best string gauge

[iommysg]

Hey guys currently have and epi sg g-400 my question is this i have at the moment Ernie ball 12-56 gauge strings but i don't think the sg is coping very well with them but i also play in some really low tuning like drop B and drop A# so what would guys suggest

[deeman]

The thing is, if you put a larger string gauge on the guitar, you will need to do a truss rod adjustment. If you're not sure how to do it, just take your guitar to a guitar repair shop and have them set it up with whatever strings you intend to use. It'll cost you $50 or so but its worth it.

[dporto]

You'll probably also have to do a little tweaking to the string slots in the nut - I think SG's are usually set up for .009's or .010's

[Gordy01]

I have had a couple of guys come into the shop wanting a drop tuning setup done on their guitars.

I advise them to only do this on a long scale guitar if at all possible. The longer scale will play the lower notes a lot cleaner.

The guitar has to have a setup for whatever string guage the guys want, as the nut has to be filed for the larger diameter strings, and the bridge and truss rod almost always have to be adjusted.

 

The other thing about it is that the guitar will not be any good for regular tuning.

Play with drop tuning if you want, but if this is your only guitar don't get it setup for drop tuning.

You'll just have to live with the bad sound of the lower tuning.

 

One more thing. An Epi SG, or any kind of SG is really not the guitar to play heavy strings, or play drop tuning on. The neck joint is just a bit too flexible for the heavier strings.

[iommysg]

so what would you suggest gord in terms of guitar because i love playing songs by parkway drive (very hardcore band) as well as the likes of killswitch engage and trivium.

[LongMan]

so what would guys suggest

For that low tunings I would suggest to use a baritone guitar with 28" scale.

[LP121]

so what would you suggest gord in terms of guitar because i love playing songs by parkway drive (very hardcore band) as well as the likes of killswitch engage and trivium.

 

Like Gordy said, you'll want a longer scale length, I'd suggest a minimum 25.5". I have 10's on my SG and won't go lower that Drop C#. I might also suggest you look into maybe a 7 string. I know Trivium uses 7 strings quite a bit.

[capmaster]

...

One more thing. An Epi SG, or any kind of SG is really not the guitar to play heavy strings, or play drop tuning on. The neck joint is just a bit too flexible for the heavier strings.

On my 1978 Gibson S-G Standard I played .012" to .054" roundwounds for many years using standard tuning without any trouble, even not with nut or machine heads. At the moment I play .011" to .050" roundwounds with a plain G3rd for better bending effect on all hardtail solidbodies including SGs.

[iommysg]

Like Gordy said, you'll want a longer scale length, I'd suggest a minimum 25.5". I have 10's on my SG and won't go lower that Drop C#. I might also suggest you look into maybe a 7 string. I know Trivium uses 7 strings quite a bit.

 

I was actually looking into buying heafy lp its a custom 7 string les paul, i also found a jackson dinky 7 string for a very very good price. i think it would be better to keep my sg in the higher tuning and get a 7 for the lows thanks guys

[LP121]

I was actually looking into buying heafy lp its a custom 7 string les paul, i also found a jackson dinky 7 string for a very very good price. i think it would be better to keep my sg in the higher tuning and get a 7 for the lows thanks guys

 

Yeah, if you go with a 7 string you can disregard the scale length worry.

[Gordy01]

On my 1978 Gibson S-G Standard I played .012" to .054" roundwounds for many years using standard tuning without any trouble, even not with nut or machine heads. At the moment I play .011" to .050" roundwounds with a plain G3rd for better bending effect on all hardtail solidbodies including SGs.

 

 

There are certainly exceptions to everything.

"In general" SG's are known for being a bit weaker at the neck joint. If it were me going to a drop tuning, the 7 string, or baritone would be my choice just because of the extra tension that the heavier strings put on the guitar.

[capmaster]

There are certainly exceptions to everything.

"In general" SG's are known for being a bit weaker at the neck joint. If it were me going to a drop tuning, the 7 string, or baritone would be my choice just because of the extra tension that the heavier strings put on the guitar.

