# String Guage (C standard tuning)



## xtoller (Sep 16, 2010)

Hi All, 

I know this topic has been overwhelm in here.

Just want to ask for other's advise about my guitar set up.

I m currently using ESP LTD MH 301. 

I plan to detune it to C standard. 

What string gauge should i use?

here's the spec for the guitar 

 Construction: Neck-thru body
 Scale: 25.5 in.
 Body: Mahogany sides w/quilted Maple top

thank you so much.


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## Rook (Sep 16, 2010)

What sort of Tension do you like on your strings? Do you use 9's in standard?

If you do, then I'd probably go 10-52 for the chunky low end. If your feeling braze, D'Addario's just brought out the 'Extra Heavy' 12-60 which is 'optimised for drop c'...

Make of it what you will... I'd go 10-52 though. 12-60 will make your trem really stiff.

DAddarioFretted Strings » Electric Strings » XL Nickel Round Wound » EXL148 Extra Heavy 12-60


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## Leuchty (Sep 16, 2010)

12-60?  I had 12-54's Ernie Balls and they were too tight.

10-52's is the way to go


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## Rook (Sep 16, 2010)

CYBERSYN said:


> 12-60?  I had 12-54's Ernie Balls and they were too tight.
> 
> 10-52's is the way to go



I do agree...


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## xtoller (Sep 16, 2010)

Acutally i have maked my floyd rose to a fix bridge.. currently .. i'm using 10-56... but my low e is kinda too loose for my taste... 

is that suppose to be loose .. or is there anything i can do with it ?

thank you so much


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## abstract (Sep 16, 2010)

No way guys. 10s are way too light for C standard. Drop C and they _might_ be ok. 11-52 or 12-54.

EDIT: If your low E is too loose as a 56, there must be something wrong with your setup. Take it to a guitar tech if you can.


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## Rook (Sep 16, 2010)

Loose? In standard tuning?

Are you a sasqwatch?


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## Rook (Sep 16, 2010)

Shit C-Standard, was totally talking about drop C.

12's dude, for sure, 12-60 might just be a win, lol.

And set up or not, if string is a certain gauge, it has to be at a certain tension to be tuned to whatever it is. Setting it up differently won't change that, the only way to increase the tension is tuning higher or putting on a thicker string. Or making the scale length longer, lol, but if the scale was 'wrong' the guitar wouldn't be intotated.


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## xtoller (Sep 16, 2010)

i have it set up to c standard with 10-56 everything is ok except the my low C ... that's why i was wondering .. I brought it to a guitar tech to change the tension of my truss rod .. and he did change the tension and setup my guitar.. that's why i was wonder if it's really like that .. or is my guitar not suitable for detune ( that will be sux)


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## Rook (Sep 16, 2010)

It's not really possible for a guitar not to be suitable to detune as long as you're not going down to F or something. It's just a matter of getting the tension where you're happy with it.

Go for the 12-60's, that should do it. You've got a 25.5 inch scale, so you may need some chunky strings, but it'll be fine when you've got them. That 60's a bit of a beast!


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## xtoller (Sep 16, 2010)

thank you so much ... 

so with 12- 60.. there should be any more truss rod adjustment?


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## groph (Sep 16, 2010)

I'd use 12-54 and get a wound G, or use 13-56.


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## xtoller (Sep 16, 2010)

Thank you all.. so much ...


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## Rex Rocker (Sep 16, 2010)

I use the EXL110-7 set for C Standard myself. I obviously get rid of the 10 gauge, so it's basically a 13-59.


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## Philligan (Sep 16, 2010)

I know Zakk Wylde's with Dunlop now and not GHS, but does he still have his 10-60 set? If so, that would seem to satisfy your low end needs and keep your usual high end.


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## 4Eyes (Sep 17, 2010)

I use 11-54, with 60 for the low E string in dropped C, but I have a fixed bridge and I like when the strings are heavy (now I have kinda heavy gauge on the guitar 11-17-26-36-46-58, but it's good only for rhytm playing..Gstring is so tight that it's hard to bend it one tone up.) so... I would try 11-54 or maybe 12-56 or something like that for standard C on the guitar with trem.


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## Rook (Sep 17, 2010)

xtoller said:


> thank you so much ...
> 
> so with 12- 60.. there should be any more truss rod adjustment?



