How High Can You Tune a Guitar String Before it Breaks? 

While it may sound like we ran my mic through a Boss CE-2 for portions of this video, my mic fritzed out a few times so we had to work with what we had. Sorry. We'll do better next time, promise.

Want to get a confession out of a guitarist? Just lock them in a room with someone who is slowly tuning strings higher and higher. They'll eventually confess to everything.

The speed at which you tune matters too.

This is way scarier than anything Hollywood could make

The tension in the air waiting for it to break was literally intense as hell

Watching you tune up is giving me anxiety.

That sound at 9:44 spiked my heartbeat by a freaking mile, i could reload that video millions of times and it could never get easier to cope with it....

The first time the string broke it scared me more than it scared him. Guitar strings are scary honestly

Actually I tune my high strings up all time, sometimes as high as a high e to G, mostly because I like to play with open drones, so this was really helpful! You did not bleed in vain!

I've actually emailed you guys about this exactly 😅 for a short scale guitar, and we worked out a cool f#-f# standard tuning with appropriate lighter gauges. Very cool!

I have a classical guitar that I've been playing around in all-5ths tuning, from C below the standard low E, to B and octave above the open B. I couldn't find any conventional string that would hold that pitch for more than an hour. But . . . my local fly-fishing shop carries monofilament leader in a variety of specific gauges. After much experimentation I found that an 0.017" leader, with about 35 pound test, and be tuned up to high B, and it works. Sounds comparable to the other unwound nylon strings, and lasts a good 2-3 weeks. And it comes on a 300-foot roll, so I basically get more than 100 strings for under $10. :)

This is terrifying. And it makes me anxious

I took a Squier mini strat with a 22.75 inch scale length And tuned it up 3 steps to a2,d3,g3,c4,e4,a4 and used 38w,28w,20w,14p,11p,8p string joy strings. The tensions were between 18.2 and 16.3 and it worked out pretty good. I use this guitar in conjunction with lower tuned guitars to add some articulation to heavier wrifs that would otherwise sound muddy, it kind of works similar to a harmonizer pedal but way better…

You can reliably do the A thing if you tune a whole step down. Then you can tune your higher string to G, which is possible. Then add more frets up high, maybe 5 extra. Same range.

This is the most anxiety inducing video I’ve ever seen. You’re a brave man, Scott.

I wanted a higher tuned guitar, so I built one with a 450mm scale. It has four courses of octave paired strings tuned to A, E, C, G. It's like a ukelele but not re-entrant. The low 4th string is like a low E @ 3rd fret and the high 1st is like high E@5th fret. The string gauges are 12p/30w, 16p/39w, 25w/42w, 32w/54w. I chose thicker strings than I normally use (10's) to get a nice ring, but it is a bit hard to play because of the paired strings. I may change to the equivalent thicknesses matched to a 10 thou 1st string

If you haven't tested that for yourselves, you're not real guitarists! :-)

Thanks for the sacrifice (your finger). A very informative and entertaining video! BTW, love your Broadway Strings!

Hi-tuning to A4 ,B4 or C5 is possible and functional. Check out some videos at the Octave4Plus Facebook page. The Octave4Plus B4 string allows for octave B strings on a 12-String. The A4 lasts for months.

As a younger lad, I tuned my guitar using a polyphonic tuner. I got a low E .009 two octaves + to pert near 3+. 🤭 There was one bend up and pop . After a few tries and more strings popping, I made a couple phone calls to some experienced musician friends that explained tuner types and got a recording on cassette and disc of piano, guitar standard and alternate tunings. I have lost lots of strings due to Alternate Tunings, vs string guages and what shape your headstock nut and it's slots, string trees, bridge saddles slots, and though body string ferrels, to headstock and tuner angles, nut slots angles heading towards tuners, and strings individual angles headed to tuners. I like my strings coming from the nut slots right inline linear to all tuners, and not fan at angles off center left or right on a 3+3 tuner. Setup or left on an inline 6 or right on an inline reverse headstock tuner setups. They do make devices to put your strings coming from the nut to the tuners on a 3+3 setup in linear. Then there is tuner backlash. Nashville Tuning or Alternate Tunings, beware that your guitar may not be made for and/or suited for such. I had an ES335 explode on me using alternate tunings ! ! ! 😵 Stretch your strings as you tune them up to Standard, stretch them out some more and tune on up to try and prevent breakage..As a precaution and a safety suggestion, wear safety goggles when tuning strings on any instrument, anytime until you learn the ins and outs concerning the subject matter of strings tunings, especially when tuning up a stringed instrument beyond it's standard tuning. There is never a chance that a string of any guage would not break.! ! ! 👍 Peace & Play 🎸 On . . . 😎🤘DDHarris 2-6-2020.

