Pedal Steel Guitar String Gauges

Jagwire strings is the only string company 100 devoted to the pedal steel.

Pedal steel guitar string gauges.

The scale length of a pedal steel is the distance from the center of the changer finger to the the center of the nut roller the full vibrating string length. Jerry liked the tone obtained from using a slightly thicker gauge string. Pedal steel 10 string c6 tuning nickel wound electric guitar strings 12 66 gauge. Good strings keep your guitar sounding its best stay in tune better and sustain longer.

Pedal steel guitar strings are available in many different tunings. Strings are the lifeblood of your steel guitar. Care must be taken when selecting string gauges to get the proper amount tension on all of the strings. The chart below will serve as a guide for making up custom sets of strings for a pedal steel guitar.

The gauges are based on the ability of a string to retain its memory accurately over time. It is normally recommended to use between a 013 to a 015 gauge string for a high e note. The following chart shows recommended guages for each pitch over the entire range of the instrument. The pedal steel guitar makes severe demands on electric guitar strings.

For pedal steel the choices are more limited due to the physics of raising and lowering strings. To use this chart select the gauge from the highest pitch created on. Changing gauges or brands may require some adjustments to the travel action and balance of the various pulls. Depending on your tuning and other factors there is leeway and room for personal choice when stringing up a straight steel guitar.

Most pedal steels have a scale length in the range of 24 to 24 5 though a few are 25 or longer. The string gauge chart below could be used as a general guide for pedal steel guitar but is primarily aimed at steel guitar without pedals. Our goal is to provide the very best set of strings for each individual pedal steel guitar and we continue to strive for that goal. Pedal steel guitar strings are designed to be used only on steel guitars.

If you re new to the pedal steel guitar it can be intimidating to look at 20 or so strings and imagine the time and expense of changing them all. These sets will work on pedal steels some table steels and lap steel guitars.