Does anybody here know what string gauge to use to achieve B standard on a 24.75" scale guitar? I know it has to be higher than normal due to the shorter neck. I bought 13-56s and they aren't nearly high enough to use B standard. Does anybody here know what gauge to use?

PS: I would post this in the tuning help thread but nobody checks that, and I'd like to get some answers soon.

Well, nile tune to drop A on their 24.75" Deans so there should be no problem. 13-56's should suffice, are you using Dean Markley's? They're tighter than most of the other brands with the same guage. Maybe try some baritone guitar strings, so long as the string guage is not unreasonably high so that u have to cut your nut a lot for them to fit.

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baritone strings are insane... 14-68? CRIZAZY!

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I used to use 13-56s for one of my guitars tuned to B bu then changed it to DR High Beams 10-52 Light and Heavy. It actually works fine. A lot of people disagree but Nile use 10 or 11s but use a 56 I belive for the low A.

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it explains why their vibrato is so wide... and their high notes sound so flimsy... but hey, high strings tend to keep tension better than the low ones....

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Thanks guys. I gave B another try on my 13-56s, and, while the tension is nowhere near what I'm used to, I guess I'll adapt. Maybe I'll check out some baritone strings later on, though I did look those up today and 14-68 daddarios were like like $9 per pack online, euch. Plus 13-56s are basically a set of 10-46 without the 10 and with the lower string, and I used to play on 10-46s, so... yeah. *edit* wow, B standard is like the sexiest tuning ever made.

Baritone scale is 29.75 inches, hense the heavy gauge.

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Sanders also has scalloped frets so that increases the vibrato range a lot too.

I hate flimsy string action.

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I always thought it was 27.0 inches?

27 inches is baritone guitar... maybe he accidentally got it confused with another instrument?

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Btw anyone here actually play baritone guitars?

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you know whats so lame, y put even thicker strings on a baritone?? when you have a 27'' scale it will already tighten the strings, i dont realy get that.

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six feet under 640(??) plays a baritone i believe.

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Baritones seem to be anything above 26".

Find a pack of these:
http://www.myhrbraaten.no/images/XL157%20baritone.gif

..and look on the back and they'll say they are for a 29.75" scale. They have them in the guitar shop I work at, and whats more, I measured the scale on the only Baritone they have in the shop, and thats how long it was.

I know ESP and Ibanez use 27" though. 29.75 was too much, and wasn't comfortable at all to play... I'd rather just play a bass!

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i played the old schecter scorpion baritone a while back... it was fucking insane. The frets were really far apart (im used to 24.75), and the strings were thick as fuck. It reminded me of bass strings, no joke. You would think they'd feel real tight, but the strings had a little more slack than i was used to. Lots of fun though, incredibly awesome to play... especially through the 6505 they had in the store... i just played old arch enemy until my fingers hurt... it was sweet.


The 2 inches of increase (give or take) don't tighten the strings that much, especially for the low tuning it uses... that, and regular strings would be impossible to intonate on a larger scale... the tune-o-matic would be 2 inches away from where it woudl need to be! ... So, you get strings with a mass appropriate to the needed intonation scale.

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I've seen people buy 7-string packs and toss out the high E and just use the B to B. This might give you some more variety in the gauge ranges that are available for tunings like B.

BY THE WAY: people with RGs (25.5") tuned down to B, do you prefer 13-56 or 12-52? or something else? I have 12s now, and I want to try 13, but with the work involved with the trem tension and re-tuning, I would like to hear some opinions first.

How much tighter are Dean Markleys? Wouldn't the greater tension make them higher pitched, meaning you'd need to lower your tension even more? And how does their sound compare to GHS Boomers? I think I might buy a set of http://www.wholenote.com/store/prod...C.DM2505C-3SETS the next time I get more strings and throw out the upper E, like somebody here suggested.

I've played DM 13-56'ers in B and C#, and those are the fuckin tightest I've ever played. Tighter than those GHS lo tune 70 or 60-11 guages(the flimsy high end string choice is retarted, impossible to shred at low tunings).

Gibson .13 Flatwounds are also insanely tight, though unreasonably more expensive than other strings out there... Like anything with the Gibson brand on it(cases, amps, guitars...)

Damn I didn't know DM made 7-string packs! Gotta grab some of those, I have 52-10's on my Universe but they're a tad flimsy on A#, I'm sure that low B with 60s will sound and feel fucking great and percussive.

I like tight strings cause I can feel the whole guitar vibrate, and I'm no masochist. I hate playing guitars that don't vibrate with the strings because of too low action or thin strings.

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A 52 for a A#? that is kinda light, I use a 56 for my Low B. I used to use a 60 for my B, but it was just silly.