I’m so glad that I’ve used Stringjoy strings exclusively for the last few years. I love these informative and experimental videos.

I tune my 7string up to a A#-F-A#-D#-F-A#-D#

I have the urge to get a shorter scale guitar and play in like high Drop F

I greatly appreciate this video. I'm primarily a piano player who wanted to play around with sounds (also a physics nerd), and essentially what I wanted to do was tune my guitar so it was in the format CGDAEB or FCGDAE. Anyhow, thanks for the explanation ! You got a subscriber and a like :)

just tuned my high e string and it broke, it was new, now I'm here

I will personally recommend you guys one thing, every guitar string batch is different, if one string breaks at D# doesn't mean every E string can make it to D#, some might make it to a whole octave whereas some might make it upto 4 notes maximum, no strings are same, even of the same brand, you might buy 2 sets of earnieball 13-56 and both sets will break at different tunings... all they have to do is make sure each string can tolerate 3 notes upto the standard tuning, if you're going any higher than 2 notes, your strings are likely to break

If you did this on a Tele with it's longer scale, would they break at a lower pitch?

A suggestion here! Make a video about how high can you bend up the high E before it breaks. I've seen a few people bend it up a perfect four!!! a couple of times but generally even a major third is pretty rare..

Wrists and throat protection. Don't wanna end up like that 90s/00s twilight zone episode.

Personally, I have a couple of soprano guitars/guitaleles that are tuned A to a. My acoustic is made by Kmise. Got it on Amazon for about $100. Uses standard classical nylon strings I think. My electric is a Harley Benton (ST-Junior I think), and it was about $60, IIRC. I'm pretty sure it came strung with 9s, but I know I used 10s on it last time I restrung it (I just tend to use 10s on everything I have, with few exceptions, for ease). Both are quite fun and great for just noodling on the couch. Oh, I want to say the scale length on each of these is about 20". This is the way to safely tune A to a, IMO. I bet a Mustang (at 24") could probably comfortably get you to G to g though. (or maybe an Ibanez Mikro... something with a ~22" scale)

Very informative thanks !

9:00 oh God why

Tried using new standard tuning after your vid and christ that high G was the most stressful thing ever

My first string broke when I tried to go from e to f# :( I bought new strings and first one broke while tuning it to standard ... Now the I am getting first to e very hardly 😭😭

I'm not even the one tuning it and yet im still flinching away out of fear its gonna snap 😭😭

Love this video..safety glasses are a good idea.Maybe some gloves or cloth around those hands and wrist

Just tuning back up to E standard gives me anxiety when I'm on drop C or C# standard just because it's always so tough to tune (I use gauge 13)

I'll occasionally use higher tunings on my Jaguar, which is 24 inch scale. I use 11s. Anything over a full step higher starts to feel dangerous... Low Es can handle G perfectly though!

Doing the real science!

Watching you tune up was scarier than any horror movie I’ve ever seen.

I was once curious about how notes higher than the highest note sounded like so I tuned up the E string to about a G# and played the new higher notes then after that I put away my guitar without tuning the string back down and then when I decided to get my guitar out to play it 2 days later the high E string was broken which was sad to see. But I’m just glad that I wasn’t there to bleed when it broke.

the most intense video of youtube

7:48 is why we all came here!

Dial 9-1-1 for his fingers. Massive emergency!

Starts at 7:54

I feel that I'm gonna poked in the eye through this video

thank you man for this video .. try to high my guiter up to 2 tunes but its broken.my strings in 1.5 tune .. from stander notes .. so i think its better to costume your strings and buy it with the right inches spicially for every player and my advice is .. if you tune your guiter up never go up over one tune .. 1.5 is danguras but will work for maybe one day then broken.. 2 is kaputt

i was playing on the street .. becaus eof the volume problem I was tune my acoustic guitar to up G# or A.. yea 4-5 note UP but my problem was.. 6th string (hi E) always broken.. So mostly my guitar was 5 string guitar.. But man.. harmony.. resonans.. increadible.. I believe.. every guitart have it's own best tuning .. You can tryx and find it..

Standard electric string gauges: 10 13 17 26 36 46 Acoustic: Same but 17 is 22, because that’s the thinnest wound string gauge.

zeah, there is another variable to the equation - the scale length. I came here looking for answers for a 3/4 or even a 1/2 size guitar. Didn´t really get any. We have a lot of capoing going on in the set with one of my bands and I am tired of losing time with readjusting the tuning everytime I use a capo (yes, my guitar is set up right and while playing with other bands I don´t really need to tune it during the whole set, so it holds pretty good, only the capo gives me issues), so I thought about getting a short scale guitar and tuning it up to A standard, but there doesn´t seem to be a lot of videos covering that realm.

