Std. Guitar tuned to D String Gauges?

[Jerry Overstreet]

I have a Squier '51 that I tuned down a whole step to D for various reasons, one being putting the Hal Ketcham tune Point of Rescue, and others, to a key I can sing in, plus playing on other tunes etc.

I use a capo to put it back to E as needed.

Question is, what gauge strings do you guys use on a standard D tuning dropped down from the normal E on a Fender 25.5 scale? 12s maybe?

Also, I use a Hipshot D drop, in this case C, on the 6th string. I also have a Bigsby B50 trem on this guitar.
I had a set of 10s on hand that I put on, but I believe that is too light considering the 6th string whole step drop from D to C and the Bigsby tension? Thanks.

[Michael Lee Allen]

D-A-D-F#(or F)-A-D... D'Addario EXL115 sets 49-38-28-18-14-11 no matter what the scale, 24.75" "Gibson" or 25.5" "Fender", works OK for either.
MLA

[Jerry Overstreet]

Thanks Michael but I guess I need to clarify. I'm using a standard straight guitar tuning just dropped down a whole step from E where I normally use a 9 or 10 std. set, not an open D tuning. Probably didn't make that clear.

D G C F A D

[Michael Lee Allen]

I'll clarify too. My post above is for my fretted or standard (or, I hate to use the term, Spanish) guitars. Three notes the same, three different, but close enough that the same set will work. Those (personal) instruments get retuned to Dm, D6th, D7th, or Dmi7 all the time with almost zero breakage. And on the commodity, for sale, and loaner instruments that set goes up to "standard" EADGBE tuning with no problems. Makes things simple keeping quantities of only one set of strings around. Offsets having to have multiple string sets made up for the steels.
MLA

[Chris Templeton]

I don't have the gauges right now, Jerry, but for guitar I've been using DADGAD mostly, sometimes with a capo.
I love the way playing open strings and the 2nd & 4th frets are nice sweet major types of notes, and open strings with 3rd and 5th notes, is great for blues.
Try playing an E barre chord shape on the 3rd fret. I treat it as kind of a 4 chord in D.
Having the G or 4th is nice to have when fingerpicking.

[D Schubert]

I like 0.010" sets on my telecaster if I'm playing mostly lead & b-bender. And I like 0.011" electric sets with a wound third if I'm using it for rhythm and occasional bottleneck slide in open D.

If I were tuning two frets low, I'd start with 0.011" and 0.012" sets.

I used to keep a telecaster tuned to C (four frets low) and open C bottleneck slide, with a 0.013" set and that seemed about right to me.

Seems like a very subjective question, and might be best to try a few sets of low-priced sacrificial strings to find out what's just right and what's too large for your tastes.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Thanks all. I don't have any plans to tune up and down on this guitar. It's just going to be tuned in D standard vs. E. Just like standard guitar E but down a full step.

[I see what you mean there MLA, making one set work for all. I do that with my open tuned lapsteels.]

I'm also getting lazy and tired when working on guitars anymore, so I'd like to get it right the first time plus I don't want to have to monkey with the intonation, setting the Hipshot for different keys etc.

I think, given what I read here and on guitar sites, I'll probably put on a set of 12s or possibly 10,11 with heavy bottoms. Thanks guys, I appreciate the response.

[Dave Mudgett]

I mostly use some pretty heavy gauges for standard hi-lo EBGDAE - 12, 16, 20p, 30w, 40, 54, which comes out to about 25-26 pounds per string, pretty evenly balanced string-to-string. That includes Teles and Strats, where I still do a lot of heavy bending at these gauges in standard tuning. For more jazzy or slide guitar, I'm likely to sub a 20w or 22w for the 20p 3rd.

These gauges work OK for me at Eb, Bb, Gb, Db, Ab, Eb at about 22-23 pounds per string, or for D, A, F, C, G, D at about 20 pounds per string. 20 pounds/string has roughly comparable tension to an 11, 14, 18p, 26w, 36, 48 set tuned standard EBGDAE. Actually, 11-48 at standard tuning feels feels a bit light to me. But for someone used to 10-46 at standard tuning, that might seem heavy.

