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

[infreaks]

Hi all,

hope you all have a good day, i'm kind of new in 7 string guitar (waiting for my first 7 string guitar) and i wanna ask about the string gauge, well.. here it is

I play ibanez 6 string guitar RG 550, it's 25.5 scale, i usually use ernie ball super slinky .009 and play in E standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E).

I use the String Gauge and Tension calculator to measure the tension and the result is :
len 25.5"
E .009" NW == -1.23#
B, .011" NW == 5.16#
G, .016" NW == 12.46#
D, .024" NW == 15.77#
A,, .032" NW == 15.77#
E,, .042" NW == 14.77#
total == 62.69#

I assume because ernie ball super slinky is nickel wound, all 6 string will be nickel wound, am i correct or the 1st-3rd (G-B-E) string is made from plain steel ?

Now i'm waiting for my Ibanez 7 string guitar to arrive, it's RG 7421 fix bridge with 25.5 scale and i wanted to tune to A-E-A-D-G-B-E and use ernie ball regular slinky .010 6 string set and considering 0.58 or 0.64 or 0.70 for the low 7 string tuning.

I use the String Gauge and Tension calculator to measure the tension and the result is :
len 25.5"
E .010" NW == 3.98#
B, .013" NW == 11.0#
G, .017" NW == 14.3#
D, .026" NW == 18.41#
A,, .036" NW == 19.54#
E,, .046" NW == 17.48#
A,,, .058" NW == 12.63#
total == 97.34#


len 25.5"
E .010" NW == 3.98#
B, .013" NW == 11.0#
G, .017" NW == 14.3#
D, .026" NW == 18.41#
A,, .036" NW == 19.54#
E,, .046" NW == 17.48#
A,,, .064" NW == 15.28#
total == 99.99#

len 25.5"
E .010" NW == 3.98#
B, .013" NW == 11.0#
G, .017" NW == 14.3#
D, .026" NW == 18.41#
A,, .036" NW == 19.54#
E,, .046" NW == 17.48#
A,,, .070" NW == 18.2#
total == 102.91#

Do you think i should use 0.58, 0.64 or 0.70 for the low 7 string ? or any other gauge that you could recommend me for my tuning (A-E-A-D-G-B-E) ?

Thanks, i appreaciate all of your help, have a good day

 

[BIG ND SWEATY]

the last 3 strings are plain steel notice how the tension drops down to 3lbs on the high e, also you would know if they were wound by how they look.
i would go with the .64

 

[SavageFreeze]

Hi! New to the board. I don't have a 7 string, but my 6 string is tuned to drop B. Close enough! Harharhar... But really, I have a serious question.

The guitar is an ESP M-II 25.5" with a floyd rose, and my go to set of strings has been Ernie Ball Beefy - 11-54. It does a pretty good job (just in range to eliminate fret buzz), but I need it to be better.The low B .054 still doesn't hold pitch if you hit it hard. After some estimates, I figured I wanted to lighten up the high 3 strings a hair and go slightly heavier on the low 3.

At this point, I am getting a little worried about all of the tension I'm putting on a guitar that, I suppose, was built for the E standard range. The last thing I want to do is warp or damage, in any way, the neck. Do I still have quite a bit of leeway to go heavier? Or should I look into a 26.5" scale guitar? Any advice or direction would be killer. I like my guitar and don't want to hurt it!

 

[infreaks]

the last 3 strings are plain steel notice how the tension drops down to 3lbs on the high e, also you would know if they were wound by how they look.
i would go with the .64

hi, thanks for clearing things about the plain steel

and many thanks for your recommendation,i'll order .64 gauge, have a good day

 

[Chi]

Righto. Long story short: I'm tuning my 25"5 scale 7 string guitar down to G, so it's G-C-F-A♯-D♯-G-C.

