Hi all,

I'm looking at getting my first stick (a 10 string polycarbonate) rather soon, and am just trying to work out some things regarding tuning. The two tunings that I've narrowed it down to are Baritone Melody and Matched Reciprocal.

Is there a particular gauge of string that's recommended for these tunings? Is there, perhaps, a recommended gauge for BM (medium?) and a different gauge for MR (light?)? Lastly, is there a gauge (I'm thinking light here) that I could use so that I can switch between both tunings and experiment?

Thanks in advance for your help

Hi Oskar,

Have just asked Eric if the Polycarb is restricted to light gauge because of the bridge screws, that would certainly make the decision easier!

In general, I would choose the string gauge based on how thick a tone you want, how quickly you'd like to play and how much bendability you want in the strings. Lighter gauge will be faster to play and allow slightly lower action, but have a little less strength in the low notes. And you'll need to be careful not to bend notes off-pitch without meaning too.

And choose the tuning totally based on the note range on the bass and melody side of the instrument. Both Baritone Melody and MR are very popular tunings, BM just has a lower melody range. I'm using Deep MR on my Graphite Grand 10, as the access to low notes is excellent, but if I ever get another Stick, will try out BM.

Cheers,

EG

check out Greg's post in another topic:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2647