Afternoon,
I’ve been trying to learn the opening rift to Jonny Be Goode and come to the string bending section.
Really difficult on an acoustic. Is there a particular type of string that I would benefit from using?
I’ve been using EJ16-3D - Light, 12-53.
Obviously I can use very light strings but are there others which are more suited for string bending?
Would I need a particular setup, Ie, would I be better setting up a second guitar for it
Cheers all!
Johnny Be Goode is an electric guitar song, and electrics have lighter strings. 9’s or 10’s are the most common on electric.
String bending is also a technique that takes quite a bit of practice, and is more common & easier to learn on electric. However it’s common enough on acoustic too. Learning with 12’s on an acoustic would be the hard way, though.
If you want to make bending easier on your current guitar, you need to reduce the string tension. While some brands have less tension that others in the same gauge, it’s usually minor. The biggest adjustment would be a lighter string set (or a shorter scale length guitar).
Another option which will make bends easier is to tune down half a step. JBG is normally played in Bb, move it up a semitone on the fretboard (I don’t think it uses any open strings) and tune the guitar down half a step. There is an added benefit of the bends being 1 fret closer to the middle of the strings which is the easiest place to bend.
The Johnny B. Goode intro has a series of fast bends on the G string. In addition to the good advice already given, you could look for a string set that has a plain (also called “unwound”) G string. Such a G string has lower tension and is easier to bend.
I use Ernie Ball, Earthwood Rock and Blues strings, which are 10s with a plain G.
Johnny B. Goode on an acoustic is a big undertaking, but I bet it would sound awesome! Good luck!
So I’ve ordered some extra light 9’s but I am a little concerned about how it will sound when I play other songs using them.
Still, it’s not a huge deal to change back if I don’t like them.
It might be that I end up buying an electric after Xmas as this is the second time I’ve tried to learn JBG, got to the string bending and it’s proven a challenge. Last time I took my guitar and got it setup better to help.
Cheers for the advice everyone.
The other thing to try is tuning down to D and playing with a Capo on the second fret, you’ll have to take the new first fret as actually being the first fret but once you get your head around it, it’ll work much better. It’s something that I’ve done for years to play blues, I use 13’s on my acoustic!
What I remember and read more than once is that if you normally play with 12 strings and now play with 9, this can/will influence the tension of the neck… I cannot give you details because I do not know the strings you used so i hope i do not missed that is important too , but I believe the men above can do ,or maybe this helps?
Greetings
I’m reluctant to tune my guitar down because then I can switch from song to song so easily.
I could setup a second guitar just for this tune but I think it’s easier to lower the gauge and be able to play all.
If it’s too much hassle I’ll just shelve the song u til I get an electric but there are a few other acustic tracks with string bending in them - Wish you were here solo for eg.
I detune to get less tension on the strings, I don’t actually use it in D tuning.
I guess this depends on the scenario but with a decent headstock tuner and a little practice, it probably takes less than 60 seconds to swap from one tuning to another
With significantly lighter strings you might fix one song and break all the others!
It is hard to bend thicker strings, but I would argue to just learn to do it. I think it won’t take you that long and it will let you use the strings you want. A low tension set of 12s, like from straight up strings, will bend like regular 11s. Just do it.
I don’t bend a lot, but 12s are fine once you have done it a while. 13s were hard, but I backed down from that. Love the rich 13s but a bit much for me.
I can do it slowly. I find it hard to get to the correct note but in JBG it’s ten consecutive bends followed by the 2nd string each time and doing it so fast and frequent is where I’m struggling.
moving three sizes will be a major change. You will fnd that you need to have a very delicate touch compared to what you are used to. I play electric and have slowly moved from 10 toward 8, but even tried 7 - those are too light for now.
For GHS phosphor-bronze, changing the G string will go from 32.35 pounds tension with 24 gague to 19.12 with 18 gague (25.5 scale length). String 1 will be almost half, about 24.8 to about 13.2 pounds.
Yes, it is a lot. No right answer, just how you want to apply your efforts.
Cheers,
I think I’ll just pause on it until I get an electric.
Too much to consider right now.
My Strat has 10’s and I can easily do full step bends and even push to 1 and a half steps. My acoustic has 11’s and I can only bend a half step. So, I kind of cheat on my acoustic and use slides in place of full note bends.
I’ve been playing for almost four years and I it’s hard for me to imagine ever developing the strength for 1 or 1 and 1/2 step bends on my acoustic, even though it has been professionally set up and I can play full barre chords and fast note runs on it.
Bends are more about technique than strength. I use 12s on my 24.75 scale acoustics and 11s on my 25.5 and have no problem doing full tone bends. Keep experimenting and you find the right technique. Are you using more than one finger and using your wrist?
Phosphor-Bronze 10’s sound pretty good on my acoustic: EJ15 Phosphor Bronze | Acoustic Guitar Strings | D'Addario
Hi James!
I (literally) feel your pain when it comes to bending strings on the acoustic! Although I’ve tried, it’s not a very successful attempt in most cases! 
As this Community’s most vocal proponent of the D’Angelico brand, I’ll throw out that if you’re shopping for a new guitar soon, you may want to consider this:
Or this:
I have the Excel Mini DC Tour, it’s equipped with Supro Bolt Bucker pickups that really rock! I feel that it’s a lot of guitar for the $ & it’s so sweet to play! The finish on these is superb at a really reasonable price point. The guitar was about $1400 or so just over a year ago but they have cut them in half! The DC (Double Cut) line comes in many variations with prices ranging from $700 to $2200… the $700 version can be found used for around $450 or so as well if you’re not too picky about the available color - I’m a bit partial to blue guitars & so I picked the Slate Blue! It came in a really nice gig bag as well. If you’re interested, D’Angelico’s web page can be found here - Guitars - D'Angelico Guitars .
I find string bending so much easier on this guitar - I think the scale length is 24.75" but it might be 25"… I don’t remember for sure.
Good luck with Johnny Be Good!!!
Tod
So Tod you are saying buy electric. Coz an HB or 335 clone is not an acoustic for sure, I have 3!! And 2 run 9.5s and the Gretsch runs 10s. Whole lot easier than bending 12s on my standard acoustics.
But back to what @stitch said it is all about technique. Having the right technique and practice. Yes I struggle with my dreads that all have 12s but I can happily play Keys To The Highway on my PRS Parlour, also 12s and bend to my hearts content but that is down to application and practice.
