open g gauges

[majormajor22]

i just got a new strat that i want to keep in open g at all times. does anyone have any reccomendations on what gauges to use? i'm considering a custom set, but i'm not sure. any advice would help.

 

thanks.

[Ricochet]

On my electrics I just use a standard set of .012-.052" strings, and they work fine for slide in Open G. They do take a light touch on the upper frets. They also work well in Open A or E.

[Caevan O’Shite]

I use a "custom" mixed-gauge set of DR "Pure Blues" on one guitar for Open-D, where I pretty much just picked gauges from the next heavier set for those strings that are tuned down from standard. Works very well for me!

 

You could do pretty much the same for Open-G; just figure what the heaviest set of gauges you would use for standard tuning on that guitar for the style you're going to play on it (Slide? Fretted? Both?), and then swap up to the gauges of the next heaviest set of that brand and type for those strings that are tuned down (the 1st, 5th, and 6th strings, in the case of Open-G). That'll keep just enough tension on the down-tuned strings, with a fair balance amongst all six.

[picker]

Has anybody experimented with lighter gauges for increased tension-tunings like open E?

[Caevan O’Shite]

Sure, you just do the exact opposite of what I mention above for Open-D; select gauges from or similar to those from the next lighter string-set for those strings that are tuned up (in your case, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th strings). Adjust to taste from there if they're too loose or too tight. Done it on a flat-top years ago, that was often prone to 1st-fret buzz if I tuned down to Open-D, so I often went to Open-E and/or Open-A, etc. Works great.

[Ricochet]

If you go to D'Addario's website you'll find a string tension chart pdf file. That shows, for each of their string types and gauges, the tension they're pulling at various notes in their tuning range on a standard 25.5" scale length. You can use that to check the tensions of the strings you're using at the tunings they're set at now, then look to see what gauge would give the same tension at the new tuning. Then go order bulk strings of the gauges you need from a place like http://juststrings.com/ and make your own sets with no wasted strings left over.

 

I did that for sliding in Open D and Open G on my resonator. Figured out what was the biggest string I could get away with in each position at the higher of the two pitches some of 'em are tuned to in either Open D or Open G, and that's what I use. (They're on a Johnson Tricone with a huge neck.) I ended up using nickel electric strings in .017, .020 (the first two plain steel), .028, .038, .052 and .070". All of them are running tensions around the mid-30s, in pounds. About 210 pounds total, in either tuning. I love 'em! But I wouldn't put strings that big on an electric with a skinny neck.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite:

I use a "custom" mixed-gauge set of DR "Pure Blues" on one guitar for Open-D, where I pretty much just picked gauges from the next heavier set for those strings that are tuned down from standard. Works very well for me!

Err... how do you do that?

 

Do you buy the strings in mixed bunches on purpose, as in "gimme 5 12 gauge strings, 3 23 gauge (wound) strings, 2 plain 23 gauge..." and so on or do you just have a lot of strings hanging around the house?

[Caevan O’Shite]

Originally posted by Kramer Ferrington III.:

Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite:

I use a "custom" mixed-gauge set of DR "Pure Blues" on one guitar for Open-D, where I pretty much just picked gauges from the next heavier set for those strings that are tuned down from standard. Works very well for me!

"Err... how do you do that?

 

Do you buy the strings in mixed bunches on purpose, as in "gimme 5 12 gauge strings, 3 23 gauge (wound) strings, 2 plain 23 gauge..." and so on or do you just have a lot of strings hanging around the house?"

Actually, DR will package custom gauge combinations upon request. As far as I know, there's no extra charge; if there is, it's so small that I didn't notice them being any more expensive than off-the-shelf packs of strings. The gauges and types must be selected from existing stock.

 

I just let the owner of a local shop know ahead of time when I'll be needing more, so that he can put it in with his monthly order for regular DR string-sets that he stocks. (That way, there's no extra shipping & handling, either.) Out of courtesy, I pay ahead. (If I left him hangin', who else is likely to come along wanting the exact same custom-set?)

 

They come with a nifty red "Custom" label stuck over the box where the regular gauges are pinted, listing the included custom mixed-gauges.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by O'Shite Christmas:

Actually, DR will package custom gauge combinations upon request.

How neat! I had no idea