(Long story. Skip to the end to see which strings work for me.)
I've decided to post some general information about Kala KA-GTR tenor guitar string gauges because I have not found this information any place else. I come to the tenor guitar from full-size 6-strings and ukuleles. I must admit that while the standard tenor tunings sound beautiful, I am too old and lazy to relearn the fretboard, and my fingers don't seem to have adequate reach. Long and short of it is that I wanted to use Chicago DGBE tuning. I received my Kala tenor used and tuned to CGDA with what seemed like incredibly light strings, including one that measured at .008". It seemed as if the string tension was not sufficient to drive the solid top of the guitar even though I suspected that the GTR was not over-built since it was coming from a ukulele company. It just sounded dead and awful.
I was told that many guitar setp people generally shoot for about 20 lbs of tension per string. The Kala factory reps steadfastly refused to offer any advice on what the optimum or even structurally safe string tensions would be. They were useless and would only repeat that Kala recommends Daddario J66 strings for their instrument and that they have never even heard of alternate tunings being used on a tenor guitar. So,they wouldn't give me any string tension numbers whatsoever.
The J66 set, as you may know, is aimed at tenor guitars of "standard" scale length whereas the Kala is an unusually short scale length of 21.375 inches. The Daddario J66 set may be the most readily available tenor guitar string set out there, but if you put them on a "shorter than normal" guitar, they are likely to be flabby and not drive the top. If you tune them to DGBE, you would go farther from optimum.
Well, I went ahead and calculated out some strings that would give me approximately 20 lbs of tension all the way across the bridge in DGBE, and was not happy with the sound or the action. I wanted to love the Kala, but had pretty much decided that it was a guitar that sounded good in standard tenor tuning, but not in DGBE. I have an inexpensive Ibanez PFT2 tenor that sounds decent in both. Then, just for the heck of it, I opened up a set of Daddario EJ26 custom light strings I'd bought once for a standard scale 6-string and threw the DGBE strings onto the tenor. Sounds great to me and plays nicely and the intonation seems to have improved.
So, here are some string tension figures you can look at when you choose strings for your Kala KA-GTR tenor guitar. All figures are calculated based upon the 21.375" scale of the KA-GTR. For DGBE, I ended up using .032 .022 .015 .011 and am happy with them.
These are the four highest strings from the EJ26 set that's widely available:
E 0.0110 in. 13.79 lbs
B 0.0150 in. 14.39 lbs
G 0.0220 in. 17.34 lbs
D 0.0320 in. 20.38 lbs
(For a standard scale 6-string, these tensions would each be about 7 lbs. higher.)
If you go with the J66 tenor guitar string set on the KalaKA-GTR in DGBE, you get this:
E 0.0100 in. 11.40 lbs
B 0.0140 in. 12.54 lbs
G 0.0220 in. 17.34 lbs
D 0.0320 in. 20.38 lbs
I think those first two strings are getting pretty flabby in DGBE tuning.
However, when you go to CGDA tuning, the tensions improve for the J66 set:
A 0.0100 in. 20.31 lbs
D 0.0140 in. 17.73 lbs
G 0.0220 in. 17.34 lbs
C 0.0320 in. 16.18 lbs
When you use the J66 set on a standard 23" tenor guitar scale, you get this:
A 0.0100 in. 23.52 lbs
D 0.0140 in. 20.53 lbs
G 0.0220 in. 20.08 lbs
C 0.0320 in. 18.73 lbs
That's what Daddario seems to think normal string tensions should be on the "typical" tenor guitar the J66 string set is designed for, and that's near to the 20 lbs. per string my luthier friend suggested as a ballpark figure.
So, your guitar is not my guitar. Your playing style is not mine. I don't perform on stage. But what sounds and plays nicely on my Kala KA-GTR tuned in Chicago-style DGBE is this:
E 0.0110 in. 13.79 lbs
B 0.0150 in. 14.39 lbs
G 0.0220 in. 17.34 lbs
D 0.0320 in. 20.38 lbs
Four of the strings in the Daddario EJ26 set. (There are several nefarious uses for the remaining two strings...)
I hope this helps someone or, at least, serves as a starting place that more knowledgeable people can comment on.
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