Cafe members, I have lurked on this website over the years, but have never opened a thread. I'm gonna' open one now with the idea of inviting comments and suggestions as I venture in to the world of tenor guitars.
First a brief summary of my stringed instrument background. I am a long time guitar player. Self-taught and not very skilled - mostly a strummer of cowboy chords. I'd like to broaden my musical horizons so I've acquired a modest stable of alternative instruments. I started with a vintage Regal tenor guitar and soon learned that there is more to this genre than tuning it to DGBE. As I explored different tunings I discovered that tenor guitars can overlap with tenor banjos - so I bought one. This led me to mandolins, ukes and eventually to a octave mandolin (with mandola and mandocello adding to my growing awareness and confusion about tunings). I now have an array of instruments.
If the various tuning possibilities isn't too much for my weary brain, I'm now aware that string weight is very important when one ventures off the beaten tenor guitar path - into alternate tunings.
This is unlike the guitar world where standard tuning predominates and string weights are pretty much incidental - i.e. retune your guitar to dropped D or other alternative using whatever strings are on your guitar. Guitar strings come in different weights and that is about all I've ever needed to know. But now I'm dazzled by the possibility of retuning my tenor guitar from DGBE to standard tenor (CGDA) and other favorites such as GDAD or even GDAE or AEAC#. Using Rye Cooder's helpful chart I've tried to understand what strings I need to buy to retune my tenor guitars (I now have several).
I'm not ready to give up, but I'm sorely in need of help. Is it possible to buy a set of tenor guitar strings that are suitable for a particular tuning or must I build my own set of strings that fit a particular tuning? From what I read on this section of the Mandolin Cafe website for tenor guitars, there is no simple solution to the string weight (and composition) + tuning options = start here. Folks with lots of experience express their preferences, but the nuance they introduce loses me. Maybe the guitar world is less complex, but I feel like I've moved deep into woods as I try to find a path to understanding.
I don't mean to whine, but I'm hoping one or several of you will help - starting with the question about where to find strings sets that are suitable for common tunings. Just Strings doesn't seem to have what I'm looking for and neither does Strings and More. I find various prepacked sets of strings for what I assume is a CGDA set up. And I saw someone mention getting Pearse #450 for GDAD tuning. Is there more? Where?
Thanks. Larry
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