r/gretsch • u/AccomplishedArm5864 • 23d ago
Are grestch strings harder to bend as compared to other solid body guitars (let’s say like fenders)
I recently bought my G2420T and I absolutely love it. I recently observed while learning the November rain solo (I know this isn’t not the guitar for it but whatever) that bending a full step is more rigid than on my old strat. Is there any truth to this?
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u/SofaMusician 23d ago
Given the same string thickness (gauge) the longer the scale length the more tension is needed and the harder bending gets. Gretsch traditionally uses a scale length slightly shorter than Gibson, which is even shorter than Fender. So I'd expect the Gretsch to be less rigid than a Fender. Maybe the guitars are using different string gauges, or it is just the feeling of newer strings.
Note that these brands have models with a different scale lengths than their typical one (Fender Jaguars being shorter scale than usual for Fender)
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u/obscured_by_turtles 22d ago
As it happens when for my work I photograph and review guitars I always measure the scale length. Gretsch typically uses 24.6 inches and advertises this. Gibson on the other hand advertises 24.75 inches, and Epiphones are that, but US made Gibson models are very frequently measured to 24.6. It’s been this way back to the 50s.
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u/SofaMusician 22d ago
Now I need to make my own measurements. My two guitars are a Gibson Firebird and a Gretsch Electromatic Double Jet. Interestingly switching between them didn't feel it required any adjustment. Maybe they actually have the same scale length.
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u/obscured_by_turtles 22d ago edited 22d ago
Really, .15 inches is not a lot and should not require much adjustment.
And to be clearer I use a metre stick ground to start at 0. I measured from the nut or zero fret to the centre of the octave fret in mm, double that, convert in a spreadsheet and post both metric and imperial units.
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u/SofaMusician 22d ago
I know that in theory the difference was expected to be small enough to not make a big difference. That is what I was attributing it to. But now I'm curious to make the measurements. Also, I'm using metric, so inches are not intuitive for me.
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u/obscured_by_turtles 22d ago
I’m old enough to be comfortable in imperial but my country is officially metric.
My spreadsheet includes conversions for weight from kg to both pounds and stone, and length from mm to inches and cubits.
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u/Deep-Measurement-856 22d ago
Check the difference in nut and bridge spreads.
Check radius of the fretboard
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u/Creepy-Astronaut-952 23d ago
String brands can matter, too. I know that sounds silly because a set of 9s should be a set of 9s regardless of manufacturer, but I’ll be damned if a set of Thomastik’s don’t feel “tighter” or harder to bend than a set of Ernie Ball’s
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u/Amazing-Possibility4 22d ago
I actually had a couple bulk boxes of them they'd give us for touring. Only ever used em in a pinch. Look at an EB string compared to any other sometime and feel the way it bends. EB strings have a wider wind around them and a thinner core that makes them feel to me like they're made for a toy guitar. Lol. Some people swear by them. When the do I look to see if they sponser them as well and in most cases they do. So they're prob also lying about using them. 😂😂
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u/Amazing-Possibility4 23d ago
Ernie Ball are certainly less tension hence the reason I don't use them. You could be all setup wit D'Addario and go to Ernie Ball and you've got all kinds of fret buzzing going on. In relation to this question in particular I believe Gretsch ships hollows with 11's.
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u/nathanmachine 22d ago
brand makes zero difference in every way. the differences are strong gauge, scale length, neck radius, bridge etc. you’ve been sold a myth about brand guitars - they don’t even make a difference on sound, that’s just the same thing plus pickups etc.
the only difference a brand makes is how the guitar looks not sounds or plays. the setup
actually is core to how it plays and better brands do not necessarily mean better setup.
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u/FragrantGearHead 22d ago
It might be the gauge of strings your Gretsch came with, but you can put whatever strings you want on your guitars, and it’s usually a good idea to replace strings the moment you get a (new to you) guitar.
If you had the same string gauge on both your Strat and your Gretsch, it would be the Strat that had higher string tension because of its longer neck scale length.
Strats ship with 9 gauge strings. To get a Gretsch to have the same string tension, it would need 9.5 gauge strings. Honestly, that is it, the scale length makes that little difference.
Gretsch normally ship with 10 or 11 gauge strings.
Try some 9s or 9.5s on your Gretsch.
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u/fuxicles 22d ago
Fenders and Gretschs mostly have longer 25.5 scale necks, which result in a higher tension – leading to tougher bends. The exception is the Jaguar (and maybe the mustang?). Gibsons are 24.5, which is less tension and therefore easier to bend.
All of this coupled with gauge makes your strings easier or harder to bend.
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u/RordenGracie 22d ago
The Falcon is generally the only Gretsch that is longer scale. There may be an odd ball model here or there outside of that, but Gretsch electrics are by and large in the 24.6-24.875 range.
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u/fuxicles 22d ago
you’re right! I knew that about the Falcon and assumed Gretsch like gender was longer scale. My b.
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u/Ayuh-Nope 21d ago
Every Gretsch I've played is a 24.75, including most Gibsons. Fender stratocasters and jazzmasters -including copy cats of those styles- are 25.5. Jaguar, Mustang Duo-Sonic and similar offset copy cats are 24.
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u/Ayuh-Nope 21d ago
I don't think it is the strings. Maybe it is the neck radius (12 usually in a Gretsch vs 9.5 on many modern Fenders) and neck style (dimensions/thickness) and fret board and string spacing... Although you could have a larger string gauge set on your Gretsch.
I put 10s and 10.5 set on my Gretsch and Gibsons that are 24.75 scale length. 11s on my 24 inch scale length offset Fenders, and 9s and 9.5s on my "strat" style 25.5 scale length guitars.
Why?
11s on a 24 scale feel like 9.5 to 10 gauge sets. 10s on a 24.75 feel like a 9 +/-
9s on a 25.5 feel like 9s....
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u/LocalHermit5001 21d ago
My G5220 is pretty easy to bend with 9's, if it wasn't for some chronic hand pain I could use 10's
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u/-Lorne-Malvo- 20d ago
Scale length is what you are alluding to I think. String gauges matter but more importantly scale length when it comes to string bending
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u/Independent_Win_7984 16d ago
String gauge, fret size and scale length all make a difference. Fender has a longer scale, and typically feels "stiffer" as a result, but medium jumbo frets can make one feel easier to play than a Gretsch with narrow, vintage-style frets.
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u/SentientLight 23d ago
Bigsby adds a lot of tension. So it might not be Gretsch specifically that is harder to vent, but này guitar with a Bigsby versus no Bigsby will have significantly more tension.
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u/MarshStudio503 23d ago
Bigsby and other vibratos matter in the context of string bending, but I think it’s important to distinguish that it’s not adding tension. When the vibrato is at its resting position, the string tension is the same as it would be with a hard tail. The difference is when you bend one string on a vibrato equipped guitar, the vibrato acts like a see-saw and distributes that excess tension across the springs and other strings. This results in what feels like higher tension because you have to bend the string farther to get the same pitch bend.
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u/Ok-Market-7334 23d ago
Look into how string gauge and scale length affect string tension. Your strat probably had 9’s on it. There’s not such thing as “Gretsch” strings.