 

It would be interesting to know if they changed the neck joint of these since the 27" scale will make for higher string tension:

 

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Baritone/Specs.aspx

 

I didn't check out one up to now, but I think that the use of ceramic-loaded 496R and 500T pickups will minimize the disturbance of string vibrations by the pickups' magnetic fields and so may provide a clear tone without annoying beats.

[Gordy01]

It would be interesting to know if they changed the neck joint of these since the 27" scale will make for higher string tension:

 

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/SG/Gibson-USA/SG-Baritone/Specs.aspx

 

 

That's a good question. I may have spoken out of turn. Just one of my flaws.

It looks as though there is a bit more meat in the neck base on the baritone, but I can not be sure.

 

All I know for sure is that it is easier to get a tremolo effect by bending the guitar itself, with an SG than a Les Paul. To me that suggests a bit more flex in the whole thing.

Additionally the body is almost 3/4 of an inch thinner at the neck joint than a Les Paul.

[capmaster]

When I replaced the black pickup rings of my SG Supra with creme ones, I saw the long neck tenon below the neck pickup. Since there is a mahogany neck joined to a maple body, it can clearly be seen. I think it will withstand high string pull, too.

 

I think I will take a look below the neck pickup of my 1978 S-G Standard someday. However, the S-Gs of this period have a lower neck joint, and so it might be rather stable, too.

[Bluemans335]

I think that the use of ceramic-loaded 496R and 500T pickups will minimize the disturbance of string vibrations by the pickups' magnetic fields and so may provide a clear tone without annoying beats.

 

Ceramic magnets are stronger than alnicos, and more likley to 'pull' on the strings and reduce sustain.

[jc1funk]

I recently bought a 24.75" scale guitar (Genesis) specifically to set up in C-standard with 12-56s.

 

This is how it panned out:

 

1. Had to file the nut slots

2. Had to adjust intonation and flip the saddle on the G string to buy an extra few mm's of intonation adjustment and now it is only almost perfect

3. The B may need the same (but I'm lazy)

4. Had to adjust the bridge height

5. Overall - sounds great - lots of fun to play - cost me peanuts

 

Generally would agree that a 25.5" scale guitar would be better, but in my case there was nothing like that at a comparably ridiculous price to what I was offered the Genie for.

 

If you're tuned down far enough, which it sounds like you are, the tension from 12s or 13s isn't going to be more (and if so not much more) than 10s or 11s in standard tuning, so I don't understand how it could affect the neck joint unless you wanted to change tuning to E-standard, but like a previous poster said, you're gonna wanna have a guitar set up specifically for this tuning and other tunings in close proximity.

 

Intonation is the big killer, as is tuning/vibrational stability in the lower strings, but the latter can be compensated for with correct left AND right hand technique.

 

I weighed up a baritone, but you wouldn't get the same "feel" as a detuned guitar. The relaxed string tension creates a whole different vibe for the instrument and lends itself to a whole different range of expression, especially with wide bends.

[capmaster]

Ceramic magnets are stronger than alnicos, and more likley to 'pull' on the strings and reduce sustain.

This is definitely incorrect. The weakest AlNiCo magnets achieve more than twice the remanence of the strongest ceramics. Ceramic magnets do have by far the smallest remanence of all permanent magnet materials.

 

This must not be changed by mistake with their coercivity which is rather high, especially in relation to the limited remanence, and makes them very durable.

 

Additionally, ceramic magnets are the only non-conductive ones and won't eat up voltage and resonance by causing eddy currents which are unavoidable with any other magnet material.

 

Since I couldn't find a figure with an English legend, I link one provided by the German Wikipedia online encyclopaedia.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/4/48/%C3%9Cbersicht_Koerzitivfeldst%C3%A4rke.svg

 

From left to right the coercivity increases, i. e. the materials on the left are proper for transformers, those on the right for permanent magnets. The saturation for the materials on the left respectively the possible remanence for those on the right increases from the bottom to the top. Weich-Ferrite means soft ferrites aka soft ceramics e. g. for RF and HF transformers without losses through eddy currents, and Hart-Ferrite means hard ferrites aka hard ceramics used for permanent magnets. Hard means high coercivity, i. e. durability of the magnetic field.

 

It is easy to see that the AlNiCo magnets are located above the Hart-Ferrite = hard ceramics right hand on the diagram. For the field strength, refer to the scale on the vertical axis.