Octave mandolin tuning

[PT66]

I’m thinking of restringing this one for octave mandolin tuning. 23 inch scale.
String recommendations please.

[jaycat]

I have these on my Blueridge tenor.

[Chris Gray]

I've had good luck with these:



I just noticed jaycat said the same thing....I guess that's 2 votes for the John Pearse Tenor Guitar Strings.

[fox]

This has been a much discussed subject with dozens of threads over the years talking about the ideal string gauges, I did a fair bit of testing on my own 23” scale tenors .
I found the best match of feel and sound, came from using single guitar strings to make you own sets and try to get as close to 20lb of tension on each string.
This works out for a 23” ” scale at 12p 20w 30w 45w
However some guitars like the Blueridge are quite heavily braced and can offer a bit more volume with 22lb a string and some custom guitars can sound great with 18lb per string.
Buying individual strings to customise your own sets is a great way to go….

[PT66]

This has been a much discussed subject with dozens of threads over the years talking about the ideal string gauges, I did a fair bit of testing on my own 23” scale tenors .
I found the best match of feel and sound, came from using single guitar strings to make you own sets and try to get as close to 20lb of tension on each string.
This works out for a 23” ” scale at 12p 20w 30w 45w
However some guitars like the Blueridge are quite heavily braced and can offer a bit more volume with 22lb a string and some custom guitars can sound great with 18lb per string.
Buying individual strings to customise your own sets is a great way to go….

Since this is a KayKraft style guitar that I built myself I will say it is fairly lightly braced. I plan on building my own set from single strings. Just looking for a starting point.

[PT66]

Okay tenor guitar people. Here is a one to think about. I just restrung my KayKraft style tenor to octave mandolin tuning. It sounded muffled and kind of just not responsive. I was about to go back to Chicago tuning when it all of a sudden came alive. Really opened up. I have never in my 60 plus years of playing ever heard a transition like that.

[Granger]

Okay tenor guitar people. Here is a one to think about. I just restrung my KayKraft style tenor to octave mandolin tuning. It sounded muffled and kind of just not responsive. I was about to go back to Chicago tuning when it all of a sudden came alive. Really opened up. I have never in my 60 plus years of playing ever heard a transition like that.

How does the total string tension of the old strings compare to the new setup? I have found it can take a top a little bit of time to adjust to a different total tension.

[PT66]

I don’t know the total tension of either set but I would guess that the octave mandolin set has a somewhat higher tension.

[fox]

Dave, you might find that using a string tension calculator very helpful.
You are looking for around 75-85 total pull or around 20lb per string, for the majority of tenor guitars this will offer a good feel and sound.

[PT66]

The strings I put on are .012, .020, .028 and .042

[PT66]

Are string tension calculators reliable? When you look at a package of strings even the string companies don’t seem to keep the same tension across a set.

[fox]

As far as I know they are accurate, I have a thread somewhere, where I build my own string tension device just by laying out an adjustable scale length and a digital spring balance. My results were very close to the Mac Donald calculator.
They take a bit of learning to use but are in my opinion invaluable for a guitar builder.

[Bertram Henze]

I'll say PB42-PB30-PB20-PL13

[Simon DS]

Ashbury recommend .014/ .022w/ .032w/ .045w for my 20.5” octave but I prefer 15 25 35 50.

A 23” would probably need lighter strings if you want similar tensions.
I like the strings to be quite tight, have the pick bounce, but on the other hand it probably puts some stress on the instrument.

[fox]

Simon, I dont know the limits of your Asbury but the strings you are using come out at a massive 189lb!
So if we adjusted the scale to 23” and halved the strings to four and fitted them to a tenor guitar you would have 119lbs.
If I remember correctly even the heavy braced Blueridge is only rated to 100lb and better suited to 80-85lb