What Steel String Set for Chicago Tuning on a Short Scale Tenor Guitar?

Rakelele

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I'm still trying to improve the intonation on my Kala Tenor Guitar (KA-GTR). It's a short scale Tenor Guitar (4 Strings) designed for steel strings. Scale length is 21 3/8 or 21.5".

I want to use Chicago Tuning, i.e. like a Baritone, or like the top four strings of a Guitar (D3-G3-B3-E4). I have tried D'Addario EJ10 and EJ24. With both sets, intonation was sharp at string 1 and even more so at string 2.

Any tips on what steel string set to use for DGBE-Tuning? Or can you suggest an online resource for calculating which strings would intonate fine with this tuning and at that scale length?

Thanks!
 
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Thanks guys! The suggestions on Ry Cooder's page are very helpful, but they only indicate gauges for a 23" scale. With the scale length on mine being almost 2" shorter, would I have to get fatter or thinner strings? (My own thinking was thinner, but that didn't help with intonation...)
 
this guy suggests either EJ24 or EJ17 [harder tension] . skip to 18;38
maybe your intonation issues are not string related.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMWVzNLix3I


MANY MANY hours were spent pouring over literally hundreds and hundreds of strings and calculations to acquire a progressive stringing well within instruments factory tension specs in order to achieve superior note distinction, tonal balance, sustain and projection.

Just tossing on that set of spare acoustic strings you have in the bottom of the drawer to "see how it goes", is very likely to do severe damage to your tenor guitar.

All that to say, this is my disclaimer for myself and a grand hope for all that stringing outside the scope of CGDA is tedious and well thought out with no mathematical approach omitted.
Stick with the d'Addario EJ24 and you'd do better than fine just using the DGBE strings out of the set. You other choice would be the d'Addario EJ17 but you better be one for some serious finger workouts due to the tension. Although those strings fall within specs as well.

Again. This is a "progressive" approach to string tension and stringing offering each string equal and ample opportunity to share the work load.

RAGZDADDY
 
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Yes, I saw that video and have tried the EJ24 set, will be using the EJ17 next. As for other possible causes: I have already lowered the action at the nut and tried to compensate the first two strings some more... didn't help much. I will also try a more compensated saddle; from what I've seen, most Western Guitars have a saddle that puts the second string way back. But I figure that the string gauges might have something to do with it, too...
 
Stick with the light to very light acoustic phosphor bronze guitar strings. I use Martins M1100 or M2000, and Ernie Ball Earthwood Lights (80/20 bronze) on my tenor guitar in Chicago tuning.
 
Thanks Hodge! Is that the Ernie Ball 2004 or 2148 set? Looks like the Martin strings are not available in my local shop...
 
Thanks guys! The suggestions on Ry Cooder's page are very helpful, but they only indicate gauges for a 23" scale. With the scale length on mine being almost 2" shorter, would I have to get fatter or thinner strings? (My own thinking was thinner, but that didn't help with intonation...)
You'll need to go thicker to retain the same tension. The calculator at http://stringtensionpro.com/ is really helpful for this kind of thing. Assuming you know what gauge string gives you the tension you desire at a given pitch over a specific scale length, it's easy just to type in a new scale length and then fiddle with the string diameter so's to get an appropriate gauge. I've used it for a couple of non-standard scale-length instruments very successfully.

My 19" scale-length electric guitar takes an 0.016" (16 thou) treble E string to give me a similar tension to my 25.5" scale-length Stratocaster with a 0.012" E string ... yes, I like heavier strings ;)
 
My recent experiences (June 29, 2016): I just picked up a Kala KA-GTR which I wanted to set up in Chicago Tuning DGBE like my other tenor. I used the D'Addario string tension calculator to select gauges that gave me a uniform 19-20 lbs on each of the four strings. These worked out to be .013 .018 .034 .032 with the GTR's scale length of 21.375 inches. These might be a bit on the heavy side, but I wanted to be sure I was driving the top uniformly. I contacted the Kala Service Department, shared the gauges and the tensions, specified DGBE tuning, and eventually ended up with this response: ""The only approved strings for this instrument are what come stock. If the instrument is damaged using other strings it would not be covered under warranty. The instrument was not made to be adaptable to varying tunings." (June 29, 2016) This struck me as an odd stance to take since tenor guitar players generally use a variety of tunings. I then asked what string gauges the KA-GTR shipped with and the only response was a link to the D'Addario J-66 tenor string set which contains .010 .014 .022 .032 strings for a CGDA tuning. (My new KA-GTR came from the factory with .009 .011 .017 .029 gauge strings fitted.) Not all that helpful really since the J-66 strings are specified for the standard tenor scale length, not the very short KA-GTR scale length. Shorter scale lengths call for thicker string gauges to achieve the same pitch and tension as a longer scale. As I noted above, my calculations led me to choose .013 .018 .034 .032 with the GTR's scale length of 21.375 inches. I ordered these individually and installed them. They seem to be just fine with good even volume on all strings. I believe that the KA-GTR solid spruce top is quite responsive and a lighter string gauge would be sufficient to drive the top nicely. My intonation is just slightly off way, way up the neck at the octave mark, but I think this is due to the neck relief (truss rod) and string height adjustments because they are still at factory spec. I have a luthier friend whom I trust with the truss rod adjustments, and have found in the past that they can definitely affect playability and intonation. Kala's tech support people would offer no advice whatsoever regarding string gauges, and what they did tell me was contradictory since the J-66 strings they recommended don't match what the Kala factory shipped and they indicated that any variation from the factory strings would void their warranty. One would think they would employ someone who understands the instrument and can give a straight answer, but that is apparently not the case.
 
This http://rycooder.nl/pages/tenor_gauges.htm is an excellent resource, but be certain to pay attention to the scale length specified for each setup. You can take these recommendations and plug them into the D'Addario string tension calculator at http://stringtensionpro.com/ (including the specified scale length) and it will calculate the tension on each string. Then alter the scale length by specifying the the exact scale length of your instrument and recalculate. It will then calculate the correct strings for your scale length. Play with it until you understand how it works.
 
I have a steel string Compass Rose baritone ukulele (tuned DGBE) built by Rick Turner. It has a 20 inch scale. Rick told me that he used the top four (DGBE) strings of a steel string guitar set in the highest tension he could find. I forget what brand they are. When I have to replace them, I'm going to take the ukulele to Gryphon Stringed Instruments and ask them to measure the strings and replace them for me.
 
I have a Pono tenor guitar UL4-20 with a scale length of 21-1/2" and have tried many different string sets on it. I have gone from light steel and silk, 010", .013", .022", .029" to a medium heavy Elixer string set of. 013, .017", .025", .035" which have given me the best results.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience, LittleAxes. I must admit that I'm not happy with the Kala Tenor Guitar, and I cannot recommend it, definitely not for people who want to tune it like a baritone. My Pono UL-4 is so much better, great quality and good intonation. And it can be used for various tunings, unlike what Kala stated about theirs.
 
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