The Collings Forum

Hi,

New forum member here, long time Collings owner.

I recently bought a brand new 0002H. Beautiful guitar with a beautiful sound.

But, even after having a wonderful Collings guitar dealer reduce the action.... I find that the stock strings (D'Addario EJ16s) are a little hard on my fingers.

Looking at alternatives. I'm considering D'Addario Folk Silk 'n Steel strings...EJ40's (11-47), or the EJ26's Custom Light (11-52). Has anyone tried those on a smaller body Collings?

Thank you. I appreciate your advice.

I used to use S&S but have switched to D'A extra lights.
Found the S&S just didn't drive the top enough.

I have been using EJ 26 custom lights on a C-10 and get on with them quite well. Also use the EJ 13 ( 80/20s ) and I like them as well. The 11 gauge seem a lot better for my old tired hands.

Steve, The 000 is a great guitar, & a fantastic sounding one. The long scale does add some work to the playing. Before changing the string gauge, i'd suggest trying a couple of different types of strings from other manufacturers. My stock strings these days are from Curt Mangan in Colorado. I play round-core 80/20s in both light and medium gauge....they have less string tension than the hex core strings. The other strings worth trying are Thomastik Infeld Plectrum medium-lights 12-15-24-33-44-59 they have a low tension feel, sound great and last a long time.

Thank you all for your advice, I appreciate it!

Heading out to buy strings today I'll try the D'Addario Custom Lights and let you know how they sound.

The Curt Magnans aren't in my local guitar store, so I'll get some on Amazon.

Than ks again for all the great direction!

Best

Steve