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 Classic String gauge sizes question 
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Post Classic String gauge sizes question
I ordered my Railboard tuned in Raised Matched Reciprocal tuning. Had a lesson with Steve A and he suggested I go with classic tuning cause I said I hated having my left hand up the so close to the top of the stick. Switching to classic tuning brought the strings on the bass side down a whole step so my hand came down the stick a couple frets which I love now. So Im a classic convert now.

My question is since I tuned the strings on the bass side down ,the low string (originally a D string m now a C String) seems a tad buzzy and I was wondering if the bass side strings in a classic set are different from the Raised matched reciprocal bass side strings. I found the string sizes for the reciprocal somewhere ( 6 - .106 D , 7 - .065 A ,8-.040 E, 9-.024 B and 10-.014 F#) Medium gauge. Are the classic bass side strings the same? I cant find these measurements anywhere? I assume if they are not the same that would explain the slight Buzz In getting ( no alcohol involved here) If they are different Ill order a set of Classic strings. If they are the same Suggestions anyone to get the slight buzzing to go away?

Thanks

Rob

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 7:01 am
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
I've asked similar questions on this forum and never got much of an answer.
I don't have a railboard yet, but my 37 year old vintage stick
is now using .091" as the low in classic tuning.

I'm using http://www.newtonestrings.com/
Bass side .091 .065 .040 .022 .018
Melody side .026 .018 .012 .009 .008

Jzzb8ovn wrote:
I ordered my Railboard tuned in Raised Matched Reciprocal tuning. Had a lesson with Steve A and he suggested I go with classic tuning cause I said I hated having my left hand up the so close to the top of the stick. Switching to classic tuning brought the strings on the bass side down a whole step so my hand came down the stick a couple frets which I love now. So Im a classic convert now.

My question is since I tuned the strings on the bass side down ,the low string (originally a D string m now a C String) seems a tad buzzy and I was wondering if the bass side strings in a classic set are different from the Raised matched reciprocal bass side strings. I found the string sizes for the reciprocal somewhere ( 6 - .106 D , 7 - .065 A ,8-.040 E, 9-.024 B and 10-.014 F#) Medium gauge. Are the classic bass side strings the same? I cant find these measurements anywhere? I assume if they are not the same that would explain the slight Buzz In getting ( no alcohol involved here) If they are different Ill order a set of Classic strings. If they are the same Suggestions anyone to get the slight buzzing to go away?

Thanks

Rob

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 7:21 am
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
Hi guys....
Strings B1 through to B6
(FYI, I dont call 'em 7-12 !!..... this way the interior lowest bass string will always be B1 and will go up to B5 or B6 ...)

Anyway.....
the gauges on my 2013 Grand Paduak are 106-065-040-022-013-009. (thats light gauge)
You can see that its actually only the higher strings that are a little heavier.
I'm sure theres more difference in the Melody side strings.

Now that you've lowered the pitch by a tone the strings have slightly less tension.
So perhaps a 1/4 turn loosening the truss will balance this better.
As ever, Greg will be able to offer his expert help, so it will be worth asking.

Rather interestingly the Newtone strings mentioned were the gauges originally cloned from my Bubinga 10 string,
roughly 20 years ago.
In 2000 I had my first 34" grand strings cloned.
The gauge of string B1 had increased from .091 to .100.
The current .106 gauge is a consequence of the later 36" extended scale Sticks.

For the record.....back in the day, ordering stuff from the states was a pain, so the Newtones were a more convenient option for us Brits.
Happily its very easy to order direct from S.E. nowadays.

The nice people at Newtone (I believe) have stopped calling their strings "Stick strings" at the request of S.E. and the company has changed ownership, so I'm not sure whats happening on that front.

Being lazy I dont change strings that often, but my 18 month old strings on the Paduak have a rather pleasant "woody" quality, and on my Bamboo 36" grand I still have a few cloned sets to get through, but of course they are slightly lighter than the strings on the Paduak, so I've raised the height of the bass-side flap to compensate, which works very well.

Cheers guys

Steve

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:50 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
Jzzb8ovn wrote:
I ordered my Railboard tuned in Raised Matched Reciprocal tuning. Had a lesson with Steve A and he suggested I go with classic tuning cause I said I hated having my left hand up the so close to the top of the stick. Switching to classic tuning brought the strings on the bass side down a whole step so my hand came down the stick a couple frets which I love now. So Im a classic convert now.

