A question about string gauge on a MIM Strat tuned to open B

daviey42

hi guys,
apologies if this question has been asked before, I had a search and came up blank. I have a MIM Standard Strat that I like to tune to open B (B, F#, B, F#, B, D). I took the Roto pinks off it, replaced it with some 12s, but they feel a bit unwieldy. Would people recommend going to 11s? I’m worried I’ll lose too much tension on them, but I don’t have the money to try out every gauge.

anyway, any advice would be gratefully received.

Alnico

For Standard B tuning I would use..

6 - 64
5 - 52
4 - 38
3 - 28
2 - 17
1 - 12

But I hit the strings hard so I struggle with thinner ones.
Those gauges also handle Standard A Tuning as well.

Stringbusters sell single strings. 6 of them come in at almost the same price as a predefined set so you can muck about with gauges and create your own custom set.

Hope that helps.

daviey42

Thanks Alnico, I will bear that in mind. Much appreciated. I didn’t know about string busters, I’ll have to check them out.

guitarfishbay

I would use www.stringtensionpro.com to work out the set that feels closest to what you’d usually use. It’s based on D’Addario strings but should be fairly representative of other strings with similar construction 

daviey42

Thanks, GuitarFishBay. All these great sites that I’d never heard of!