I had a friend which string broke and hit over his left eye, on his eye brow and up... Lotds of blood He used to bend over to see the string, Honestly now I turn the guitar as far and looking down as I possibly can 😅 but I honestly never broke a string while tuning,never in 20 years. Just when they are "old enough" to just randomly break at the tunomatic saddles

Been having a heck of a time with the 3rd string popping on me a lot, not tuned up, in standard. I'm using Martin's Silk & Steel M130, which have a wound .023 gauge 3rd, but I don't know the core vs. winding diameter. Suspecting the core is too small, because I've read reports of others having this issue too. Also, I play in a lot of different tunings, so those significant tension adjustments likely plays a role too. My main reason for using the Silk & Steel is the silver and tin plating on them. It keeps the brass smell off of my fingers, which I'm(on the autistic spectrum) incredibly sensitive to. This is all to say, I really wish Stringjoy made silver coated strings.

Your insights are very good

Thank you, i got my first seven string and was thinking about doing this, ye is a bad idea but idk man, I like high treble. Also I didn't realize how strange this mindset is lol

I just want to know what gauge strings are safe to tune up to open A and open E.

I absolutely love your channel

Sir you have some big balls

I was tuning up the G-String on my 4-string Bass Guitar, and I tuned it up to a C before it broke. And it really smacked me in the face. I didn't bleed, but it did kind of hurt a bit. I was trying to get somewhere to a very high note like Victor Wooten. But I didn't realize that he had a tenner tuning.

Hi Stringjoy and thanks for the great video 👍 There's really been some High E-videos since that's what players wanna know. Even more than that, I'm curious how high these wound strings go assuming they are good quality strings? 😊 General idea for example is that 10-52 is already heavier set, meaning 0.52 is E2 or D2 in most cases. I have DR DDT set with 6th string 0.60 and 5th 0.52, whereas 0.52 in my case is F2 in C# tuning. There are calculators how high these wound strings go, but they measure the core wire giving only 2% breakage for 0.52 in F2. I've tuned 0.64 as a 6th string for Standard E2 & 0.50 as a 5th string A2. Some players like Zakk Wylde, Mickey Demus, Michael Amott plays sometimes really hard gauges, like 11p-16p-24p or 26w continuing 42w-60w-70w. Whats the max tension for these? 0.70 as a standard E2 is quite stiff, not to mention 0.60 as A2. I play really hard gauges. Done tests but not to the point where the wound breaks. My guitars are Floyded with locking Tuners and i haven't notice any probs with the guitars itself (truss rod etc) but who knows how high 0.52 go or 0.64 or even 0.70? Anyone ever tested these except factories in their lab 🔬? 😅 Would like to know 👍😁

On my acoustic I discovered/ created a really melodic melody by JUST tuning the G up to an A ....it's hit or miss if that string breaks tuning it up... most of the time no problem, but twice now I broke it, and bizarrely was one of those times was tuning it back down to G...(no, I was turning peg in correct direction ...:) ) It's a 23 gauge so I'm thinking maybe if I pop in a 26 I wont have this issue and close enough to wont hamper harmony of string set... yes?

Oooooooh if you tried that with DR strings, the high E string would have unwound at the ball end. I know this because it happens when you’re trying to just tune to high E. 😐

I just want to play Iris without being anxious the whole time

came for watching strings break, stayed for the science

I'm just getting into guitar and I'm too scared to tune my last e string. I've already broken it 2 times now. My teacher got me a way better string but I'm still scared bro

According to taylor's equation for strings: The smaller the size of the string(from where it is fixed in the tailpiece to the pegs), the easier it gets to tune higher, thats why violins and mandolins are small... for guitars, i wouldnt recommend to do this on a strat tho, ( but it may work on reversed headstocks because the distance of the e string is smaller and also tune down on the lower strings will be easier too). Kinks arent good either because it tensions more the string in one point. The best guitar i think is the john lennon's rickenbacker since it is smaller than others...

i guess theres enough headroom if slightly overtuned? my guitar sensitive around the tune mark it goes over with the lightest twitch

I was told recently that tuning my 7 string 7) B 6) F# 5) B 4) E 3) G# 2) C# 1) F# was ridiculous. I’ve played in this tuning for a while and have not experienced and string breaking issues at all nor undue neck tension, and this is on a 25.5” scale. Using the Ernie ball power slinky 7 string pack which has an 11 on the high “E”. Thoughts? Is this I actually crazy? I love the sound, it’s not so djenty as standard 7 string tuning

I need to tune it up a lot because I do Sonic Youth covers, lol

Tread lightly around this man

I got my high e up to g with an 11 on a 25.5”

7:49 This is what you came here for :)

Damn, couldn't even make it safely to C. No Rain Song for me. Thanks for saving me a string.