Anyway - my rough rule of thumb is that, tuned down a whole step, I need to go up to the next higher set to get roughly comparable tension. So, a 10-46 set tuned standard would go to roughly an 11-48 set D-to-D; an 11-48 set standard would go to something like a 12-52/54 set, and so on.

I change tunings quite a bit, especially on slide guitar. In this case, I generally choose a string set that splits the difference on each string between the notes. So if a string might go back and forth between E and D, I typically use a string comfortable for Eb. I do that for every string. This way, you don't get crazy heavy or light tensions. For a lot of players, 10-46 standard is probably most common, so Michael's 11-48 would be a good choice. I go heavier, but I think I'm in the minority.

For me, action may play a role. If I'm using a higher action for some reason, I might be inclined to lighten the strings up slightly for standard, non-slide playing.

I played around a lot with this tension calculator to come to these conclusions - https://tension.stringjoy.com/

Jerry - I just saw your last post. If you really are gonna leave it D-to-D whole-tone-below-standard, I'd suggest the 12-16-20p-30w-40-54 set. 20 pounds per string at that low tuning sounds pretty good to me, and the tension shouldn't be a big issue unless you're really used to lighter gauges like 9-42 or 10-46. As far as light-top/heavy-bottom, which typically run 10, 13, 17p, 30w, 40/42, 52, I think you'll find the top three strings pretty flabby tuned down to D. But simply subbing 12, 16, and 20 plains would bring it right in line, tension and feel-wise.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Yeah, pretty much permanent tuned down for now. I have a couple other guitars, so I'm setting this one up for some specific things.

I used to tune all my guitars with 10 sets, but in the last few years, some Fender style guits came with 9s so I just let them be.

Some online guit forums suggest wound 3rds on the heavier sets, but your recommendation is for plain Dave?

[Dave Mudgett]

Some online guit forums suggest wound 3rds on the heavier sets, but your recommendation is for plain Dave?

That depends on what you want the 3rd to sound like when bending it. It's not that a 20w or 22w can't be bent - it can. But it's gonna be quite a lot harder to bend as far, and it sounds different. That might be good or bad, depending on what you're going for. I like it better for some things. But for a Telecaster, I use that 20p so it still sounds like a Telecaster.

Again, for jazz or slide guitar, I'm likely to use a wound 3rd. But I play country and bluegrass on a Tele (yeah, I'm playing a Tele in a bluegrass band right now) with that 12-54 set, and it has that Tele twang with the 20p. I got into using the 12-54 set standard playing in this band. The heavier gauges help me keep up with the fiddle/mandolin guy, who just burns it up. It's just a lot harder to do rapid flatpicking on the lighter strings. For this kind of stuff, I'm coming from playing a D-28 with medium 13-56 strings, but they wanted Telecaster. Who am I to argue?

[Fred Treece]

What Dave M said, mostly.

You’ll be able to tell what’s right by the way it feels when you’re playing. Ideally, you want the new tuning to feel as close to your normal standard as possible, which will be good for the guitar too. You’ll want to be able to bend the 3rd string a whole step without having to use a construction crane, so definitely get a plain 3rd. I would say start with a set of 12’s. But get 11’s and 13’s too, and give them a try. You might have to adjust intonation, and keep an eye on the neck for a few days after changing strings.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Thanks Fred. I'm not a real guitar player but I pretend to be one just to get the chicks! Real guitar pickers intimidate me plumb off the stage!

I do some bends sparingly here and there but not too much with this axe....just the Bigsby trem basically on this one.

I'm thinking I'll go with the 12s. I'll check back in later on with the results. 'preciate the response everybody.

[Fred Treece]

Ha, Jerry! I’ve been wondering all these years who the chicks have been going to. Learn something every day on the forum

[Jerry Overstreet]

Yeah, I'm a magnet at the senior center. The ladies are all over papa smurf.

[Colin Boutilier]

I'm a light string guy, playing 8-38 on my Teles and 9-42 on my Strat, Les Paul and 335. I use 9-42 when I'm dropping down to Eb standard on my Teles.

If I were going to live in D std, I think I'd start with a 9-46 set (Tele) and maybe go up to a regular set of 10s if that was too noodly.

[Per Berner]

There are several string tension calculators available online, where you can compare the tension of different gauges at different pitches.