Same string gauge / pitch /scale length, different string tension???

  • Hi all


    I have a question about electric guitar strings and string tension. Anyone have any thoughts on this?


    Basically the question is whether guitar strings of the same gauge, tuned to the same pitch, on the same scale length of guitar, will have the same amount of slack in them, or will flap around as they vibrate by the same amount. I'd always assumed so, but apparently not.


    I settled upon Ernie Ball 9-46 many years ago and haven't checked out anything else for a very long time.


    I've noticed something weird going on with my strings...


    I own two second hand PRS Customs, both Core, made a year apart, same neck, fretboard radius, scale length. Both recently bought.


    I've just restrung one with my preferred Ernie Ball 9-46s. I don't know what make of strings are on the other PRS, which I haven't restrung yet.


    I do know that both guitars have the same gauge of strings, 9-46. I've measured the string thickness with a Stewmac digital caliper.


    The one with the unknown brand of strings has a great setup, low action, no buzz etc. I've carefully measured the neck relief, action at the 12th fret, height of the bridge above the body on its six screws, height of the string saddles.


    I duplicated these settings on the other PRS, the one I put the Ernie Ball 9-46s on.


    This is where it gets weird for me. The two guitars:


    * are of identical scale length

    * have the exact same gauge of strings

    * are tuned to the same pitch

    * have exactly the same amount of neck relief

    * have exactly the same action at the 12th fret (4/64 inch on bottom E, 3/64 inch on top E)

    * have near enough the same (very light) wear on the frets, neither need a fret dress

    * have frets of the same height (between 1.14mm and 1.17mm, I measured with the Stewmac caliper)



    Yet the Ernie Ball strung PRS, on the wound strings, is producing fret buzz with fretted notes which the unknown string brand PRS is not.


    When I observed carefully the motion of the wound strings when played with a pick, the Ernie Ball wound strings flap around a lot whereas the unknown brand strings do not vibrate around anything like as much, even when both are played with the exact same picking force. When I am picking the strings (unamplified) both guitars produce the same amount of volume, although the tone of the unknown brand strings is slightly different.


    Yet although the unknown string brand PRS sounds just as loud, acoustically, and is picked with the same force, it does not buzz - because the string is not flapping around anything like as much as on the Ernie Ball strung PRS.


    I had always thought that if two strings are tuned to the same pitch, are on the same scale length guitar, and are of the same gauge, then they will have the same string tension, and will flap around exactly the same. Apparently not.


    When I attempt to bend, say, the A at the 7th fret of the D string, I can just about raise it a minor third, on both guitars. So they both feel the same to me, in terms of string tension.


    Yet the unknown string brand PRS seems to have greater string tension, as evidenced by the fact that the string seems to have less slack in it when played, it doesn't flap around as much - although I can bend notes up by the same amount on both with the same force. ???.


    I don't get this. I had always thought that the only way to have less slack or flapping around when the string vibrates (at the same pitch and scale length) is to use a heavier gauge of string. Yet these are identical gauges.


    To rule out some possibilities:


    * I only buy my strings from dealers, not cheap from online auction sites, so they should not be counterfeits


    * Both guitar's strings are roundwound for the wound strings


    Anyone else noticed this? Any ideas?


    Cheers

  • * are of identical scale length


    * I only buy my strings from dealers, not cheap from online auction sites, so they should not be counterfeits

    If there is more string length past the nut or before the bridge, that will alter things a bit.


    Metallurgy plays a huge role. The alloy used matters. Different alloys (and it can be a seemingly minor change) will have a marked effect.


    As for online sources, I’ve personally never heard of counterfeit strings. For a few years now I’ve been buying strings in bulk from juststrings.com.


    They are excellent and for me, indistinguishable from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, DR, etc.


    Well…. indistinguishable except for the fact that a set costs less than 4 bucks, shipping and tax included. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Thanks for the friendly welcome and quick replies 🙂


    Thinking about it, I'm sure you're right. It would be the string's mass that determines tension, and whilst gauge could be a guide to mass, if different manufacturers use different alloys, or different cores, then the tension will differ even on the same gauge.


    Cheers for helping me think this through.


    Now I'm on a quest to find my preferred brand and type of string all over again, which will be fun.


    The counterfeit string thing was something I heard about in a couple of YouTube videos, but the string manufacturers do acknowledge that fakes exist. I googled 'fake strings' after I saw the videos.


    I'm sure it's fine to buy online from a reputable site, it's just the Chinese cheap sellers that might be a problem. But if anyone has found a supplier of cheap strings they're happy with, great. Strings are so much about personal preference anyway.

  • If there is more string length past the nut or before the bridge, that will alter things a bit.

    This. The nut is the most overlooked thing. Guitarists check the strings, bridge. frets, tuners and neck adjustment. But they take for granted nothing is wrong or has to do with the nut. :D I'm not saying it must be the nut in this case though. But could be. :)

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • I used to use Ernie Ball strings. They do feel looser than other brands. That is why they named them slinkys. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. I have some sort of negative reaction chemically with EB strings. I can put a new set on before a gig and after 2 gigs, they are dead, no snap left in them and the low E string sounds flubby. I took a little bit of a break from playing in my younger years and when I started playing again I had issues with bending the EB strings out of tune. I remembered that D'Addario strings had a much stiffer feel that I didn't like back in the day. I switched over to them and have never gone back. If the strings that are unidentified are PRS strings, they are made by D'Addario.


    Another thing that I have found after many years of working on guitars is that you can take two exact guitars and they will respond different to a setup. Some like to be a little higher and some like to be lower on the action. I typically set a guitar up and the measurements that I know will get me in the ballpark then I tweak a little at a time to find the place where the strings bend the easiest.