I've thought about what you call "reverse 7 string" tuning down a step (G4) with 8's. I'd want a shorter neck, which would have to be a custom build because most 7 strings are for lower pitches in length, string gauge, and electronics.

I might like a tuning with G4 over a 25.5" scale as the highest-pitched string, but I'm wanting the tension to be at least that of a .0095" tuned to E4 over a 25.5" scale, though the tension of a .01" to E would be preferable to me. Would that be possible while retaining the ability to tune up quickly, or would I have to step down to Gb, F, or somewhere in between 2 of those 3 notes? I know I would likely have to give up bends on the 1st string. I've asked Daddo Oreskovich, who has performed a similar experiment, but he wasn't sure.

may have been answered, but what I am looking for on vid, Okay electric strat copy low E comes up tuned, using garage band, Moooer Ge100 , or rocksmith+ BUT the string feels loose so wondered if the guitar can be tunned to E low but is an octive to high or is that low? if the string feels loose, pushes outside of fretboard. yeah okay I do not want my strings to break but I do not think I have that much strength in my fingers to bend do elec and acoustic strings low E feel that significantly different.

So it'd be a safe bet that I could use a .008 on a 25.5" scale tuned up to G#, and it would PROBABLY last a while? Looking at getting a 7-string headless for Drop C/C# with a high G/G#, and I'd prefer not to go through the process of "hey, can you make me a guitar with a SHORTER scale than usual?" (like a 24.5" on the high G# down to say, a normal 25.5 on the low C#)

I came here to tune my 7 string up and what I learned is The secret to tuning up is to sacrifice a fret or two and use a capo or tune up half a step than use the capo the rest of the way

tried this once, now the inside of my acoustic guitar has my blood stain

Went from D standard to E and snapped my 2nd string right at the post with locking tuners. I feel like there shouldn’t have been enough tension to snap the string that easily, so is it a problem with the post?

Just snapped my E string

tuning up a floating bridge guitar is true suffering

you're explaining everythingt like a pro

Until now I’m still tuning with the guitar facing away on my acoustic and pressing down the pins too..once I had an old string snap just by tuning down..🤣 the coated strings are much stronger..

I've always wanted to make the high E sound in A and make ultimate shred 7 string with HIGH A

What's the scale length? No way it's a 25. I'm guessing somewhere between 23 and 24.75. Bb4 is almost impossible to reach on a 25.

Try tuning higher with daddario NYXL’s I’m playing F# standard tuning on 25.5 scale and it feels great . Will probably go higher and higher until ….

I kind of want to buy one of those mandotars that are standard tuning but an octave up. They’re a way smaller scale length so it’s not such an issue but still.

You were tuning a bit sharp, according to my tuner.

Alternative title: how to give yourself anxiety while tuning

Absolutely anxiety inducing. But to be honest, I'm not scared of the sudden sound of a string breaking, I'm scared of being hurt. Heard too many horror stories of guitarists almost having their finger cut off from a string breaking.

Any way you could make a vid on getting 7, 8 or even 9 strings low strings in tune? or help with gauges?

Alright I confess!

maybe u can help me. found something cool called ethereal tuning that i wanna play D A Db Gb Db D how do you tune the B string to Db without it breaking? i havent broken a string but the tension gets so high before it reaches that note that it will break if i go higher. every other string will tune right

9:45 My soul jumped out of my body 😭😭😭

Just came across your video, years ago I bought a shitty Mattell guitar with one of those built in amps for $40. Recently started messing with it, the high strings do nothing but buzz and shriek even when I plug it to my amp. BUT... the top 3 sounds like Punk raunch Gold! well to me and my untrained ear, anyway I realized that the strings were out of tune slightly but when tuning this crappy guitar with my iron ear I tuned the low E up to a B and man its been like an old man discovering Viagra... Sometimes I get some fret buzz higher up the neck. Here's the problem I've tried to replicate this on other beater guitars but it sounds too tense/buzzy. SOany recommendations? go with a bugger gauge 50? I use Ernie Ball 46s. 2 yr old thread but hope springs eternal thanks -OG mid-life Crisis Punk

Theres a string calculator on the net just input the guage n = max tension n key

I want to see this done with the 6th string.

How to tune C F D F G A? Possible on acoustic guitar?

This video is keeping me from putting a .007/A4 on my 27" 8-string XD I got a .008 to work on a G4 and never actually broke a string. It looks like about 18lbs at that pitch/scale length, so a pretty decent amount of headroom for bends. A4/.007 is 17.4lbs All this is really telling me is that 8-string guitars should just be tuned lower and are really not for me lol and tbh I think 7s are my sweet spot anyway >_>

C5 on a 25" scale 12-string tuned B- C C4/C5 octaves :facebook.com/142042399167449/videos/780459735325709