Tuning G3 string to A3 guitar

Question

I have been playing along with a couple of Pavement songs which are in DADABE tuning, so that the G string has to be tuned one tone higher to an A. It has happened to me in the past to do something similar with no problems, but this time the G string broke twice in one week, so after tuning up just a handful of times.

I was very surprised by this, and I am wondering what is going on. Surely it is possible to tune the guitar like that, so maybe I made the wrong choice of strings, or did something else wrong?

For completeness, I own an Ibanez AEG acoustic guitar, and the two G strings which broke were the following brands: Ernie Ball Medium Light Bronze Aluminium - Calibre 12-54 (24 for the G) D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze

I know next to nothing about guitar strings, so I thought there might be some strings that are better suited to these kind of tunings, like thicker or of some other material. Also I wonder if the second time it broke because it was new, and I tuned it higher than its supposed to go on the same day. Can't find any relevant info on the web.

Answer 1

Also I wonder if the second time it broke because it was new, and I tuned it higher than its supposed to go on the same day.

In my experience, new strings are not more prone to breaking than more experienced strings.

If you want to tune up, usually you'll want a lighter string, not heavier. (for example, note that your G string is lighter than your D)

D'Addario offers a pretty nifty string calculator which suggests going to a .021" for the G string, based on your EJ16 set. You can play with it here: http://stringtensionpro.com/SetBuilder

Answer 2

I'm thinking that going thinner for the A, not thicker, might be the thing. Maybe a 20? Your friendly local guitar shop should sell singles.