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mmukav
Jul-02-2004, 12:40pm
Question: Right now my zouk is strung with octaves on the 3-4 courses. If I wanted to change to unison on these 2, will it put way more tension on the neck? Will it change the releif of the neck that much? Think it will require a tension rod adjustment?

Jacob
Jul-02-2004, 7:20pm
It all depends on what gauge strings are used.
I would highly recommend downloading and using Doug Dieter's Universal String Tension Calculator (http://www.kennaquhair.com/ustc.htm).
This is a very useful program for determining string gauges when changing tunings.

mmukav
Jul-02-2004, 9:56pm
I did look at it. (looks like a lot of work) ((just kidding)). Right now I have D'Addario J67's--.011-.014-.025-.039. I replaced the unison .025 and .039 with plain steel .011 and .014. They sound good, but was just wondering how it would sound with the unison strings on it. Guess I just have to try them. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

Fretbear
Jul-12-2004, 11:24pm
One thing you can do before you settle on anything is after you re-string it to tune the whole instrument down a half or full step and see where your action is and where the instrument sounds best. That gives you another few options, and every instrument is different and sounds different at different tensions. A good tuner like the Sabine AX2000 will help preserve your sanity.