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

[harkonnen8]

What string gauges would you guys suggest for 8 string (28.625") tuned to A(A0)ADGCFAD.
I was thinking
D-.009
A-.012
F-.016
C-.021
G-.029
D-.039
A-.053
A-.086 maybe .090?
Low A can be supper floppy but still somewhat usable. I'm not going to play super fast riffs on the low A string.
Also looking at Circle K strings.

 

[InfinityCollision]

Any companies out there that make halfwounds in seven-string friendly gauges? Around .064 if possible.

 

[John54]

crazy thought. decided to put a set of ernie ball slinky nickel wound set on my rg7321 that has a 25.5 inch scale. ripped out the .013 and put the rest on instead. im trying to tune it now to e standard on the high 6 strings and a low a where the low b would be. used the calculater on the orignal post and its saying to put 231 lbs on my neck. is that too much? not sure how much a neck can handle. also im not in tune yet and the strings have a load of tension on them,mainly the g, d, a(the higher one in the middle), and the low e and im still 2 whole steps from being in tune. ultimatly im wanting to know if i wasted a set of strings and need to step the gauge down or if its ok to get to my desired tuning.

thanks a bunch

right so i decided to enter the normal 7 string set gauge in to the calculator(ernie ball power slinky set at: .011, .014, .018, .028, .038, .048, .058) and it gave me 130 lbs. i think its safe to say that my guitar was not intened to handle that.

now im wondering if ernie ball made those strings for a baritone or for a guitar that was made to handle some really low notes, which i dont see bring that pratical.

 

[Fat-Elf]

Not a question, but yesterday I put some bronze acoustic strings on my Telecaster because I didn't have any electric strings. Djentydjent.

 

[BIG ND SWEATY]

crazy thought. decided to put a set of ernie ball slinky nickel wound set on my rg7321 that has a 25.5 inch scale. ripped out the .013 and put the rest on instead. im trying to tune it now to e standard on the high 6 strings and a low a where the low b would be. used the calculater on the orignal post and its saying to put 231 lbs on my neck. is that too much? not sure how much a neck can handle. also im not in tune yet and the strings have a load of tension on them,mainly the g, d, a(the higher one in the middle), and the low e and im still 2 whole steps from being in tune. ultimatly im wanting to know if i wasted a set of strings and need to step the gauge down or if its ok to get to my desired tuning.

thanks a bunch

right so i decided to enter the normal 7 string set gauge in to the calculator(ernie ball power slinky set at: .011, .014, .018, .028, .038, .048, .058) and it gave me 130 lbs. i think its safe to say that my guitar was not intened to handle that.

now im wondering if ernie ball made those strings for a baritone or for a guitar that was made to handle some really low notes, which i dont see bring that pratical.

you need to step those gauges down, those are far too heavy for e standard.
231lbs is a lot of force to be put onto a neck, just use the tension calculator to find your preferred set from now on.
how tight do you like your strings btw?

 

[John54]

you need to step those gauges down, those are far too heavy for e standard.
231lbs is a lot of force to be put onto a neck, just use the tension calculator to find your preferred set from now on.
how tight do you like your strings btw?

i like them pretty tight. usually i have a .064 for my low b but i changed tunnings to low a so i thought i should increase my gauge as well. i only had the ernie ball 8 string set laying around so i figured i would experiment a little and after half installing those strings i will say that the calculator is pretty handy and cool. sorry i cant give you an exactly measurment on the tension. i know anything lower than a whole step down(like a Db on a low E) drives me crazy. im looking at buying a 6 string set and then buying the low b seperate so i dont run into this issue again. i really like the feel of ghs with the wond 3rd string. and the ernie balls 8 string set gave me the extra wound string. see my thought prcess there? but from now on i will use my best judgement as it says on the calculator page.

 

[Hyacinth]

What gauge do you guys use for drop E on an 8 string? I'm using a .74 right now for my low E and it's way too flubby and undefined. I was thinking I would go to .80, but I'm not sure if that's too big. But as it stands right now, I hardly use my 8th string

 

[Winspear]

^ What gauge is next to it and what is it tuned to? I'll give you a match.

 

[Hyacinth]

^ What gauge is next to it and what is it tuned to? I'll give you a match.

I believe it's a .64 but I'm not entirely sure.

 

[Winspear]

That's a pretty heavy B and you'll need a 100 to match it. Whether you want matched or not is another question...

