Light vs Heavier String Gauge

  • Thread starter Thread starter EnGl
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I play 9's on my strats and strat scale guitars. I play 10's on my Les Pauls and LP scale guitars.

Back when I first started out, you had a choice of 9's or 10's in my local store...the guys using .60 and larger strings were called bassists.
 
Here's what I've found. Not everyone can play with 9s' it takes a certain finesse being carefull not to push down too hard cusing the strings to fret sharp. The pressure needed varies depending on what string and fret. 9s' work best on a Strat type/scale guitar. 9s' do not work on a LP. I use 9s' on my T/A Strat and 10s' on my LP. I do not find 9s' to be any less tonefull, fat etc.
 
I remember when I first started playing the know it all guitar tech told me that thick strings equals thick nice tone. He would set everyone's guitar up for the biggest gauge. My uncle dropped off a vintage ric and was pissed when he picked it up and the nut was cut for telephone wires! Anyhow, I use to use 10's, then went to 9-46 , then eventually to 9-42's. I like how slinky and responsive the strings feel and I do a lot of bends and dig the feel. I like the tones I get and the trade off (if there is one) is worth it for the great feel and ease of play. Maybe I am just getting old!!!
 
I used to play 10-46 as well. For some reason which I can't remember anymore (most likely because of Adrian Smith though haha!) I decided to try a hybrid set of 9-46 and liked it a lot so that's what I still use and probably always will. And we play in eb tuning mind you.

I like the slinky feeling of the higher strings and the slightly heavier top compared to 42's.

It sure took some time to get used to the lighter gauge, bends were all over the place but on the other hand it made me concentrate on touch a whole lot more, as well as pick attack.
 
10-52's in e ns dropped d. I have big hands and tend to man-handle my guitars. My friends also at I hve high action when I think I have pretty low action myself. Oh wells, I enjoys it
 
Hmm , I get through all of your posts and : Almost all of you prefer a light gauge :D

Personally , 9's are to light for me ....
Now i ordered set of GHS : 11 - 15 - 19 - 33 - 46 - 60 in Drop C and it feels just brilliant on my 25.5 scale guitar.

Of course - 9's will work for "feelers" and lightpickers , If you use thinner pick than 1mm , you have a light pick technique - 9's will be brilliant for you.

But 9's on very low action with strong handed guitarist equipped with thick pick ... and we gonna just hear bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz ...
 
10-52's in 25.5" scale for D standard. I did come from 11-52's in D but i had to back off due to work (typing) and playing causing tendinitis symptoms.

I love a heavier feel but the lighter strings have their place for writing solo's or simply practicing.
 
EnGl":32ygt1vd said:
Hmm , I get through all of your posts and : Almost all of you prefer a light gauge :D

Personally , 9's are to light for me ....
Now i ordered set of GHS : 11 - 15 - 19 - 33 - 46 - 60 in Drop C and it feels just brilliant on my 25.5 scale guitar.

Of course - 9's will work for "feelers" and lightpickers , If you use thinner pick than 1mm , you have a light pick technique - 9's will be brilliant for you.

But 9's on very low action with strong handed guitarist equipped with thick pick ... and we gonna just hear bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz ...
Click to expand...

Read the replies a little closer when you post these threads of yours, NOBODY suggested using light strings for drop C tuning ;)
 
String size is theoretically based to suit the correct tension on your guitar vs the tuning.

Ovbiously the higher you tune, the smaller the strings you want and vice versa..

With that aside lighter strings suck because they sounds weak like a little kids guitar, and lower strings suck because they are harder to bend, play and too mudyy.. lol

So you need the perfect set...for me its not about tension because my main guitar is from the 90's and isnt worth all that much. Its all about the feel and the sound.

I tune CGCFAD, or Drop C

I prefer GHS DYL, they are .12-.52 I like these because the 3rd string is nickel wound (big deal for me) and they seem to suit the tuning well..

I would ideally like a custom set of the DYL's but with .11 instead of .12

I recently tried 10's in a pinch and it was horrible, the low C was twangy and just didnt feel right.
 
I like the feel of bigger strings, used to use 12-53 tuned standard on my Jackson Soloists when I played every weekend in a house band. Now I gig once or twice a month, the band rehearses once a week and I practice about three days a week. String gauge is down to 11-48, 10-46 is too light for me feel wise and I like the tone of the bigger strings.

Martin
 
I have been using 10's since the mid 80's. I don't recall the 9's lacking in the tone department. I used to use 9's but always ended up snapping the high E bending the to the E note from the 21st or 22nd fret. When I switched to 10's I rarely break a string on any guitar.
 
sjk":3mcgtwgi said:
EnGl":3mcgtwgi said:
Hmm , I get through all of your posts and : Almost all of you prefer a light gauge :D

Personally , 9's are to light for me ....
Now i ordered set of GHS : 11 - 15 - 19 - 33 - 46 - 60 in Drop C and it feels just brilliant on my 25.5 scale guitar.

Of course - 9's will work for "feelers" and lightpickers , If you use thinner pick than 1mm , you have a light pick technique - 9's will be brilliant for you.

But 9's on very low action with strong handed guitarist equipped with thick pick ... and we gonna just hear bzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz ...
Click to expand...

Read the replies a little closer when you post these threads of yours, NOBODY suggested using light strings for drop C tuning ;)
Click to expand...


Yeah , I know.
I mean that many people prefer a light gauge in standard tuning.
It's so obvious that if you want 10-46 feel ( in E) but in D Standard - 11-52 is the way to go.
But thanks for notice that thing.


Well , thank guys for all this posts.
You only "forced" me to experiment much more - I'm very grateful.
When I read things like : " I play a guitar for about 30 years and I still cannot find matching cab/head/guitar/pick/strings etc" ... God damn , guitarist life is beautiful :D
 
9's here, no matter if I'm in E standard or drop C. I can't stand big fat nasty strings. Tighter, clearer sound and easier to play from 9's for me. Big fatties for me just make too much bass and cut the mids making a muddy mess.
 
Most of Ed's guitars were 25.5 scale necks I believe too. So he's gonna have more tension on the 9's than say on a Gibson guitar. For me its all about string tension vs. tuning. vs. neck scale. On my guitars I use 9-42 in e tuning, but for c dropped tuning I use 10-52. That gives about the equal amount of tension even though there is a huge difference in string size. Smaller strings definately have a clearer tone, but there's no was a 42 e string is not gonna flub out when tuned down.
 
Subclavian":2mtbx4sn said:
I play 9's on my strats and strat scale guitars. I play 10's on my Les Pauls and LP scale guitars.

Back when I first started out, you had a choice of 9's or 10's in my local store...the guys using .60 and larger strings were called bassists.
Click to expand...

HAHA! This is exactly how I feel! :thumbsup:
 
i have been using 9's on a couple of my les pauls but i switched back to 10s and i think i like them better because they dont seem as bright.
 
I know Cantrell uses 10-46 in half step down. I love his tone but I can't get away with that. Too heavy handed I guess. I need 11-48 minimum.
 
Standard tuning or Eb for me.
24 3/4 scale ==10-14-18-28-38-48
25 1/2 scale ==10-12-16-26-36-46
 
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