What are the electrical changes when string gague is increased?

[JMP/HBE]

Thicker gauge strings put more mass at more tension. The electrical part is about the movement of mass over the pickup window, across the field lines. Empirically, thicker strings are louder especially so in the midrange where the wood vibes wake up with more tension and as the pickups' frequency graphs dictate. They do drive the amp harder but modern preamp circuits hardly require this. In ADSR terms, the "rounder" description indicates a longer, bell like decay in the midrange for thick wires vs. lighter gauge that have decidedly shorter decay. There is no one size fit all but I find it smart when people leave nothing to chance in defining their setups. Thicker gauge doesn't give you more bass but rather make it tighter and the low gain high dynamic range amps like a Fender Twin are undoubtedly going to be more sensitive to string gauge than a 5150. You can have a massive low frequency wave happening in a slack low gauge string but excess amplitude becomes hard to control and doubly so if you like low action. Two thumbs up to anyone who has the guitar set up exactly as they want it, whichever feels most comfortable rather than the question of string gauge being some kind of macho pissing contest. I might find elevens perfect for jazz and nines for floyd rose but ymmv

I have 2 Floyd trems & Strat Trem with .011 to .056 as well as 2 Les Pauls and not a problem at all. One Floyd has 4 springs and the other Floyd & Fender have 5 springs. Again not a problem. Can do everything i need.

[vinta9e]

Thicker gauge strings put more mass at more tension. The electrical part is about the movement of mass over the pickup window, across the field lines. Empirically, thicker strings are louder especially so in the midrange where the wood vibes wake up with more tension and as the pickups' frequency graphs dictate. They do drive the amp harder but modern preamp circuits hardly require this. In ADSR terms, the "rounder" description indicates a longer, bell like decay in the midrange for thick wires vs. lighter gauge that have decidedly shorter decay. There is no one size fit all but I find it smart when people leave nothing to chance in defining their setups. Thicker gauge doesn't give you more bass but rather make it tighter and the low gain high dynamic range amps like a Fender Twin are undoubtedly going to be more sensitive to string gauge than a 5150. You can have a massive low frequency wave happening in a slack low gauge string but excess amplitude becomes hard to control and doubly so if you like low action. Two thumbs up to anyone who has the guitar set up exactly as they want it, whichever feels most comfortable rather than the question of string gauge being some kind of macho pissing contest. I might find elevens perfect for jazz and nines for floyd rose but ymmv

[Mincer]

I would like to know actual a scientific experiment that compares the tone with larger strings vs smaller strings with a boost pedal. Providing the music being played is your bag (it might not be preferable for certain kinds of music for a 'bigger' tone), I can't imagine there is much difference.

[JMP/HBE]

The latter part is a strawman. And SRV was definitely a part of the reason, but the idea has got traction far beyond people who care about white eighties blues, so it is unlikely to be the only explanation.

SRV used hybrid gauges as there was limited string availability back then and in his later years actually went to lighter gauges as he was having hand troubles.

[Sirion]

I think bigger strings have come into vogue because SRV used them. What a lousy tone he got. Yeah...right! lol

The latter part is a strawman. And SRV was definitely a part of the reason, but the idea has got traction far beyond people who care about white eighties blues, so it is unlikely to be the only explanation.

[JMP/HBE]

Great video comparing string gauge with as few variables as possible.

Seen that & other vids. Not my experience in 45 years. I used 9's & 9.5's for 30+ years. Last 7 years ive used .011 to .056 and nothing beats it. I even tried a lighter gauge last month thinking i was missing something. NOPE. They sounded like total crap. Never going back to frail strings. All those videos are marketing ploys to sell strings. Piano cable is where its at. And there is little difference in the pull/action for me.
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[JMP/HBE]

EVH used 9s, and he has some of the most vaunted rock tones in history. That should be the end of the argument right there for rock players.

SUBJECTIVE ...

[ItsaBass]

Billy Gibbons 7s on my short sale A standard guitar.

[ToneFiddler]

i am used to different string gauges although i never went below 9s.
each gauge has their purpose.

also i play some western and classical guitar. so i am quite used to switch.

for funkier stuff on the neck i tend to 9s.
for a heavy beefed up the bridge sound i go to thicker strings.

ac/dc is a good example to keep an open mind:
you have malcolm with his 12s and his heavy touch (and a cleaner sound)
than angus with his 8 and 9s and more of a soft touch (and more dirty sound.)
the combination is what makes it so brilliant.

[Lewguitar]

Well, Rhett made a follow-up video where he said that he had been using .011 strings in the past, and whereas he had come to use .010s as a compromise he both had experience with playing heavier strings and the belief that thicker = better. So there were certainly people there with more experience playing heavier strings than lighter strings, and who also believed that they were superior tonewise.

