String Tension & Tone Question

Rick Collins · From: Claremont , CA USA

For the first string E, I usually use a .015" guage on a 22 & 1/2 " scale Fender Dual Professional.

Has anyone ever tried a .016" string in this position? It seems that the finer the string, the thinner the sound. The tone of the lower seven strings seems balanced; but the first string seems a little too thin.

I don't want to go beyond resonable tension, for fear of over stressing the 50 year old tuning gears.

Would this be the right approach to getting a little better tone response on this first string; or will the tension be excessive enough, with the .016", to defeat what I'm trying to achieve?

Many thanks, Rick

[This message was edited by Rick Collins on 29 October 2003 at 07:49 AM.]

Rick Aiello · From: Berryville, VA USA

As Tarzan would say ...

"Tension Good ... Stiffness Bad".

Vibrating strings produce the greatest array of harmonics when they are very taut ... close to their breaking point. This is desired for rich "tone".

Unfortunately, the ability of a string to vibrate in complex wave functions is reduced as the strings stiffness increases. Inharmonicity ... harmonics of a "Real string" being sharper than those of an "Ideal string" ... starts rearin' its ugly head as the stiffness increases.

So with just about everything in life , it becomes a trade off ...

Personally I use a 0.017 for a short scale E ...

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www.horseshoemagnets.com

Rick Aiello · From: Berryville, VA USA

Here is a cool Tension Calculator ...

A Breaking Load Chart ...

And a nice paper on Inharmonicity...

[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 29 October 2003 at 08:18 AM.]

Ron Randall · From: Dallas, Texas, USA

Thanks Rick.

Rick Collins · From: Claremont , CA USA

Thanks Rick Aiello. That's a lot of information on those three links. String gauge is important; and I want to make the best use of this information to get the best possible Fender sound I can get.

Rick

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