I have to go regularly to the UK. So that I can practice while I’m there, my sister left my nephew’s old guitar at my Mum’s house. It’s a Schecter Diamond series Damien 6 (see photos).
Anyway, it clearly hasn’t been played in a very long while. It’s very dirty. The strings seem very thick compared to my Tele and Starcaster (0.009-0.42’s), they appear to be coated white and they are rusting and the coating is coming off. The neck feels quite nice but it badly needs new strings, a clean and a setup. The trussrod and action needs adjusting and the intonation is completely out. I’m intending to do this on my next visit. I think it will be OK once I’ve done all that.
Here’s my question: I have no idea what gauge strings are on the guitar. Only that they are thick and horrible. So, when I put on new strings, do I need to put on the same gauge or will be be ok if I just put on lighter strings like on my tele?
Please note that although I’m guessing my nephew wanted to play really heavy stuff (given the guitar style and the strings), he’s not going to play it. So he won’t care if I change the string gauge. Also, I’m just playing it unplugged or possibly through my headphone amp if i can be bothered to take it with me.
This guitar sounded dull and quiet unplugged compared to my Squier tele but that could change with a good setup.
Any suggestions welcome.
p.s. Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos of the bat inlays on the fret board, but they are fun!
Damien 6 has 10 - 46s according to the Schecter webstite, I believe the Diamond range were built in Indonesia but can’t see the gauges being different.
https://www.schecter-guitars.de/en/guitars/damien-series/damien-6
No reason you could not put 9 - 42, or go mid way with some 9.5s ?
Thanks a lot for the reply. Yes, it is built in Indonesia. I think I’ll try and 9-42’s.
A proper setup while changing to 9s will do wonders for the guitar. You change the tension of the neck when you change the gage of the strings, so a setup is normally recommended.
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Did your nephew play doom-metal or other such which had him playing in a very low dropped tuning?
If so, maybe he had thicker strings to compensate for the detuning.
If you’re going to give the whole guitar a spruce up and a setup then buy what you like.
I changed string gauge up and down all a lot while I was searching for my preference. I still do this on a new guitar. I have never had trouble going smaller by one step. It is worth checking your relief once you have the strings on. If the neck got too flat, you’l have some buzzing that can be fixed quickly with a slight turn on the truss rod. If you haven’t done that, it is fairly simple and even though folks claim it is dangerous, they are just not familiar with how to do it - it is fine. Moving two steps, I always needed to adjust the truss rod just a little. Sound like you will be assigning this to a professional, so it should be part of his setup.
My advice is to put on the strings you like and give them a try. If you still think there could be some improvement, then shop a bit and try something new. Note that if it came with 10-46, there are some 9-46 options out there to keep the heavy string the same and lighten the strings you’ll be bengding. I use DR Pure Blues 9-46 on one of my guitars.
If you ever go to bigger strings, be mindful that the nut is cut to allow up to a certain diameter, and going bigger will bind in the nut, and possibly crack it if the string is tightened and doesn’t fit at all.
@Richard_close2u It could be he used drop tuning. I have to say, I was a bit surprised when I saw the guitar as I wasn’t expecting him to be into anything that heavy. The truth will be uncovered when i see him at Xmas!
@sequences Thanks for the advice. No it will not be a professional setup. I’ve set up all my guitars myself and can easily do all the truss rod adjustments, action, intonation etc. It’s just that with my guitars they all came with 9-42’s and I always just put on the same gauge on my guitars as they feel fine to me.
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Sounds like that Damien 6 has been through the wars, but it’s cool you’re giving it a second life! You can totally switch to lighter strings like your 0.009–0.042s without an issue—it’ll just need a proper setup to adjust for the lighter gauge (truss rod, action, intonation, the works). The heavy strings were likely for drop tuning or heavy riffs, but if you’re just playing unplugged or casually, lighter strings will feel way better and probably brighten it up a bit too. After a good clean and setup, it should sound and play much nicer.
