Thick string players? Am I alone?

[reverymike]

I've played 11s on all my electrics for 20+ years now. I had played .9s when I was a kid, but then read an article about Richie Kotzen, and he said he used .11s, so BAM. I made the change and never looked back. After changing to .11s, I felt like all of a sudden things were more 'attached' and in control regarding picking. Hard to explain, but it just felt better. I could play much faster and cleaner on the heavy strings. I use a 2.0mm pick, so that might help with the heavier strings too.

I would agree that lighter gauge might give a little more attack.

 

[mooncobra]

I learned guitar on an acoustic with 13-56 strings. After a few years I bought my first electric, and could just never get used to the standard 10's. 9's were way out of the question. I moved on to Ernie Ball's skinny top heavy bottom, and that was better, but still...

I feel like I've finally found my niche with D'Addario's medium top, extra heavy bottom (11-56) and this is for E standard tuning. Am I crazy? It really has nothing to do with the cliche you often read about with players suffering through thick string sets to get tonez. Granted, I enjoy how full everything sounds, but my main reason for thick strings is that I'm heavy handed, and I hate sending notes sharp. The thicker strings feel much more stable under my hand too, and my right hand technique feels way more on point.

Anyone else?

Are you crazy? most certainly. You should be playing 7s or 8s if you want to shred really hard. I play 4s and it is awesome. I had to make them myself as I could not even find a set of 4s. It is like playing a strand of your hair, and you cant even really see the last few strings and requires a magnifying glass to restring your guitar, but totally worth it.

 

[mooncobra]

I learned guitar on an acoustic with 13-56 strings. After a few years I bought my first electric, and could just never get used to the standard 10's. 9's were way out of the question. I moved on to Ernie Ball's skinny top heavy bottom, and that was better, but still...

I feel like I've finally found my niche with D'Addario's medium top, extra heavy bottom (11-56) and this is for E standard tuning. Am I crazy? It really has nothing to do with the cliche you often read about with players suffering through thick string sets to get tonez. Granted, I enjoy how full everything sounds, but my main reason for thick strings is that I'm heavy handed, and I hate sending notes sharp. The thicker strings feel much more stable under my hand too, and my right hand technique feels way more on point.

Anyone else?

Are you crazy? most certainly. You should be playing 7s or 8s if you want to shred really hard. I play 4s and it is awesome. I had to make them myself as I could not even find a set of 4s. It is like playing a strand of your hair, and you cant even really see the last few strings and requires a magnifying glass to restring your guitar, but totally worth it.

I actually play super slinky 9s mostly, but have daddario 10s on my suhr tele. just go with what feels and sounds best to you. Yngwie plays 8s I think, and SRV played, what? 13s or 14s?? what ever feels and sounds right to you man!

 

[ClintN667]

I used to love using thick strings and I tuned down anywhere from D to B. Nowadays while I'm learning I do it E standard then use my Digitech Drop to tune down. Honestly I miss 52's. To me it feels better when riffing. I'm currently using 46-09's and after years of using heavier strings my bending and vibrato improved a ton. I still think about moving them up again but I'm too lazy/broke for a new setup on my guitars.

 

[stratjacket]

In the world of coincidence, this Wampler video popped up on my youtube list...pretty good info.

 

[thiswaythatway]

10-52 seem to be a popular set. I wish there were more sets that are a combination of 10/11, like 10-50 instead of 10-52.

 

[DragonCrestPC]

I play 9's on everything, love the feel, sound and control.

 

[stephen sawall]

The more I think about it.... it's more about the feel than the sound. I just don't like the feel of lighter strings.

 

[maddnotez]

EXL115. 11-49

In Drop C or D. When in D I notice the extra tension ;/

 

[thrashinbatman]

I play .52-.11 in C standard . In E standard and Eb I play .46-.10s, any lower than that and things feel loose and fragile. At one point I was playing .46-.10 in C standard, real loosey-goosey. I slowly worked that up until I found what I liked in .52s. Not too loose but still with a bit of give.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I use 11-48 down a half step. It’s a feel thing for me. I get nervous playing in front of people and tend to get heavy handed with bending and my picking hand. I need it to fight me back. You can get great tone out of thick or light strings, at least for electric. String gauge tone matters more on acoustic instruments, imho.

 

[Meeotch]

That Stringjoy video was good, thanks for sharing! I enjoy reading about what string gauges you guys use, but I should have been a bit more specific in my OP. My questions pertains more to who is playing high-tension setups? Sure, thick strings are basically necessary for down tuning, but the tension ends up being about the same as a 10-46 set in E standard.

I'm playing 11-56 in E standard, and was just wondering if that seems crazy and/or if I'm putting myself at some kind of disadvantage. I've learned that really it comes down to what works for you as an individual. Some people say there is some tone loss in thick strings, some say there are tone gains in thick strings. I think it may sound different, but better or worse is debatable.

My next experiment will be trying a wound 3rd. I just love hammering my strings, and don't mind a bit of a fight when bending.

 

[thrashinbatman]

It just changes the sound. Depending on what sound you're going for, it'll either enhance or act as a detriment. I'd personally say you're a bit weird, but if it works for you it works, don't worry about it.

 

[romanianreaper]

So many variables. Right off the bat you think about what the guitar is tuned to and type of music. More than that though, I think about how light or heavy handed a player is. I have always played super light because I hate changing strings so much that I learned to play a certain way where I'm not bashing the strings, etc. I've had friends that played so hard their electric unplugged sounded like an acousticI . LOL!

I normally play with 9s or 10s and don't have a solid preference I guess. Most times it is whatever the guitar came with and like I said, I hate changing strings but I'm getting better. My classical guitar from high school still has the original strings (a few of them anyway) and they are from 1985. LOL

 

[Meeotch]

I'd personally say you're a bit weird

My classical guitar from high school still has the original strings (a few of them anyway) and they are from 1985.

My friend, I think it's time...

 

[romanianreaper]

My classical guitar from high school still has the original strings (a few of them anyway) and they are from 1985.

My friend, I think it's time...

No way dude. The dirt and grime just adds to the tone. LOL!