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

[Drazzirg]

Yeah. I use 25.5 scale guitars. As long as it's properly set up, you have no worries.

The idea of properly set up scares me a little as I have little to no experience in setting up my guitars. I guess I could always ask Guitar Center if they could set my guitar up for Drop C with a low G. I think..

 

[vampiregenocide]

The idea of properly set up scares me a little as I have little to no experience in setting up my guitars. I guess I could always ask Guitar Center if they could set my guitar up for Drop C with a low G. I think..

Yeah if you're not sure what you're doing, get is set up by a proper guitar tech. Like I said, a 70 or so should be good for a G, and a set of 11s/12s for the rest. Then you can go from there and decide if you want any of them to be thicker/lighter.

 

[teamSKDM]

Just put the high six strings n drop c, and the top string to G.. I am confused what your problem is. Youve got a hardtail guitar, So all youve got to do is just turn your tuners. And any time you wanna play in drop g, just turn the 6th string up to D, for any 7 string drop G songs, and if you wanna play drop c six string songs, frop it down into drop C then. Thats what I do with my string thru, lol. Im very confused to your problem.

 

[Drazzirg]

Just put the high six strings n drop c, and the top string to G.. I am confused what your problem is. Youve got a hardtail guitar, So all youve got to do is just turn your tuners. And any time you wanna play in drop g, just turn the 6th string up to D, for any 7 string drop G songs, and if you wanna play drop c six string songs, frop it down into drop C then. Thats what I do with my string thru, lol. Im very confused to your problem.

I just assume that you don't have the best intonation? There is no problem. Just asked about gauges and how I would go about setting it up with the best intonation and least amount problems.

 

[vampiregenocide]

Just put the high six strings n drop c, and the top string to G.. I am confused what your problem is. Youve got a hardtail guitar, So all youve got to do is just turn your tuners. And any time you wanna play in drop g, just turn the 6th string up to D, for any 7 string drop G songs, and if you wanna play drop c six string songs, frop it down into drop C then. Thats what I do with my string thru, lol. Im very confused to your problem.

If you don't have the proper gauges, the strings will be floppy and the intonation will be off. Plus, changing tuning all the time without proper set ups is't great for a neck.

 

[teamSKDM]

Very true, But i mean hes only changing one step, On one string. He doesnt have to go through all this work and money Its very simple to do all of that stuff at home as far as setting up your guitar as well, just look it up!

 

[Drazzirg]

Very true, But i mean hes only changing one step, On one string. He doesnt have to go through all this work and money Its very simple to do all of that stuff at home as far as setting up your guitar as well, just look it up!

One step is a pretty big deal on a 7 String that is 25.5" scale. Especially since I play .08s and don't know what gauges to use.. That's the big deal. And I am dropping every string a whole step by the way. Standard to Drop C is a whole step on the first 6 strings besides the Dropped C. Then my Standard Low B has to be dropped as well to either A or G, haven't decided which is more logical.

 

[guitarister7321]

I use a 68/70 for G on my 7 strings.

I was planning on using D'Addario Chromes flatwounds, which come in .065 then the next gauge is .075. Is .075 too much, even for G? I don't want my neck to turn into a boomerang.

 

[teamSKDM]

wait, so your tuning will be Drop c, with a G on top of it? so you have 2 dropped strings? is the c going to be dropped forever????

 

[Drazzirg]

wait, so your tuning will be Drop c, with a G on top of it? so you have 2 dropped strings? is the c going to be dropped forever????

Every string will be getting tuned down. Since I am regularly in standard. Drop C is the new tuning with a low G because the G will be a nice tone to fit in on the low string.

 

[UnderTheSign]

My friend wants to tune BEAD on his (I believe 34") Epi Thunderbird IV... Any idea what gauges he's gonna need, and if there are any regular string packages availble for that?

 

[that short guy]

Hey I just got a few of the Ernie Ball 8 String slinky from a friend and before i throwthem on my 7 I wanted to know if anyone knew anything about them or had any experiences with them. the guages seems like it'd be perfect for my taste leaving off the 8th string (10-13-17-30-42-54-64-74) but if anyone can tell me how these things hold up to the beatings I'd really appreciate it

 

[Indigenous]

Alrighty, so I have an old beater Schecter Diamond Series 7 as my very first seven string. I'm replacing electronics and pretty much everything I can, but I'm having issues with tonality on my low A string (I keep it in drop A). The string doesn't seem to ring as loud or nearly as long as any of my other strings. When I just play an open A chord, I hear the E and higher A strings much much more than the low A string. Any ideas? I recently put in a .65 gauge string for my low A, and I'm wondering if maybe I needed to file the nut to make it fit better.

Thanks!

 

[masterdebradwic]

I would say either file the nut or shim the nut possible. Those two seem to solve the problem for me.

 

[JDwayne]

The first thing that came to mind for me was the gauge of that low A string. It's so thick it's probably hitting the frets thus losing its momentum. Try thinner strings. I use the D'addario Super Lights on my 7 string and I love them because they ring longer. Also, it could be your action..

 

[Explorer]

So, is that low string's tension consistent with the tension across the rest of the instrument?

For example, what is the gauge of your highest string?

Your lowest course will barely be at the same tension as your high E... if you're using a .0095 string.

Even worse, if you're using anything heavier as your top string, then you've given your low A the least tension out of all the strings on your guitar.

It seems that every time I ask for the the complete set of string gauges so I can give suggestions about how to change the string set to optimize the tensions, no one ever provides the full information, so I'll just suggest you will have to go higher at the bottom.

Good luck!

 

[Ishan]

File the nut, and change brand of strings. I had the problem with my low string (low F#/E on my 8) and went from GHS to Elixir for that one string, it sounded a lot better.

 

[Greatoliver]

I find my low A string to be pretty loud, I use a 70 elixir at 25.5".

I higher tension string should oscillate less, I think, so there will be less buzz. However, it may be choking out. They do have more mass, so should be louder, so I would suggest using a thicker string.

Also, try raising the pickup on the lower strings side - it may be that it is lower, so there is less volume.

 

[pero]

I had the same issue with my Ibby apex2, which is also tom bridge guitar.
I always tune to drop A, and when I put a 0.11 - 0.60 set on it the the A string sounded like it was being choked.
So, I brought it to a pro for a setup , he just adjusted the action on the bridge,made some slight adjustments to the neck and fitted D`addario 0.10 - 0.59 set .
Haven`t had any problems since that.

 

[Indigenous]

So, is that low string's tension consistent with the tension across the rest of the instrument?

For example, what is the gauge of your highest string?

Your lowest course will barely be at the same tension as your high E... if you're using a .0095 string.

Even worse, if you're using anything heavier as your top string, then you've given your low A the least tension out of all the strings on your guitar.

It seems that every time I ask for the the complete set of string gauges so I can give suggestions about how to change the string set to optimize the tensions, no one ever provides the full information, so I'll just suggest you will have to go higher at the bottom.

Good luck!

The high E is .11. I used a set of D'Addario Flatwounds, and I love the strings so I'd like to not change them. I really don't know too much about setting up a guitar though, should I maybe take it to a professional?