Super strat strings. 9's or 10's?

[RockStarNick]

Finally made the move to 11's on my LP last year. Never going back to 10's on a Gibby..

 

[jmgman69]

Finally made the move to 11's on my LP last year. Never going back to 10's on a Gibby..

I've got 11's on one LP and 10's on the rest

 

[Random Hero]

10s. I used 9s for the last 5 years or so before this past Spring, switched to 10s and haven't looked back. They just feel and sound better to me. 9s feel extremely light under a picking hand and I just think they feel a bit... weedy I guess, but then, I'm used to 10s now...

Still, I think 10s generally sound better.

A friend of mine has his Les Paul strung up with 9s and I just can't play it. Feels like 10s in B standard or something would feel on a 25.5".

 

[jcj]

..The tone is much improved with 10s as well.

Not always.. The increased string size & string tension can 'choke' some guitars, and that's an actual term used by string manufacturers. My LP DC feels awesome and plays great with 10's, but it sounds stiff & dead because the resonance & sustain are choked. Put a set of 9's on it and it springs to life.

On a lot of guitars, 10's seem to really subtract from sustain, at least for me

 

[thiswaythatway]

..The tone is much improved with 10s as well.

Not always.. The increased string size & string tension can 'choke' some guitars, and that's an actual term used by string manufacturers. My LP DC feels awesome and plays great with 10's, but it sounds stiff & dead because the resonance & sustain are choked. Put a set of 9's on it and it springs to life.

On a lot of guitars, 10's seem to really subtract from sustain, at least for me

I have found the exact opposite for me.

 

[projectx102]

..The tone is much improved with 10s as well.

Not always.. The increased string size & string tension can 'choke' some guitars, and that's an actual term used by string manufacturers. My LP DC feels awesome and plays great with 10's, but it sounds stiff & dead because the resonance & sustain are choked. Put a set of 9's on it and it springs to life.

On a lot of guitars, 10's seem to really subtract from sustain, at least for me

I have found the exact opposite for me.

Me too I was using 10's on both of my superstrats and switched my 440 tuned one to 9's and the tone was thinner and I couldn't get the sustain and sweet controlled feedback I get with 10's.Needless to say the 10's are going back on today.

 

[glpg80]

ever since this topic was created i had the feeling i might be missing out on my charvel. for Eb i think im going to give 10's a try next time i restring my charvel

9's will stay on my ibanez though - the action is much lower with 9's and i feel as though that guitar would be an utter bitch to setup for 10's/ extremely moody because of the oiled thin neck.

ive never touched a full set of 10's. ive done hybrid 9's - 9-46, but i believe 10's would benefit both tone and playing the more i think about it.

 

[fek]

I dropped the So Cal off at a new tech that was rec'd to me on Friday. It needed a pro set up anyway since the action was a touch high and the neck needed some relief taken out. Dropping 10's on there wasn't going to help in that department so off to the tech it went. I should have it back Thursday.

I am not real excited about the truss rod adjustment having to be made at the body either. Is there an advantage to that? It's a design flaw as far as I am concerned.

 

[glpg80]

my wolfgang had it, and i never had a problem. was easy to do minor neck adjustments whenever i restrung too because the graphite adjuster was made to be turned with my 3mm key

neck adjustments arent hard to do, 1/4 turns AT MOST and let the neck settle. i always give the neck a little movement both relief and bow afterwards to make sure things are settled. nothing major though - enough pressure to make sure things are solid/settled.

if it needs to be adjusted more, then another 1/6 of a turn it goes, and i wait a few hours more. i also clean and oil the necks before and after as well, the grain patterns always open up during this time. then on my necks i go through my routine of sanding and sealing to close everything up.

on my ibanez i would have to shim the nut a little to make room for the slightly larger gauge low E, and i dont have any shims. thats another reason i dont really feel like messing with it

good luck on the gauge change. im going to mess around with my charvel i believe just to give 10's a chance, but ive got a new set of 9's already on me, so if i dislike how the guitar sets up/plays, the 9's and the setup i have now is where ill stay.

