strings gauge....for CGCFAD

[Moonfish]

Hi, I must change the tuning of my guitar.......from standard tuning to CGCFAD to play "Queens of the stone age".......and other similar bands......What strings gauge may i use, if I don't want to change any truss rod and action setup?????? now I'm using 010/46 on my stratocaster and 011/49 on my Gibson 347

[g.]

Go to the D'Addario website and download their string tension pdf. That'll put you in the ballpark with any brand of strings of the same type.

[fantasticsound]

Thanks, Greenboy! I know the scale length will make a difference, but that will help me determine appropriate strings for some odd instruments I have, such as my mini-LP. I don't know the scale length offhand, but I've always played guessing games with the gauges. (You can imagine how bad the intonation is. )

[g.]

I built a spreadsheet using the formulas (in the pdf in some form):

 

tension = (unit weight x (2 x scale length x frequency)²)/386.4

 

and its inverse,

 

unit weight = (tension x 384.4)/(2 x scale length x frequency)²

 

Then you can figure them out for other scale lengths, and nab the strings with the closest unit weights

[g.]

and no - I did NOT learn that from a synth player ; }

[Caevan O’Shite]

For both slide and fretting on the same axe, I tune and string one solid-body electric guitar to D-A-D-F#-A-D, low-to-high, using gauges .052", .038", .028", .024"(w), .015", .012" (low-to-high). A little heavy for some folks, but not crazy heavy, due to being tuned down a little ways on some strings. And similar to what you're going for, as a point of reference...

 

You might want to go with a little lighter 3rd-string, plain or wound as your preference dictates, and either similar to or a little heavier than mine for the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings, depending on the sound and feel that you want...