Bajo Sexto & Bajo Quinto Strings

Our bajo sexto and bajo quinto strings were developed with Candelas Guitars, and they are built for the instrument rather than adapted from a guitar set. These are heavy strings — .024 to .092 — because a bajo has to carry the bass line and the rhythm at once in a conjunto or norteño group, and a lighter string will not do it. Loop end throughout, to fit the traditional tailpiece.

Sexto or quinto

Bajo sexto has twelve strings in six courses, tuned E A D G C F from the bottom up. Bajo quinto has ten in five, dropping the low E course, and is the more common instrument in norteño playing. Count the courses on your instrument and buy accordingly — the gauges are identical for the courses they share, so the quinto set is the sexto set without the heaviest pair.

Nickel or phosphor bronze

Nickel-plated steel is brighter and more percussive, with harder attack and more cut — the sound that pushes through an accordion and a loud room. Phosphor bronze is warmer and fuller, with more body and more separation between notes, which suits recording and quieter playing. Both are made in both sizes.

Gauges

Each set contains two strings of every gauge listed, one for each string in the course.

How Bajo Sexto and Quinto compare to our other specialty sets

These are the only sets we make for bajo sexto and bajo quinto. The phosphor bronze sets use the same wrap family as our Phosphor Bronze acoustic guitar and mandolin sets; the nickel sets use the same wrap as our Power Wound Nickel guitar sets. For other course-strung instruments we make mandolin and bouzouki sets.

Made in the USA.