# Ideal tension per string



## Delta (Aug 6, 2013)

Hey guys, For those of you who are as nutty as i am about proper gauge and tension for our guitars using STC and other tools, what have you found to be the ideal tension per string for your guitars? Too high and it might snap/be hard to do bends/lose bite(especially with the lower strings for rhythm parts), too loose and you lose chord/riff clarity and the strings get caught in the pick if you don't have the right technique when going fast. 

I am playing in a custom tuning based on drop A# and am going to get some singles pretty soon, this is what im thinking of getting:

len 25.5"

D4 .013" dapl == 21.75#
A3 .018" dapl == 23.4#
F3 .024" danw == 22.3#
A2# .040" danw == 26.89#
F2 .052" danw == 24.71#
A1# .066" danw == 18.28#

total == 137.33#

Obviously this was done under the assumption that 20ish lbs would be the optimal tension.

Anyways, looking forward to your guys' feedback


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## ghost_of_karelia (Aug 6, 2013)

As far as I know (knowledge built on feedback from other guitar players I'm friends with) there is not really any universal "ideal string tension". People use different string gauges contingent to the parameters of their chosen playing style. Where one player might react in the typical "holy crap dude how can you play with your strings like that" way, another player might reply "I've been through loads of gauges and this just feels best for me and does wonders for my tone". 

Personally, I'm a fan of really heavy gauges. I like a lot of give with my strings (without getting ridiculous and doing a quarter bend every time I fret a note) because it feels less rigid and less of a crucible on my fingertips. For example, I play C standard (CFBbEbGC) with .013 - .062, whereas my friend who also plays in that tuning favours .012s, or even .011s on occasion.

Try a few different gauges and a few different tensions and see what's best for you dude.


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## mongey (Aug 6, 2013)

I like pretty standard sets . 10's on 25.5 . so whats that ? 15 to 16 on the high strings 18 to 20 on low . I dont really like the balanced thing . too many years playing unbalanced I guess . I can see in theory why its better but I dont have a reason to change 

on my 7 I have found after much experimenting I actually like light ont he lowest. around 15 to 17 for my low B so a 56 or 59 gauge depending on what set I have up my sleeve . I like the attack on the low notes more and I like the bendy feel on the low notes


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## potatohead (Aug 6, 2013)

Personal preference really. I like around 13 on the highest, going up to about 18-19 on the A, and then back to about 17 on the lowest. On a 7 the lowest is usually around 17 also. Usually ends up being a custom hybrid type set. Honestly I don't notice a huge difference in feel between say 17 and 20 lbs on the A and D strings, but on the plains and the lowest string even a couple pounds feels way different.

That set you have shown there is crazy tension. My sevens don't total that much string tension and they have an extra string


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## Delta (Aug 6, 2013)

potatohead said:


> Personal preference really. I like around 13 on the highest, going up to about 18-19 on the A, and then back to about 17 on the lowest. On a 7 the lowest is usually around 17 also. Usually ends up being a custom hybrid type set. Honestly I don't notice a huge difference in feel between say 17 and 20 lbs on the A and D strings, but on the plains and the lowest string even a couple pounds feels way different.
> 
> That set you have shown there is crazy tension. My sevens don't total that much string tension and they have an extra string



Whoops, i pasted an older revison, this is the one im most likely gonna go with:

D4 .012" dapl == 18.53#
A3 .016" dapl == 18.49#
F3 .024" danw == 22.3#
A2# .038" danw == 24.22#
F2 .052" danw == 24.71#
A1# .066" danw == 18.28#

total == 126.54#

What is your overall tension? And before i was using DDT's 13-65 set for the lower strings, and the 5th string(F) had a 56 which was giving me about 29 lbs of tension in drop A#, and i was even using it for drop c at one point(I had to stop because there was no attack/bite)... So im gonna see how a 52 works out for me.


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## Yo_Wattup (Aug 6, 2013)

Delta said:


> Whoops, i pasted an older revison, this is the one im most likely gonna go with:
> 
> D4 .012" dapl == 18.53#
> A3 .016" dapl == 18.49#
> ...



