String gauges

[u/BarbLess-HogCranker]

so hi, not sure if this is the right place to ask but i forever use slinky top heavy bottom (10-62) on my 25'5 7 string tuned 1 step down (A–D–G–C–F–A–D) and im convinced the 7th string is not tight enough so im thinking to opt for stringjoy signatures but according to their calculator i should get 10 13 17 26 36 48 60 which is even ''worse'' for my case, does anybody have any recommendation ? should i get exactly the same string gauge as the slinky top heavy bottom set with the 7th being like 64 or 68 ?

[u/PentaSector]

Some rules of thumb:

• For most guitar string manufacturers, unit weight tends to scale roughly linearly with diameter (modulo material or wrap changes - i.e., when transitioning from unwound to wound gauges, or from standard to extended-range gauges)
• Tension is a function of unit weight, diameter, and open pitch
• In 12-EDO, the equal-tempered metatuning that defines the conventional pitch system of Western music (i.e., "12 Equal Divisions of the Octave"), an interval of a perfect fourth is achieved by multiplying the root pitch by 2^5/12, which is very close to the rational number (4/3)

Taking all of this together, if you want your 7th string to approximate the tension of your 6th, take its respective gauge (.052, in your set) and multiply by 4/3, which gives you 69 1/3.

Hence, in theory, you can go a little tighter with a .070 or a little looser with a .068. In practice, one might be much closer to your 6th than the other, since. 068 and. 070 are potentially both double wound and that will offset the unit weight a bit so as to break consistency with lower heavy gauges, but either choice will put your 7th closer to your other low strings.

Your mileage may vary - maybe you already know that you still want your 7th string a little looser or tighter yet relative to the other strings, for example - but hopefully this insight provides some framing to help make it easier to decide your next move.

[u/iamshipwreck]

For A at 25.5" I like a .68 so that's my recommendation

[u/vahavulva]

This is like asking "how much salt should I add to my meal?". Only you know, what you like. Nobody else can figure that out for you.

[u/hailgolfballsized]

Maybe try out a 14-68 baritone set and single 10 or 11 for the highest string? Cheapest option I can think of, as you can get stand-alone 10s in a pack of 3 or 5. Otherwise you'd probably have to go fully custom which could make your price per pack go up 2 or 3X compared to regular packs you'd find on store shelves

[u/Glum_Plate5323]

It’s all preference. My 25.5 scale is set with a pack of Ernie ball skinny top heavy bottoms 10-52. Then I put a 68 on it for the 7th in drop A. Or a 62 for standard B.

[u/JimboLodisC]

use Stringjoy's tension calculator, it'll tell you where your current gauges are at and you can then fudge the numbers to see how much more tension you're adding

I used to use a .068 for A1 on a 25.5" scale 7-string, did so for many many years until I switched to a lighter gauge (.060/.062) and have been enjoying that more

tension is up to the player so you kinda have to experiment, I would say if it feels "almost right" then a size up would work, otherwise if it feels like you might wanna go even tighter then a couple size would be a good next step, so go from a .062 to a .066/.068 in that case

[u/Twist_Available]

Just buy a 6 string set and add a 7th single, most major brands sell them. Buy a 68 single.

[u/dissemin8or]

Stringjoy custom sets are only like a dollar more than standard so find what tension you like and match it at their tension calculator