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  #1  
Old 05-25-2022, 05:15 PM
spock spock is offline
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Default Recommendation needed for tenor guitar strings

Just purchased a vintage tenor guitar and I'm interested in what kinds of strings folks like to run on their tenor guitars. Mine is 23" scale and I'm thinking I will tune it to CGDA, at least to begin with. Many thanks.
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Old 05-25-2022, 05:24 PM
OldFrets OldFrets is offline
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In my opinion, there aren't any good pre-made sets out there for standard tuning. The D'Addario EJ66 set isn't terrible, but like all the others out there, I find 10s a bit thin. On the one tenor I keep in standard tuning, I use phosphor bronze singles: 11-13-23-33.

That said, all my other tenor guitars I've eventually tuned down to GDAE, and there is a great set sold for that: John Pearse 450L. There's a popular opinion that tenor banjos sound best in standard tuning, while tenor guitars sound best in octave mandolin tuning. I've found that usually holds true.
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Old 05-25-2022, 05:39 PM
spock spock is offline
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OldFrets,

I am brand new to tenor guitar, so please educate me. When you say octave mandolin tuning, do you mean GDAE?
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Old 05-25-2022, 05:53 PM
OldFrets OldFrets is offline
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Yes - an octave below a mandolin.
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Old 05-25-2022, 06:19 PM
spock spock is offline
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Thank you. Coming from guitar and ukulele playing, is one tenor guitar tuning going to be easier to pick up than another?
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Old 05-25-2022, 06:41 PM
OldFrets OldFrets is offline
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Nah, they're essentially the same chord shapes and intervals, just transposed up or down depending on how you look at it.
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Old 05-25-2022, 08:06 PM
spock spock is offline
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Thank you - I do appreciate it.
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Old 05-25-2022, 08:25 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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John Pearse makes a tenor guitar set, their 450L set. Their string gauges are .013, .020, .030 and.042.

Hope this helps.


whm
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  #9  
Old 05-27-2022, 02:21 AM
packmule packmule is offline
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I can never find tenor guitar string sets in the gauges I like so I just buy singles and put my own together - I tune my 23" scale tenor GDAE and currently have it strung with 45w/32w/22w/12plain D'Addario phosphor bronze strings. I'd love to try to put together a monel set for it but so far I haven't had much luck finding monel singles on this side of the world (Ireland/EU).
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Last edited by packmule; 05-27-2022 at 02:28 AM.
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  #10  
Old 05-31-2022, 10:38 AM
ProfChris ProfChris is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFrets View Post
In my opinion, there aren't any good pre-made sets out there for standard tuning. The D'Addario EJ66 set isn't terrible, but like all the others out there, I find 10s a bit thin. On the one tenor I keep in standard tuning, I use phosphor bronze singles: 11-13-23-33.
I'd start with a CGDA set with a 10 gauge top string. On a 23 inch scale instrument anything heavier is very, very close to breaking point - even a 10 is a bit fragile, so I tune up the last 4 semitones in two or three stages, leaving it a few minutes between. If your playing style means you keep breaking A strings, you'll have to experiment to see whether a 9 or an 11 works best for you.

FWIW, my 1930s Gibson is currently in GDAE, and though I like it, it doesn't have the sparkle which CGDA would give I think. I'm about to try it in CGDA, but then what about my songs which need the G tuning? I guess I need a second tenor (well a third actually, the second is in Chicago tuning GDBE).
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  #11  
Old 05-31-2022, 11:56 AM
OldFrets OldFrets is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfChris View Post
On a 23 inch scale instrument anything heavier is very, very close to breaking point - even a 10 is a bit fragile...
This is absolute nonsense. A 10 for an A string at 23" is 25.8 lbs; a 12 for an E string at 25.5" is 25.7 lbs, at least according to Stringjoy's calculator. A 10 or 11 is the standard for the high A because they're quite easy to tune up without snapping.
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Old 06-03-2022, 05:32 AM
TobyB TobyB is offline
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I use the EJ66's on my tenor ... I tune it CGDG for chordal strumming (more versatile than CGDA which I would use for melody) as it has a presence there that cuts past guitars... and I have small and large bodied octave mandola's I play in GDAE or GDAD.
If it works for Steve Knightley in Show of Hands, and for Martyn Joseph, it's well worth trying!
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  #13  
Old 06-16-2022, 03:54 AM
ProfChris ProfChris is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFrets View Post
This is absolute nonsense. A 10 for an A string at 23" is 25.8 lbs; a 12 for an E string at 25.5" is 25.7 lbs, at least according to Stringjoy's calculator. A 10 or 11 is the standard for the high A because they're quite easy to tune up without snapping.
You've forgotten to consider the breaking strain of the strings.

According to this online calculator - https://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_gui..._from_size.htm - a 10 for an A string at 23" is at 25.5 lb (so practically the number you quote) BUT at that tension it is at 76% of its breaking strain. Tuned just two semitones higher to B4 it is at 96% of its breaking strain. Interestingly (which I didn't expect) an 11 at A4 is 77% of breaking strain and a 12 is 78%, so both should work too. However, a 12 produces 33.8 lbs tension, around a 25% increase, and I don't think I'll subject a 90 year old instrument to that!

Your 25.5" size 12 E string is only at 54% of its breaking strain.

So I'm going to stick to my practice of tuning my 23" 10 gauge string to G (61%), then G# (68%) and finally to A, with a few minutes rest in between.

Last edited by ProfChris; 06-16-2022 at 04:02 AM.
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  #14  
Old 03-28-2023, 04:33 AM
s11141827 s11141827 is offline
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Default John Pearse #450 strings for Jazz

I prefer using the John Pearse #450 Strings in GDAE Tuning because the tension is lower than EJ66 strings in CGDA Tuning, & the lower tuning gives it a much deeper & mellower sound that's appropriate for playing Jazz. It also makes it easier for Violinists & Mandolinists to start strumming away on the Tenor Guitar. I've even used a Jazz pick on the John Pearse #450 strings & it creates an interesting Vintage Jazz vibe.
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  #15  
Old 04-04-2023, 11:12 AM
s11141827 s11141827 is offline
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Default Figured it out

Mandolin Chordology by Gordon Stobbe works great w/ Tenor Guitar in GDAE Octave Mandolin Tuning once you use Special Strings designed for that tuning (John Pearse #450 strings for example).
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