HBII with Piezo. 10's or 11's? Unwound 3rd? What are the pros and cons.

[wasupbrah]

I have owned a HBII for the last 16 years. Magnetic picks ups only. I have been using DR tite-fit 10's. I just broke down last week and picked up a 1999 HBII with piezo. Having a hard time of course with 11's and wound third. What is the consensus on dropping down to 10's on a piezo equipped HBII. Do you really need a wound third? Is there really a drastic tonal difference in over all sound with piezo when using wound 10's and a plain 3rd?

 

[AaeCee]

Go with the 10's and don't look back. It sounds great with them, and while you may be able to detect a very subtle difference between the wound and plain G, your audience never will.

 

[veinbuster]

I don't feel the need for a wound third. My 99 has 10s. That is what they skipped them with at the time.

 

[shinksma]

I had 11s with a wound-third on my HB Spruce up until recently. I just switched over to 10s, with unwound third.

The sound is different, but not drastic enough to say "OMG, what were you thinking!" (the 10s make it less punchy sounding when you strum harder, and the overall signal output is 10% lower or so, in my estimation).

I had no problem playing with the wound third, and could bend up a full step or beyond if I needed. I just wanted to try out the 10s because I had found the signal output of the piezo at full volume to be occasionally "overdriving" the acoustic simulator pedal I was using, even with an EQ pedal in front to tame it. Putting on 10s has mellowed out the sound a bit, and makes it a bit easier to play, overall. I generally have 10s on all my other guitars, either regular 10s or hybrid 10s (light tops, heavy bottoms), so I was OK either way with 10s or 11s on the HB.

PRS ships the piezo HBs (which is al of them, now, AFAIK) with 11s because it produces the most acoustic-sounding signal straight out of the guitar into a PA, so if you do nothing else to the signal it is the preferred way to go.

But if you plug into a regular electric guitar amp, or use enhancements ( ) such as additional acoustic-simulator pedals like I do, then 10s are probably fine. The wound-third certainly adds a touch more acoustic tone, but as noted, your audience won't notice.

IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[ViperDoc]

.011s are king with the piezo, but play what you like.

 

[Egads]

I like 11s with an unwound G. I tried 10s, but really felt the tone was so much better with the 11s. It took a little bit to get used to them, but I think it's worth it.

I do use 10s on almost everything else, BTW. My favorite guitar? My SC HB II with 11s.

 

[JMintzer]

D'Addario makes a set of 10's with a wound third. Love them!

 

[watelessness]

playability, then tone, then looks.

If you aren't comfortable with 11's you wont play the guitar and then it's just a piece of art you hang on the wall. Although I preferred the tone of 11's on my HBII and DGT's , I could not ever build the finger strength for them. 10's are just fine. I've experimented with the wound G but I've found that a simple set of electric strings just does the trick for me. good luck!

 

[beas]

On my SCHBI, I use 11's with an unwound G. I cannot bend that wound string and this is more important than the undetectable difference that the wound G contributes to the acoustic tone. Of course, my P22 has 10's, an unwound G string and sounds phenomenal. The thing that I would like is for the new piezo guitars, like the P22, to come equipped with a tone control that works on the piezo side, just as the SCHBI does.

 

[CVS]

Which strings to use are really a trade off - if you are looking for a great acoustic sound as priority 1 - then go with 11's with a wound G string. If being able to play solos that require lots of string stretching is your priority 1go with 10's (your fingers will thank you).

 

[rabidhamster]

unwound G sounds much less authentically acoustic to me, but are you trying to play acoustic songs best or electric songs with some convincing acoustic. do you bend or not bend? What color is your hair and how long are your fingers?

 

[jeffgoobs]

I have a Hollowbody I w/ piezo, and I use the PRS .011 - .049 DTG strings (unwound third)... http://us.prsaccessories.com/collections/strings/products/prs-11-49-electric-guitar-strings-dgt

 

[kingsleyd]

I've tried wound-G .011s and .012s and unwound-G .011s on my PS SC HB Spruce. I agree that the wound G sounds more authentically "acoustic" when using the piezo, but in normal "electric" mode it just doesn't balance with the rest of the set. I happily use wound-G strings on some other guitars so it might be that this particular guitar just wants what it wants.

My advice is always the same in any event: strings are (relatively) cheap, even if you buy the "expensive" ones. Try 'em all and see what your guitar likes best. My experience with strings is that one size/brand definitely does NOT fit all.