 

[fek]

I had a comfortable feeling when I left the tech's place. He had all kinds of random super strats and 80's classics sitting around either ready to rock or in various states of being tweaked. He also had a pile of old Marshalls and a few Sovtek heads stacked up.

We talked and he told me what he would like to do and then he went on the standard tech rant of what each of the current builders are doing wrong and what he does to rectify it and blah, blah, blah... I have never been to a tech that didn't do this. They must be a lonely bunch.

I can tweak necks but it looks like you have to take it off to get to the adjustment when it is under the 22nd fret. Just a pain in the ass if you ask me. Keep it under the nut like god intended.

 

[glpg80]

I had a comfortable feeling when I left the tech's place. He had all kinds of random super strats and 80's classics sitting around either ready to rock or in various states of being tweaked. He also had a pile of old Marshalls and a few Sovtek heads stacked up.

We talked and he told me what he would like to do and then he went on the standard tech rant of what each of the current builders are doing wrong and what he does to rectify it and blah, blah, blah... I have never been to a tech that didn't do this. They must be a lonely bunch.

I can tweak necks but it looks like you have to take it off to get to the adjustment when it is under the 22nd fret. Just a pain in the ass if you ask me. Keep it under the nut like god intended.

now, that design usually there is a cutout in the guitar-body where all you do is remove the neck pickup.

although i have seen some ESP models that required what you said. and THOSE are indeed a bitch.

warmoth's new design where the adjusting is done at a 90* corner is also a terrible design. ive seen or heard more or less the wedge mechanism internally breaking inside the neck, and its also not as accurate.

im with you 100% on those designs, they should both be burried and forgetten about. my wolfgang's design or the standard nut at the neck design work perfectly.

 

[rupe]

on my ibanez i would have to shim the nut a little to make room for the slightly larger gauge low E, and i dont have any shims. thats another reason i dont really feel like messing with it

Between this quote and your comment on the action changing by going to 10's on your Ibanez, you've completely lost me.
Why would you have to shim the nut to go to up a guage? The bottom of the string will still be in the same position...it's not like the nut slot gets deeper with a larger gauge...the string will still be the exact same height off the fretboard.

As for the action, this also won't change a bit, as long as all the necessary adjustments are made. You would have to increase the trem spring tension to offset the heavier strings and you will likely need a trussrod adjustment if you have a Wizard or Jem neck.

Sounds like you're over thinking this one.

 

[glpg80]

fret vibration at the lower frets is why you would shim the nut just a hair. i like a perfectly flat fretboard, no bowing at all. so therefore the added mass of the gauge change = more fret contact/buzz on the lower fret area because of the action i have setup currently. the added gauge change would be enough to mess with this - i would need a .005 shim.

the neck would be moody as hell with the added tension not being sealed. if you have ever owned a neck with no sealers, wax, and pure wood, you know they flex and bend with the weather, heat, and humidity ever so slightly. making it imperial that you set it up in a sweet spot. alot more time consuming than you think it is.

if i could get away with sealed necks, i would. it would be alot easier to do my own setups....

as far as the action right now - it contacts the frets right now ever so so so slightly like i mentioned earlier - enough no one would ever notice on a clean or gained sound and enough for me to tolerate it. i could go lower on the action but then i couldnt bend anything, i wouldnt be able to get my fingers under the strings.

but back to the string gauge - the added mass will make it audible on the lower frets ~1-4 roughly because of the current setup in the "sweet spot" i mentioned too.

i dislike a slight 1mm-2mm bowing in the neck to compensate for the problem. all bowing does is increase the string heighth later down on the neck, while keeping it closer at the lower frets - making the string heighth change more difficult to play on going up the neck horizontally. but it would solve the problem of buzzing because of how a string vibrates. so its a give-take.

ive got it right where i love it with 9's, and i dont believe 10's would work well on this particular guitar very well ---- unless ------ i had the time to set it up and tweak-it over a week or so.

 

[rupe]

It would take a little effort to dial it in but it could be done rather easily. I did this a few years back with my old Jem...took a few tweaks to get it right but once it settled, all was well for the most part (I have yet to find a Jem with a "set it and forget it" neck...they seem to require occassional tweaking moreso than most other guitars in my experience when being used for live performance).

