String choices for high bass tuning in A?

[bod]

Hi,

It’s string-change time anyway and I’m planning to give high bass tuning in A a try.

I’m looking at Newtone Square Neck Resonator string sets and find myself, once again, a little bewildered by the range of gauges.

link: Newtone Square Neck strings

Any guidance on which set(s) are well-suited / best-suited for high bass tuning in A?

The guitar in question is a (modern, far-eastern) Regal dobro-alike (square neck, spider bridge), if that makes any difference.

Thanks

[bonzo]

You'll get good advice here! 👍🎸

[Michael Messer]

Hi Bod,

It’s a good question and thanks for letting us know what guitar you are fitting these onto.

None of the strings on the Newtone website are gauged for high bass A, they are all for high bass G and are aimed at modern Dobro players, and even with that in mind I am not sure about those combinations.

Here they are...
A .015.018.028w.038.048.058
B .016.019.028w.035.045.056
C .016.018.028w.038.050.060
D .017.019.028w.036.046.056
E .018.018.022w.032.044.056
F .018.020.030w.036.046.056

I think Newtone are intentionally avoiding what other companies are using for their square neck strings. For example D'Addario GBDGBD strings, their EJ42 set which are the industry standard these days for Dobro players using GBDGBD is 16 18 28w 35 45 56. That set doesn't quite exist in Newtone's range.

Just for those reading this that may not know, high bass A tuning is ...low to high AC#EAC#E, so like GBDGBD, but one whole tone higher.

I recently did some recording on my square neck tricone in high bass G# and A, and I just used what was already on my guitar, a set of MM phosphor bronze 15-56 and they were perfect.

I have also tuned to high bass A on an MM Fiddle Edge guitar with those strings and they were fine on that guitar too.

Bashful Brother Oswald was a high bass A player, but he rarely played on the bottom two strings, and he used a weird set of 18 18 22p and then something like 32 42 42 on the bottom. I love Oswald’s playing, but not sure about those strings.

I think you’ll find most of the early Hawaiian steel players that used high bass A just used a set of strings, and didn’t really worry about making up a special set.

I think if you were to ask Neil at Newtone this question, he might well put you in touch with me, or ask me before replying to you.

If you are really worried, just go a bit lighter on the bottom two. Something like 15 17 26 36 42 52 would work fine I reckon.

On a spider bridge guitar you can’t damage the cone with a high tuning, and that’s the same for square necks, so it should be fine with regular MM 15-56 which tune to pitch at a slightly lower tension that most strings.

Let me know how you get on

Shine On
Michael

[pete1951]

If you are worried about string tension you could do the following.

A standard (low bass) set already has a G string which shouldn’t mind going up a tone ( especially if it’s on the light side) so you just need a string somewhere between the G and the D so if the G is an 046 and the D an 036 your new B string ( ok it’s going to be C#) would be an040.

These are a little lighter than Michael has posted, and he has actually done this sort of thing.

Pete

[Michael Messer]

Pete, you are absolutely right and that is pretty much what Brother Oswald used to do. Bear in mind that Oswald's Dobro was (and still is) a round neck with a raised nut. So that may have been the reason for his 32 42 42 combination. There was a time when I could have asked him, but sadly that time is long gone.

I am confident that 15-56 MMs will not cause any problems and should feel and sound great.

Bod, what strings do you currently have on the Dobro?

Shine On
Michael

[bod]

Hi again,
Thanks for all the input everybody. It’s much appreciated, as always.

So, rightly or wrongly, I was not so much worried about the guitar - square neck, spider-bridge is, I imagine, about as hardy as a resonator guitar gets.
I was more wondering what sort of set would take the tension / be happy in high bass tuned to A, and mistakenly imagining that one or more of the Newtone sets were gauged for the job…

Current strings on the dobro would seem to be MM 16-59s. (My record / filing seems unreliable in this instance, but Robn recommended these to me for GBDGBD back when I first got this guitar, and comparison with a spare set of 16-59s that I have to hand seems to confirm that’s what they are)

[Michael Messer]

Hi Bod,

My pleasure.

I don’t think16-59 is a good choice for GBDGBD because they can sound a bit choked. I used to use them on a dobro and when I changed to 15-56 it just felt better. I definitely wouldn’t tune 16-59 up to A on anything because I think the G 3rd will break. Gs are funny that way, they just go. That’s why some people prefer plain lighter 3rd strings.

I would go 15-56 and first go to high bass G# to see how that feels, then go up a semitone to A.

When you order the strings, order an extra G 26 just in case!

Let me know how it goes

Shine On
Michael