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FCF tuning

Posted by Austin K on June 28, 2018 at 8:22am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Ok, here's a question that I haven't found any answers for in the knowledge base; I'm interested in trying an FCF tuning. My CGB has a 21" scale length. Any thoughts on what strings I should use? I was thinking I could easily tune a low E string to F, a D string to C, and a G string down to F, but is the best way to go about it? Any suggestions? I have light and medium gauge acoustic strings on because I keep them for my 6 strings.

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Replies

  • Taffy Evans June 29, 2018 at 5:04am

    Hi Austin, yes you are correct the shorter scale guitars require less tension to bring the string to concert pitch, so heavier gauges can be used or take advantage of a light action.

    Taff

    • Austin K > Taffy Evans June 29, 2018 at 5:26am

      Yeah that makes more sense.,I was thinking about what the other guy said and while everyone has their own opinion and experiences heavier gauge on a longer scale doesn't make sense to me. He was referring to bass strings which are a heavier gauge string but require a lot less tension than a guitar string. All I know is I really dig the FCF tuning. It sounds great on a short scale. 

  • JP Lace Master June 28, 2018 at 4:49pm
    I've a Canjo tuned to FCF, good low growl in the tone. you're best bet (my experience anyway) is to Tune an A string down to F and combine that with the C tuned C string and F tuned G string. I'd go with heavier gauge strings to get a lower growl. It is just you standard open G tuned down to open F.
    • Korrigan > JP Lace Master June 28, 2018 at 5:08pm

      Keep in mind he has a 21" scale.

    • Austin K > Korrigan June 28, 2018 at 6:01pm

      So what's the correlation between scale length and string gauge ? It would seem to me that with a shorter scale you could use a heavier gauge string but perhaps I am mistaken.

    • JP Lace Master > Austin K June 29, 2018 at 4:38am

      the shorter the scale length, the lighter the string gauge. Look at your standard 4 string bass guitars, they have string gauges for specific scale lengths and it is the same with guitars although to a lesser extent.

      Something to do with the reduced length affecting the tension of the string and affecting its ability to remain properly tuned or something to that effect.

      I'll give you a recent example, I tried putting a 100 gauge Bass string on a 29 inch scale Diddley Bass, it destroyed the string before it even tuned to D.

    • Austin K > JP Lace Master June 29, 2018 at 4:44am

      Ok, that makes sense. Good thing to keep in mind. 

    • Austin K > JP Lace Master June 28, 2018 at 4:57pm

      You mean a C tuned D string right? That's what I got going on, ADG tuned to F2, C3, F3. The strings I got on it now are light gauge but I will probably go heavier when I decide to change them. Thanks for the advice. 

    • JP Lace Master > Austin K June 28, 2018 at 5:01pm

      I did mean C tuned D string, yes.

  • Austin K June 28, 2018 at 11:52am
    So I decided to go with F2, C3, and F2. Ironically figured for 15 lbs. tension it's in the same ballpark as the GDG tuning I was using! Which is G2, D3, and G3. I like the punchy sound of the F2, and best of all I didn't have to change strings ! Now we'll see how well it stays in tune with this tuning.
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