Santa Cruz Parabolic Tension Strings

Fishboy7 · February 2023

I've just got a pack of these to try.

Interestingly the string gauges aren't disclosed on the pack. They're just described as mid tension which I'm assuming is equivalent to 12s.

brucegill · February 2023

I really like the mid tensions. I did find the gauges listed on a forum. I’ll see if I can dig it out

brucegill · February 2023

Low tension:

.012, .016, .023, .032, .044, .056

GAUGE - TENSION in pounds

.012 - 20

.016 - 22.5

.023- 27.9

.032 – 30.5

.044—28

.056 – 27

Total tension – 156 lbs

Mid tension:

.013, .0165, .024, .033, .045, .056

GAUGE - TENSION in pounds

.013 - 22.5

.0165 - 24

.024 - 28.5

.033 - 28.5

.045 - 32.5

.056 – 27

163 – mid tension

Carolyn

Carolyn Sills

Santa Cruz

Fishboy7 · February 2023

Thanks for that Bruce.

I'm used to 12s but sure thes will be fine

bertie · February 2023

gives a great "insight" into the pressure's on a neck/headstock/bridge

be interesting to see the tension of other brands at the same gauge

brucegill · February 2023

Fishboy7 said:

Thanks for that Bruce.

I'm used to 12s but sure thes will be fine

I’ve got the lights on something I normally use 12s on and I’m not so keen tbh. But the mediums are on something that has 13s and I prefer these SC. I’d give them a go!

Found this, but not verified the figures

For a comparison, here are D'addario's EJ16 lights:

E 23.360
B 23.310
G 30.030
D 29.930
A 28.930
E 24.950

drofluf · February 2023

bertie said:

gives a great "insight" into the pressure's on a neck/headstock/bridge

be interesting to see the tension of other brands at the same gauge

For Newton Heritage the Information is on their website. No direct comparison but the SC low tension fall between Newtone "12's" and "13's"

The "12's":

.012	.016	.020w	.028	.038	.051
22	22	21	22	22	22	131

And "13's"

.013	.017	.022w	.031	.042	.055
26	25	26	26	26	26	155

bertie · February 2023

that's some pretty big differences between brands, odd how the Newtons are very similar across the strings within one set and the difference between the 016 and 017 is bigger

Cryptid · February 2023

bertie said:

that's some pretty big differences between brands, odd how the Newtons are very similar across the strings within one set and the difference between the 016 and 017 is bigger

I think that's the point with Newtone Heritages - even tension balance across all strings within a set.
The 0.13 (B) in their 10 gauge set is 16 lbs, whereas the 0.13 (E) in the 13 gauge set is 26 lbs!

I have a light spanish-heeled folk guitar with a bellying top and hoped that Heritage would suit me as the 11's have a total tension of only 115 lbs, but I really disliked their sound and laughable longevity. I love their Monels on maple guitars tho, they last me months.

It's quite annoying when string manufacturers aren't forthcoming with the tension data, I really should start a spreadsheet.

stickyfiddle · February 2023

I got a set of these thrown in when I bought my Bourgeois. I actually put them on the little Atkin 47 and they sound really nice. Though I can't say I noticed much of a difference in feel, possible because I play a lot in open tunings anyway

Tannin · February 2023

Strings by Mail in the USA list the gauges for all the strings they sell (which is a very substantial fraction of all the strings that you can buy anywhere). Anytime you can't find the gauges of some strings you are interested in, hit their website.

And yep, the Santa Cruz Lights are bluegrass gauge - 12-56. But they don't play like it, not at all. They play like 11s. Very light for "12s".

Are they any good? Sure they are. Better than good, excellent. I like them a lot. I suppose my main gripe is that the "lights" play like ultra-lights (if that's what you call 11s) and are too loose and flappy on a guitar set up for standard 12s, while their "Mediums" are medium indeed, and then some. While Santa Cruz Lights are probably the lightest "lights" I've ever played, Santa Cruz Mediums are amongst the heaviest mediums I've played. Why can't they make a string that hits the happy medium?

But if you like a very, very light 12 ... well, OK, if you like 11s ... Santa Cruz strings are as good as anything I've ever played, and better than most. Bloody dear though.

Tannin · February 2023

PS, as Santa Cruz say, "gauge is nothing, tension is everything". Strings have all sorts of different alloys, and different core-to-wrap ratios, so you can wind any given gauge string to a whole range of different tensions, even without tweaking the alloy mix. SC's attention to string-to-string balance really shows. Great strings.

Tannin · February 2023

Tannin said:

Santa Cruz Mediums are amongst the heaviest mediums I've played. Why can't they make a string that hits the happy medium?

Oh dear. No pun intended.

Soupman · February 2023

Yes, tensions vary a lot for similar string sets.
When looking for low tension 12s for an aging guitar I looked online for my usual sets. Many show pictures of the packet and the back, which is where the tensions are stated.
Certainly this is true for Elixir, D'addario and Newtone. I settled for Newtone Heritage as the tension was way lower. They're good strings too.

Fishboy7 · February 2023

I've just put them on - Definitely a little bit heavier than the12s but perfectly manageable. Nice and loud also.

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Santa Cruz Parabolic Tension Strings

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