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Guitar String Tension Calculator

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Enter your plain steel string's gauge, scale length, and target pitch to find its tension.

Guitar String Tension Calculator

Live
String tension
16.28 lbs
Covers plain (unwound) steel strings only - wound strings have a composite core-and-wrap density this formula doesn't model. Check your string manufacturer's chart for wound strings.

The formula

Unit weight = Steel density (0.2834 lb/in³) x Cross-sectional area of the string Tension (lbs) = (Unit weight x (2 x Scale length x Frequency)²) / 386.4
Example

A .010" plain steel string, 25.5" scale, tuned to E4 (329.63 Hz): tension ≈ 16.28 lbs - matching commonly cited manufacturer specs for this exact gauge, scale, and pitch.

Step-by-step guide

  1. Enter your string's gauge (diameter in inches, printed on most string packs).
  2. Enter your guitar's scale length.
  3. Enter your target pitch as a frequency in Hz (standard tuning frequencies are widely published).

Why thicker strings need dramatically more tension for the same pitch

Tension in this formula scales with the string's cross-sectional area, which itself scales with the SQUARE of the diameter - doubling a string's gauge doesn't double its tension at the same pitch, it roughly quadruples it. This is exactly why heavier gauge strings feel noticeably stiffer under the fingers even when tuned to the identical note as a lighter gauge string, and why changing string gauges significantly changes how a guitar's neck relief needs to be adjusted.

Common mistakes

Using this formula for wound strings (typically the lower 3-4 strings on a standard guitar) - their composite core-and-wrap construction has a different effective density that this simplified plain-steel formula doesn't capture accurately.
Entering the wrong pitch frequency - double-check you're using the target note's actual frequency in Hz, not a fret number or note name directly.

Frequently asked questions

Why does this only cover plain steel strings?

Plain strings are solid steel with a single, well-known density, making the tension calculable from gauge alone. Wound strings wrap a different metal (often nickel or bronze) around a steel core, giving them a composite density that varies by manufacturer and construction - accurate tension for those requires the manufacturer's published unit weight.

What's a typical total tension for a full set of strings?

A standard light-gauge electric guitar set in standard tuning commonly totals somewhere in the range of 90-100 lbs of combined tension across all six strings, though this varies by gauge and tuning.

Does scale length really affect tension that much?

Yes - tension scales with the square of scale length in this formula, so a longer-scale instrument needs meaningfully more tension to reach the same pitch as a shorter-scale one with the identical string gauge.

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