saving a thrift store acoustic guitar with just strings

It is sometimes amazing that all it takes to save some guitars is just a new set of strings and nothing else.

Below is a photo of a $7 miniature First Act acoustic guitar bought at a thrift store. Yes, it was really just 7 bucks. The guitar had these awful strings on it and the high-E string was missing.

I am pretty sure this guitar would not be able to handle regular acoustic guitar strings (which usually means the phosphor bronze flavor). But I was certain it would take the silk-and-steel type...

...and I was right.

The strings I installed on this little guy was D'Addario Silk & Steel EJ40. Typically, there's only one set size for this, which is 11-47.

You would think there would be no way a little acoustic could handle 11's, never mind the standard 12's. However, silk & steel is a different type of string. Very soft on the fingers, and the tension is different compared to the phosphor bronze stuff.

The end result is that yes, it worked. I was able to string up that little acoustic (it's basically a 6 string ukulele), and even though it has no truss rod, it does hold tune in standard E and neither the neck nor tuners were overly stressed.

Nothing else was needed on the guitar. It had barely been played and just needed a cleaning.

True, silk & steel doesn't project well and has a decidedly mellow tone to them, but on a little acoustic like this, it's a perfect fit.

What's funny is that the pack of strings cost more than the guitar itself.

Published 2024 Dec 10