I think a much bigger problem with the test is that non of the clips feature a band mix where a guitar tone like that is likely to be heard. My pet theory is that a big part of why thicker strings has gained such traction is that people primarily practice alone, and thicker strings provide a stronger bass foundation for the tone. Once you have a proper bass this fullness is likely to play a smaller role, and the upper harmonics a larger one.

As far as the dynamics go, I think you are theoretically correct (even though squeezing a range of dynamics out of thinner strings is an art unto itself), but I question whether it actually matters in practice, seeing that there to the best of my knowledge is no tone, emotion or sound you can't squeeze effectively out of light strings.

I think bigger strings have come into vogue because SRV used them. What a lousy tone he got. Yeah...right! lol

[zionstrat]

Take a typical 9 gauge set of strings, tune the B up to an E and compare the difference in tone. The 11 gauge string sounds slightly more "round" to my ear. For some it will sound more "full" and others will say it has "more tone", but the reality is that it's just a different tone. You'll never get a set of 13s to "jangle" or "sparkle" the same way 9s will do it. Strings are just like the guitars you put them on, tools that help you do a job. Get the right tool (and combination of tools) and you'll get the job done a lot easier.

Yep some guitars prefer light strings. Either way is definitely a different timber.

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[zionstrat]

Thanks for the input... Anybody have more input about electronic side of the issue?

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[zionstrat]

Well, Rhett made a follow-up video where he said that he had been using .011 strings in the past, and whereas he had come to use .010s as a compromise he both had experience with playing heavier strings and the belief that thicker = better. So there were certainly people there with more experience playing heavier strings than lighter strings, and who also believed that they were superior tonewise.

I think a much bigger problem with the test is that non of the clips feature a band mix where a guitar tone like that is likely to be heard. My pet theory is that a big part of why thicker strings has gained such traction is that people primarily practice alone, and thicker strings provide a stronger bass foundation for the tone. Once you have a proper bass this fullness is likely to play a smaller role, and the upper harmonics a larger one.

As far as the dynamics go, I think you are theoretically correct (even though squeezing a range of dynamics out of thinner strings is an art unto itself), but I question whether it actually matters in practice, seeing that there to the best of my knowledge is no tone, emotion or sound you can't squeeze effectively out of light strings.

.

As far as the dynamics go, I think you are theoretically correct (even though squeezing a range of dynamics out of thinner strings is an art unto itself), but I question whether it actually matters in practice, seeing that there to the best of my knowledge is no tone, emotion or sound you can't squeeze effectively out of light strings.

One of my favorite guitar mods is bass roll off... If you use a mix of clean and crunch tones, you can use the bass roll off to drive or clean up your tone... Want more crunch... Dial the bass in... Want cleans? Roll the bass off.

What's interesting about this mod is that its much more effective with light strings... The dynamic range of heavy strings can do the same thing.

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[chadd]

Take a typical 9 gauge set of strings, tune the B up to an E and compare the difference in tone. The 11 gauge string sounds slightly more "round" to my ear. For some it will sound more "full" and others will say it has "more tone", but the reality is that it's just a different tone. You'll never get a set of 13s to "jangle" or "sparkle" the same way 9s will do it. Strings are just like the guitars you put them on, tools that help you do a job. Get the right tool (and combination of tools) and you'll get the job done a lot easier.

[Sirion]

It's funny that you posted this vid. I actually emailed Rick to talk about the following and he was kind enough to respond.

Bottom line, is I think his experiment was interesting but had a major design flaw. The musicians that tried to get tone from heavy strings are musicians who traditionally play lighter strings.

As a result, hey don't have the experience of playing harder and taking advantage of the timbre that comes with heavier strings.

If you really wanted to do this experiment correctly, you would need musicians who play heavier strings. To get a real apples to apples comparison, you could create a couple of riffs and cord patterns and get a musician who plays 12s and one who plays 11's and one who plays tens and one who plays nines and one who plays eights to record those segments to the best of their ability.

Of course it would be a challenge to get all of those people together to play with the same rig under the same circumstances... plus individual guitars and the whole chain are such a personal thing that everybody would probably feel a little out of their element.

On the other hand, from a physics perspective we should see taller way forms with the 12s, right?

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Well, Rhett made a follow-up video where he said that he had been using .011 strings in the past, and whereas he had come to use .010s as a compromise he both had experience with playing heavier strings and the belief that thicker = better. So there were certainly people there with more experience playing heavier strings than lighter strings, and who also believed that they were superior tonewise.

I think a much bigger problem with the test is that non of the clips feature a band mix where a guitar tone like that is likely to be heard. My pet theory is that a big part of why thicker strings has gained such traction is that people primarily practice alone, and thicker strings provide a stronger bass foundation for the tone. Once you have a proper bass this fullness is likely to play a smaller role, and the upper harmonics a larger one.

As far as the dynamics go, I think you are theoretically correct (even though squeezing a range of dynamics out of thinner strings is an art unto itself), but I question whether it actually matters in practice, seeing that there to the best of my knowledge is no tone, emotion or sound you can't squeeze effectively out of light strings.