I am back to the lap steel. My tuning is EGBDEGBD. The strings I have now are too slack. What string gauge should I put on here? The firmer the better for me.
Thank you
Doug
String Sizes
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Ricky Davis
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Ben Alt
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Have you considered tuning up to A6? You're working with the same intervals in the G6 tuning and the difference two half steps up would make i bet would get a lot of the floppiness out of a standard set of strings.
On A6 I use the SIT brand "Scotty's" non-pedal 8 string A6 set, but I replace the 56 with a Flatwound to reduce noise. They are a semi-flat string and are a joy to play.
.015
.017
.022 Plain
.026 Wound
.030
.034
.042
.056 Flatwound
The set that Gold Tone sells for 8 string dobro, which uses G6 tuning are at:
.016
.018
.026 wound
.032
.035
.045
.056
.059
Those seem pretty beefy to me, especially on the bottom, but maybe that's your thing.
IME, the scale of your guitar will also play into the right size strings - if you've got a longer scale instrument (say like 26"), heavier strings are going to snap or damage the tuners if you try to pull them up too high, whereas a shorter instrument can handle bigger strings, or safely get a standard sized string up to a higher pitch.
On A6 I use the SIT brand "Scotty's" non-pedal 8 string A6 set, but I replace the 56 with a Flatwound to reduce noise. They are a semi-flat string and are a joy to play.
.015
.017
.022 Plain
.026 Wound
.030
.034
.042
.056 Flatwound
The set that Gold Tone sells for 8 string dobro, which uses G6 tuning are at:
.016
.018
.026 wound
.032
.035
.045
.056
.059
Those seem pretty beefy to me, especially on the bottom, but maybe that's your thing.
IME, the scale of your guitar will also play into the right size strings - if you've got a longer scale instrument (say like 26"), heavier strings are going to snap or damage the tuners if you try to pull them up too high, whereas a shorter instrument can handle bigger strings, or safely get a standard sized string up to a higher pitch.