What causes a guitar to ring out, or sound real bright?
 

I'm not really getting the sound that I want from this acoustic guitar that I have. It's like the sound really rings out, or sounds really bright when you play it. It sounds like it's amplified a tad and you can hear every imperfection in what you are playing, including the sound of your hands sliding up and down the strings. I know that you can hear that on any guitar if you're sliding your fingers up or down the strings, but it's even louder sounding on this guitar and I don't like it. I guess I want a deeper, warmer, bassier type of a sound (not sure how to describe it).

Anyway, I was told that it could be the strings causing it to ring out like that - the fact that they are made of bronze. I had Ernie Ball stings on them which are pretty popular strings. I've tried lite and extra lite, both ring out like that. then I tried Darco acoustic lite strings from Martin & Co. which are Phosphor Bronze. Again, they ring out real bright. What causes this, is it the fact that the strings are bronze? And if so, what other kind of strings are there?

Thanks

New strings always sound like that. Play them for a few days and they'll warm up.
Also, use Fastfret GHS Fast Fret Cleaner For Stringed Instruments at zZounds
That will smooth things out when sliding.

What guitar is it?

Yep, new strings usually do that, so you'll just have to wear them out a bit.

If you're looking for a deeper richer tone, FD's advise is always good, heavier gauge strings, or maybe try a Nylon string guitar. Even with brand new strings on one the tone is quite a bit mellower than a traditional steel string acoustic.

For an acoustic, if this is your problem, get Elixir strings. With those, you can slide your fingers all over the damn place, and it's not going to make too much noise. I promise. They're not cheap, but they're worth it. My acoustic gets nothing but Elixir.

I just wanted to update my post here. It's been at least three months, so I've definitely had plenty of time to wear the new strings in and I still hate the way it sounds when I play it. It still rings out and sounds very bright when I play it so it wasn't the fact that the strings were new that made it ring out.

I've played other acoustic guitars and they don't ring out like that. Even my brother's acoustic doesn't sound like that and he uses the same stings as me (Ernie Ball). So, it must just be the guitar. It's a Fender dg20ce. It is an acoustic/electric, but I don't ever play it plugged in.

I asked them when I bought it if it would sound different (unplugged) than an ordinary acoustic since it was an acoustic/electric and they said it wouldn't. So now I'm wondering if they were wrong. Do acoustic/electric sound brighter and ring out more when played unplugged than an ordinary acoustic? And if anyone has had any experience with a Fender dg20ce, did you notice them sounding a little brighter when you played them?

Thanks

It's the wood and construction of an acoustic that determines it's sound, not the fact that it's acoustic/electric or otherwise. Fender acoustics are not something I'm really fond of, it's generally accepted that they don't sound too great, a shame because I really like their electrics (I'm getting a Jaguar and I've been playing a Telecaster for 5 years.)

I'm in the opposite situation. My guitar is too mellow. It's an old Yamaha acoustic. My friend also owns a Fender DG acoustic. When we play together his guitar totally overshadows mine, it's so zingy and trebly. I actually want a guitar like the Fender DG. That kind of guitar also works better in recording when an acoustic needs to integrate with other band instruments (like durms and bass).

Personally, I always found the Ernie Ball strings to be really twangy. You could try a phosphor-bronze string, or a brand like Martin Marquis.

Other than that, if it is primarily the guitar causing it to be really bright and ringy, you could try putting a bit od felt under the strings, right against the bridge. It will deaden the sound a bit, but at the very least it will not be ringy.

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In my experience, this type of problem is not the strings or guitar but the owner. Solution: Have more than one guitar.