May Birthdays 
weird_oh84 wrote:
SixStringSurfer wrote:
Sounds killer, TheFintastics. weird_oh84, the heavy gauge strings make a big difference in playability. I can't staccato pick on light or medium gauge strings. I believe it affects the tone as well, but a few people have told me it's all in my head!
Well, shit , why wasn’t I told this….!
If heavy strings make tremolo picking easier then sign me up!
What brand sells 16-60 gauge? I can’t seem to find them… Also, anything above 12 seems to be designated as Baritone ….is that normal?
I don't think you need 16-60 or even 14-60 to tremolo pick Misirlou. On the other thread, you stated you got 13-56. That should be just fine. On a Strat, you're up close to 30 lb/string on Strings 1, 2, and 6, and well over 30 lb/string on the others. And around 26-30 lb/string even on the 24" scale Jag/Mustang. If you're having trouble doing fast trem-picking with those, you need to work on your flatpicking technique.
Personally, I like to get balanced tension across the strings when using heavy strings, so I get high tension on all the strings but also minimize the overall string tension to get that. Most string sets (including most every 13-56 set I've seen) have significantly lower tension on strings 1, 2, and 6, and higher tension on strings 3, 4, and 5. If anything, for surf, I want strings 1 and 6 to have the higher tension. A balanced-tension set on a Strat starting at 13p is something like 13, 17p, 24w, 32, 42, 58 at around 29-30 lb/string. I often sub a 22p for the 24w so I can bend a bit easier. Starting at 14p is something like 14, 19p, 26w, 36, 48, 64 at around 35-36 lb/string. I can't imagine going higher than that, and I usually opt for the 13-58 on a Strat. 14-64 is more like 31-32 lb/string on a Jag/Mustang, but I generally just use the 13-58 on them too. You don't have to have these gauges exact, if you're close, it should be fine.
I custom-make my surf guitar string sets using a string tension calculator (there's a good one at stringjoy - Stringjoy Tension Calculator). You can get custom sets there, or there are other places you can get them. I keep a large stock of bulk singles (12 strings per gauge pack) from Juststrings Bulk Strings - they're the most inexpensive singles I've seen, and their range of gauges is very wide. They have plains from .008 to .026, and wounds from .018 to .070. And D'Addario makes .074 and .080 guitar single strings (not bass - bass strings won't work) if you wanna go nuts.
But remember that the larger the string gauges, the more you're gonna need to widen your nut slots and probably tighten your truss rod to accomodate. I think a balanced set of 13-58 works very nicely on a Strat for surf. Hell, most guitar players consider 12-52 sets really high-tension on a Strat. Blues guys talk about how heavy Stevie Ray Vaughan's 13-58 with a .019p 3rd string was, and he tuned down to Eb-to-Eb!
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