Mini guitar string gauge

[bonesofwrath]

I know the answer for myself, but.. I just set up a Squier mini for this kid at church. He's probably 10. I asked about string gauge and he didn't know (it had 9's, they were black.) He's trying to play it in standard.

I set the truss rod, set the nut height to 0.018 and set the action and intonation, but after playing this thing in E-std you have to have a super light touch to keep from pulling it sharp, 9-42 is just kinda floppy at 22.75".

If i were to play this myself, I'd tune it up to G or even A. But transposing on the fly will be beyond his abilities.

Should I just set him up with 10's? I would ask but he has no frame of reference. I think nothing of jumping around string gauges, but what think the peanut gallery? I don't think they'll be too heavy for him when 9's are barely hanging on. String it in 10's and let him know because of the short scale he should use 10's if he wants to play in standard tuning? Leave him in 9's?

 

[Strat Avenger]

For a beginner, 008-038.
For me, 009-046.

 

[Scab Pickens]

I have a Squire Mini Strat that I bought for my son a few years ago. I wouldn't consider putting anything less than a 10-46 set on it. Even with those, it's pretty floppy. It actually sounds pretty good, though!

 

[bonesofwrath]

8's is a non starter at 25.5 for me.
I just got done with the 10 setup with the action as low as i could get it. I could probably go a hair lower if he can accept some light buzzing up past the 15th. He's probably got a couple years before he's ready to go there - he's doing cowboy chords right now, but I hate to set it up on purpose knowing it's buzzing anywhere.

I think I'm just going to tell him I set it up this way to play in standard tuning, if he wants to go back to 9's, I'll set him back up). But it plays a thousand times better now.It was horribly out on intonation, black strings, I dropped the nut by almost 0.010" and its still at the top end of the range I'd normally use. Between the nut height, intonation and being under strung it was impossible to play almost anything in tune.

 

[Scab Pickens]

Whatever happened to getting a crappy acoustic guitar as your "first"? That's the way to get over things like wimpy strings.

Seriously, though ... I can't imagine playing anything less than a "10" on top. I know people do it (calling Billy Gibbons!) but, damn, I'd just be pulling those suckers straight off the side of the neck with my gorilla fists.

"Back In The Day" rolleyes I thought I'd try the "heavier is better" deal. I actually played the 11-49 D'Addario XLs religiously for years. Still my favorite string set of all time - mostly on a PRS Custom 22, but quite a bit on an American Standard Tele. Old age is setting in and I'm back to "10s". Also, I'm just liking the more forgiving feel.

Anyway ... blah blah blah ... I'll get my coat

 

[stratamania]

Ask him how it feels, your hands are not that of a 10-year-old and do not rule out any particular gauge due to a preconception.

9s might be a good starting point from where you can go lighter or heavier.

 

[bonesofwrath]

Once upon a time i played 13's in p4 tuning, so EADGCF. That was intentionally trying to make it difficult to bend notes accidentally in awkward stretches though. (I didn't bend notes, slide if you want pitch shift.) This is actually why I was asking the opinion of others.

I didn't have a hand in picking his guitar. I just noticed a couple of kids in the youth band had instruments that were in need of setup, to the point of likely hindering progress, and figured he might find the road ahead more enjoyable with a properly set up guitar.

The teenager with a full scale strat I'm not planning to mess with his choice of string gauges. I just felt 9's in standard on a 22.75" scale required an expert touch, and even then I had to consciously be aware of string pressure on every note I played.

 

[supertruper1988]

My 6 year old has a Jackson Minion strat type guitar that is also 22.5" scale. I strung it with 9-42 in E standard for her. She is just learning and even then fretting notes cleanly is hard for her level of grip strength. If this young kid is 10 or so years old then they might benefit from going up to 10-46 because they will have more grip strength and likely would benefit from the extra resistance from the strings.

 

[Rick]

I had tacoma papoose tuned to A. Used all the regular chord shapes. Just had to adapt when playing with others. I think the scale was 18.1 inches.

