Comparison of Small Guitars

I always though that it would hurt a guitar to try and tune up beyond E-e. I carried that thought over from a long scale guitar to a short scale guitar with out ever even thinking about the shorter scale reducing the tension some. I guess I will never be a string scientist.

I tuned the guitar up today from drop 3 to E-e. The guitar does sound better. Tomorrow when I practice again I will try F-f and maybe G-g. I have not yet had the need to capo this guitar. After another week or two of playing I will by then have decided which strings I will try first. Hopefully I can find them in Bangkok.
 
At its best the Mini will never be even close to the great sound of my RC DHO 6 string, which is unbelievably good. The RC has that paddle shaped body, which is cavernous compared to the body of the Mini. Also having all solid wood probably helps a lot too.

I did bring the Mini with me to work and played it in my car, where it was a huge improvement over the plastic Flight Travel soprano ukulele. I guess I may be retiring the plastic fantastic Flight Travel uke.
 
Living in Thailand, outside of Bangkok, I cannot just run out to the local music store for most of my needs. The main reason I have in the past ask so many questions. However, tonight after about three hours of searching for a source for Savarez strings I hit upon a store in Bangkok, a music store that has it all from the looks of the ad on internet - Peterson Music Academy on Sukhumvit #26. Pianos, Guitars, Books, Strings, etc. They sell all major and international guitar strings. So ah shopping I will go next Bangkok trip. I live a a 5 hour drive from Bangkok, however, I average two trips a month to Bangkok.

On internet in two places I saw listed Savarez 510 MJ Hard Tension CGS Cantiga Series. New Cristal Accessories. Has anyone ever heard of these strings before?

I know Savarez strings are good. As long as I get High Tension strings does it real matter about the other stuff? I also saw HUADE Savarez 500 Cj High Tension Nylon strings.
 
Either should be fine. Savarez generally has Cantiga or Corum basses (there are others but these are the series that you mentioned). They mix these with Cristal trebles or bright sounding carbon Alliance.

I just had the 510 AJ on the mini- a set that a friend gave me. They were fine, but I prefer nylon trebles personally.

I say try either so you have a reference point. Then you can decide if you need brighter or darker, or a different tension.

Adam
 
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Hi, Johnny!

I can tell the difference between Nylon, Fluorocarbon and Nylgut on my Kamaka pine apple (See the photo below). But it is only GCEA tuning. If l loose their tension, I can not tell the difference. If we want to see the difference between the strings on our 21 inch guitars, we need to tune up enough tension to G-G. Hence any heavy strings are almost same on your E-E tuning. I think even fluorocarbon and nylon can not make much difference.



E-E tuning is most popular on 21 inch. Because people love guitar sound (pitch) and it is also convenient for chord tab play alone and so on. But sweet spot should be more high tension like dcuttler and gochugogi say.
 
You'd probably want normal tension strings to try for G tuning, maybe even low tension strings since you are wanting the actual tension to still be low.
 
johnnysmash said:
So with High Tension Strings the normal tuning would be E-e. But I can tune up to G-g with High Tension Strings and not hurt my Guitar in any way???
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Aria PEPE and A-20 are made for E-E tuning with heavy (small guitar) strings, because it is classical guitar. They are entry model for children. Aria produces high tension special strings for them in order to raise tension. I have never seen any higher tunings on them in any web sites including Aria's homepage. People tune them in E-E with heavy strings. Yamaha JR2 and Aria PEPE and A-20 are all set for E-E in factory. The advantage of RH DHO6 is that it is made for G-G in this size.

But people rather love E-E rather than other tuning hence we take heavy string for small guitar.
 
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The tag on the instrument said that this instrument was strung with SAVAREZ strings. I know Savarez strings are good ones but I do not know yet which strings are best for this guitar.
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zztush said:
Aria PEPE and A-20 are made for E-E tuning with heavy (small guitar) strings, because it is classical guitar. They are entry model for children. Aria produces high tension special strings for them in order to raise tension. I have never seen any higher tunings on them in any web sites including Aria's homepage. People tune them in E-E with heavy strings. Yamaha JR2 and Aria PEPE and A-20 are all set for E-E in factory. The advantage of RH DHO6 is that it is made for G-G in this size.

But people rather love E-E rather than other tuning hence we take heavy string for small guitar.
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This thread has gone off topic with pages of string discussion that may not be relevant to OP. He went through a lot of effort to find a small guitar that he likes, and recommendations should focus on finding replacement strings when the original set is wearing out and not on endless experimentation. It will make sense to buy a replacement set that is suitable for the scale, and if Savarez supplied the OEM and they sound and feel fine then it makes sense to stick with that.
 
merlin666 said:
This thread has gone off topic with pages of string discussion that may not be relevant to OP. He went through a lot of effort to find a small guitar that he likes, and recommendations should focus on finding replacement strings when the original set is wearing out and not on endless experimentation. It will make sense to buy a replacement set that is suitable for the scale, and if Savarez supplied the OEM and they sound and feel fine then it makes sense to stick with that.
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Maybe you should ask the OP if he finds this discussion useful, or not.
 
