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

[Ishan]

Yea, don't go bellow 13lbs, I've been there...

That's what I would use on a 30" scale guitar :

len 30"
E    .009" PL == 18.18#
B,   .011" PL == 15.24#
G,   .016" PL == 20.31#
D,   .024" NW == 21.83#
A,,  .032" NW == 21.83#
E,,  .042" NW == 20.44#
A,,, .062" NW == 19.94#
D,,, .090" NW == 17.73#
total == 155.51#

 

[Peteus]

I intend to purchase my first 8-string soon. I play in a djenty progressive grindcore band, in AEADGBE tuning. We want to start playing in DAEADGBE (as in D1AEADGBE). I intend to purchase an Agile semi-custom once the CS reopens, and I don't know what scale length to order. My current guitar is a 25.5" scale, and it sounds slightly muddy on the low A (but only slightly), so I'm worried about how a short scale 8-string would sound. What scale/string gauge would be optimal for that tuning, assuming I'm using a Kahler flatmount bridge?

This causes loads of arguments with guys who like it tight and those who would rather have a floppier string.

Anyways I would recomend going for a 28.645" due to it being a huge jump from the 25.5". I went from a 25.5" to a 28.645" and it was massive and a few months later it's still massive however I can now play it without thinking about it and I can see the perks of more tension and a deeper tone and I am now looking to use baratone scales for all my main axes. However if you have big hands the 30" would feel tighter and better on the low end holding that D together with no problem.

As a general rule the longer the scale length and thicker your strings the more bass like your tone becomes, this is not always a bad thing. The lowest strings will sound a bit more bassy however your high strings will remain guitarish on a long scale which in the music you play will probly sound amazing. I currently use a a 80 for my low F# on my 28.645" which AAL man mentioned to me that I am fucking mad and nobody needs strings that big! However that works for me its just about tight enough to hit those explosive low notes and deaden them quickly. Once I went for F# I had to eq a fair bit so I took my sound made it fairly high trebel focus mixed it with fair bit of mids to give it some guitaresk charater and bit of bass the low strings. This gave me a absoltly brutal and crushing yet clear sound on the low strings and my highs sound smooth yet screaming. This in my death metal band with bits of meshuggah, melodic and black metal influences allows my sound to be screaming and smooth depending how I play for the nice epic bits and when we do are meshuggahesk bits I get a crushing tone similar to Ion dissonace, Meshuggah, Danza etc..

I was looking into dropping my guitar that low, I was recomended going for a 90-95 gauge string for my low D so I would give that ago. I would aim for about a 28.645" and it should hold its self together well enough and not kill your hands.

 

[Sponge]

I'm just going to say that I've had to mess around with string gauges for tight response and have gone through the process of finding a good string for a low D. On my 30" scale guitars I have used everything up to a .95.

.85 has some dive but isn't so bad if you like the characteristics of making a dive sound good.

.90 is tight and has excellent response and still sounds great. This is what I am sticking with after trying different options because it has been by far the best feeling and sounding.

.95 is a bit on the muddy end but tighter there is a big difference in tone between this and the string you will have next up in pitch which you may or may not like.

Good luck and best of wishes.

 

[Spite]

Okay, so I'm completly new to 7 string guitars.
I recently traded a 6 string for a Schecter C7. It came with pretty heavy strings on it. Im not sure of the exact gauge, but the low B is an 75 or 80 and the A is a 50.
So for playing in standard 7 tuning its pretty heavy.
Now, I'm going to replace these strings (or at least the top 6) with a set of DR 11-50s (6 string set), but I dont currently have any 7 string set. Neither have I the oppotunity to purchase one untill next week or so, so here is my question:

Would I run into problems if I used an 11-50 set on the 6 top strings, and let the low B (75 or 80) stay on for now?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Edit:
Also, if it matters, the scale is 26.5".