Now all I need is a proper set of strings to go with it. I'm thinking about getting a 74 or a 72 for the B string, that should do nicely. But I've got no idea about the others. A 56 for the low E string seems a little thin, but when I take a look at the tension calculator, it seems to work out. (Considering I'd go with the "stair" effect, which means that the lowest string has the highest tension, and the tension would lower each string up)

Help a bro out ?

 

[BIG ND SWEATY]

Hi! New to the board. I don't have a 7 string, but my 6 string is tuned to drop B. Close enough! Harharhar... But really, I have a serious question.

The guitar is an ESP M-II 25.5" with a floyd rose, and my go to set of strings has been Ernie Ball Beefy - 11-54. It does a pretty good job (just in range to eliminate fret buzz), but I need it to be better.The low B .054 still doesn't hold pitch if you hit it hard. After some estimates, I figured I wanted to lighten up the high 3 strings a hair and go slightly heavier on the low 3.

At this point, I am getting a little worried about all of the tension I'm putting on a guitar that, I suppose, was built for the E standard range. The last thing I want to do is warp or damage, in any way, the neck. Do I still have quite a bit of leeway to go heavier? Or should I look into a 26.5" scale guitar? Any advice or direction would be killer. I like my guitar and don't want to hurt it!

youll have nothing to worry about, youll have plenty of room to get heavier strings if you need them. i have a .70 on my schecter tuned to drop A and the neck hasnt moved at all, also guitars arnt really built for a specific range.

 

[potatohead]

Hi! New to the board. I don't have a 7 string, but my 6 string is tuned to drop B. Close enough! Harharhar... But really, I have a serious question.

The guitar is an ESP M-II 25.5" with a floyd rose, and my go to set of strings has been Ernie Ball Beefy - 11-54. It does a pretty good job (just in range to eliminate fret buzz), but I need it to be better.The low B .054 still doesn't hold pitch if you hit it hard. After some estimates, I figured I wanted to lighten up the high 3 strings a hair and go slightly heavier on the low 3.

At this point, I am getting a little worried about all of the tension I'm putting on a guitar that, I suppose, was built for the E standard range. The last thing I want to do is warp or damage, in any way, the neck. Do I still have quite a bit of leeway to go heavier? Or should I look into a 26.5" scale guitar? Any advice or direction would be killer. I like my guitar and don't want to hurt it!

Tension is all that matters. Tension is a result of string gauge, scale length and tuning. You can have a thicker set of strings that will have less tension than a thinner set if you tune it down far enough. I wouldn't start worrying about a neck having issues until you got north of 140 pounds or so (on a six) or maybe 160 on a 7. That's a shit-ton of tension.

 

[Glint Symmetry]

Hi,

need some help here,i got a ibanez Rga 8 and i want to put new strings,got this guitar yesterday and the strings of the old owner are 64 in the low 8,wich is fucking loose in Drop E...

I want to play in F standard to...

if anyone can give me a help i will be apreciated...

Im new in 8 strings...

 

[Glint Symmetry]

Please?

i have use the string tension calculator and i found that this set

0.9 (14,7 lbs)-0.12 (14,7)-0.15 (14,4)-0.22 (14,9)-0.30 (15,7)-0.39 (14,3)-0.52 (13,8)-0.80 (14,7) on a 27" scale...

almost every string show around the 14 Lbs

can i made this? or i buy a 7 string set (light) and put a 0.80?

im living the fear of my edge fix bridge of my RGA8 pops out...got to reinforce with epoxy,but maybe i dont need that,beacouse is not about the tension that makes pops out?

 

[BIG ND SWEATY]

you can make that set if you use la bellas custom string set maker
https://www.labella.com/laplaza/electric_sets/elecIndStrings.asp

 

[Glint Symmetry]

la bella rocks but they dont sell outside of US individual strings...

Im from europe,so...they dont send,even if i want 10 strings for each gauge...

