View Full Version : String spacing?
I've never even seen a tenor guitar in the flesh, but would like to try one. However as a bass guitar player I often find moving between bass and 6 string guitar frustrating as the er margin for error is hugely reduced. Is the string spacing of a tenor the same as a 6 string, i.e. just like taking 2 strings off? A bit more finger room, like a baritone uke, would be preferable.
HQentity
Dec-30-2020, 10:12am
Hi!
My dad plays bass guitar, the neck of his guitars are massive in comparison to my tenor guitars. I also play baritone ukuleles actually!
The necks on tenor guitars are very narrow, so the strings will be closer together. But the strings are tiny in comparison to bass guitars.
What draws you to tenor guitars? What sort of music would you like to play? Is it worth looking at ukuleles, maybe even bass ones? :)
Seonachan
Dec-30-2020, 10:23am
Some electric tenor models have wider string spacing, esp. some of the Eastwoods.
Love the sound, love the look. Want the means of playing interesting 7th chords cleanly, which can't on 6 string without ignoring my bassing.
HQentity
Dec-30-2020, 1:33pm
Very good reasons then! I think I read your message a little wrong originally - I think the spacing actually between the strings is similar on a 6 string guitar as a tenor, so I think you are right.
I find tenor guitars far easier to play than 6 string guitars and thoroughly recommend going for it!
kurth83
Dec-30-2020, 3:22pm
String spacing at the nut and at the saddle are both important. And they are customizable to a point. Saddle is easier to make your own spacing. Nut width is constrained by the neck.
I find I prefer a narrower nut (1 1/8) and a wider saddle (1 1/2 to 1 5/8). But too wide makes you work harder as more motion is required. You want just enough width so fingers can clear each string comfortably (at the nut), and at the saddle you want to be able to find each string comfortably.
I had a 1 5/8 saddle made recently (1 1/2 is a more standard width), and it took some getting used to as I was used the narrow saddles of mandolins. In retrospect I don't think it mattered that much, except for fingerstyle the extra space is making things easier.
Love the sound, love the look. Want the means of playing interesting 7th chords cleanly, which can't on 6 string without ignoring my bassing.
For 7ths something I use quite a bit is a two note diagonal form using the third and seventh. A7 is 765(4), D7 is 654(3), G7 is 543(2). Keep moving towards the nut.....is also useful for switching positions on the neck.
Dogrich
Dec-30-2020, 4:29pm
If you like a wider than regular six string spacing (or regular tenor which would be similar), check out the Eastwood Warren Ellis Signature models. They have a good bit more space between the strings at the bridge than normal. That may give you something that is a little more familiar, space-wise, coming from playing the bass.
Lord of the Badgers
Dec-30-2020, 5:49pm
an eastwood warren ellis is v wide... a 57 Gibson ETG150 (mine in particular)... very narrow!
my others are just right (for me).
depends on what you like doing... fingerpicking might be easier the wider it is. I'm a mix, so my mcilroy & manson are in the sweet spot
Chip Stewart
Dec-30-2020, 8:35pm
If you like a wider than regular six string spacing (or regular tenor which would be similar), check out the Eastwood Warren Ellis Signature models. They have a good bit more space between the strings at the bridge than normal. That may give you something that is a little more familiar, space-wise, coming from playing the bass.
+1. I'm a bass player and find playing my Warren Ellis tenor guitar very comfortable. The bridge string spacing on my Warren Ellis tenor guitar is 16 mm and the bridge string spacing on my bass guitar is 19 mm. Not exactly the same but very close. A typical 6 string guitar string spacing would be around 10 mm.
an eastwood warren ellis is v wide... a 57 Gibson ETG150 (mine in particular)... very narrow!
Examples of nuts widths.
190971
Is the string spacing of a tenor the same as a 6 string, i.e. just like taking 2 strings off?
Most of the time - yes.
190973190974
Bridge & Saddle of an Eastwood Astrojet Tenor Guitar
My Astrojet tenor has a 6-string saddle with four strings - spacing is ~10 mm.
The bridge string spacing on my Warren Ellis tenor guitar is 16 mm and the bridge string spacing on my bass guitar is 19 mm. Not exactly the same but very close. A typical 6 string guitar string spacing would be around 10 mm. I was hoping you would give your thoughts Chip.
Eastwood's Warren Ellis series, Tenorcaster and the MRG Studio tenors all have the wide string spacing (as far as I know). Had the MRG Studio tenor guitar briefly. I sent it back, wide string spacing was not for me.
https://eastwoodguitars.com/collections/tenor-guitars
Happy New Year!
Huck
The bridge string spacing on my Warren Ellis tenor guitar is 16 mm....
Excellent news, my (5 string) bass has 16.5mm spacing.
The Eastwood site has the same nut width for all the tenors, but is it just the Warren Ellis wider at the bridge?
Stagehand
Dec-31-2020, 7:48am
I have a very inexpensive Kmise acoustic tenor with a 10mm nut and 14mm bridge spacing.
Overall width is 1 3/16" nut and 1 11/16" bridge.
It is slightly wider than an early Favilla baritone ukulele.
I also have a Fender Tele tenor with 7mm nut and 11mm bridge spacing.
Overall width is 7/8" nut and 1 3/8" bridge.
Seonachan
Dec-31-2020, 10:23am
Excellent news, my (5 string) bass has 16.5mm spacing.
The Eastwood site has the same nut width for all the tenors, but is it just the Warren Ellis wider at the bridge?
The Tenorcaster also has a wide spacing at the bridge. The Map tenor is narrower (you can see it uses a standard 6-string bridge). Of the others I've played, the Delta also had a wider spacing. The Astrojet and LP were more like regular guitar spacing.
I don't know if there's any variation between the wider or narrower models, e.g. whether the Tenorcaster is different from the Warren Ellis. I believe the only Warren Ellis model with narrower spacing is the 5-string version.
Chip Stewart
Dec-31-2020, 3:58pm
Excellent news, my (5 string) bass has 16.5mm spacing.
The Eastwood site has the same nut width for all the tenors, but is it just the Warren Ellis wider at the bridge?
The Eastwood Tenorcaster and MRG Tenor also have wide string spacing, but I don't know if they are the same as the Warren Ellis spacing. To me visually, both the Tenorcaster and MRG Tenor bridge spacing look to be slightly closer together than the Warren Ellis, but it could just be the way the pictures were taken. If someone has a Tenorcaster and/or MRG Tenor hopefully they will post the bridge string spacing for you.
Lord of the Badgers
Dec-31-2020, 7:50pm
Excellent news, my (5 string) bass has 16.5mm spacing.
The Eastwood site has the same nut width for all the tenors, but is it just the Warren Ellis wider at the bridge?
The Classic tenor definitely is more standard nut width. I know as I have one ... and a warren ellis. the classic is more like my other tenors (well the gibson is narrower again, but the other tenors are standard), Of my tenors the warren is the only really wide one.