Hey all, i have spent hours sifting through forums and articles on this matter and have yet to find my answer!!

Played ibanez RG 6 string guitars with 9-46 Hybrid Slinky sets on for years. Love them to bits. Recently the idea of 7 strings has jumped out at me and i have bought a cheap fixed bridge jackson 7 string to try it out.

I have it set to STANDARD tuning BEADGBE!!! I started off with my 7th string as a 56, but found it a little flubby. I have since got a 60 on there, but it feels so thick!! Is this likely to make the sound worse?

I just want to know what the best 7th string gauge would be to go with a 9-46 set!!

Thanks in advance fellas as i really appreciate it, and massive strings are a totally new concept to me along with the 7th string hype!!!

xxx

The best 7th string is the one that feels an sounds best to you. Try a few different ones and find the one you like best--the only "correct" answer is which one you like.

i have the same dilemma, on Universe .54 (tuned A) is way too thin. not just a question of taste, it's way too floppy.

i will go with .60

xxx

Go with a .62. That, in B, is about the same tension as a .46 in E.

Cheers for the responses guys. Thinking of tuning the 7th string to A. From what i have worked out that means that the 7th will be a 0.70" string to match the tension of the E.

This sounds fine, but in practice it feels awkward having such a large string at the top in comparison to the size of the E.

Is there any disadvantage to having such a thick string tuned to A?

If i was to buy a baritone 27" scale guitar for instance, and tune a 0.62" (only an example) to A to create the same tension, would they sound different? Obviously same tension on two different guitars, same note. But strings physically a different thickness. I hope this question makes sense but i really want to find out the answer to this !!!

58 or 60

the 7th will feel stupid thick for awhile as per usual.

I'd try a .072

if you want to be a standout go with .70, .80 or rope

D'addario puts a 59 in their 10 gauge 7 string set. I think it would make sense to use a 59 with 9-46 for this reason.

Tension is not everything. Thicker strings = higher action to avoid buzz. Whether or not you can accept that higher action depends on a number of things. Picking, soft picking allows for lower action. If you play chords you might want a more uniform feel on all strings. If you go for the lowest string chugga you might care less about the overall feel of all the strings. Try some different strings and see what works for you. And make sure to not end up with some odd gauge you can't find anywhere after a month.

Thanks for the response Euphor. I wander if you can clear a little something up for me. I was under the impression thicker gauge at the same tuning meant LESS string buzz. But i also understand that larger strings CAUSE more buzz too.

So therefore i feel a bit confuddled right now.

I'm sure someone will chime in and say the opposite is true. To my experience a thick string usually will be picked harder and thus vibrate more heavily. More mass to move requires more force. More force results in "bigger movement". Must be some fancy word for it, but I'm blank right now.

Still, it's what you prefer that matters. You might find that the opposite is true with the way you play. I got a light touch and thing strings just don't make a sound!

Seems to be a lot of conflict on this subject on the web! Everybody seems to say the opposite of one another! x