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Hello all-

As I begin the setup of my project electric guitar I've noticed that when the strings are in tune, the strings are really tight and rather difficult to bend in comparrison to the other guitars I have.

I've also noticed that different acoustic guitars when in tune have tighter or looser strings.

What causes this difference and is there any way to fix it?

I'd cerainly appreciate the answer for both electric and acoustic guitars if the cause is different.

Thanks!

There are two main factors to string tension, the scale legnth of the guitar and the guage of the strings. Heavier guaged strings need more tension to come up to pitch. Try some lighter guage strings and see if that helps.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Thank you for the reply. Are there any other factors that could affect the string tension? The reason I ask is because the scale length on the two I'm comparing are identical and the string gauge is the same yet there is a drastic difference in tension. The two things that differ are the following;

Tight string guitar - straight headstock with two string trees and standard fender strat saddle

Looser guitar - angeled headstock with no string trees and floyd rose type temolo (blocked to be fixed position)

I'm sure you all know the feeling of putting the final touches ona project and then realizing something is wrong (i.e. Strings with too much tension and difficult to bend ) :(

Thanks all

If theyre both electrics then all I can think of is a difference in action on the two guitars. A higher action can make string seem "tighter" due to higher finger pressure required to fret it. Check string to top fret height at 12th fret on each guitar.

Not only scale length but overall string length is a factor when considering string tension. Ever noticed that guitars with a tailpiece style bridge seem "looser"? that's because, even though the scale length may be the same as on another instrument, there's more string to stretch when bending/fretting.

Thanks for all the great info I was hoping there would be an easy solution but it doesn't seem its turning out that way. If string length is one factor, is there anything I could do to the saddle intonation or placement of the string tree that would help the situation?

Or maybe if I adjust the tremolo by tightening the trem screws or add springs so that it is flat against the body?

or maybe is it really a situation of "it is what it is"?turbo41139068.9485648148