Pirate Jim
Well-known member
I have found that I much prefer D tuning on a soprano to C. You lose some of that soprano warmth but you gain plenty in clarity and I like the extra string tension. I also find a lot of songs I play with others suit open position chords in D tuning better than in C which is a happy side-effect.
I've used the Aquila D tuning strings before. Whilst I liked the tension, keeping that soprano relaxed feel, they were very light gauge. The combination of low tension and light gauge meant my strumming fingers felt a bit snagged on them at times and I didn't feel I could dig into them properly. I also like to play a bit of tenor so I get quite used to digging in on higher tension strings.
I've done the usual of tuning regular soprano strings up but, for higher tension strings in particular, I find they get a bit strangled higher up the fretboard. I decided to try the D'addarios to see if they were a happy medium.
Long story short, they definitely are! Comfortable gauge / tension balance, still allow higher frets to ring out and enough there to dig into when I want to. The added bonus is the length of them - with care when stringing you get enough to string two sopranos, which is exactly what I've done. Not bad at all for £6!
Anyway, there's very little discussion of these strings around so I thought I'd post this in case it's of use to someone else at some point.
I've used the Aquila D tuning strings before. Whilst I liked the tension, keeping that soprano relaxed feel, they were very light gauge. The combination of low tension and light gauge meant my strumming fingers felt a bit snagged on them at times and I didn't feel I could dig into them properly. I also like to play a bit of tenor so I get quite used to digging in on higher tension strings.
I've done the usual of tuning regular soprano strings up but, for higher tension strings in particular, I find they get a bit strangled higher up the fretboard. I decided to try the D'addarios to see if they were a happy medium.
Long story short, they definitely are! Comfortable gauge / tension balance, still allow higher frets to ring out and enough there to dig into when I want to. The added bonus is the length of them - with care when stringing you get enough to string two sopranos, which is exactly what I've done. Not bad at all for £6!
Anyway, there's very little discussion of these strings around so I thought I'd post this in case it's of use to someone else at some point.