help me solve this complex mystery

stoic · Post by **stoic** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:59 pm

howcome some guitars have tight strings and some have loose? i know it's not just string guage. is it board length? bridge distance from neck? like..if you grab most strats or telecasters...strings way up on the fret board are still wiggly can be bent easy. but if you grab a lot of ibanezes or something...they're all tight and can't be bent. and it can't be how tight you wind em up cuz then they'd be tuned higher or lower. i know this is all kiddy stuff to you virtuosos, but i don't get it cuz i'm retarded. someone please teach me. i guess my question is: how come if you tune strings to standard E on different guitars...they bend easier on some guitars in the 12+ frets?

slay · Post by **slay** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:09 pm

action on the bridge

if you lower the action strings will be alittle loose but nice and low. If you raise it abit it helps keep the strings tighter especially when your downtuned.

Pfl?yd · Post by **Pfl?yd** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:22 pm

It's pretty much the mathematics between string gauge and scale-length between the nut and bridge. If the gauge is heavier than some factor of the scale length (can't remember the actual number off the top of my head), the tightness increases. Of course, the tuning you use plays a part in it as well; lower tunings make the strings more slack, obviously.

stoic · Post by **stoic** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 6:25 pm

thanks guys. i figured it was a combination of all that crap.

Dawdy · Post by **Dawdy** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:44 am

my one guitar with a tremolo, the strings feel looser than my other with fixed tune-o-matic bridges