I still see absolutely no reason to shim the nut if you like it where it is now...increasing the string gauge should have no adverse effect on your action once you dial the bridge and neck in to accomodate the increased tension.

 

[glpg80]

increasing the string gauge should have no adverse effect on your action once you dial the bridge and neck in to accomodate the increased tension.

100% right.

not talking about action. talking about physics, added string weight = larger swing = more fret buzz than before = causing more adjusting tweaks than i prefer to do.

the area it would do this in would be 1-4 = neck shim of .005 because of the constant bowing and relief of a natural neck. otherwise, some days it would buzz like crazy or not buzz at all.

i do agree on the Jem's though - like scott mentioned a few months ago the quality on the production models and shift greatly. the J-custom models and prestige series are the only ones i never really hear about this unless you take it down to a pure wood grain which any guitar would then do.

 

[glpg80]

It would take a little effort to dial it in but it could be done rather easily. I did this a few years back with my old Jem...took a few tweaks to get it right but once it settled, all was well for the most part (I have yet to find a Jem with a "set it and forget it" neck...they seem to require occassional tweaking moreso than most other guitars in my experience when being used for live performance).

I still see absolutely no reason to shim the nut if you like it where it is now...increasing the string gauge should have no adverse effect on your action once you dial the bridge and neck in to accomodate the increased tension.

how did it play/feel afterwards. the Jem after the up in gauge?

 

[fek]

Tech called and the guitar is ready for pick up 3 days early! I also had a RM50 land today so it looks like a week of tweaking and rocking for me.

 

[glpg80]

I prefer 9's, but I have a heavy pick hand so I actually play faster with 10's since they are tighter. The 9's keep me from hitting too hard.

since we both are left handed and play right hand guitars - +1 on this dave. im wondering if when i stand up to play if i will loose some accuracy in my bends. i do know that arppegio sweeps will be easier, resonate tones will be much better, chords will be alot more full, and fast sliding mode changes up the neck will be alot easier as well.

the ease to do vibrato squeals as i please on low E is a character i like with 9's, also i feel like i can pull just about any note with ease. but i have a very very light touch to my right hand, and a very light left hand 80% of the time on runs going down the neck vertically and only play heavy when i get to the upper registers. 9's usually are easier for me to pick, im wondering if i will have a problem in the right hand category with the strings being too stiff?

i also use a very thin pick because of my light right hand - .88mm - which allows me to have better control. just wondering if it will fit my style better with a light touch?

 

[rupe]

It would take a little effort to dial it in but it could be done rather easily. I did this a few years back with my old Jem...took a few tweaks to get it right but once it settled, all was well for the most part (I have yet to find a Jem with a "set it and forget it" neck...they seem to require occassional tweaking moreso than most other guitars in my experience when being used for live performance).

I still see absolutely no reason to shim the nut if you like it where it is now...increasing the string gauge should have no adverse effect on your action once you dial the bridge and neck in to accomodate the increased tension.

how did it play/feel afterwards. the Jem after the up in gauge?

It made all the difference in the world IMO. I never thought Jems sounded that great to begin with (for heavy tones...clean they were always amazing IMO) and chalked it up to the Dimarzio PAF Pro pickups. Several years back I found a steal of a deal on a Jem BFP, so I bought it with the idea that I would overhaul the electronics. As expected, when it arrived it sounded less than stellar (although to be honest this particular Jem sounded better with 9's than any of the 3-4 others that I've had). I did my typical 9 to 10 conversion, made all the approriate adjustments, and fired it up, and...I was blown away at how much better it sounded. It is still completely stock and has actually been my #1 gigging guitar for about a year now (until I finish my refurb on my #1 Rand...then the Jem goes back to the sidelines ). Just for comparison, I also have a Jem LNG that is completely stock with 9s...it sounds like ass next to the BFP.

 

[Stratboy151]

i have a heavy hand when it comes to picking strumming and fretting, i seem to do everything hard, so 9's are just too light for my touch. i use 10's on everything but thinking about going to 11's on my LP i keep tuned in Eb