 

[Winspear]

Okay, so I'm completly new to 7 string guitars.
I recently traded a 6 string for a Schecter C7. It came with pretty heavy strings on it. Im not sure of the exact gauge, but the low B is an 75 or 80 and the A is a 50.
So for playing in standard 7 tuning its pretty heavy.
Now, I'm going to replace these strings (or at least the top 6) with a set of DR 11-50s (6 string set), but I dont currently have any 7 string set. Neither have I the oppotunity to purchase one untill next week or so, so here is my question:

Would I run into problems if I used an 11-50 set on the 6 top strings, and let the low B (75 or 80) stay on for now?

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Edit:
Also, if it matters, the scale is 26.5".

Not really. Yes there will be a little more tension on the lower half of the neck..but it's not going to damage anything. Not as if the 11-50 set is light.
I'd advise against buying 7 string sets. The low B is never a good match in tension. I tend to like a 62 for the B with a 10 gauge 6 string set. You can buy single strings in higher gauges easily online from D'addario website and Strings Direct to name just a few. On your scale length in standard tuning I'd probably use 9's or 10's with a 58 or 60.

 

[supersizedsumo]

Hey guys! I have an 8 string made my ESP, and I wanted to change the strings so I could tune lower. Right now, the strings get floppy if they aren't in standard. I've always been a fan of thick strings. My 6 string guitar is equipped with the old GHS Zakk Wylde strings and it's tuned to drop C (CGCFAD). This is how the gauges look:

C .070, G .052, C .036, F .018, A .014, D .011

I absolutely love the way the strings feel, so I bought a set for my 8 string. I still need 2 more strings, but I don't plan on tuning my 8 string normally. I want to be able to mimic the lowest 2 strings on a drop C 6 string with the 2 additional strings but in a lower octave. This would mean that they would be the same notes as the lowest strings my bassist has. The tuning would be CGCGCFAD. I know that my bassist's highest gauge string is a .125, and that's used for the same note that I want my thickest string to hit. Of course, his bass has a much longer scale than my 26 inch 8 string guitar, so I think .130 would be appropriate. I guess I would put a .090 or a .100 or so on for my 7th string. With the Zakk Wylde strings, the gauges would be as follows:

C .130, G .100, C .070, G .052, C .036, F .018, A .014, D .011

Now, nobody's going to be able to talk me out of not tuning this low, but I really need help with selecting the gauges for the lowest C and G. I know that a .130 fits through my bridge just fine, but I was wondering if it would pose a problem for my tuners and stuff. Are the gauges that I'm thinking about good enough? Would you guys recommend different gauges?

 

[pwilldabeast14]

okay so i have an agile with 28.825 scale, what are the best brands for 8 strings?
i want to droptune all the strings mayb to like EADGBEAD low to high or mayb
EbBbEbAbDbGbBbEb

 

[Winspear]

okay so i have an agile with 28.825 scale, what are the best brands for 8 strings?
i want to droptune all the strings mayb to like EADGBEAD low to high or mayb
EbBbEbAbDbGbBbEb

Most brands offer large gauges as single strings. I like D'addario because their strings are great and they have gauges all the way up to 80 available directly from their website. If I were you I would buy a set of 9's or 10's for 6 string, and a single 80 and 60 or so.

 

[pwilldabeast14]

Most brands offer large gauges as single strings. I like D'addario because their strings are great and they have gauges all the way up to 80 available directly from their website. If I were you I would buy a set of 9's or 10's for 6 string, and a single 80 and 60 or so.

oh thats cool, so do there strings have good tension? im just wondering if a set of 10's would be good for droptuning

 

[supersizedsumo]

len 26"

D .011" PL == 16.19#
A, .014" PL == 14.72#
F, .018" PL == 15.33#
C, .036" NW == 28.72#
G,, .052" NW == 32.36#
C,, .070" NW == 26.76#
G,,, .100" NW == 28.12#
C,,, .130" NW == 18.39#
total == 180.59#

Should I uses a thinner string for the 7th string? A 90 perhaps? Is that too much tension? I like thick strings, but is this too much tension for the guitar to handle?

