CGDA to GDAE tuning

**fox** · May-17-2019, 2:08am

Originally Posted by neilca

I am still interested in whether the same string gauges can be used on an electric tenor guitar. All of my guitars have a 22.8" scale length.
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I would recommend lower tension for use on an solid body electric, especially if you like bending the strings perhaps something like 11 18 28 40 .
However that is only a educated guess as I have never experimented as I don’t own one !

**StrummingBlind** · May-17-2019, 8:00am

Originally Posted by fox

Ha Ha don’t worry those gages will work just fine.
The thing is, most folk can adjust to the feel of a certain string sets and be quite happy with various tensions but I have experimented quite extensively over the last five years and feel my suggestions feel and sound very good.
However you are free to adjust the feel by using slightly different gauges as long as you don’t go above the guitars integrity.
Very often a new tenor guitar player will have a mandolin background (especially on this forum) and expect their new guitar to have a similar feel and therefore prefer the highest tension option available.
However the tenor guitar is proving to be very popular with ukulele players and they tend to prefer the lowest string tension option!
The benefit of using guitar singles is obvious if you just want to adjust a single string.
There are other reasons why some folk prefer different string sets to others, the actual guitar in question might have stiffer bracing or a different scale length or a bigger body.
The average guitar owner can only do a few home adjustments to improve the sound of their guitar namely the action and the sting gauges, as you are having your guitar set up at a shop you are left with string choice so ... yes you will have to trust me :-)

I'm sure that I'll be happy with it. I'm very easy to please. I only have 6-string acoustic guitar experience, and one of mine has extra light strings, and the other has medium, so I don't mind either way. Have a great day Fox.

**s11141827** · Mar-28-2023, 5:36am

Originally Posted by Scotter

I have a similar but related question: Anyone tune a Mandola from CGDA to GDAE and what string set would be advised?

Thomastik & Optima make special Mandola strings designed for GDAE Tuning which could produce an interesting Jazz vibe.

**s11141827** · Mar-28-2023, 7:46am

John Pearse #450 strings in GDAE Tuning also work great on those old Harmony Tenor Guitars because the tension is lower & it produces an interesting Jazz Tone that fits in w/ the Vintage Jazz vibe of the Finish. I even use a Jazz Pick so that it's easier for me to produce a good sound.