[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by muffgoat

Dude buy a set of ernie ball 10-52 slinky top heavy bottoms, a single 65 and a 75 and you will be a very happy man trust me

I would recommend against that idea. I like my idea better. 10-52 is so crazy unbalanced. .052 gauge tuned to E with a baritone scale sounds wicked lame to me. I think the 10-13.5-17-26-34-46-60-72 thing I recommended earlier would feel/sound better.

Also Ernie Ball strings sound good for about 3 days. I wouldn't use those strings Chris.

[ibznorange]

but they are cheap, and therefore you dont feel bad experimenting with gauges so much.
I dont know how much you like drones, but i was thinking about the first song you wrote (the one in F#, iirc) but have you thought of some drone tuning? i was thinking, what if you string it up 70-70-70-70-70-70-70-70, and tuned each string to F#? Eh? Eh? How about 60-62-64-66-68-70-72-74?

ok no just kidding.
I personally like the 10-52's. My custom set for 6 is 10-58, but its not that big of a difference. Yeah, the tensions are unbalanced, but i think they feel/sound better that way. I also prefer the way used up EB's sound to used other brands. And the new sound i vastly prefer, so thats really a preference issue. if you like EB's keep rockin em.
If you like the Skinny top heavy bottoms on a 6, id pick up those and go with a 64 and a 74, much like muffgoat said.

[muffgoat]

Well zimbolth you said you THINK were as i have tried all these different gauges on my rg2228 and i am just stating my honest opinion as to what i have found while tuning it to F standard. So anyone can have a different opinion on this and all i have to say is try them all out, thats the beautiful thing about this guitar is to experiment with it.

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by ibznorange

blah blah blah

Ugh, as usual your posts are full of loss Max

SIT, D'Addarios, and GHS are cheap strings too. He can experiment with any brand, just might be more sensible to do some research and get a set that makes sense (for most of us).

Even if you like light tops/heavy bottoms, the gauges that come in 10-52 sets rarely make any sense. For example, most of them come with a 42-52? The 42 has about 26 pounds of tension, whereas the 52 has 21. That makes no sense guys. A 42 matches up with a 56-58. A .038 is what matches up with a .052. Why would people want their top and bottom strings to be loose but the middle 2 to be tight as fuck?

You generally want them to go up slightly in tension as the strings get thicker. You don't want one being loose, then another tight, then the next loose, then the next tight, etc. Despite what you may convince yourself, sets with consistent tension play and sound better.

Chris flexes at your terrible advice

[dpm]

For Chris I say bump it straight up to an 80 or preferably an 85 if he goes for a 65 B.

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by dpm

For Chris I say bump it straight up to an 80 or preferably an 85 if he goes for a 65 B.

Yeah that's not a bad idea either. For the sake of the neck though, I'd maybe try out something more conservative first. Going from a 65 to 85 without changing the tuning seems extreme to me.

[ibznorange]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

Ugh, as usual your posts are full of loss Max

you're a bastard
I just like the way they feel lol. Maybe you're right on sounds better, i dont know, definately different, but id really have to sit and work on that long and hard to decide if one sounded "better". as far as plays/feels better, i dont think i have to convince myself, as thats so totally preference based what i say goes when it comes to my guitar :crazypillsface:. i dont speak for chris or anyone else on that matter, just myself lol. Im not saying he should do those, i just thought i read somewhere that thats what he likes to use generally, so why not go with that if its what he likes, know what i mean. . If hes used to a balanced set, id say definately go with a balanced set, clearly, as thats what he likes (hypothetically maybe)

and at least when i go to the shop, or look online, EB strings are still cheap as shit compared to anything else. i mean, i havent found a single non EB 7 set under 5 bucks. Unless im just missing shit, they are cheaper, which could be desireable when fucking around until he finds just the right gauges

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by ibznorange

EB strings are still cheap as shit compared to anything else. i mean, i havent found a single non EB 7 set under 5 bucks. Unless im just missing shit, they are cheaper...

Again Max: Full. Of. Loss.

SIT Strings 7-string S71058 .010 - .058...$4.15
D'Addario 7-string XL, .010 - .059...........$5.04
Sfarzo Power 7's 707056 .010 - .056........$4.94
Ernie Ball 7-String Regular .010 - .056......$5.51

Yeah good call Source.

Originally Posted by ibznorange

I just like the way they feel lol. Maybe you're right on sounds better, i dont know, definately different, but id really have to sit and work on that long and hard to decide if one sounded "better". as far as plays/feels better, i dont think i have to convince myself, as thats so totally preference based what i say goes when it comes to my guitar

Dude I'm glad you like what you're used to, that's cool. Everyone has their own preferences in regards to tension, but no one would PREFER to have each string have 5 pounds more/less tension than the next, in a completely random order. It doesn't mean it's not usable, it's just not the best way to go about it. People either want: 1) even tension 2) light top/heavy bottom or 3) tight tops/loose bottoms, but no one wants all over the place at random.

Look at your typical set of Light Top/Heavy Bottom 7-string sets:

16.2
15.3
16.6
25.0
26.2
21.9
17.0

If you can tell me there's any rhyme or reason to that, or any benefit to the wild discrepancy of those tension variations, you're crazy. No one wants their middle strings to be tight and the low/highs to be loose It's just an outdated system.

[Apophis]

There are no reasons and people don't even care from my experience. Only when I told them about that they started notice that differences - that's the worst part

[keithb]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

Also Ernie Ball strings sound good for about 3 days. I wouldn't use those strings Chris.

Slight hijack:

You seem to have paid a lot more attention to strings than I have. I love the way EB strings sound/feel for like 2 days, then you're right - they go to hell. Any suggestions about which other brands I should try that offer reasonably matched tensions and longer life?