This thread has gone off topic with pages of string discussion that may not be relevant to OP. He went through a lot of effort to find a small guitar that he likes, and recommendations should focus on finding replacement strings when the original set is wearing out and not on endless experimentation. It will make sense to buy a replacement set that is suitable for the scale, and if Savarez supplied the OEM and they sound and feel fine then it makes sense to stick with that.

Maybe you should ask the OP if he finds this discussion useful, or not.


It is my fault for this thread changing directions. But I do fine this discussion of strings very useful.
 
Hi, Johnny!

I went to Kyoto today and visited Gujiya (we pronounce it Jyujiya) which is biggest and oldest music shop in Kyoto to see your A20-53 (see the photo below). I am afraid that they did not have A20 in stock but they had Aria AC-50A which was 530mm scale length alt guitar. It was tuned B-B (1B, 2F#, 3D, 4A, 5E, 6B). It sounded very nice and tension is very good with 530mm scale. But I was curious why it can be so high. B-B is very high compare to E-E. It is even one step higher than guitalele (requinto) A-A tuning. The sales parson explained it that alt strings are thinner than regular strings (See the green below), hence we can raise it tuning up to B-B. I know E-E is much convenient but sound and tension are worth to try for fun.



I was bit surprise that 530mm classical is very nice size for me. I can play it very easily on my lap. The fret board is very good size too. I bet you love A-20 a lot. I was very happy to see alt strings today, I've forgot to buy acoustic guitar string set. I have to order it on the internet now.
 
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The 530 MM scale is for sure a dream to play. I really do enjoy it. I ordered new string that should arrive tomorrow. However, I may not put them on right away because the strings on there now seem to be fairly new. I do have a little trouble holding it because I have a belly. I am a non drinker who looks like he loves beer. I think as I continue to diet and loose weight I will be able to hold it better. If not, strap time. Lucky you getting to travel around Japan, I really miss Japan and especially the food.
 
530mm alt guitar's nut width is wide as classical guitar. but the Fret board are shorter than classical guitar. Regular classical guitar is wide nut width and long fret board. It is bit too big for me. 530mm alt guitar is rather similar finger space as acoustic guitar to me. Because acoustic guitar has narrow nut width. I love it. I was very happy to play it yesterday in Kyoto. Chords are very easy to play and I was singing in the store.

 
Hey all,

Not sure whether to start a new thread as this one has got long and i am asking about "small" guitars but the next size up. I am currently playing a cheap laminate parlor and wish to upgrade to slightly bigger guitar. The Guild Jumbo Junior has really taken my fancy. This is a steel string 23.75 inch scale guitar with solid top and laminate back and sides, back is arched. I like the tone and i am not keen on the deep bass of dreadnoughts. The scale is slightly longer than travel guitars like the Taka-mini and doesn't feel cramped up the neck to me the way i find travel guitars do.

My only concern is if the top gets overdriven with moderate or heavier strumming, bearing in mind this will be my only guitar due to strict limits on my instrument collection.

Does anyone have experience with strumming guitars in this size range like the Jumbo junior, GS Mini or Martin mini dreadnought? Competition for me would be the OM size guitars which is where i was looking before i saw the guild.
 
Davoravo said:
Hey all,

Not sure whether to start a new thread as this one has got long and i am asking about "small" guitars but the next size up. I am currently playing a cheap laminate parlor and wish to upgrade to slightly bigger guitar. The Guild Jumbo Junior has really taken my fancy. This is a steel string 23.75 inch scale guitar with solid top and laminate back and sides, back is arched. I like the tone and i am not keen on the deep bass of dreadnoughts. The scale is slightly longer than travel guitars like the Taka-mini and doesn't feel cramped up the neck to me the way i find travel guitars do.

My only concern is if the top gets overdriven with moderate or heavier strumming, bearing in mind this will be my only guitar due to strict limits on my instrument collection.

Does anyone have experience with strumming guitars in this size range like the Jumbo junior, GS Mini or Martin mini dreadnought? Competition for me would be the OM size guitars which is where i was looking before i saw the guild.
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I own a Taylor GS Mini with a spruce top and can strum aggressively with no issues. Physics dictates that the shorter scale length puts less tension on the strings. If concerned you can always string it up with light gauge strings.
 
If you are considering the Taylor GS Mini, have a look at the Harley Benton GL mini traveler, which is a clone of the Taylor.

Mine cost 105eur including shipping from Germany to the US. I lowered the saddle, changed to D'adderio pb strings and it sounds great.
 
Those Harley Bentons look like great guitars but they seem to be laminate tops, is that right? For that price and a quality build i might not turn my nose up at laminate

EDIT - got the model number right now, and i see the solid top. Beeauuutiful.
 
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Mine is mahogany and sounds nice. I cannot comment on the other woods, or compare it to the Taylor, because I have never played either one. As for the sides and back of a guitar, I am not convinced it matters what wood it's made of outside of how it looks. Laminate is a fancy word for plywood.
 
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