How much higher than standard are you willing to tune

[guitar344]

I'm will to go three notes higher with a set of 12's. After that I'm worried the strings will break.

[MThomson]

I don't tune any higher than standard. That's what capos are for.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by MThomson

I don't tune any higher than standard. That's what capos are for.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Aaaaaahh-yup to THIS!

[vld]

I tune up to two semi-tones higher then standard on selected strings. If the guitar is strung with set of 11's and the capo is on second or higher position I usually tune to EBEABE or DAEAGE instead of DADGAD or CGDGAG just to keep string tension.

[Silly Moustache]

Hello again guitar 344.

For most of us the idea or actuality of breaking a string is a most unpleasant and inconvenient experience.

I was asked recently by one of my students how often I have broken a string whilst playing and in fifty years, I can't recall it EVER happening to me, even though I am quite a heavy player - I don't abuse my instruments.

My only experience of breakage has been when installing new strings - due to a faulty string or my error.

BTW - I have seen a couple of incidences when people who have broken strings have been injured by the whiplash including one whose eye was damaged. Therefore I would suggest that you take suitable care to protect yourself when experimenting with breaking strings.

As you may know, musicians rarely, if ever, involved in tuning higher that normal, (apart from the Dobro) although many choose to use tunings such as DADGAD or open G or D which require some strings to be tuned lower than normal.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by MThomson

I don't tune any higher than standard. That's what capos are for.

Nailed it...

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by guitar344

How much higher than standard are you willing to tune?

I don't know why you would ever tune higher than standard. However, I often hear talk of tuning lower.

[cliff_the_stiff]

Originally Posted by guitar344

I'm will to go three notes higher with a set of 12's. After that I'm worried the strings will break.

If I were you, I might try “Nashville tuning” or high stringing instead of 2 notes up. Basically stringing up a 6 string with the octave strings from a pack of 12string strings.
With 12s, You are increasing the tension on the neck significantly.
I would guess that the difference in tension of 12’s tuned up 2 steps would be similar to stringing 14’s. maybe +40lbs collectively.
Or buy a Martin Tenor guitar.
Silly, Is that what you ordered? A Martin Tenor?

[bfm612]

Originally Posted by MThomson

I don't tune any higher than standard. That's what capos are for.

I have a guitar tuned to C-G-C-F-C-E (like in Nick Drake's Pink Moon), so the wounds are all tuned down, but my 2nd string is tuned up half a step. It definitely feels tight, but I don't play it hard since I'm still nervous it'll break.

Any more than a couple of strings tuned up half a step would probably make me worry enough not to do it.

[MakingMusic]

You do run the risk breaking strings if you tune up and as others have said, using a capo is best. I do play a couple of Will Ackerman songs. Ackerman is known for his alternate tunings and he does tune individual strings both up and down. Johnny Marr from The Smiths tunes his strings up all the time. Look at "The Headmaster Ritual" as an example.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by guitar344

I'm will to go three notes higher with a set of 12's. After that I'm worried the strings will break.

That's a lot more tension than what most guitars are braced for. Your bridge will feel it too and might pull off. Your strings will the be the cheapest of the fixes.
I too like the comment from MThompson above about capo use.

Ackerman is known for his alternate tunings and he does tune individual strings both up and down.

Right. As does Hedges in a few tunes. The overall tension stays often the same because some go down as other go up.
To keep all of them up on the order of a full tone, or more, is lighting the candle at both ends. Not a good idea on the long run imo.

[mr. beaumont]

Played gigs with a Johnny Cash act, did as much as possible "just like the original," including tuning to F standard...but that was on my tele. I don't think I'd be as comfortable doing that on an acoustic without at least switching to a lighter gauge string set.

I should mention that on my tele, I never broke a string, and my big fat tele neck never budged.

[Doug Young]

I'm not sure if you're asking about tuning up one or two strings for an alternate tuning, or the entire guitar. For alternate tunings, rarely do I tune up a string more that a whole step. There's a weird John Fahey tuning I explored once where you tune the 6th string up to G, so 3 half steps. No problem. Other tunings I use generally don't require more than a whole step.

But you can certainly find ways to tune much higher with the right instrument and strings. I have a Veillette Gryphon that's tuned D-D, and that's the D that would normally be at the 10th fret! I have a Yamamato "Terz"-style guitar that gets tuned up to A, as in the 5th fret A. I have a guitar currently strung up as High-strung (Nashville tuning), so strings 6-3 are all an octave higher than normal. All these just depend on a combination of string gauge and scale length.

[RRuskin]

How much higher than standard am I willing to tune? I wouldn't do that on anyone's guitar, let alone 1 of mine.

[bsman]

Originally Posted by DCCougar

I don't know why you would ever tune higher than standard.

Ever heard of Open E?