String Tension Super Thread (Got a string question? Post it here!)

I use to do 11-74 and now do 11-70 on a 25.5 scale. It can be done. What you should do is use 5 high tension springs. You can still do it with 4 high tension springs also if you want to keep 4 springs, probably. You shouldn't have to screw the claw in all the way either when doing this.

 

I'm curious what tool people here are using to measure string tension in lbs. I'm thinking of buying one.

 

Ayy that is super helpful. Gonna try that before practice tonight and hit guitar center tomorrow to see if they have a single string available. If not I guess I'll be putting in an order with just strings.

 

Hey, could you please recommend me a set for an 8 string Regius with 27" scale? The low one is probably a 74 now and it feels kinda loose to my taste. I'll be tuning the guitar half step down as well. Thanks in advance!

 

I use 10-59 daddarios on my 7 string in B. Need to tune to A, what's a similar or even something similar but with a heavier bottom I can try? I like daddario and Ernie ball strings the most.

 

My best experience with that tuning was 10-46+64+80. Depends on the feel you want, of course. I current use 60 and 80 on my 28” for B-E, so you could probably go a little lighter, maybe 60-74 or 62-78?

 

I know that this probably isn't an ideal answer but I like my strings to be just right. And I don't mind for them to be a little thicker than usual. I just don't have much experience with baritones and especially on the 8 stringer. I've read that the sets from Ernie Ball and d'Addario are probably the best options when it comes to the tension-gauge relation and I'm talking about the 09-80 sets.

 

11-66 or 11-68. You'll probably need to buy an 11-50 or 11-52 set and a single bottom string unless you're going to small companies like myself, Kalium, String Source, or Stringjoy

 

Thanks. BTW I went to your website listed in your signature and it brought me to some weird chinese site

 

Ha, thanks a ton! hyperlink to old domain, whoops. Fixed

 

I use a 9-80 set in drop-E on my 28” (Stringjoy is my preference, but the NYXL’s are good too). For F# I think 74 is too loose, I like a 76 better. If I were doing F-standard on a 27”, I think I’d personally go 10-46+64+80, but that’s just me.

Stringjoy has a good tension calculator on their site that’s way easier to use than the D’Addario one, you could mess around and see what you think.

Or just listen to @Winspear ’cause he knows his shit

 

I've got a question, I'm thinking this thread might be the right place to post it. So I just got a new 7 string with a Floyd rose, 27" scale, and I'm going to be doing a setup on it, but I'm not too experience with Floyd roses. So the string gauges I'm going with are; .010 .014 .018 .028 .042 .056 .074 and it will be tuned one step down (A standard). I wanted to get some noiseless springs for the Floyd rose, and I'm curious what would be the right kind of springs/tension strength to get, what sort of difference it would make etc. And any other Floyd rose tips are welcomed.

 

Any tension springs will work but medium or heavy duty is probably what you're looking for. It's more of a feel thing on how you want it to respond to your playing and to the trem bar. You can use different combinations to get the feel you want too like 3,4, or 5 springs parallel or v patterns etc.. You can also use regular springs and just put a piece of foam in there to dampen them too instead of spending extra on noiseless springs. Normally the tensions are just a different number of winds on the spring like 36,37, 39, 41 winds etc. If you want a good stability and a trem bar that isn't to stiff you may want to try 3 or 4 39's with either 3 in the v pattern or 4 in the parallel pattern without a middle spring. It's very subjective and takes a bit of experience in getting use to what feels like what. I'd probably buy a few 37's and a few 39's and experiment form there. A 36 or 37 in the center and a couple 39's for the v caould work well too. The spring claw tensioner compensates for this too.

 

Also, changing strings, tuning, and springs all together, you’ll need to take the time to balance the trem. Like @c7spheres said above, you can play with the number of springs, orientation, and the claw til you find the right balance (pun intended)

 

No kidding, this can be a huge pain in the ass to get it right, especially when first learning how to do it or how a particular guitar responds to a particular setup. This is exactly the kind of thing that makes people hate trems and give up on them. If one can get past these hurdles then they have truely aquired a valuable skill and much better options and tuning stability.

 

Hi, I am purchasing a new guitar, and I wanted to make a bit more scientific decision about the strings. Or to be more aware of what I'm doing.

1st question re 7 string I already own - 25.5 scale, A standard / sometimes drop G.
I have always been using Ernie Ball strings, 10-52 set + something around 0.70 for 7th string. For a second I was considering trying 10-48, but a) I hit those strings rather hard, b) sometimes I drop E string do C, and c) - I think I need this ~0.70 to make the low A work, not to mention drop G. I think I have 0.72 string at the moment, to be precise. So am I correct to think I should stick to 10-52 set?

If yes, I think I'd like to try Daddario strings, their set seems to be better balanced with 0.17 G string. After checking this in some tension calculator, EB seems to have this to thick - and now I think it is noticeable.

2nd re 6 string I am ordering - also 25.5 scale. Probably this will be in C# standard.
Natural thing to consider seems to be 11-56 set from Daddario. But I wouldn't like to have the strings to tight. will this be similar feel to 10-52 in D standard? Because 10-52 does work in drop C tuning if it has to (although it is a bit loose), so I thought 11-54 would be better - but I really wanted to try Daddarios, and they don't make such set.

 

How many of you use 9-42's in E standard on 25.5 inch 6 strings? Been thinking about making the switch for a while, I made the change a while back to 9-46 because the high strings started digging into my fingers and became uncomfortable to play when I became busy with life and started playing guitar less frequently.

Is there really any drawback to using 9's over 10's? I've seen a lot of people go on about how you get less toanzzz when using thinner strings, but is it really that noticeable or something that just gets peddled by blues dads?

 

I use fat strings, but check out YouTube for Rick Beato. Someone just posted this somehwere else here. He just did a big video about this with a/b comparisons and a really good unbiased way of doing it too. They all favor thinner strings. Between 9 and 10 isn't a big deal. It's a personal preference thing.

 

Yeah, I saw that video and that's kinda what made me start thinking about changing, because I'm using 9-46 anyways and want something that's easier to play and bend on. Guess there's no real point in asking since string gauge is all subjective, but I'm interested in seeing if somebody else is thinking about making the change to 9's.

 

Not to sound rude, not my intention, but 9-46 is really slinky stuff. It doesn't get much lighter than that other than 8's. Maybe you gotta toughen up your fingers and hands and get some more calluses on them or something. If anything it's and excuse to play a lot more. I know everyone is different, but I'm on 11-70's on a seven string. 11-56 for the first 6 string. To me 9-46 would be way to thin. If you're otherwise happy with everything other than the bending stuff you may want to just play and practice more to get the strench and calluses built up.
- Have you tried fatter strings? You might posibly like them more. I find that the really thin stuff actually does hurt more and cuts into my fingers more but that also kind of depends on the tension put upon them.
- If you have a Floyd or tremolo guitar you can adjust the spring tension or number of springs also to make bending easier too. Look at Yngwie Malmsteens guitar. I think he only uses 2 springs on his trem's so those massive bends would be really easy doing it that way. Almost no tension and less finger pain.