String gauge for DADGAD etc?

noisepolluter · May 2014

I tried CGDBGE on the J45 with 12's yesterday - unsurprisingly the bass string was too slack to ring out properly.

I'm thinking of digging out my old Seagull slope shoulder dread and setting it up for DADGAD and other tunings. Scale length I think is actually somewhere in between Gibson and Martin. Should I be looking at 13's in case I encounter more double-drop bass string tunings?

ICBM · May 2014

You're going to be better off with a mix-n-match set if you want it for DADGAD or very slack lower string tunings really. If you use a standard set of 13s the A, D and G will be much tighter than the others.

Something like 13, 17, 24, 32, 42, 56.

noisepolluter · May 2014

ICBM said:

You're going to be better off with a mix-n-match set if you want it for DADGAD or very slack lower string tunings really. If you use a standard set of 13s the A, D and G will be much tighter than the others.

Something like 13, 17, 24, 32, 42, 56.

Something like this looks like it might be a cost effective way of doing it, then?

http://www.daddario.com/DADProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3769&productid=76&sid=c4a322c0-9865-42b7-bf8e-9eeaae6d57b2

ICBM · May 2014

Ha, that's really funny! I genuinely didn't know about those, but they're exactly the gauges I thought they would be just going from normal sets of 12s and 13s

.

Although the odd thing is, they're intended to produce a better balance in *standard* tuning...

noisepolluter · May 2014

Wonder what they'd be like for normal tuning on the Gibbo?

I tried full-on 13's on it once and it seemed a bit choked.

The D'add bluegrass set also looks interesting.

noisepolluter · May 2014

I'm increasingly tempted to try the "true medium" set on the J-45 to see if they're viable for both standard and dropped tunings.

ToneControl · May 2014

the Daddario set are good if you like non-coated strings

I make my own sets up to a similar set with Elixirs, but for general purpose EADGBE, and DADGAD (or baritone sets going to the equivalent, I use the simple trick of going to DADGAD but up one semitone. So: D# / A# / D# / G# / A# / D#

This maintains roughly the same total tension on the guitar top, so the tone is not lost as much, and the dropped strings are a little less floppy, but you still have the same jump in tension to the ADG strings

Obviously, if you need to stick to the keys in DADGAD - this trick doesn't work

noisepolluter · May 2014

ToneControl said:

the Daddario set are good if you like non-coated strings
I make my own sets up to a similar set with Elixirs, but for general purpose EADGBE, and DADGAD (or baritone sets going to the equivalent, I use the simple trick of going to DADGAD but up one semitone. So: D# / A# / D# / G# / A# / D#
This maintains roughly the same total tension on the guitar top, so the tone is not lost as much, and the dropped strings are a little less floppy, but you still have the same jump in tension to the ADG strings
Obviously, if you need to stick to the keys in DADGAD - this trick doesn't work

That's a nifty trick - thanks.

Evilmags · June 2014

I switched from 12s to 13s so I could use more alt tunings. That said 12s should be OK at D unless you have a really short scale length.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

String gauge for DADGAD etc?

Comments