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  • #16
    Re: String gauge comparison....

    Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
    For electric I think it’s more about feel than tone, especially recorded.

    I’ve tried everything from 9s to 11-54 on my Strat. When I’ve been playing a lot, I like 10-52, lots of spank and the low notes don’t go out of tune. When it’s been a while I like 9-46. I play with a heavy right hand, so the lighter strings flub out. The high notes are fine with lighter strings and easier to bend, but then there’s a volume mismatch if you go too out of whack. I think 10-49 would be ideal, too bad they aren’t available in Elixir.

    One of my pet peeves is people using light strings on an acoustic. 10s in any acoustic and 11s on Dreads sounds so plinky and dead. Gotta get tension on the top and get it moving!
    I use 10-48 with 13,5 b string. It's perfect in terms of feel and balance. I used 49 low e previously but they're not easily available and difference berween 48 is negligible.
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    • #17
      Re: String gauge comparison....

      I finally watched the video. There is more of a tonal difference here than on any of the other examples I’ve heard. I think I disagree with the results that the 8s sounded best, but 10s did sound better than 11s, it opened up the tone a lot. Kind of surprised.

      Originally posted by Jacew View Post
      I use 10-48 with 13,5 b string. It's perfect in terms of feel and balance. I used 49 low e previously but they're not easily available and difference berween 48 is negligible.
      I think 10-48 is what I meant. The low strings from 11s and highs from 10s.
      Oh no.....


      Oh Yeah!

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      • #18
        Re: String gauge comparison....

        Didn't watch the video. I don't care how the strings sound when other people play them. I do care that I don't like how a guitar feels with 9s. Eventually, I'll get used to it, but then when I go back to 10-52, it just feels better.

        However, after playing bass exclusively for awhile (45-105), any guitar strings feel like dental floss rubber bands.
        “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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        • #19
          Re: String gauge comparison....

          Originally posted by Jacew View Post
          I use 10-48 with 13,5 b string. It's perfect in terms of feel and balance. I used 49 low e previously but they're not easily available and difference berween 48 is negligible.
          That's my favorite set also, with a 49.
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          • #20
            Re: String gauge comparison....

            Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
            I finally watched the video. There is more of a tonal difference here than on any of the other examples I’ve heard. I think I disagree with the results that the 8s sounded best, but 10s did sound better than 11s, it opened up the tone a lot. Kind of surprised.
            That's been my experience also. I like fat tone, but too high of a tension doesn't let it resonate that well. I use 10s in D and it's fat and also relatively slinky but not too flubby for general playing. 11s on the jazz ax and that feels slightly tighter and gives a different sound.
            The things that you wanted
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            • #21
              Re: String gauge comparison....

              Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
              For electric I think it’s more about feel than tone, especially recorded.
              There is a difference in recorded sound between heavy and light gauge strings, but you're right . . . I use .11s on my electrics in standard tuning not because of tone, but because the strings are easier for me to control and less floppy. Tried 12s and they are too much for me. 10s are OK, but not ideal. 8s are impossible to play.


              Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
              One of my pet peeves is people using light strings on an acoustic. 10s in any acoustic and 11s on Dreads sounds so plinky and dead. Gotta get tension on the top and get it moving!
              I think this depends on the guitar you've got. My dad has a lovely 60 year old cedar top dreadnought, with Brazilian rosewood sides and back and a lightly braced top . . . it's acoustically very loud and it sounds much better with 11s than 12s. 12s choke out the sound, it gets some kind of weird compression thing if you use a pick at all.

              I've played my Taylor GA with 12s and 11s. Honestly, I didn't think there was much difference in sound, maybe a touch more volume with the bigger strings. (Phosphor Bronze vs 80/20 is a HUUUGE difference though.)
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              • #22
                Re: String gauge comparison....

                Originally posted by mojosman View Post
                https://youtu.be/wGXj_NQONYM


                I stumbled across this video, and I found it interesting. They compare various string gauges in terms of tone. I was surprised by the results. I’ve always thought heavier gauges = better tone. It just something I was told, and just always believed. Then recently a local store started carrying those Billy Gibbons strings, and some other brands of really small electric strings. They say folks are buying them too.