 

[Winspear]

oh thats cool, so do there strings have good tension? im just wondering if a set of 10's would be good for droptuning

Definately, with your scale length. Have a play on the website I linked further up this page and see if you can work it out. At your scale length I'd definately want to use 9's or 10's.

len 26"

D .011" PL == 16.19#
A, .014" PL == 14.72#
F, .018" PL == 15.33#
C, .036" NW == 28.72#
G,, .052" NW == 32.36#
C,, .070" NW == 26.76#

G,,, .100" NW == 28.12#
C,,, .130" NW == 18.39#
total == 180.59#

Should I uses a thinner string for the 7th string? A 90 perhaps? Is that too much tension? I like thick strings, but is this too much tension for the guitar to handle?

Christ those lows are heavy...! I know you said you like heavy strings but I'd try and keep to 25lbs or below. 28 38 and 49 would be the normal gauges in an 11 set for the 3 lower strings. Maybe a heavy bottom set with 30 42 and 52. That will give you 25 26 and 22lbs tension on the bottom 3 strings of the 6 strings. Plenty heavy!

As for the low G and C....I'd use 70-80 for the G. Perhaps 80 as you seem to like thicker strings. The 130 is perhaps good for the C. Maybe a little thinner to get the tension to around 16lbs or so for more guitar like tone.

 

[pwilldabeast14]

Definately, with your scale length. Have a play on the website I linked further up this page and see if you can work it out. At your scale length I'd definately want to use 9's or 10's.



oh sweet, yeah thats a cool chart but couldnt get the 7/8 string to work, and what is an ideal weight for the strings?

 

[supersizedsumo]

thanks a bunch dude!

 

[supersizedsumo]

UPDATE: i put on the 130 gauge. I had to make the hole in my machine head bigger, but it was so worth it! the thick string makes it really loud and it distorts so nicely. if anybody else wants to try, don't be afraid.

 

[Valtiel]

I just got a Schecter Omen Extreme 7 and the strings it came with weren't cutting it for A tuning (big surprise, I know). I threw on a LT/HB set (.010, .013, .017, .030, .042, .052, .060) because that is what the Korn guys use and the low A and D strings are still giving me buzz. What gauge would you guys recommend for A tuning on my guitar? I believe it's a 26.5 scale neck (it's a brand-new, straight-from-the-factory guitar).

Now that I think about it... for all I know the Korn guys could have some buzzing going with their guitars as well and I'd never be able to tell with all of the f'ing distortion they have.

 

[supersizedsumo]

I just got a Schecter Omen Extreme 7 and the strings it came with weren't cutting it for A tuning (big surprise, I know). I threw on a LT/HB set (.010, .013, .017, .030, .042, .052, .060) because that is what the Korn guys use and the low A and D strings are still giving me buzz. What gauge would you guys recommend for A tuning on my guitar? I believe it's a 26.5 scale neck (it's a brand-new, straight-from-the-factory guitar).

Now that I think about it... for all I know the Korn guys could have some buzzing going with their guitars as well and I'd never be able to tell with all of the f'ing distortion they have.

i like thick strings, so i would go .070 at least.

 

[Valtiel]

i like thick strings, so i would go .070 at least.

I forgot to mention, I have little girly hands. So I'd really prefer the lightest I could get away with without the buzzing.

 

[supersizedsumo]

I forgot to mention, I have little girly hands. So I'd really prefer the lightest I could get away with without the buzzing.

damn i'm sorry. well, if .070 is too thick compared the a .060, you may want to try raising the action on your bridge although this will slow you down when you play. i know that there are .065 strings out there too so that's also a possibility.

 

[Winspear]

I'd guess a 64 would be perfect

 

[Seven Samurai]

Hey, this is my 1st post on the forum. Just found a 7 string baritone acoustic in the house and the 7th string is way too floppy.

Scale = 28.5"

Tuning

1st C .016
2nd G .022
3rd Eb .029
4th Bb .048
5th F .060
6th C .070
7th G ??? (think it may be another .070)

I was thinking of trying a .080 on the 7th string, but would love to hear some more educated suggestions.

Also, where do you get a .080 (or similar) bronze string? I haven't been able to find singles for sale. I found one in a set of acoustic bass strings, but would prefer not to have to by a complete set of bass strings just to get one .080.

Thanks!!