What's the Heaviest-Gauge Guitar String That Fits in a Standard Tuning Peg?

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If you're like me, your low E string never gets heavier than a .046. Maybe, when you break a low E string at a gig (which is very rare), you might be forced to use your buddy's .052, which actually makes you think, "Maybe I should always use a .052!" Or, if you're heavily into sounding like Stevie Ray Vaughan, maybe you've dabbled in .056 or .058 territory. Or maybe you just like playing in Drop G!

But exactly how heavy can you go with the standard tuning pegs on an over-the-counter six-string guitar?

That's what the gang at Stringjoy explores in their latest video, which you can check out above. It's actually one of several very cool videos the Nashville-based company has posted in recent months. Anyway, Scott, aka "the guy from the Stringjoy videos," takes an Epiphone ES-339 P90 Pro and starts going heavier and heavier with the low E strings—just to see how far he can take it. The only hint we'll give you is that it's probably heavier than you might think; Scott actually had to ask someone to head down to the basement and bring him some super-heavy strings so the experiment could continue.

You'll have to watch the video to see the results.

By the way, speaking of the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan, the tales of his "massive string gauges" have become almost as legendary as his playing. To find out what gauges SRV actually used, check out the brand-new Stringjoy video below (not the Mesa ad, of course...we mean the actual YouTube video at the bottom of this story).

For more Stringjoy videos, point your peepers to their YouTube channel.

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