How Big Of A Difference Do String Make On Tone?

[D-Rock]

I personally perfer strings that are bright and crisp in the highs. Mainly due to the fact I play darker sounding mahogany bodied guitars most of the time (LP & LTD) So I like D'adarrio's Jazz XL's in either 11-49 or 11-52

On my Strat and Tele I like strings that have subdued highs. The brand varies, and EB are good, but don't last. I'm actually constantly trying different string brands with these guitars. My Tele seems to like DR Black Beauties10-46.

 

[Lord Toneking]

I'm the opposite of you. I don't like Ernie Ball strings at all, I'm a D'Addario guy all the way

 

[ZachMN]

I use my own hybrids and I never notice a difference, I get whatever is available in terms of brands- I use .008 .010. 016 .024 .038 .048 and I love that combo of tension for the lighter strings and tone on the lower ones. Its all in how you set up the guitar I guess..........

 

[stephen sawall]

The strings you use makes almost as much difference in tone and envelope as what pick or lack of does.

 

[Qweklain]

I honestly don't think the brands sound all that different. As other people said, different gauges definitely sound different, and that's what I notice most.

The strings you use makes almost as much difference in tone and envelope as what pick or lack of does.

I agree as the brand really does not make much difference in tone. The statement that gauge and material does, is 100% true. The reason being that different gauges = different tensions which in turn mean tighter or looser feel and tone. Also if you want balanced tone, you really should look for optimized tension on strings. The heavy the gauge strings should be tighter than the lighter strings, but most people do not notice this. Almost all signature guitarist strings ARE optimized. Hard to do though when most companies do not offer a guide on the tension of their strings or do not even know if you ask. This is why I make custom sets through D'addario. I can honestly say, there is a huge improvement vs. the prepackaged shit that is available compared to if you were to make your own set. The only strings that felt and sounded as balanced as the custom sets I buy were Kerly Sinister's.

 

[stephen sawall]

I honestly don't think the brands sound all that different. As other people said, different gauges definitely sound different, and that's what I notice most.

The strings you use makes almost as much difference in tone and envelope as what pick or lack of does.

I agree as the brand really does not make much difference in tone. The statement that gauge and material does, is 100% true. The reason being that different gauges = different tensions which in turn mean tighter or looser feel and tone. Also if you want balanced tone, you really should look for optimized tension on strings. The heavy the gauge strings should be tighter than the lighter strings, but most people do not notice this. Almost all signature guitarist strings ARE optimized. Hard to do though when most companies do not offer a guide on the tension of their strings or do not even know if you ask. This is why I make custom sets through D'addario. I can honestly say, there is a huge improvement vs. the prepackaged shit that is available compared to if you were to make your own set. The only strings that felt and sounded as balanced as the custom sets I buy were Kerly Sinister's.

i agree ..... the different tension well feel different and well change the envelope and tone a lot. It is not just because the string is thicker it sounds bigger. If you tune up (raise pitch with tuner) with a string you can hear the envelope change and the bass becoming more focused. It does not matter how tight your amp is if your guitar is not tight sounding when not plugged in. it only amplifies what you put in.

i also noticed the resonate property's of some guitars just work better for certain tunings and string gauges. My strat can take a lot of different tunings well. My Les Paul does not.

 

[Qweklain]

i agree ..... the different tension well feel different and well change the envelope and tone a lot. It is not just because the string is thicker it sounds bigger. If you tune up (raise pitch with tuner) with a string you can hear the envelope change and the bass becoming more focused. It does not matter how tight your amp is if your guitar is not tight sounding when not plugged in. it only amplifies what you put in.

i also noticed the resonate property's of some guitars just work better for certain tunings and string gauges. My strat can take a lot of different tunings well. My Les Paul does not.

Absolutely. That RG565 I had was great for Eb or E standard, but anything lower than that and it become mud city, and I mean majorly, not just a little bit. I do not know why though. Some axes can be great tonally in any tuning, but some are bitches and can only sound good with a few.

 

[stephen sawall]

I feel it because of the resonance of the guitar. Mostly the body and then the neck. You now how every piece of wood resonates in its own way. The body can make certain frequencies sing better. Like a good acoustic well do. The ones that sound better in a lot of tunings just resonant better at those frequencies.

A bad sounding guitar can some times sound better by finding the sweet spot. A good guitar can sound horrible with the wrong strings and tuning.

 

[thunda]

I've been playing electric guitar since the mid 70s'. I've been through a *lot* of strings. Mostly, when changing brands, there was little to no difference in tone with respect to the same gauge. The most different/apparent tone difference I experienced was with Charlie Stringer's "Nuclear Nickels" brand. There was a tone/harmonic character with my LP Classic that I have not experienced since. It's hard to describe. Almost a yowl character with overdrive.

Alas, Charlie died, and these strings are no longer available. I have hoarded a few sets over the years, but I'm down to the last one. It's starting to show signs of corrosion. Guess I need to string them up and get all of the "goodie" out of them.

RIP Charlie!

 

[nbarts]

dean markley blue steel

fuck the fret wear, i buy guitars to enjoy playing them.

 

[sebby123]

dean markley blue steel

fuck the fret wear, i buy guitars to enjoy playing them.

+1000000000000000000000000000000

 

[Meathead]

I hear a difference in tone for sure with different string brands.
My favorite for tone, feel and for lasting a long time are the D'Addario nickel strings.
I get six gigs out of them easily, with almost all other string brands I'd be lucky to get two gigs....and these sound great to me as well the whole time.
I use these for 440 tuning and 10-45's for Eb tuning.


http://accessories.musiciansfriend....lectric-Guitar-Super-Light-Strings?sku=101847

 

[ZachMN]

off the shelf string sets are designed for volume matching I believe- and what you said about matching the tension with gauge? saw Whitesnake on July 3rd and they needed a heavier set of strings let me tell you way too much slack on them bad boys.............

 

[rupe]

I used Boomers and Blue Steels for years until I was turned on to DR Tite Fits in '99. They feel less stiff to me and just sound a bit "bigger". The main difference though is longevity/reliability. I had to change Blue Steels every gig as it seemed they lost their magic quickly, whereas I can get 3-4 shows from the DRs. I rarely break them even under extreme trem abuse. For true Strats and Teles, I use the DR Pure Blues for a slightly mellower tone.