 

[supertruper1988]

I had tacoma papoose tuned to A. Used all the regular chord shapes. Just had to adapt when playing with others. I think the scale was 18.1 inches.

Those are really neat!

Before my oldest got her Minion, I had it strung up with 8-38 tuned up to A. When I first did it I spent 3 hours playing "chipmunks" thrash tunes in A

 

[bonesofwrath]

I still have a lefty mini strat I'm hanging on to for a few more years. My son showed interest when he was younger but doesn't really have the drive to learn. When he's big enough for a full size I guess I'll sell it then unless he's started playing. Because they're fun even if you're a grown up.

 

[Scab Pickens]

I still have a lefty mini strat I'm hanging on to for a few more years. My son showed interest when he was younger but doesn't really have the drive to learn. When he's big enough for a full size I guess I'll sell it then unless he's started played. Because they're fun even if you're a grown up.

My son is the same. He's eight now and actually has more interest in the 3/4 Yamaha acoustic than the Mini Strat. I'm not one to force feed anything on anybody. Actually, he's most interested in my Roland V-Drum kit! Kids just like beating the crap out of things, I guess .

My plan is (if he ends up showing more interest in the electric guitar) to build with him a 7/8 Warmoth so he can have some hands-on experience with constructing his own sonic demolition device.

I keep thinking about putting stupidly heavy strings on the Mini Strat and using it for some slide since he hasn't been playing it ... I don't really have a guitar I can dedicate to open tuning right now.

Anyway ... getting sidetracked (again) ...

"10s" on the Mini for the win in standard tuning!

 

[bonesofwrath]

10's for the win! Kid was super appreciative. He has a mowing business and he's gonna need it, because I plugged him into the Fender Twin at church instead of the little 8" combo he had and he was quite obviously thrilled. Woah this sounds different than mine. Turns out he's a bit more advanced than I'd heard him play with the group - he was pumping out U2, BOC and Tom Petty.

 

[Scab Pickens]

10's for the win! Kid was super appreciative. He has a mowing business and he's gonna need it, because I plugged him into the Fender Twin at church instead of the little 8" combo he had and he was quite obviously thrilled. Woah this sounds different than mine. Turns out he's a bit more advanced than I'd heard him play with the group - he was pumping out U2, BOC and Tom Petty.

That's awesome! Yeah, the first time you plug into a "real" amp is a game changer for sure.

 

[electric__steve]

I know people do it (calling Billy Gibbons!) but, damn, I'd just be pulling those suckers straight off the side of the neck with my gorilla fists.

I've got his 7-32 set on my Strat right now, hah. They basically play themselves. Now the frets on that guitar aren't terribly tall; they've got whatever came out of Mexico in the early 90s minus wear and leveling. But I'd imagine that pulling those light strings sharp could be an issue with taller jumbo frets.

 

[Scab Pickens]

I've got his 7-32 set on my Strat right now, hah. They basically play themselves. Now the frets on that guitar aren't terribly tall; they've got whatever came out of Mexico in the early 90s minus wear and leveling. But I'd imagine that pulling those light strings sharp could be an issue with taller jumbo frets.

That's just nuts to me. Even when I first started playing, I thought a .009 on top was just too slinky. Of course, my playing style wasn't exactly "refined" . I do love BFG, though. Whatever works for you, I guess. It's great to have so many options. We are truly spoiled in this day and age.

 

[bonesofwrath]

On a 22.75 scale, 9's are about like a 0.0075". Add to that the 0.028" nut height - I wasn't the only person to observe it was basically impossible to play this guitar in tune.

 

[electric__steve]

By the way, Stringjoy has a nifty tension calculator on their web site: https://tension.stringjoy.com/

You can plug in different scale lengths, different tunings, etc... So for the original question asked by OP, 10-48 strings on 22.75" scale are close in tension to 9-42 strings on 25.5": 91.1 pounds versus 94.4 pounds. 9-42 on the 22.75" scale are only 75.2 pounds.

Obviously, the numbers are only exact if you're using their strings, but physics is physics, and it's got to be close enough for this type of comparison.