Heavy strings on an old Hawaiian guitar

[nmiller]

I'm thinking of picking up a cheap old acoustic guitar to play Hawaiian-style. There are a bunch of great Regal, Stromberg-Voisinet, Lyon & Healy, etc. guitars out there with the right mix of gaudy pearloid and faux-flamed wood, but I'm a little worried about the string selection out there.

I plan to use an open tuning; the key doesn't matter, but I think I should use a specially designed set such as for a Weissenborn. However, all the acoustic open-key string sets are 0.15 and up, and I'm afraid that such heavy strings will damage an old guitar. Am I right to be worried? Are there any lighter sets out there for open tunings?

[zombywoof]

Don't know if this is the best way to to do it but if you are talking about using a regular round neck guitar, I use a 1920s 12 fret Regal. I play in Open D, G, Dm and so on so do not have a clue what you would need for say C6 tuning or something (I assume the strings would have to be heavier). I slapped a nut extender on it, string with 13 guage round wound strings and tune down 1/2 to a whole step depending on what tuning I am using.

[James Sallis]

You could use a Weissenborn set -- especially the Newtones, which are lower tension. But you'd do fine with a medium acoustic set, just kick the top string (maybe the top two) up a gauge or two. Many of the Stromberg-Voisinets, Oahus and the like have deep V necks or baseball-bat necks, just be sure the neck is securely set.

[nmiller]

Originally Posted by James Sallis

You could use a Weissenborn set -- especially the Newtones, which are lower tension. But you'd do fine with a medium acoustic set, just kick the top string (maybe the top two) up a gauge or two. Many of the Stromberg-Voisinets, Oahus and the like have deep V necks or baseball-bat necks, just be sure the neck is securely set.

I've found that using regular acoustic sets for open tunings causes the tension to vary widely across the strings, so as far as I'm concerned it's not an option. I looked into the Newtone set, but I can't seem to find tension values anywhere.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by James Sallis

Many of the Stromberg-Voisinets, Oahus and the like have deep V necks or baseball-bat necks, just be sure the neck is securely set.

It also might be wise to buy one with a bridge plate that extends the width of the guitar (not uncommon in el cheapo guitars made in the 1920s).