How much does a .05 gauge change affect the tension in the string?

[triggervision]

I'm debating on going with either the D'addario strings .110, .090, .075, .055 or the GHS Boomers .115, .95, .70, .50 for for Drop D half step down. i.e. C# G# C# F#. Would the .05 differences make that large of a difference?

[perucci]

Not all brands do, but at juststrings.com, if you drill-down to a specific set of strings, many brands provide string-tension information.

[David Lansen]

For C#G#C#F#, I think GHS Boomers 50-115 would be better than D'Addario 55-110. D'Addario sets always favor the D and G strings in tension, so the .110 has less tension than the .055 to begin with. Also, in larger strings, tension tend to drop faster as you tune down, for example, tuning the .110 from E to D decreases the tension by about 10 lbs right away.

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by perucci

many brands provide string-tension information.

Very few brands do: D'Addario and Thomastik-Infeld are the only ones I've seen that have consistently provided information for their products. I think JustStrings has a table field for the data on each listing, but unless some bad copy-and-paste was done durting site maintenance, no figures for anyone but D'Addario last time I checked. I think at one time JS believed more manufacturers were going to be forthcoming.

* * *

To OP: download the D'Addario string tension guide and you can see for yourself how much .005 increments impact tension. This info puts you in the ballpark if not totally on-base for any brand, when when comparing like types of strings.

.005 difference at higher pitches makes a big difference in tension, while at the lowest pitches .005 difference often hardly makes a dent.

[bongomania]

Also note that the actual construction of each brand/model of string will affect the tension just as much as the diameter- so e.g. you could have a 130 and a 135 with exactly the same tension, again depending on the string composition/construction. (Note that I'm not contradicting GB, as he specified "when comparing like types of strings".)

[DavePlaysBass]

~10%