Hallmark 60's Custom & string change problems

[LOSTVENTURE]

I didn't know exactly where to put this question, but since it involves my new 60 Custom I thought this might be appropriate.
I palyed the guitar for two weeks with the GHS 10's that came on it. No problems whatsoever. Then I changed to my ususal set of D'addario 10's and my world fell apart. The neck went straight overnight, no visable relief at all and buzzing and flat string responce, as you would imagine were all over the place. I adjusted the truss rod untill I had some relief, and then a little more because that did not help the problem. I am really afraid to do much more since I don't want to damage that little neck, but right now the guitar is not playable and I'm not happy. Any ideas?
Don

[sleeperNY]

I didn't know exactly where to put this question, but since it involves my new 60 Custom I thought this might be appropriate.
I palyed the guitar for two weeks with the GHS 10's that came on it. No problems whatsoever. Then I changed to my ususal set of D'addario 10's and my world fell apart. The neck went straight overnight, no visable relief at all and buzzing and flat string responce, as you would imagine were all over the place. I adjusted the truss rod untill I had some relief, and then a little more because that did not help the problem. I am really afraid to do much more since I don't want to damage that little neck, but right now the guitar is not playable and I'm not happy. Any ideas?
Don

Not sure how to help you with this. When I got my 60 Custom I changes it out to D'addario115w's and had no problems other than getting the neck adj. to my specs (I never did like the truss rod adj. at the heal of the neck) and the intonation set. Maybe a pro setup is all that it needs. Some can do that themselves and then some can't. If you haven't done it before maybe it should be checked out. It is hard to believe that the brand of strings would make that much difference.

[Veenture]

Yep, Mosrites and Hallmarks tend to have rather little necks and we need to be careful with them, in fact any neck. Have you done any adjustments to the bridge by raising it so that it supports the new strings a little higher away from the fret board?

I have not come to the point yet of changing my GHS 10's that came on mine too so I have no experience in this department but when the need arises, I intend trying some Elixir 10/46’s and if these don’t take well to the Hallmark’s neck, I’ll switch back to GHS 10’s rather than attempt truss rod adjustments etc.
To be fair, I wouldn’t expect any two sets of different brands of 10/46’s to be identical in tension, mass, weight, etc. etc., so it may be a matter of trial and error in finding the right ones to suit your guitar.

Sorry to hear of your disappointment Don Perhaps Johnny (Bob Shade’s assistant) can chime in when he has the time on the forum [moseriteforever] and wise us up on this matter

[edit: Jim's idea of putting on D'addario115w's could do the trick for you too Lostventure and turn it into a 'venture gained'... ]

[LOSTVENTURE]

Thanks SleeperNY. I have made similar adjutments before, but always to much heavier necks (Baja Tele for example). I am talking to a teck that has done good work for me before, and he will probably be the way to go. I'm going to miss this guitar while he has it though. Are you getting a good ballance with the wound 3rd set from D-addario? I was thinking about trying a set on the Custom.
Thanks again, Don

[LOSTVENTURE]

Thanks for the thought Veenture. I have never had this degree of trouble before when changing string manufacturers. I agree that I shouldn't expect the string to have identical specs, and I suspect that the smaller necks might be more sensitive to these types of changes. I rarely deal with the shorter scale neck (I have mostly Fenders) and I have no idea how that might change the situation. I did raise the bridge a little, and call me spoiled, but I don't want to lose that low action that these guitars are known for. I'm talking to a guitar tech that has done some great work for me before, and I'm thinking that he is going to be my best bet. I just hope that I can get the guitar back once he has finished with it. He's an old Ventures fan too, and had not heard of the 60 Custom untill I called him last night. He is in for a pleasant surprise.
Thanks again for you interest.
Don

[Veenture]

...//...I rarely deal with the shorter scale neck (I have mostly Fenders)...//...I did raise the bridge a little, and call me spoiled, but I don't want to lose that low action that these guitars are known for.

That makes two of us! (Fenders ...and 'low action spoiled')

Good luck Don!

[Dennisthe Menace]

Jim had posted:

It is hard to believe that the brand of strings would make that much difference.

I don't think it's the brand that you use as much as the gauge that you are using. D'Addario makes
available 4 or 5 different gauges in the 10 Gauge series alone (as well as the other Manufacturers).
Another words, you can start out with a 10 gauge set, but could end up with a bottom (low E)
any where from a .046, .048 or .052. And the strings inbetween are going have thicker gauges
as well. For example, if you put a set of 10-46 on your guitar, and the neck tension is set up for
say like a 10-52, then your neck is going to start buzzing like a cigarbox full of Bees ......

[LOSTVENTURE]

Good morning Dennis,
I am aware of all of the different varieties of 10's, even just from A'ddario, (I prefer 10-46) but i have never seen the impact on the neck that this change made. Here again, I am more familiar with the longer scale lengths and heavier necks. I'm thinking that Mr. Shade will be able to tell me which set of GHS's he installs on the Hallmarks.
Thanks for reminding me. I may have to alter my thinking on my string of choice.
Don

[Strat-o-rama]

Don,
FWIW, I changed the strings on my 60 Custom to D'Addario 10/46 and had no set-up problems whatsoever. Perhaps something else has changed?

[LOSTVENTURE]

Hi Strat-o-rama,
I was hoping that someone might have done this before me. I'm glad that you had no trouble, and I'm guessint that it's just the nature of wood to react differently to identical situations. By the way, your red guitar is beautiful. That would be my next choice. I was very lucky with my sunburst in that so little of the red shows up that it almost appears to be a two-tone burst rather than a three-tone. I always thought that those old two-toned strats had the perfect look.
Thanks for your time,
Don