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I feel the same way. I love the feel of tight strings, but then again i am slightly a masochist.
Like I said many times before, I use 13s in standard and i can feel all the vibrations through the guitar. I love it. It also helps me gain some more finger strength so when i play with 13s in B tuning i can fucking rip through them like they're nothing.

thats exactly like buying 11-54's except for a minor gauge difference on the 2nd and 3rd strings between different manufacturers


i think he meant greater tension compared to pitch, as in they feel tighter than other strings in the same tuning... so no... it shouldnt higher the pitch, because its the same tuning

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I play a baritone. yess it is 27 inches and it has 14 -68 gauge strings tuned to G# ( G# C# A# B E G# ) and their pretty tight but not insanely tight.

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I guess I worded it wrong. I think what I basically meant was, if they're the same size strings, how is one brand significantly tighter than another?

Yeah it feels like spagghetti if I play anything beyond 200bpm.

Tight strings are awesome, I like to feel pain when I play. The also sustain a million times better than flimsier ones, and stay in tune virtually forever and are easier to intonate with.

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different alloy mixtures, different metallurgy processes, different winding techniques, different wind gauge (as in the gauge of the tiny little winds on each individual string... but i dont think the tightness will be too significant, maybe around 1 lb of tension increase. (which isnt alot considering a switch from 9-42's to 10-46's increases total tension by about 22 lbs)

i know GHS has their Sub Zero strings where I THINK they freeze the string after making it instead of just letting it sit. (metal gets hot when you bash it up and stretch it and shit). Theoretically, cooling the molecules faster should make them collect closer together increasing density... possibly making them tighter?

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1lb per string or 1lb total?

Also, I'd check out those Sub Zero strings, but they don't come in 13-56. Looks like the highest they have is like 11-50, ew. I might try buying single strings and making my own set of strings, 14-60, since they don't sell any sets in that for some reason. Any idea what the tonality difference with the sub-zero's is, compared to normal steel?

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per string


OH GOD THE G.A.S.!
all the brushed chrome is making me hard...

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Another question: I'm getting a few guitar things online, all from the same site, and they also sell Deans, but only the steel ones (as opposed to nickle-plated steel like most people use). How big of a difference is the tone? Would they still be suitable for metal?

they're brighter by an almost inconcievably small amount. It means a few things: more metallic sounding when theyre played dry, more trebel projected from the amp, more crackle in the distortion, and less muddyness with age.

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Sounds pretty fucking sweet. Also, I found a KICKASS article for all to read. It shows calculations for the string gauge you would need to get x pounds of tension with whatever note you want. Works very nice, takes into account guitar scale too. I only played with it a bit, but it says I would need a 58 gauge string to get 15 pounds on tension on my 24.75" in B.

http://terrydownsmusic.com/technote...ges/STRINGS.HTM

well post the article already!

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Oh shit, I guess I forgot to post it, sorry man. http://terrydownsmusic.com/technote...ges/STRINGS.HTM

I'm also working on a flash program that'll do the calculations for you, it'll be done tonight or tomorrow.

Keep in mind this calculation isn't exact, due to different types of winding and different company's ways of treating strings to increase strength, and the fact that different companies use different alloys (mixtures of metals).

Hmmm odd. I followed Kerry King's advice for string gauges. Like he said he uses 9-42 for D#, 10-46 to C# and uses a 52 for the B when he does Drop B tunnings. Now I personally use 9-42 for both Standard and Dropped. And I am getting my Warlock set up to C# with 10-46. I know a lot of people advise aggainst these strings for these tunning but they seem to work fine for me. They give good sustain and don't flop all over the place.

I use Light N Heavy for the lower tunnings so I can have a tight bottom and lighter highs to make it easier to bend. A lot of artists use lighter strings for lower tunnings. The Berzerker (13-56 for A standard), Nile (10-52 for Drop A), didn't Carcass use 10-52 for B standard or did they use 12-54? I forget.

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Nile uses a .70 gauge for the low A string

http://www.nilechat.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7707

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I use .13, .16, .24w, .34, .48, .60 for Bb, same should be good for B standard!

Unless you bend a lot.

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eh... those strings have just a bit less tension that .009 gauge in E... so it should be no problem. USE THE GAUGE CALCULATOR... it saved my life... It says use 12-56's in C# for the same tightness as 10's in E, (24.75" scale) what a glorious tip.

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I finished my calculator, using that site's equations. It offers two modes, simple and advanced.

In simple, you enter your guitar's scale length and desired tension (I think most people use around 15 or 16 pounds), how much you want to downtune(or not), and whether you want dropped tuning (6th string a step lower), then click solve and it'll show you the gauges you would need (approximately, since the calculator can't be exact due to different brands using different density strings and such). It works for 7 strings, too (though the drop tuning option only effects the 6th string).

In advanced, you can enter the note frequency (or select it from the list, reccommended) and get just a single string. This is good if you want to use some wacko tuning. To select a frequency from the list, click on the desired string (B,E,A,D,G,B, or E) and the list will refresh and show the steps down and frequencies and such. If you click the note on the list, it'll copy to the frequency textbox for you. Then it works the same as the simple version, just for a single string.

http://www.4d5e6f.com/flash/strings.html

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Note: requires flash player 8 to use (get it here)

^ nice job, thanks a lot.