OT: custom guitar string set?

The obvious next port of call is Rotosound, at

Several UK retailers continue to offer single strings for electric, acoustic, and bass guitars, allowing you to build custom sets or replace individual gauges:

Where to Buy Individual Rotosound Strings in the UK

- GUITARGUITAR They stock a wide range of Rotosound strings and explicitly mention that single Rotosound strings are available, ideal for custom gauge configurations.

- Rotosound Official Shop While their main focus is on full sets, they occasionally offer individual strings or allow custom orders. It's worth checking directly or contacting them for specific gauges.

- Northwest Guitars Their Rotosound Strings Shop includes various sets and accessories, though individual strings may be limited or temporarily out of stock.

And d'Addario

Yup

Best approach is to use a string tension calculator to derive the sizes you want. Here are a couple:

Thanks for the links. I don't remember which one I used (probably stringjoy) and that's where I've noticed that the strings were massively unbalanced. The problem is that single strings are too expensive.

I bought the tenor guitar 2 years ago.

Useful links, thanks (I was about to suggest Strings Direct... ;-o)

J^n

Ok, thanks, I'll try that.

Am 13.11.25 um 18:18 schrieb jkn:

I may not have been good at finding that out on their website. If somebody has been able to select 4 strings as a set from Strings Direct, please let me know how you did it.

Errr, single strings average £3-£4 each and you only need four.

I've just checked mine (quickly with calipers, rather than a micrometer) and they seem to be close to 0.039W, 0.028W 0.02 and 0.012. Nut-bridge distance is about 550mm. It plays well (when I think about playing it!)

No idea if they are any good, only tinker on a classical guitar once in a while and apart from D'Addirio I don't recognise any of the brands.

In my Sliding Doors moment I chose to go and work for Tom Jennings at VOX and turned down the job of running British Music Strings in Wales so, in another life, I might have known a bit more about musical instrument strings, but I don't.

TL:DR You'll probably have to experiment with quite a few different brands and tensions and materials until you find what really works for you personally. Technical specs will only take you so far.

The string tension calculators mentioned elsewhere are a good start: core diameter, wrap material and diameter etc all have different effects and without that knowledge there's a danger of having strings that have the appearance of being progressively thicker while some of them are so tight they will cut your fingers like cheese wire and others will stretch half way across the face of the instrument before you let them go.

These days I buy my strings retail and I get them from eaglemusicshop.com This was originally because Eagle Music Shop was walking distance from where I used to live and because they are really nice and knowledgeable people. Their own brand of strings come in sets for all sorts of esoteric instruments so you might find a ready-made set for your instrument under another instrument name, Alternatively, they do offer a pick-and-mix service: check the website for details.

Nick

Am 13.11.25 um 20:37 schrieb No mail:

Plus shipping costs for each of them, equals £20+, while boxed set is about £8 to £12 all inclusive.

That can't be right?!

It may be that some eBay sellers are trying to get £4 a string (for guitars), but that is an outrageous price for each of six, or as the case may be, four strings.

They can be had significantly cheaper than that, trust me.

It depends on the string. If you want a good PB wound flat top 0.039 (for example) it will be near £7. A plain 0.012 will be near £1. If the OP wants the cheapest then he could put together a set of 4 singles for less than a tenner. I can't understand the fuss when it's so easy to calculate the tension to decide the diameters and then just buy the strings - cheapest to check that the gauge guesses were right and then a bit more if you want flat wound for the C and G. I gave my gauges earlier as a starter if he doesn't have the means to measure the existing strings.

Providing he can find an eBay seller who does combined postage.

Alternatively see if the seller offers their own mail-order outside of eBay and probably allow a reasonable number of strings for fixed P&P.

Am 15.11.25 um 22:43 schrieb No mail:

You "don't understand the fuss" because you don't have real life experience of ordering a custom set of strings, or do you?

Please tell me where you can find such as set:

for "less than a tenner" (ipse dixit), including shipping.

See:

The four you referenced total £5.90 + £2.50 shipping (from Kent).

Thanks. Apart from the fact they are nickel for electric, they are very close to what I need. The shipping is only 10p each, yet it doesn't give me the option to do combined shipping.