Tune the 74 up until it feels nice to you and tell me what note you get

 

[Hyacinth]

That's a pretty heavy B and you'll need a 100 to match it. Whether you want matched or not is another question...

Tune the 74 up until it feels nice to you and tell me what note you get

It feels comfortable once it's tuned up to B1. Thanks for going out of your way for me =D

 

[Winspear]

That would actually be tighter than your 64 B and require something far over 100..no?

A would give the same tension as your B string and require the 100 like I posted above.

If you can settle for it in G, then a 90 will give you that tension in E.

Don't worry, that's a reasonable size, not too thick

 

[Hyacinth]

Hmm. I'll play with it and see which one is the most comfortable without having to have a gigantic string for the low E haha Thanks a lot, dude!

 

[Stealthdjentstic]

I tried doing a progressive tension type thing for tuning my 8 up to drop c with a high and low g but it didn't really work out too well for some reason.

I like 10-59 for my loomis with a 26.5" scale in standard, any clues what would be good for a 27" in drop C with a high and low g?

Im probably going to order another circle K set and hope my dog doesn't steal it sometimes. Skip recommended these gauges but I never had a chance to try them out.

079 .059 .039 .029 .020 .015 .011 .008

They look pretty good, yay or nay gypsies?

 

[Devyn Eclipse Nav]

I tried doing a progressive tension type thing for tuning my 8 up to drop c with a high and low g but it didn't really work out too well for some reason.

I like 10-59 for my loomis with a 26.5" scale in standard, any clues what would be good for a 27" in drop C with a high and low g?

Im probably going to order another circle K set and hope my dog doesn't steal it sometimes. Skip recommended these gauges but I never had a chance to try them out.

079 .059 .039 .029 .020 .015 .011 .008

They look pretty good, yay or nay gypsies?

The set he suggested looks quite good, but if you want progressive tension, then that ain't gonna do it for you. The tension goes up until you hit the F3, after which it fluctuates around 20 Lbs.

Take a look:

len 27"

G4 .008" PL == 16.46#
D4 .011" PL == 17.46#
A3 .015" PL == 18.22#
F3 .020" PL == 20.41#
C3 .029" NW == 20.62#
G2 .039" NW == 20.26#
C2 .059" NW == 20.74#
G1 .079" NW == 20.37#

total == 154.53#

It wouldn't say it's bad, I'd use it, but I wouldn't call it progressive tension. Now, if you TRULY wanted a progressive tension set, it would look something more like this:

.088 .064 .042 .030 .020 .015 .011 .008

And, the tension would be something like this:

len 27"

G4 .008" PL == 16.46#
D4 .011" PL == 17.46#
A3 .015" PL == 18.22#
F3 .020" PL == 20.41#
C3 .030" NW == 22.28#
G2 .042" NW == 23.42#
C2 .064" NW == 24.23#
G1 .088" NW == 24.65#

total == 167.11

So either set would work if you ask me, but if you wanted a set that truly was progressive tension, I'd go for the second one. I'd be perfectly comfortable with the first one, though.

 

[Devyn Eclipse Nav]

Also, I found a pretty good progressive tension set for tuning in major thirds on a 9 string.

len 30"

D4 .010" PL == 17.81#
A3# .013" PL == 18.97#
F3# .017" PL == 20.43#
D3 .024" NW == 21.83#
A2# .030" NW == 21.83#
F2# .040" NW == 23.44#
D2 .052" NW == 24.18#
A1# .066" NW == 25.3#
F1# .086" NW == 26.07#

total == 199.85#

I figured this all out since I want to eventually own a 9 string and tune it this way, and this set seems pretty decent to me. Any 9 string owners want to give this a shot?

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

Hmm. I'll play with it and see which one is the most comfortable without having to have a gigantic string for the low E haha Thanks a lot, dude!

I used to regularly use 95/100 for low F on a 25.5" guitar, played really nicely.

 

[mongey]

got my 1st 7 string being built. 25.5

drop A - ernie ball 11 to 58 set ? will also tune up to 7 std at times

a good place to start ? I play the Std 11 slinky set on both my 6 stringers tuned to drop D

 

[Phrygian]

got my 1st 7 string being built. 25.5

drop A - ernie ball 11 to 58 set ? will also tune up to 7 std at times

a good place to start ? I play the Std & slinky set on both my 6 stringers tuned to drop D

Daddario 10-59 works perfect for that.

 

[mongey]

Daddario 10-59 works perfect for that.

thnaks man

I'll start with the Daddarios and see how it goes