My question is since I tuned the strings on the bass side down ,the low string (originally a D string m now a C String) seems a tad buzzy and I was wondering if the bass side strings in a classic set are different from the Raised matched reciprocal bass side strings. I found the string sizes for the reciprocal somewhere ( 6 - .106 D , 7 - .065 A ,8-.040 E, 9-.024 B and 10-.014 F#) Medium gauge. Are the classic bass side strings the same? I cant find these measurements anywhere? I assume if they are not the same that would explain the slight Buzz In getting ( no alcohol involved here) If they are different Ill order a set of Classic strings. If they are the same Suggestions anyone to get the slight buzzing to go away?

Thanks

Rob
Hi Rob, first, I would ask what it is about playing near the nut that bothers you.

I love playing near the nut, especially on the Railboard, where you have all that extra space between the nut and the X fret.

It might be the angle you have the instrument at. I've noticed that player who play the instrument at a really low angle have a hard time playing certain chord shapes, and the wrist has to bend a lot near the nut.

As far as your question goes, the 106 is the light gauge low string on the Classic set, so if you tuned the strings down a whole step they would feel a little light. They would also be exerting less tension on the board, so you might need to loosen the truss slightly to compensate.

Cheers to Steve R!

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 4:58 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
Hi Greg. I like being able to see my hand even though Im not supposed to look at it but because I wear hearing aids (no you all know why i call my self jzzb8ovn) and cant hear the low end like every one else does. I kind a like glancing at my bass hand to make sure things are where they should be. Also I like the feel of the piano tunes Im doing with my left hand away from the nut a bit. I love the juicy bass nots near the nut but not used to it. Also trying to play So What bass line and I like where the hand is with classic tuning.

I do have issues trying to play chords in the bass side but figured that its the angle of the pedestal. I would prefer it not angled as much. but then again im new to it so maybe it would be something i would get used to.

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 7:44 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
Stick Enterprise has a flat pedestal - called "shaved" - that is a typical pedestal unit cut to be very nearly flat. Once I installed and played for a while I found it to be somewhat too flat so I cut my original pedestal unit to half the angle of the standard pedestal which is just right for where I tend to place the hook on my belt. This helped my left hand (wrist bend) significantly. you could see if this might help by rotating the board back with the right hand and see if the playing position improves for the left hand (I would have to loosen the belt a little to provide some slack for the hook to rotate.)

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Thu Dec 03, 2015 8:55 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
You know, I changed my Railboard tuning to Classic tuning from MR, and I encountered a wee bit of buzzing also, the cure was implemented in two steps;

1) Slight truss rod adjustment

2) Remove the "Smartie" my daughter inserted under a string...

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Fri Dec 04, 2015 8:11 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
I remember the smartie post now. haha. ill mess around a bit with the truss adjustment

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Fri Dec 04, 2015 9:09 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
Jzzb8ovn wrote:
Hi Greg. I like being able to see my hand even though Im not supposed to look at it but because I wear hearing aids (no you all know why i call my self jzzb8ovn) and cant hear the low end like every one else does. I kind a like glancing at my bass hand to make sure things are where they should be. Also I like the feel of the piano tunes Im doing with my left hand away from the nut a bit. I love the juicy bass nots near the nut but not used to it. Also trying to play So What bass line and I like where the hand is with classic tuning.

I do have issues trying to play chords in the bass side but figured that its the angle of the pedestal. I would prefer it not angled as much. but then again im new to it so maybe it would be something i would get used to.
Hi Rob,

This video shows the ergonomic advantages of a more vertical position for all Stick chord formation:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TZi0qKzKCM[/youtube]

The "So What" bassline is much easier if you play the scale with the 1-2-1-3 fingering instead of 1-2-3-4, regardless of whether you are using Classic or RMR. Give it a try!

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Sat Dec 05, 2015 1:10 pm
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Post Re: Classic String gauge sizes question
But back to the question , I guess the string guages for sets are not officially listed anywhere for Sticks, for whatever reason or exclusivity. I recently tried to find them myself just out of interest, whilst restringing an Alto With an SE set , and had no luck.
And on the subject of stings generally, the Exchange rate and shipping now makes a set about $100 :o so although I still have spare sets I am a bit more reluctant to use them!

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Sat Dec 05, 2015 3:18 pm
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