Orangewood's Melrose Retro acoustics are here: the strings to put on a new acoustic

A new acoustic is only as good as the strings on it. Orangewood just launched three classic shapes at once, so here is how to gauge each one.

By Trace, Catalog desk · Edited by Cadence · 2026-06-26

Orangewood's new Melrose Retro Collection revives three classic acoustic shapes: the Dylan Retro dreadnought, the Nash Retro parlor, and the Brooklyn Retro grand concert. Whichever you buy, the cheapest upgrade that actually changes the tone is a fresh set of strings. Phosphor bronze in a light .012 gauge is the safe default. Match the gauge to the body: lighter on the small parlor, heavier on the dreadnought for full strumming volume.

What Orangewood just launched

Orangewood announced the Melrose Retro Collection on June 23, a trio of acoustics built around the three most enduring body shapes in the genre: the Dylan Retro, a slope-shoulder dreadnought; the Nash Retro, a parlor; and the Brooklyn Retro, a grand concert (Premier Guitar). Each one carries a solid spruce top, a redesigned retro-style headstock with a straighter profile, open-gear tuners, and an LR Baggs pickup, and every guitar ships set up by Orangewood's own technicians with a gig bag in the box (Orangewood). The pitch, in the words of co-founder Eddie Park, is familiar shapes refined rather than reinvented, made accessible for players right now.

A guitar that arrives properly set up is a real head start. But the part of a new acoustic you can change today, for less than the price of a strap, is the strings. And on an acoustic, the strings matter more than they do on almost any electric.

Why strings are the first upgrade on a new acoustic

There are two reasons. First, factory strings are a cost line, not a tone decision. The set on a new guitar was picked to be acceptable, and it may have been sitting on the instrument since it left the factory. A fresh set wakes the top back up. Second, an acoustic has no pickup voicing and no amp to lean on. The string is the sound. Swap a tired set for fresh phosphor bronze and the same guitar plays brighter, louder, and more alive, with no other change.

Phosphor bronze is the default acoustic alloy for a reason: warm, balanced, and long-lived (D'Addario). The brighter, more scooped 80/20 bronze sparkles when new but fades quicker. Coated sets cost more and last several times longer, which is the trade if you gig or sweat (Elixir). For a brand-new guitar you want to hear at its best, start with a quality phosphor bronze light set.

Match the gauge to the body shape

This is where the Melrose Collection turns into a useful teaching tool, because it ships in all three classic shapes at once, and the right string gauge is not the same for each.

A dreadnought, the Dylan Retro here, is the big, loud flat-top. It has the bracing and the air volume to drive medium strings, so a .013 set rewards hard strumming and bluegrass flatpicking with more volume and low-end push. If you fingerpick more than you strum, a light .012 keeps the same guitar easy under the hand.

A parlor, the Nash Retro, is a small body. It sings with light strings and gets stiff and boxy with heavy ones. A light .012, or even a custom light .011, gives the cleanest voice and the friendliest feel, and it keeps tension off a smaller, lighter-built top.

A grand concert, the Brooklyn Retro, sits in the middle: balanced and articulate, the classic fingerstyle and singer-songwriter size. A light .012 is the sweet spot, full enough to strum and clear enough to pick.

Body shape decides the gauge. Lighter on the small parlor, heavier on the dreadnought.
	Dylan Retro (dreadnought)	Nash Retro (parlor)	Brooklyn Retro (grand concert)
Body size	Large, loud	Small, intimate	Mid-size, balanced
Best default gauge	Light .012, or medium .013 for big strumming	Light .012, or custom light .011	Light .012
Plays best for	Flatpicking, bluegrass, loud strumming	Fingerpicking, recording, vocals	Fingerstyle, all-round
Our pick	D'Addario EJ17 medium	D'Addario EJ16 light	Martin SP light

If the Dylan Retro is going to be your strummer, the medium set is the one. And if you play out, a coated set buys you weeks of fresh tone between changes.

Two more worth knowing. For bluegrass and old-time flatpicking, the Martin MA540 Authentic Acoustic is the folk default. And if your new spruce-top sounds a little soft and you want more cut, Ernie Ball's Aluminum Bronze trades some warmth for a drier, brighter projection.

The one rule

Keep it simple. Phosphor bronze, light gauge, fresh out of the pack. Then adjust from there: if you strum hard on the dreadnought, step up to medium; if you gig or sweat, pay up for coated; if your guitar sounds soft, try a brighter alloy. Everything past that is fine-tuning.

A word on tension, because it is the gauge you cannot see. The jump from light to medium is a real change in feel and in the pull on the top. A big dreadnought is built for it. A small parlor is not, so lights are both the safer and the better-sounding call. When in doubt on a new guitar, a light set is never the wrong answer. The Melrose Retros come from Orangewood already set up, so a fresh set of the right gauge is all that stands between the box and the best version of the guitar. For the rest of the week's news, our daily briefing rounds it up, and the full string catalog covers every set by brand.

The day's full briefingToday in guitar, June 26 The workhorse acoustic setD'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze Light The coated option for giggingElixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze

Frequently asked questions

Should I change the strings on a brand-new acoustic guitar?

Usually yes, and soon. Factory strings are chosen to be acceptable, not ideal, and they may have sat in a warehouse for months before you bought the guitar. A fresh set of quality phosphor bronze is the cheapest upgrade that changes how an acoustic sounds, and on a guitar with no pickup or amp to hide behind, the string is the tone.

What gauge strings should I use on a dreadnought versus a parlor?

A dreadnought is large and loud, with the bracing to drive medium .013 strings for big strumming and flatpicking, though a light .012 keeps it playable for fingerstyle. A parlor is a small body that sounds best with light .012 or even custom light .011 strings. Mediums can overdrive a small box and add tension a lightly built guitar does not need.

What is the difference between phosphor bronze and 80/20 bronze acoustic strings?

Phosphor bronze adds a trace of phosphor to the bronze wrap, which gives a warm, balanced tone and a longer usable life. It is the modern default. 80/20 bronze (80 percent copper, 20 percent zinc) is brighter and more scooped when fresh but loses its sparkle faster. For a new acoustic you want to hear at its best, phosphor bronze light is the safe starting point.

Are coated acoustic strings worth the extra cost?

If you gig, sweat through strings, or simply hate restringing, yes. A coated set such as Elixir Nanoweb can hold its tone several times longer than an uncoated set, so the higher price works out cheaper per week of good sound. If you play at home and change strings often anyway, an uncoated phosphor bronze set gives you a touch more openness for less money.

What models are in the Orangewood Melrose Retro Collection?

Three. The Dylan Retro is a slope-shoulder dreadnought, the Nash Retro is a parlor with a 12-fret neck joint, and the Brooklyn Retro is a grand concert. All three have solid spruce tops, a redesigned retro-style headstock, open-gear tuners, and an LR Baggs pickup system, and each ships set up by Orangewood's in-house techs with a gig bag.

Will heavier strings damage a small acoustic guitar?

Heavier strings raise the tension pulling on the top and neck, and a small, lightly braced parlor feels that more than a big dreadnought does. Mediums will not instantly harm a healthy guitar, but on a small body they can stress the top and choke the tone. Light strings are the safer and usually better-sounding choice on anything smaller than a dreadnought.