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Topic: Gauges for acoustic strings vs. electric |
Andrew Goulet
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Posted 25 Sep 2022 7:40 am |
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This may be a silly question, but it just doesn't come up too often for me. I'm thinking of putting my dobro into D6 to match my pedal steel. Can I use the string gauge chart here: https://www.b0b.com/infoedu/gauges.htm or does the fact that they will be brass strings for an acoustic instrument change the gauges needed?
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Marlen S12 pedal steel
SX 6 string lap steel
ZT Club and Lunchbox |
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Jeff Mead
From:
London, England
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Posted 26 Sep 2022 1:39 am
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How does the scale length of your Dobro compare to your steel?
I use A6 on my Dobros but use lighter gauges than on my lap steel (my steel is 22.5" gauge and the Dobro is longer at 25" IIRC).
I use the heaviest option for my steel (eg. .015 for my high E) but the lightest (.013 for top E) on my Dobro.
I figured that was about right as, if I was tuning it like a guitar I wouldn't be worried about putting a set of .013s on it.
https://www.hawaiiansteel.com/learning/gauges.php |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 26 Sep 2022 2:40 am
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I think you'll find that the typical acoustic guitar string tension, for the same gauge and tuned note, is a bit higher than for the typical nickel-wound electric guitar string. Take a look at D'Addario's string tension guide here and you'll see what I mean - https://www.daddario.com/globalassets/pdfs/accessories/tension_chart_13934.pdf
Personally, I would not generally change gauges specifically to keep tension constant relative to an electric guitar. I think acoustic strings are specifically wound a bit tighter to get more volume and project better on an acoustic instrument. That is not so much a concern for electric instruments. Of course, stay within reasonable tension limits for the guitar's construction.
Beyond that, square neck resonator sets tend to put a lot of tension on the neck. A well-constructed resonator guitar is designed to handle a high tension to get that volume and projection. Match up the gauges on this D'Addario set with the tensions in that chart and you'll see that the wound strings are pretty tight for the typical GBDGBD tuning - https://www.elderly.com/products/d-addario-ej42-resonator-guitar-set |
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Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 26 Sep 2022 3:37 am
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The tension that a string is under depends on the scale length, the pitch it's tuned to, and the unit mass of the string. Unit mass is essentially how much each inch or cm of the string weighs. Because copper alloys are denser than iron or nickel ones, bronze strings have a higher unit mass and therefore a higher tension than others when everything else is equal.
However, the difference is fairly small. D'Addario lists a .052 phosphor bronze string at 24.23 lbs, and the same gauge nickel-plated string at 21.15 lbs. You might be able to notice that difference with a direct A/B comparison, but otherwise it wouldn't feel significant. You're certainly not going to unduly stress a well-made instrument by switching from steel to bronze windings. |
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