How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

[Top Jimmy]

Just restrung my guitar for the first time with 9's. I guess maybe if I was more fleet of finger that 9 gauge strings would come in handy, but dang, I feel like they are going to break. Plus when playing on the high-e up on the the 15+ fret, i can hardly feel the string under my fingers. Very odd experience trying these, but I'll see how it goes for a few months.

Also, if my trem (EBMM JP6) is tilting back, does that mean i should take one spring off the trem to easy up on pull tension?

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

ya i had 10's on my les paul for a long time, then went back to 9's and i know how you feel. i got used to them again, but it took a while. just give it time

[phil_104]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

Just restrung my guitar for the first time with 9's. I guess maybe if I was more fleet of finger that 9 gauge strings would come in handy, but dang, I feel like they are going to break. Plus when playing on the high-e up on the the 15+ fret, i can hardly feel the string under my fingers. Very odd experience trying these, but I'll see how it goes for a few months.

Also, if my trem (EBMM JP6) is tilting back, does that mean i should take one spring off the trem to easy up on pull tension?

I play 9s because when I play for extended periods of time, they are easier on the fingers. Also, my prs ce24 was set of from the factory for them, so the action is perfect, and the bends have just the right ammount of ressistance on them with a 25 inch scale. Before I had my les paul, I used a heavier guage on that one though, as the 9s felt to ''weak''.

Anyways, I know a lot of people say you should or can train yourself to go up guages, to get a fuller tone, but I'm pretty happy with 9s, and if they get the job done...why not.

[Mononoaware]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

I have one guitar strung up with 9's, while the rest are 10's. I find that it can be refreshing to change back and forth. Something about challenging my sense of touch makes me play differently, and can help when I'm in a creative rut.

But I wouldn't want to have all 9's; it's hard to go "bang bang" on thin strings when the urge strikes. Funny how much difference that one little step up (or down) can make in the right hand feel, too.

[Christopher Caruana]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

the best example i can think of a player who plays with heavey strings to get fuller "fatter" tone is malcolm young from ac/dc. he plays on 11's and he says it just give him a more chunckier sound.

[Diego]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

First thing you should worry about is the pick attack. Yours is probably heavier than what you need for 9 gauge strings. Keep it lighter, and the strings won't break.

[YHWH]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

... I always use 9 gauge strings - in thirty years of playing I've only used 10 gauge and 11 gauge electric strings twice... and once I strung up my ESP w/ 13s and those stayed on that guitar for only two days.

I rarely break strings while playing... *knock wood*knock wood*... and I can blues bend strings so far upwards it'd make Gary Moore cry.

It's all in the touch... no "ham-fisting" notes or windmill-slamming chords for me.

[KeeperOS]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

With me it depends on the guitar.

With my Shredder the 9s I have feel just right.
So do the 10s I have in my Strat.
Ironically I had a bigger problem going back and forth the two when both had 9s

Now with my new Washburn MG-122 I think it has 10s but they feel real light.
If they're in fact 9s then I'll get 10s and be happy, if not, I might keep them or I might even try for the first time ever to venture into the realm of, *gasp* 11s...

[rivera213]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

Just restrung my guitar for the first time with 9's. I guess maybe if I was more fleet of finger that 9 gauge strings would come in handy, but dang, I feel like they are going to break.

I use .008's for my standard tune RG1550, you'd hate them if .009's are too flimsy. Lol.

They don't break if you re-string correctly though & I'm an aggressive player so don't worry- you wont be buying a new set every day.

[lpmarshall]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

I try a set of 9's every once in awhile, but they usually don't last long. I've played 10's most of my life, even used 11's for a year or two. 10's just feel right, so I stick to them now.

[Jackson Distortion]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

Just restrung my guitar for the first time with 9's. I guess maybe if I was more fleet of finger that 9 gauge strings would come in handy, but dang, I feel like they are going to break. Plus when playing on the high-e up on the the 15+ fret, i can hardly feel the string under my fingers. Very odd experience trying these, but I'll see how it goes for a few months.

Also, if my trem (EBMM JP6) is tilting back, does that mean i should take one spring off the trem to easy up on pull tension?

If your trem is tilting back, not by a huge margin, all it usually requires is that you loosen (by small increments) the one or both screws in the trem cavity (that hold the claw) to bring it flush. Then retune it until the trem flush with the guitar's body.

EDIT: Also, removing or adding a spring affects the feel of the trem's play.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

Unfortunately, I'm getting back to where I like different strings from different sets. I was goofing around earlier, really banging on my Strat, and broke both E strings and the A. It had an 11 set on it, but all I had for spares was parts of other sets.

It's now strung 10, 15, 18p, 26, 32, 42. After a few minutes, I really started liking the feel. The 10, 18p, 32, and 42 feel really good, but the 15 & 26 feel a bit heavy, so maybe I'll put together a custom set going 10, 13, 17 or 18, 24, 32, 42.

I read the other day that George Lynch uses a modified 9 set (10, 13, 16, 24, 32, 42), and thought it sounded weird, but I can see it's actually not that bad.

[mrturtle_91]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

I used to play with 9's, but then I switched to 10's, they feel much better than the 9's ever did.

[Sludgenutz]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

I played 9's on Gibson scales for years. A couple of years ago I found I liked 10's better. It was not about single note "tone".

I realized that once I tried 10's...my fretting became more deliberate and accurate.

As strings are fretted, there are small lateral movements across the fretboard that create out-of-pitch tones...as well as variation in pitch when a thinner string is fretted with various finger pressures. This is especially true of the high-E and B strings.

I'm not knocking 9's though. If you like them, play them. Tony Iommi plays really thin strings, and he has developed usuable pinky finger bends.

[Kac]

Re: How do people play with 9 gauge strings?

How do I play with 9 gauge strings?

Fast.