D'addario String Tension

[prater]

I recently switched from Blue Steels to D'addario Pro Steels and have noticed a much higher tension and on the D'addarios. I'm using .50 .70. .90 .110. The only difference in gauge compared to the blue steels is the A string which was an .85 with the blue steels.

The tension is so much higher it required some adjustments to my action and is making playing difficult.

Is it the hexcore that causes the higher tension?

I've considered switching to a .45-.105 set due to the tension

or

Switching back to the Blue Steels which I never had a complaint about but I want to stick with D'addario because my company has a deal with them and I can buy at cost.

[tylerwylie]

Originally Posted by prater

I recently switched from Blue Steels to D'addario Pro Steels and have noticed a much higher tension and on the D'addarios. I'm using .50 .70. .90 .110. The only difference in gauge compared to the blue steels is the A string which was an .85 with the blue steels.

The tension is so much higher it required some adjustments to my action and is making playing difficult.

Is it the hexcore that causes the higher tension?

I've considered switching to a .45-.105 set due to the tension

or

Switching back to the Blue Steels which I never had a complaint about but I want to stick with D'addario because my company has a deal with them and I can buy at cost.

Hex-core leads to lower tension but much stiffer strings. Tension is a function of mass, pitch, and scale length, and when comparing two similar strings of the same gauge the hex core string will have slightly less mass, it will also have slightly less tension. But when comparing strings from different manufacturers with different winding methods and different materials, other factors will affect the tension more than hex core versus round core.

Are you tuning to standard? I typically don't go above .045 - .105 on standard tuning, and when looking at tension it's usually the ADG strings that are noticeably higher than the E string so a .110 E might feel great but .070 on the D will be ridiculously tight.

[prater]

I go back and forth between Drop D and Drop C. I'm not adverse to .45-.105, I just upped the gauge when using Blue Steels so they wouldn't be too floppy.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

The .090 / .085 difference is significant. It is a 10 pound difference on that string alone.

You may want to try a custom set using singles .050 .070 .085 .110 and it will feel more comfortable.

Blue Steels are hex core. Each string brand / string formula is going to yield a different tension / string flexibility.

[Solarmist]

I would switch to the 45105 set, and see how that works for you. I use Prosteels (45105) exclusively, and just love them. They are nice, and bright sounding plus the price is right. tylerwylie is right - a 70 is too tight for a D string as is a 50 for a G string IMO. If I designed a custom set with close to a balanced tension I would go 40/45--60--85--110.

Here's a link to the D'Add string tension chart: http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf

Edit: I didn't see in the opening post you use drop D/C - this post was meant for E standard.