                I recently bought a used Eric Johnson Strat, and it came with a brand new set of tiny strings on it. I don’t know what gauge they were no bigger than 8’s maybe even smaller. They felt strange to me, I’ve owned Strats since I started playing, and I’ve never played anything smaller than 9’s. I didn’t care for the feel of them, and put on 10’s.

                Check out this video and see what your ears tell you. To me, the heavier strings had more power to them, and sounded ballsier. However, I didn’t hate the tone of the lighter strings, but you could hear the difference. What did you think?


                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                BILLY Gibbons plays 7 gauge strings, also the link didn't work for me either

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                • #23
                  Re: String gauge comparison....

                  I like round strings
                  -Chris

                  Originally posted by John Suhr
                  “Practice cures most tone issues”

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                  • #24
                    Re: String gauge comparison....

                    I didn’t watch the video, but it’s obvious that all other things being equal, heavier strings will induce more output from the pickup. Output has more effect on “tone” than does many other factors. It affects how hard your amp gets hit, therefore how much it compresses and distorts. That’s why I need low output pickups. I use 11s most of the time (for feel), played hard, into relatively low headroom amps.
                    Originally posted by LesStrat
                    Yogi Berra was correct.
                    Originally posted by JOLLY
                    I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

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                    • #25
                      Re: String gauge comparison....

                      Originally posted by rammer69 View Post
                      BILLY Gibbons plays 7 gauge strings,
                      Here's a quote from the Reverend himself. “I was about 22 and just starting out with ZZ Top,” he says. “I was in the dressing room and BB said to me, ‘Can I play your guitar?’ I said, ‘Sure man.’ He strummed it a few times and handed it back to me. He looked at me rather quizzically and said, ‘Why you working so hard?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Those strings. You got real heavy, heavy strings.’ I said, ‘Well, isn’t that how to get the heavy, heavy sound?’ He said, ‘No! Don’t be working so hard!’ From this article https://www.musicradar.com/news/bill...orking-so-hard

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                      • #26
                        Re: String gauge comparison....

                        I like 10,13,18w,28,38,50(or 48) for Eb
                        10.5,14,20w,30,40,52(or 50) for D-standard

                        For standard E I would use a 9-46 set.

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                        • #27
                          Re: String gauge comparison....

                          Originally posted by PFDarkside View Post
                          For electric I think it’s more about feel than tone, especially recorded.

                          I’ve tried everything from 9s to 11-54 on my Strat. When I’ve been playing a lot, I like 10-52, lots of spank and the low notes don’t go out of tune. When it’s been a while I like 9-46. I play with a heavy right hand, so the lighter strings flub out. The high notes are fine with lighter strings and easier to bend, but then there’s a volume mismatch if you go too out of whack. I think 10-49 would be ideal, too bad they aren’t available in Elixir.

                          One of my pet peeves is people using light strings on an acoustic. 10s in any acoustic and 11s on Dreads sounds so plinky and dead. Gotta get tension on the top and get it moving!
                          I agree with that.

                          Another thing : thicker strings gives you the option to downtune (with 10-52 or even 10-46 works well in both E and D#)

                          On Strat, Tele and the like I use 10 but one the shorter SG I use 10,5 and on my 7 string (26"5) I use 9.
                          Last edited by Francois; 01-28-2020, 07:07 AM.
                          Smartphone Zombies won't shred

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                          • #28
                            Re: String gauge comparison....

                            I used 10's for decades. Then I had to have my wrist reconstructed after a bike accident. I had to go to 9's, I thought, until I rebuilt my strength. That's not going to happen. I'm staying with 9's on all my 25.5" scale guitars. I can still use 10's on Gibson scale guitars, but I'm liking the 9's.

                            I just switched my SSS strat to 9's, probably permanently. It's less bold toned, but in a good way. It's more spanky and stratty but with more pleasant airy highs.

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                            • #29
                              Re: String gauge comparison....

                              I've used a regular 9 set for a very long time. I'd hate to have to keep assembling my own sets.
                              Administrator of the SDUGF

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                              • #30
                                Re: String gauge comparison....

                                The higher up in gauge you go, the less drastic of a hi-pass filter effect will happen to the overall tone.

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