Silk and Steel strings in DADGAD?

domforr · July 2020

Is this a viable option, or would the tension be too low to work? I'm interested in trying these strings on my old Hullah OO acoustic, which is tuned to DADGAD but I'm not really clear on the whole tension thing in alt tunings.

Anyone tried it?

maltingsaudio · July 2020

If it works with normal strings it works with silk and steel. All a silk and steel string is is a core of nylon wrapped around a steel core then wrapped in phosphor or bronze. Its not like a nylon set which has no steel core.

DADGAD isn’t an extreme enough tuning to warrant using a custom set for

domforr · July 2020

Isn't there less tension with silk and steel though?

idiotwindow · July 2020

domforr said:

Isn't there less tension with silk and steel though?

Not compared with other strings of the same gauge. Silk & steel seem to be typically 11-47 or something like that and will have the same tension as any other 11-47 sets.

domforr · July 2020

Okay, thanks for that. Good to know.

MichaelWatts · July 2020

Yeah, I tried it for about a week. It's doable but there's not a lot of flavour to work with...

domforr · July 2020

You mean it didn't sound great?

MichaelWatts · July 2020

domforr said:

You mean it didn't sound great?

There just wasn't a lot to work with. The response and the tonal and dynamic range just wasn't there.

domforr · July 2020

Hmm yes, I was wondering that. Finding the right strings for DADGAD has taken me a while (John Pearse new mediums), but I just thought something with a little less high tension and softer sounding might be interesting. I see Newtone has a set of DADGAD low tension strings which might be worth trying, although I've tried the normal tuning low tensions and didn't like them much.

MichaelWatts · July 2020

Yeah it can be a bit of a minefield!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9c4OcxIgGM

ToneControl · July 2020

I have used a website calculator to find the ideal gauges for DADGAD (for me)

For example, I play with 11s on my acoustic,

52

42

32

22

15

11

to maintain the same tensions for DADGAD, you need to use

56

42

32

22

17

13

Another trick is to tune to DADGAD +1 semitone, which keeps the tension on the neck and soundboard about the same as in EADGBE, even if a little uneven.

Try these sites:
http://vinic.free.fr/strings/
http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com/stringxxiii.html

domforr · July 2020

Very useful - thanks

drofluf · July 2020

domforr said:

Hmm yes, I was wondering that. Finding the right strings for DADGAD has taken me a while (John Pearse new mediums), but I just thought something with a little less high tension and softer sounding might be interesting. I see Newtone has a set of DADGAD low tension strings which might be worth trying, although I've tried the normal tuning low tensions and didn't like them much.

I actually prefer Newtone mediums for DADGAD

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Silk and Steel strings in DADGAD?

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