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Topic: Anybody like a .016 for First String? |
James Knox
From:
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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Posted 20 May 2021 4:39 pm |
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Most of the Tunings I have been experimenting with have a High E on the First String.
String gauge chart recommends .013-.015.
Currently running .015 and it’s nice and tight. I occasionally like to tune that E down to a D, so do I tempt fate by running a .016?
Will .016 be “too stiff†for an E note? Will I break an .016 Tuning up to an E on a regular basis?
What have you discovered? |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 20 May 2021 5:26 pm
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Try it, but I think .014 is the perfect gauge for high E. If short scale I’d go no higher than .015.
_________________
KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Donner, Evans, Excel, Fender, Fluger, GFI, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 20 May 2021 7:08 pm
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| I've used a .017 for the high E on my 22.5" scale instruments for years. I regularly pull the first string up a half-step behind the bar. I don't recall ever breaking a string. |
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Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 20 May 2021 9:03 pm
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16 is ideal for D on a 22.5†scale. I currently have a few guitars with 16s for E, but mostly because I’ve been too lazy to change them, and they never break. Definitely not tempting fate.
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Peter Jacobs
From:
Northern Virginia
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Posted 21 May 2021 4:54 am
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I don’t use a high E, but I’ve been using a 16 for the high D forever. I recently switched to a 13 (with a 16 for the B string in open G and really don’t hear a difference in tone. The string tension calculators say this is a good balance, but I really comes down to how it feels under the bar.
Bottom line, if 15 feels good for E, then it’ll be fine for D. I’d think 16 would feel kind of rigid for E, but that’s just me.
_________________
Peter
---------
www.splinterville.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@splinterville6278/videos |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 21 May 2021 6:24 am
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You can get a pretty good answer yourself with a string tension calculator. There are several online and a couple of downloadable programs. I usually use this one - https://tension.stringjoy.com/ - because it has a good range of string gauges and handles different scale lengths easily, has easy options for 6-12 strings.
The string composition matters for the wound strings, but for plain strings, string tension is pretty uniform by maker. The other thing, of course, is scale length. It matters a lot if you're trying to push the tension into the high range.
Computing the relevant tensions, I get the following table for tension in pounds (rounding to nearest pound - this stuff isn't that accurate) for two of the common long and short scale lengths:
| Code: |
24.5" Scale 22.5" Scale
Note .016 .015 .016 .015
E4 42 37 36 31
D4 34 29 28 25 |
Looking at the 24.5" table - I think 42 pounds is really pushing the upper limit of tensile strength for most strings and will not be reliable and likely break easily on most guitars with most strings. On some guitars, I start having trouble at lower tensions. I think .015 looks like a much better choice.
Looking at the 22.5" table, .016 looks like a reasonable choice. My experience is that 36 pounds may break some .016 strings on some guitars, but usually is tight but tolerable. I generally find 28 pounds to be a reasonable tension - I may like just a little higher, but it's fine. For the .015, I usually find that 31 pounds generally works well. I tend to find 25 pounds a hair light but workable.
Overall, I think I'd try .016 on the 22.5" scale but stick with .015 for the 24.5" scale. Of course, if your scale length is different, you can just do the same analysis. In the end, you can always try the heavier gauge. But I wouldn't go out and do a gig on something I didn't have confidence in. I hate breaking strings on a gig. |
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Sebastian Müller
From:
Berlin / Germany
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Posted 21 May 2021 10:53 pm
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I use a 016 for the high E string on my Tricone, I like the string tension and sound of it.
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https://hawaiian-steel-guitar.com |
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Garry Vanderlinde
From:
CA
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Posted 25 May 2021 9:50 pm
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| For a while Jerry Byrd used .016 plain gauge on his 1st 3 strings. |
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Rob DiStefano
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 27 May 2021 3:15 pm
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What matters most from the get-go is scale length.
For any given tuning, the shorter the scale length, the less tension to get to each string's proper pitch ... and vice-versa. So, big strings for short scale steels.
C6 with a 23" scale steel makes me like either 14 or 15 for the high E. I don't think I'd have a problem using a 16 instead. But if I want to change that steel to a slack openD, even 56 to 16 gives me noodly bass side strings. This is a reason I'm making a 25-1/2" scale steel. |
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Steven Pearce
From:
Port Orchard Washington, USA
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Posted 27 May 2021 6:01 pm
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Hey Rob, noodly is a great way to describe em. My low D is a 62 and if it’s not stretched enough is IS noodly
Two of my steels are in D. Scale is 22.5, gauges are:
18P
22P
28
38
48
62
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http://www.fentonstwang.com/fr_home.cfm |
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