My local shop is a pain in the ass,they forget the order i make,its the second time this happens...hate this shop but dont got other around...

today i had to go to the capital Lisbon (70 kms from my house) and even them dont got 8 strings set to sell and individual only got 9,10,13 gauges...

and i say to them..."how can this shop sell 8 strings guitars and dont have strings set for them?..."

they make a call and say that will receive next week strings for 8 strings guitar from schecter...so let me wait and see if this schecter strings bring some decent gauges...

 

[Hell-raiser]

So I want to play some Meshuggah on my 7 string (26.5 scale) and I figure the best way of doing is to tune to standard C, and drop the low string to an F i.e. F-C-F-B♭-E♭-G-C

I've looked at these and planned on just not using the .010, but have no idea if that's a good idea.

Ernie Ball 8-String Slinky Electric Guitar Strings 10-74 | Musician's Friend

Can anyone suggest whether this would work or an alternative that would.

(I've tried using the tension calculators, but I'm having no joy whatsoever with them!)

Thanks!

 

[mniel8195]

i've posted this recently but what do you guys think of this setup for BEADGBE? 10-13-17-26-36-49-66 thats on a 25.5 scale. I tried the daddario 10-59 and it was not working for me. This seems to be a balanced setup.

 

[surge247]

Hey guys, I just recently tried to completely learn all about string tensions so i could put together a custom set. I have an Agile Intrepid Pro that's 28.875". I'm tuning it to D# standard. Tried using the tension calculator and this is what came out

C4# .013" PL == 24.85#
A3 .016" PL == 23.71#
E3 .026" XS == 29.41#
B2 .037" XS == 32.6#
F2# .049" XS == 31.14#
C2# .063" XS == 29.82#
G1# .090" XS == 30.48#
D1# .135" XS == 29.89#
total == 231.89#


If you guys could give me an opinion on that set that'd be great... the main issue though is the .135 D# string. Do I really need a string that thick to give me a tight D#? I use a 0.094 right now and it's pretty floppy. I get the note and it stays in tune, but it's not as tight as i'd like. But I'm pretty sure .135 is too big to fit through my guitar (it has a thru-body layout). Opinions please?

 

[BIG ND SWEATY]

id lighten up those gauges a bit cause that is a tremendous amount of force being put on that neck.

 

[SchecterBurzum]

Ive got a question about string gauge, I just got a Schecter Omen 7 and Im wondering what string gauge I should use, Im not sure what gauge I have now and I havent changed them yet but bending with these strings are very hard and Im unable to bend further than halv an octave and I prefer lighter strings for wider bending but since Im rather new to 7 strings and dont know much about string gauge Im asking what gauge you recommend

 

[Fat-Elf]

So I have Ibanez RG1527 in Drop-G# and I can't remember how thick the strings are beside that the highest string is 0.11 inches. So what would you recommend for the lowest/thickest string? I want it to feel pretty solid but not too thight so the bends are easy to do.

 

[BIG ND SWEATY]

Ive got a question about string gauge, I just got a Schecter Omen 7 and Im wondering what string gauge I should use, Im not sure what gauge I have now and I havent changed them yet but bending with these strings are very hard and Im unable to bend further than halv an octave and I prefer lighter strings for wider bending but since Im rather new to 7 strings and dont know much about string gauge Im asking what gauge you recommend

what tuning are you playing in?

So I have Ibanez RG1527 in Drop-G# and I can't remember how thick the strings are beside that the highest string is 0.11 inches. So what would you recommend for the lowest/thickest string? I want it to feel pretty solid but not too thight so the bends are easy to do.

i use a .70 for G# and i can do bends just fine but i would start with a .66 to see if you need more tension

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

Looking for ideas for putting an incoming 27" 8 in Drop C with a high and low G. I prefer 10-46 in E standard + 25.5" scales on my 6's.

What im feeling an 74 for the low G and an 8 for the high G. I know an 8 was usable as a G on my 25.5 7421 but im not sure if it might be too much for a 27".

 

[nymslm]

Hello,

What would be an ideal string gauge for a 7 string 26.5 scale guitar. Tuning would be B standard.

Thanks in advance.