String Gauge Calculation

First off, I apologize that this is not bass related!

I have a small guitar, 19.5" scale, that I would like to tune to BEADGC (but an octave above bass), although I would be ok even with regular guitar tuning.

I have tried various string calculators on line but each one gives me a different result, one tells me that I need 0.100 for all four bottom strings. However, as I have no experience with guitar strings (except for randomly buying a pack now and again), I am sure that it is user error.

I am ok with not so tight strings as long as they are not so floppy that they are unplayable. I am also ok with retuning, this is only for practice while on an upcoming trip, as long as it is not every 3 notes

 

Yes. Any tension that is playable is fine. I don't want to over do it as the neck doesn't have a truss rod.

 

Well, I ordered 10-46 set. I will give them a go and take it from there.

 

Thanks @lz4005 adn @ixlramp

My biggest worry about going so big is the tension on the neck (it doesn't have a truss rod).

I thought about using old bass strings first to see what the result is, maybe discarding the thinnest 2 or 3 from the guitar set and replacing with D and G string from bass.

a .100 does worry me though.

 

That is also a very good alternative.

The only reason I am thinking of taking this guitar is because it fits inside my suitcase.

 

Thanks for the input @HaphAsSard!

I just tried some old bass strings, the largest that will fit through the bridge is the D string (a 65 I believe).

With the 65 tuned to E and the 45 (I think) tuned to A, it seems playable enough. I will try using the guitar strings to make up the other 4. There is no way that I will be able to get this tuned BEADG without changing the bridge, and if I did that, I would throw a 4 string bass bridge on there.

Nothing as exotic as that I'm afraid. It is a lefty harley benton that I bought for my son when he was about 3 (he's 15 now). He opened it, said wow, and that was the end of his musical career

 

Thanks, but on this trip I'm afraid it is this guitar or my ukulele (which is acoustic, so that is not a good choice for silent practice in the early hours of the morning ).