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Thread: String tension?

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    Registered User G7MOF's Avatar
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    Default String tension?

    This may be a stupid question but do light gauge strings produce more tension than heavy. For instance, my bass guitar strings are obviously under less tension than my guitar so the pressure put onto the top of the instrument will be less with heavy strings.
    If this is true, why are we told to put light gauge strings on old mandolins to stop the chance of the top sinking?
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  2. #2

    Default Re: String tension?

    A thinner string requires less tension to get to the same pitch as a thicker string.

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: String tension?

    +1) Other way round, to reach the same pitch a heavier string , say a .0115",
    will be at higher tension, than an, .010" or .009"
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    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: String tension?

    Putting it yet another way, pitch and string length matter. If you swap to even heavier strings on your bass, they will be higher tension. Conversely, thinner strings will be low-tension on your bass. This principle is universal, but you have to compare equivalents, not very different scale lengths and pitches.
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    Default Re: String tension?

    The bass strings look large compared to a mandolin or guitar string, but it is it winding and the core that make the tension. The bass will have a heavier winding or even two windings and a much longer scale length. They are also tuned an octave below the guitar. If you put bass strings on a guitar I doubt you could even get them up to pitch before breaking either the string or the guitar.
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    Registered User O. Apitius's Avatar
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    Default Re: String tension?

    Quote Originally Posted by G7MOF View Post
    This may be a stupid question but do light gauge strings produce more tension than heavy. For instance, my bass guitar strings are obviously under less tension than my guitar so the pressure put onto the top of the instrument will be less with heavy strings.
    If this is true, why are we told to put light gauge strings on old mandolins to stop the chance of the top sinking?
    There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers. (So far, none here) As the previous posters have unanimously stated, lighter strings require less tension to reach a given pitch than do heavier gauge strings. Is it possible that your perception that the strings on your bass are under less tension than the strings on your guitar results from the bass having a longer scale which makes string deflection easier?

    Here's a handy string guage tension calculator on the D'Addario strings website.
    http://stringtensionpro.com/Search#
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  8. #7
    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: String tension?

    For a given musical note: The less massive the string, the less tension required.

    If you're interested in the basic physics, then here it is. The fundamental frequency, f, of a plucked string is given by

    f = (1/2L) * SQRT (T/m)

    where L is the length of the string, T is the tension in the string, and m is the mass-per-unit-length (i.e., the linear mass density) of the string. SQRT( ) means to take the square root of the quantity inside the parentheses, and * means to multiply.

    rearranging this equation and solving for the tension, we get:

    T = 4m*(L*f)^2

    where( )^2 means to square the quantity inside the parentheses (sorry, there are no superscripts in this editor).

    So, for a fixed note (frequency), and a fixed scale length (L), the tension is equal to

    T = (a const.) * m

    where the const. is equal to 4*(L*f)^2 and is different for every different length and open note of the string.

    This means that the string tension is strictly proportional to the mass per unit length (mass density).

    If you go to a lighter string (less mass), you can drop the tension. If you go to a heavier string (more mass), you need to increase the tension for the same note.

    By the way, the mass per unit length of a solid string is proportional to its cross-sectional area, which, in turn, is simply proportional to the square of its diameter, so we have

    T = (another const.) * d^2

    where d is the string gauge (diameter). This means that if you drop the string diameter by a factor of two, the tension needed goes down by a factor of FOUR. So you see, a small change in the string gauge can make for a fairly dramatic change in the tension required. For wound strings, the linear mass density is not as simply related to the diameter, since the core and winding are usually made of different density materials, but it's still true that the tension is more-or-less proportional to square of the diameter, with a different const. in the equation. The excellent D'Addario string calculator (Oliver supplied the link, above) is a great place to get real numbers.

  9. #8
    Registered User G7MOF's Avatar
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    Default Re: String tension?

    So pitch and tuning are two different things. For example, My Bottom E string on my guitar and my top E string are the same tuning but not the same pitch?
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    Registered User Tom Wright's Avatar
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    Default Re: String tension?

    Same note name, not same pitch. Pitch is equivalent to frequency. Top E on mando is called E5. Low E on a bass is called E1. The high G on the bass is G2, the low G on a mando is called G3.

    "Tuning" is a vague term, sometimes referring to 5ths vs 4ths, or whether in tune or not (intonation), or whether intervals are equal-tempered.
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  12. #10
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    Default Re: String tension?

    Quote Originally Posted by G7MOF View Post
    So pitch and tuning are two different things. For example, My Bottom E string on my guitar and my top E string are the same tuning but not the same pitch?
    And the bottom E on your bass is an octave below the bottom E of your Guitar
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