.

Best of luck,
Paul

I had lights on my '92 D@H for years because I liked the action. I put mediums on it about a year ago and WOW. What a difference. I can still play light fingerstyle on it or I can really dig in with a flatpick. Mediums really bring the voice out in dreadnaughts. I encourage you to try mediums. The guitar can defenitely take it.