# Ideal String Gauge For C Standard/ Drop A# Tuning?



## AtifAzim.1 (Jun 28, 2016)

Hey guys,

How's it going? I'm buying a new guitar soon which i will be using for my bands' stuff and most of our material is in these tunings. When i buy the guitar, i'm going to get it professionally set up but i'm unsure on what strings would be best. 

On my other 6 strings, i've been using 10-52 gauge for quite a few years now and play them in D Standard/ Drop C. Obviously tuning them down makes them feel quite loose but i love the feel and tension of them in the former. 

So i was thinking of going for an 11-56 set. Would that cut it or would i need to go higher? The guitar has a 25.5 scale if that helps. 

Thanks!


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## domsch1988 (Jun 28, 2016)

I currently have my Strat strung with a baritone 13-62 set. I tune to B and C Standard and equivalent Drop Tunings. the 62 for A# and B is fine. For A it's a bit loose. Keep in mind that i tend to like tighter feeling (10-52 for Drop D and E-Standard).
So 11-56 might do the trick, but i personally would go with 12-60, The 60 should work better for A# imho...


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## Mathemagician (Jun 28, 2016)

12-56. Ernie ball makes them (as do a few others). Feels like 10's.


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## BlackFalcon17 (Jun 28, 2016)

I use a set of 13-56 on the same scale length. 11s might be too loose for the top 3 strings, but I guess that's personal preference. A 56 is enough for the A# though.


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## takotakumi (Jun 28, 2016)

12-56 or 13-56 For C standard.
For the A# I would aim for 62 or 64.

I currently have a set of 11-49 plus a 64 for A standard on my Ibanez 1527 and its perfect for me. 64 should work perfect for A# as well.


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## gujukal (Jun 28, 2016)

D'addario 12-60, nuff said. 11-56 works well for drop B or C but are slightly too lose in A# imo.


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## vilk (Jun 28, 2016)

D'Addario makes a Extra Heavy set for C tuning.
I am presently using it for C standard/Drop Bb

It works, but it could be tighter. I think that when the set says "for C tuning" it really means drop C...

Also, the set doesn't come with a wound third. I had to switch it in from a different set. Having a plain third at this tuning sounds terrible. I'm surprised no one has brought it up yet because it seems to be universally recognized as true. 

As someone who plays in this tuning primarily, let me advise that you'd be better off just designing your own custom string set and ordering it online. There's no good pre-packaged set for this tuning that includes a wound third and has gages thick enough for tuning this low without becoming spaghetti. In fact, because I'm too lazy to take the time to design and order a custom pack I've been playing with the same strings for over a year. I need to quit procrastinating. 

But also, I play a gibson scale, which is shorter than a fender scale.


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## gujukal (Jun 29, 2016)

vilk said:


> D'Addario makes a Extra Heavy set for C tuning.
> I am presently using it for C standard/Drop Bb
> 
> It works, but it could be tighter. I think that when the set says "for C tuning" it really means drop C...
> ...



Are u talking about these: D'Addario Strings : XL Nickel Round Wound : EXL148 Nickel Wound, Extra-Heavy, 12-60 ?
I agree with the g-string but I've always preferred the feeling of not having a wound g-string. It's hard to find a set with perfect tension for low drop tunings but D'addario probably makes the best imo. I used to use like 13-70 in drop A# but the tone just gets so dull on the 6th string after just a few days.


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## Lasik124 (Jun 29, 2016)

I use 12-60 for the one guitar I have in drop A#

It's all I've tried, but I dig it.


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## ImBCRichBitch (Jun 30, 2016)

AtifAzim.1 said:


> So i was thinking of going for an 11-56 set. Would that cut it or would i need to go higher? The guitar has a 25.5 scale if that helps.
> 
> Thanks!



Personally, i use 11-54 for standard. I like really tight strings. I feel like these may be a little too light for A#. For A# standard i recommend at least a .70 (i use 17-74 for drop G#) but that may just be personal taste


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## Pav (Jun 30, 2016)

For my 6 tuned to C standard (25.5" scale length), I use Ernie Ball Cobalts 12-56. The tension is almost perfect for me, especially when I replace the elevator cable that is the 3rd string with something wound.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Jul 6, 2016)

If you like the 10-52 set for D standard/drop C, then you'd also like the D'addario 12-60 set for C standard/drop A#  just be sure to swap out the plain 20 with a wound 24 to even everything out and prevent chords from sounding wonky. Plain strings above an 18 always sound weird and overpower the other strings in a given set IME


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## FILTHnFEAR (Jul 6, 2016)

takotakumi said:


> 12-56 or 13-56 For C standard.
> For the A# I would aim for 62 or 64.
> 
> I currently have a set of 11-49 plus a 64 for A standard on my Ibanez 1527 and its perfect for me. 64 should work perfect for A# as well.



What brand are you using? I have a D'Addario baritone set 64-13 with an extra 9 in drop B on my 1527 and can't get the 64 to intonate very well?

Don't know if I have a bad string or what.


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