Yes. If you add tension the strings, as I said earlier, by tuning them up or making them thicker, you would have to add tension to the trem (but yours is blocked, so no worries) and to the neck. It's a delicate balance.


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 17, 2010)

I, personally (I'm not saying you should go out and buy the following guage of string since It's just my taste, yours could be different), would use 12-59 for C Standard.


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## MJS (Sep 17, 2010)

I have 11-52s on a 24.75" scale guitar tuned to C# standard and I like it, so it's probably what I'd use on a 25.5" scale tuned to C. 

That might be light for you since I usually put 9-42s on 25.5" and 9.5-44s on 24.75" guitars for standard tuning.

I haven't tried them yet, but I just got a pack of D'Addario EXL148 (12-60) that I'm hoping I'll like for B standard (24.75"). They're the ones that say "For Drop C Tuning" on the front of the package, so those might be okay for you. 

Here's the tension info from the back of the package.

.012 - 14.69 pounds
.016 - 14.66
.020 - 14.44
.034 - 21.12
.046 - 20.99
.060 - 20.46

Those specs are based on a 25.5" scale tuned to C F A# D# G C.


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## loktide (Sep 17, 2010)

10-52 won't work for C standard tuning. especially the .17 gauge on the 3rd string will have way too little tension and may sound awkward 

i'd go AT LEAST with a .11 or .12 set (or higher if you like tight strings)


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## fuzzboy (Sep 17, 2010)

I like Daddario 13's for C standard on 25.5


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## ittoa666 (Sep 17, 2010)

These. Matt Pike uses them for this exact tuning.


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## Toshiro (Sep 17, 2010)

I use 11-56 in C standard.


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## Andromalia (Sep 17, 2010)

Gonna try those ones for B standard, just waiting for the post.


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 17, 2010)

loktide said:


> 10-52 won't work for C standard tuning. especially the .17 gauge on the 3rd string will have way too little tension and may sound awkward
> 
> i'd go AT LEAST with a .11 or .12 set (or higher if you like tight strings)



This, this, this and this.

Also, You'll most likely have tuning problems on a hard-tailed guitar with 10's in C. Unless you have Locking tuners, You're going to be in 'flopsville' and the soundtrack is a broken record  ie. out of tune every 30 seconds


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 17, 2010)

MJS said:


> I have 11-52s on a 24.75" scale guitar tuned to C# standard and I like it, so it's probably what I'd use on a 25.5" scale tuned to C.
> 
> That might be light for you since I usually put 9-42s on 25.5" and 9.5-44s on 24.75" guitars for standard tuning.
> 
> ...



11-52 in C# on a 24.75" scale guitar is like using 14-62 (slight exaggeration, probably) for C standard on a 25.5" scale guitar, from personal experiences. On shorter scale guitars you're free to use smaller strings you usually wouldn't use for the tuning in question. ie if I got myself a Gibson Flying V in vintage white yum I'd use 10-46 for D standard or 8-42 for Eb. Maybe it's just me. Maybe this is off-topic. Maybe.


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## Toshiro (Sep 17, 2010)

CrushingAnvil said:


> 11-52 in C# on a 24.75" scale guitar is like using 14-62 (slight exaggeration, probably) for C standard on a 25.5" scale guitar, from personal experiences. On shorter scale guitars you're free to use smaller strings you usually wouldn't use for the tuning in question. ie if I got myself a Gibson Flying V in vintage white yum I'd use 10-46 for D standard or 8-42 for Eb. Maybe it's just me. Maybe this is off-topic. Maybe.



What?

The shorter the scale, the lower the tension. So 10-52 in C# on a 24.75" would be like 10-52 in C standard on a 25.5" scale. The 25.5" scale guitar has more tension, not less.


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## MJS (Sep 17, 2010)

CrushingAnvil said:


> 11-52 in C# on a 24.75" scale guitar is like using 14-62 (slight exaggeration, probably) for C standard on a 25.5" scale guitar, from personal experiences. On shorter scale guitars you're free to use smaller strings you usually wouldn't use for the tuning in question. ie if I got myself a Gibson Flying V in vintage white yum I'd use 10-46 for D standard or 8-42 for Eb. Maybe it's just me. Maybe this is off-topic. Maybe.