That sort of tension is pretty insane for me... I mean how do you bend over 1.5 steps? Heres what I like: 

(step down tuning)

len 25.5"

D4 .010" DAPL == 12.87#
A3 .013" DAPL == 12.21#
F3 .017" DAPL == 13.15#
C3 .030" DANW == 19.87#
G2 .042" DANW == 20.89#
D2 .054" DANW == 19.19#

total == 94.22#

and the seventh string:

A1 .074" DANW == 20.15#

I use Daddario EXL140-8 set and toss the 7th string.


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## InfinityCollision (Aug 6, 2013)

The light tension on your low Bb is a little weird. It's common to many production sets, but you may find a higher tension feels better and more balanced.


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## edsped (Aug 6, 2013)

I like really light strings, 10s or sometimes 9s in D, 8s in E, 11s in C#. So I'm guessing around 10 on the two highest strings and then around 12 on the rest.


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## potatohead (Aug 6, 2013)

Delta said:


> Whoops, i pasted an older revison, this is the one im most likely gonna go with:
> 
> D4 .012" dapl == 18.53#
> A3 .016" dapl == 18.49#
> ...



Overall tension I believe is 96 lbs in E on a six. I use a 9-46 set but swap the 11 for a 12. Then all my other (five I think) tunings I base off that. On my sevens I throw on a 60 in B and a 68 in A. 

I find most sets made for drop tuning have massive tension on the A and D strings and then really low tension on the low string. You have found the same it seems.


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## guitarfreak1387 (Aug 7, 2013)

Its all a matter of preference. 

me personally, i like to gradually build up tension since i do enjoy bends, each string adds 1lb of tension till my A hits 19.5 lbs, from there my E and B stay in the 19lbs range. If im changing tuning with another guitar i try to stay as close to that tension as i can so it feel more natural.


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## Curt (Aug 7, 2013)

I prefer to keep my top 3 close to 18 lbs and my bottom 3 close to 20 lbs. 

I have yet to figure out a set that would land me there in my current Drop A# tuning.


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## AxeHappy (Aug 7, 2013)

My 7 strings go this:
len 25.5"

E .010" PL == 16.21#
B, .014" PL == 17.84#
G, .018" PL == 18.58#
D, .026" NW == 18.41#
A,, .036" NW == 19.54#
E,, .050" NW == 20.46#
B,,, .070" NW == == 22.93#
total == 133.96

and my 6ers go:
len 25.5"

E .010" PL == 16.21#
B, .014" PL == 17.84#
G, .018" PL == 18.58#
D, .026" NW == 18.41#
A,, .036" NW == 19.54#
E,, .050" NW == 20.46#
total == 111.03#


Which is lighter than I use to go. Except for the 7th string which used to be a .065.


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## TRENCHLORD (Aug 7, 2013)

I like the wounds around 18s-20s and my plains around 13s-14s pounds.


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## Delta (Aug 7, 2013)

Yo_Wattup said:


> That sort of tension is pretty insane for me... I mean how do you bend over 1.5 steps? Heres what I like:
> 
> (step down tuning)
> 
> ...



The trick is that i don't do bends over 1.5 

Im not going to be playing shows with this set, Im gonna be tracking guitars for my main project, so i need my lower chords to come out crystal clear, so basically im sacrificing playability for tone

And it seems that most of you guys have around 12-14lbs for your plain strings, perhaps i should go the same route


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## potatohead (Aug 7, 2013)

Delta said:


> The trick is that i don't do bends over 1.5
> 
> Im not going to be playing shows with this set, Im gonna be tracking guitars for my main project, so i need my lower chords to come out crystal clear, so basically im sacrificing playability for tone
> 
> And it seems that most of you guys have around 12-14lbs for your plain strings, perhaps i should go the same route



I tried using an 11 set in E std on 25.5 once and I could barely even bend the damn things . I seriously was worried the high e was going to snap doing a bend. I can see using that much tension being easier for sweeps with the picking hand or something but I'm not really a shredder and I like to bend, so I keep it in the 13 lb range.


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## Given To Fly (Aug 8, 2013)

I had 11's - 94's on my 27" scale length 8 string for a little while. I have no idea what the tension amounted to but my fingers will attest to the fact it wasn't "ideal." It did make every other guitar easy to play though!


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