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uitar Movement! – Master String Size & Tuning List for 25­inch Scale

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Mar Mas

Master String Size & Tuning

List for 25­inch Scale
Posted:
October 10, 2014

Tags:
25­inch scale, cigar
box guitar tuning,
guitar tuning, string
gauge, string size,
strings, tuning

Comments: 2

This article is presented by the

Southbound String Company – the first
brand focused solely on providing strings
specifically chosen and voiced for Cigar
Box Guitars and other
handmade/homemade instruments!

This chart shows you the string size to use for

every pitch from double­low B (one Octave below
the low B on a guitar), all the way up to High A.

Using this chart you can figure out the strings to

use for pretty much any tuning you want. These
strings should work for instruments with a scale
length of 24.5 to 25.5 inches, with 25 inches being
the middle point.

The string gauges shown below are for a “light” string

set. For a “medium” set, add .002″ to the wound string
sizes and .001″ to the unwound string sizes. For
example, for a medium set, for low C you would want
.036″ instead of .034″. For high E you’d want .011″
instead of .010″. Increase string gauges from there to

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move towards “heavy” sets.

Generally there is a bit of wiggle room on each pitch. If

the chart calls for a .034″ and you have a .036″ it
should work. A .038″ would probably work, but it would
be pretty tight. A .040″ would probably break. Likewise,
a .032″ would be OK but would be a bit looser. A .030″
would be noticeably looser, and .028″ would probably
be too loose and flappy. A lot of it comes down to
personal preference and what you decide will work for
you. Looser strings means lower overall string tension,
and less overall volume. Tighter strings mean more
tension and volume, but also higher risk of bowed
necks and broken strings.

These values are based on my own testing and

experimenting of what works. I make no claims or
guarantees that they will work for you – but they
should. Click on the links in the chart to go to the
listing for 12­packs of each string size on
www.CBGitty.com. We are working on filling in the
gaps so that we carry the entire range of sizes!

Range Pitch/Note String Size

X­Low B (61.74hz) .056″
Low C .054“
Low C#/Db .054“
Low D .052″
Low D#/Eb .050“
Low E .048″
Low F .046“
Low F#/Gb .044″
Low G .042″
Low G#/Ab .042″
Low A (110hz) .040″
Low A#/Bb .038″
Low B .036“
Low C .034″
Middle C#/Db .032″
Middle D .030″
Middle D#/Eb .028″
Middle E .026″
Middle F .026″
Middle F#/Gb .024″
Middle G .022″
Middle G#/Ab .020″
Middle A (220hz) .018“
Middle A#/Bb .016″
Middle B .015″
Middle C (261.63hz) .014″
High C#/Db .013″
High D .012″
High D#/Eb .011″
High E .010″
High F .010″
High F#/Gb .009″
High G .009″
High G#/Ab .008″
High A (440hz) .008″
* Plain steel strings can be used for the Middle A and
G notes, but on most guitars a wound string is
used. We have had luck using a .016 unwound string
instead of .018″ wound for the middle A; a .018″
unwound should work well for the middle G. Having an

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unwound string as the highest­pitched string can give a

little extra treble twang, and also sounds smoother with
a slide.

Related entries

How to Pick the Right Strings for your Cigar Box

Guitar

How to Tune a 3­string Cigar Box Guitar to Open G

GDG

“Open E” EBE Tuning on your Cigar Box Guitar: 4

Methods, with String Sizes & Sound Clips

“Open G” GDG Tuning on your Cigar Box Guitar: 4

Methods, with String Sizes & Sound Clips

Related Terms:

Term: Scale Length

Term: String Tension

25­inch scale cigar box guitar tuning

guitar tuning string gauge string size

strings tuning

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Comments (2)
1.
Just Posted: The Cigar Box Guitar Tuning Cheat Sheet!
October 11, 2014 at 11:55 am

[…] B. Gitty just posted his top secret cheat sheet in the
knowledgebase here on CigarBoxGuitar.com! This article
shows you the exact string gauges to […]

C. B. Gitty
October 11, 2014 at 8:49 am

Here are some examples of how to use this chart.

Let’s say you want a basic Open G GDG tuning, with two
larger wound strings and one plain steel string. Using the
chart, you would find Low G, Middle D and High G. The string
gauges would be .042″ wound, .030″ wound and .009″ plain
steel.
If you wanted to do a High Open A (AEA), you would choose
Middle A, High E and High A: .020″ wound, .010″ plain steel,
.008″ plain steel. A bassy growly Low Open (AEA) would be
Low A, Middle E, Middle A: .040″ wound, .026″ wound, .020″
wound.
OK now a little more complex – a popular Open G 4­string
Tuning: GDGB. There are a couple of different ways you
could vary this, but we’ll start with Low G and move up from
there. Low G would be .042″ wound, Middle D would be .030″
wound, Middle G would be .022″ wound, and the middle B

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would be .015″ plain steel.

Now, a Baritone Ukulele tuning, which is also known as
Chicago Tenor: DGBE (these are the four higher­
pitched/smaller strings on a standard 6­string guitar). Middle
D, Middle G, Middle B, and high E. 030″ wound, .020″ wound,
.015″ plain steel, .010″ plain steel.
Finally just for fun, a full 6­string acoustic guitar set. The
strings on an acoustic guitar are tuned EADGBE, starting at
low E. So the string sizes from the chart would be: .048″
wound, .040″ wound, .030″ wound, .022″ wound, .015″ plain
steel, .010″ plain steel.

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