In your opinion: Is it harder going up or down string guage?

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JakeAC5253

JakeAC5253

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Which is harder in your opinion, going up a string guage or going down a string guage? Assuming tuning stays the same. For me, going down in guage has always been harder.
 
JakeAC5253":2jmbhisd said:
Which is harder in your opinion, going up a string guage or going down a string guage? Assuming tuning stays the same. For me, going down in guage has always been harder.
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Guess it depends why you're changing - if the sound is better, or it helps you achieve what it is you're looking for, then the difference on the fingers is minimal IMHO as it offers more sonic inspiration.

V.
 
I play on a 12-60 set on my gibson and a 16-75 set on my baritone.
I can pick up a 9 or 10 or whatever and play fine, except i will bend the entire guitar out of tune in about 5 minutes if i'm not careful.

My friends can pick up my guitars and play fine although i dunno if they would be able to play for a while without some joint pain.
 
going up is always harder for me than going down when it comes to string gauges.
 
I don't like going to thinner gauges, as the tension isn't enough for my heavy trem picking and gallopping to work properly on the lower strings.

Sometimes heavier takes a lot of getting used to since a lot more effort is required for the subtleties.
 
Going up in string gauge is always harder, especially for bends...
 
SuperFlyinMonke":2w9avtf3 said:
I don't like going to thinner gauges, as the tension isn't enough for my heavy trem picking and gallopping to work properly on the lower strings.

Sometimes heavier takes a lot of getting used to since a lot more effort is required for the subtleties.
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Pretty much my thoughts exactly. I have always hated the feel of dropping a string guage. It just makes the guitar feel cheaper at first. Plus you have to develop a new sense of self control in both your left and right hands. I've recently went up a guage and I swear the getting used to period was about 5 minutes. But like you said, I am going to have to build up a little more stamina in my right hand for doing gallops and things like that.
 
For me, going from lighter to heavier is harder, i've been playing Santana GHS Big Cores CL 9.5 to .048 for several years now, very pleased with them. :rock:
 
If you're a lead player doing a lot of bends and sustained vibrato, it's harder to go up a gauge.

If you're a rhythm player it's easier to go up a gauge.
 
SuperFlyinMonke":3262zreb said:
I don't like going to thinner gauges, as the tension isn't enough for my heavy trem picking and gallopping to work properly on the lower strings.
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Same. The only thing I dislike about heavy strings 12's-13's is BENDING on the high notes :doh: like the Lynch stuff where he just slides from middle of neck to fret 20-24 and bend :doh:

I don't think I could play with 10's or 9's anymore. 11 is lightest I'll go (i'm in Eb)
 
robertkoa":1lzgwiwc said:
If you're a lead player doing a lot of bends and sustained vibrato, it's harder to go up a gauge.

If you're a rhythm player it's easier to go up a gauge.
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That sounds plausible. I am definitely more of a rhythm player than a lead player. I can bend the high e and B fine, but the wound G combined with floating trem means that bending that G string a whole step takes a ridiculous amount of force :doh:
 
gbsmusic":2pegggv4 said:
It just takes a little getting use to either way.
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I concur. Changing either way just takes a little adjustment.
 
My answer is: Both.

I bought a guitar from Scott, it is a Schecter BlackJack C7.
It`s a 26,5" scale guitar, and was set up with a 010-set.

Nice player, bends were easy, but I could not "fly" on it.
I changed out the highest 6 with a 009-set.

I can shred easier, but I`m struggling to get the same INSANE acoustic sound it had with the 010s...

You can`t have the cake and eat it too, concerning string gauges, I believe.

If I played in a rock band, and never faster than Angus and David G, I`d rock 010-052s, or 011s.

They sound much better. I can`t fly on those sets, though.
 
I didn't think it would be an issue but I went from 10's to heavy top 11's on my Tele and my fingers kept slipping off the top E and A strings,couldn't bend them as much,took a few days to get used to it but now it's fine.
 
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