mhammond wrote:
first does this result in "softer, more comfortable" strings? Can you really feel it?
Yes. Surprisingly it makes a substantial difference.
mhammond wrote:
Should I go to mediums?
That helps.
mhammond wrote:
Second, how much volume do you really lose? Should I brace more lightly to try and compensate for the loss of "driving" power?
I wouldn't consider it volume, directly, but timbre. The string has less energy, for sure but more so, the string sounds...floppy, for lack of a better term. Some like it! A kind of twang or bong sound more than the ping of a standard length. A well setup guitar doesn't have that much of a diffference in feel.
John McLaughlin, a personal favorite guitarist, had Wechter set up an acoustic at .009's. VERY light for an acoustic. I believe Wechter did in fact lighten the bracing and thinned the top substantially but it still has the loose sound from the strings.
When the string is first struck the momentum of the attack causes a small and very quick "over pitch" that settles into the intended string pitch for the course of the sustained note of the string. Usually it's considered part of the attack and not considered much. In shorter lengths it is a little more pronounced and I think that is what most people reference when hearing a shorter scale.
One can usually hear this in D tunings on a standard length guitar. It gives the guitar a heavier sound. As for volume, that's determined by how much energy someone can put into the instrument with a pick or finger(..or teeth
). I believe the perception of volume has somewhat to do with it as higher strings and tunings come across as more present than the lower registers.