String Tension

[oc disorder]

Slightly off topic but I feel important in this discussion is the possibility of RSI(Repetitive Strain Injury - tennis elbow)injurys increasing with heavier gauge strings.
Although many may be lumberjacks or sheet metal workers guitarists with slighter frames would do well to do some weight lifting or similar exercises to strengthen the back ,shoulder and arm and wrist muscles.
Its no joke when you get an injury and can hardly lift your arm in the air let alone the ability to play.
A heavy guitar (Les Paul etc) can also contribute to this.
A few drinks and the odd splif can mask this until it is serious.
I remember a device Rick Springfield (an Australian guitarist who is probably better known for his role in General Hospital who had a hit ages ago called "Jessies Girl") had on his SG although more for show as the SG is light.
It was simply a hook screwed to the back of the guitar (not recommended for'59 Les Pauls) which slotted into a ring mounted onto a belt he wore on his waist.This transfers the weight on to the hips which are better equiped to handle the weight.
In his case it was geared more for stage presentation as he could spin the guitar easily must have had a swivel joint on the ring /loop.
I'm not suggesting that this is for everyone but at best point out an often neglected issue that could result in extensive physiotherapy.
I might add that particuarly on a strat heavier strings seem to stay in tune much better and are more percussive ...ie better power chords......

[Chevy]

Something else I ran across that's very interesting...

There's a new guitar out there that has extended length of just the 3 bass-side strings from the bridge to where they anchor on the body. In other words, the 3 bass-side strings are "longer" than the 3 treble-side strings... evidently in order to increase their tension.

This would mean that almost any "thru-the-body" strung guitar would have higher tension than say a similar guitar with one-piece bridge and tailpiece type assembly.

Would this mean that a reverse headstock on a Strat would yield a relatively higher tension on the bass side and lower tension on the treble side than a non-reverse headstock? (Is this what Jimi was after?)

Also, would a locking nut also reduce relative string tension? If I drilled out my Strat's tailpiece a bit more (where you insert the strings) for the 3 treble-side strings, would that also reduce their tension? (or conversely, using a little washer or something to prevent the bass-side string balls from going all the way into the holes.... that should theoretically increase the bass side tension.... no?)

[defaced]

The total length of the string is irrelevant to how much tension is required to get the string to pitch. It's the length that vibrates that's important (scale length).
http://liutaiomottola.com/formulae/tension.htm
http://www.tothestage.com/upload/StringTension_1949.pdf
http://www.daddariostrings.com/Resou...sion_chart.pdf

[Chevy]

Thanks Mike,

Awesome articles and info!!!!

[daz]

I didn't read the thread, but in case no one mentioned it, this is a bit of a different take related to the picking hand. The mass or thickness of the neck is a huge factor with how slinky they feel to your pick. I always noticed some strats would be harder to pick on accuratly because the strings gave too much. Those were always the thinner necks with less mass. Actually i suppose it's more likely stiffness, but usually the more mass the stiffer then neck. In any case thats something i've noticed. As far as the fretting hand goes, as someone mentioned, string tension FEELS much easier with the neck adjusted straight. This is because the straighter the neck the less height as you move up the neck. As he said it does make for a buzzier situation, but even with the bridge or saddles raised to where you get about the same buzzing as with a neck that has a normal amount of relief it will still feel easier. But the lower positions will never be quite as buzz free as on a neck with relief. No matter for those who use distortion most of the time, but clean players may not like it.

[Brock Little]

Another thought about 'perceived' string tension relates to the entire length of the string and not just the active length. One of the things that I've found that affects this perception is when it comes to bending strings (probably the whole point, really). If you have to move a particular string a certain distance sideways in order to achieve a specific pitch change, then anything that moves (ie, floating trems) is going to force you to move that string further across the fretboard in order to achieve the same pitch change - more effort.
Additionally, the entire length of the string will have a similar bearing on the pitch change (like the length of a spring). If you have a particularly long string (tuning peg to tail anchor), then the additional 'inactive' string length will stretch and cause you to have to move the string further sideways for the pitch change. This can also cause you to run into other strings on the way to reaching the desired pitch.
I have found that 3 per-side tuner arrangements limit this effect, and locking tuners can also limit any superfluous string length. The overall result is less effort in playing and producing tone. It sounds a lot like increasing the string tension, but it's more a matter of focusing the tension to the active section of the string.

I also have an instrument with tall stainless steel frets, and it's the slinkiest feeling instrument I own. The frets are very hard and take a slick, high polish. I haven't decided whether I actually like the sound of them yet, though.

[defaced]

To back up what Brock is saying, and because this has been bugging me for nearly a week and I've not put it together till tonight, this is because of the string's tensile properties.

String cores are high strength (tensile) steel. If you pull up a tensile plot (one's attached), you'll see an area that is linear way on the left - that's called the linear elastic region and it's behavior is dictated by Hooke's law (the dotted black line left of the red line in the attached picture). Now, to get the tension (vertical axis, usually units of psi or ksi which directly relate to load), either will work) in the string required for a certain pitch, you need to reach a certain level of strain (horizontal axis, units of in./in.).

Strain is like the stretch factor. If I have a 25.5" scale length guitar with a locking nut and a locking bridge, and I need a strain of 0.01 in/in to get the load for the pitch I want, then the 25.5" string needs to grow 0.01" for every inch of length, so it grows by 25.5 * 0.01 = 0.255".

Now let's say I have the same scale length but with an extra 10" of inactive string, like from the peg to the nut and from the bridge to the string anchor. Same string, so it needs the same load and hence the same strain, so now it needs to stretch 36.5" * 0.01 in/in = 0.365". That's almost an 1/8" longer, which if you're bending a string, that means you need to bend the string more to get the same pitch.

So... even with the fun stuff, more dead string means more bending to hit a note if you're doing bends, but it also means that for every little bit bent, the less load required. That means it's easier to fret the string.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooke%27s_law

[tedmich]

I need the cobalt for treble bite as I use only fingers (no pick) I add a 0.068 cobalt (P10468) for my 7 string and a 0.009 RPS (P01029) for my 30" scale eight string. Bending is possible, if you like PAIN!