That's backwards -- but even reversed, the tension difference between the two scale lengths isn't as drastic as the jump from 11s to 14s. 

In regular E standard tuning, 9s on a 25.5" inch scale will be closer to 9.5s or even 10s on a 24.75" inch scale (I use the 9.5s).

I believe Yngwie uses 8-46 on a 25.5" scale @ Eb, but that seems like it would be really loose on the shorter scale--unless that's how you like it. 



Toshiro said:


> What?
> 
> The shorter the scale, the lower the tension. So 10-52 in C# on a 24.75" would be like 10-52 in C standard on a 25.5" scale. The 25.5" scale guitar has more tension, not less.



 

I never did a side-by-side comparison with the two scale lengths, same string gauge on both, then try to match the tension by tuning down the 25.5"... but about a 1/2 step would seem about right to me.

I don't like floppy or super-tight strings, so I just guessed when I got the 11-52s for C# (24.75"). 

I did tune it up to Eb with them on there and that was much tighter than I like it. Drop C was okay, though.


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## xtrustisyoursx (Sep 17, 2010)

Toshiro said:


> I use 11-56 in C standard.



ditto


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## abstract (Sep 17, 2010)

fuzzboy said:


> I like Daddario 13's for C standard on 25.5



Try Ernie Ball. So much better for low tunings. You could easily drop to 12s.


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 18, 2010)

Toshiro said:


> What?
> 
> The shorter the scale, the lower the tension. So 10-52 in C# on a 24.75" would be like 10-52 in C standard on a 25.5" scale. The 25.5" scale guitar has more tension, not less.



I realize this is the general consensus (and is a fact) but that's just how I approach things, it's how I interpret playing on one scale guitar then switch to another, 'regular' scale guitars just feel looser. I'm not trying to change the facts, but possibly other people might be like me in this respect.

I think OP has got an idea of his string guage now


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## CrushingAnvil (Sep 18, 2010)

abstract said:


> Try Ernie Ball. So much better for low tunings. You could easily drop to 12s.



For You, maybe.


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## Mexi (Sep 18, 2010)

11-56 most definitely.


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## irolis (Sep 18, 2010)

13-56 is what most C'ers that I know use,but spend some $20 or so on experimenting

I even think 11-52 is too sloppy for standard(especially low E),and these have a high 'they're going to snap right in your face before you get in tune!' so I would just go baritone for anything under D but that's a whole differen type of investment!


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## TXDeathMetal (Sep 18, 2010)

I use D'Addario 10-52 for C standard and I've never had a problem but I also don't like my string tension to be too tight nor too loose so it's like good medium tension and is comfortable to me, but really it's all subjective to personal preference so I'd say to just experiment around until you find something you like.


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## Rex Rocker (Sep 18, 2010)

abstract said:


> Try Ernie Ball. So much better for low tunings. You could easily drop to 12s.


What makes Ernie Balls better in lower tunings?


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## All_¥our_Bass (Sep 18, 2010)

Try swapping out your low string for something bigger, like a 58 or 60.

I personally like a 65 for C though, but I'm a bit of a freak that way.


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## Selkies (Sep 19, 2010)

Honestly it's gonna come down to what feels best. I use a set of beefy slinkys (11 to 54 in drop Bb and it hold well, I've always liked a little loose feeling and my playing style has adapted. It's all personal preference. Would I use 12s if I could? Absolutely. But I was lucky enough to grab a Ibanez RGA121 prototype from the hoshino USA factory up the street cause I know employees. That Gibraltar bridge is a struggle to get a 54 in without filing it at all.


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## abstract (Sep 19, 2010)

Rex Rocker said:


> What makes Ernie Balls better in lower tunings?



I think the tension of an EB string of the same gauge of a D'Addario in the same tuning is higher. EBs are supposedly the tensest strings on the spectrum, and D'Addarios are all the way at the other end. I didn't believe it'd make much difference, but I wanted to try something new when I bought my first set. It was actually very noticeable....whatever it is.


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## Duke318 (Sep 19, 2010)

Ernie Ball Power slinkies (yellow pack, .11 - .54) in D standard on 26.5 scale. Beastly!


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## Hallic (Sep 20, 2010)

just get .012 0.016 and 0.020p(or a .022w/.024w) for the first three plain string, they will have excelent  tension 

for the bottom, at least something with a .060 on the 6th string


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