banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

String gauge

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • String gauge



    So ive played D'Addario med top/heavy bottom Nickels .011 to .056 for maybe 10 years after GHS stopped making the Santana 9.5 to .048 that i liked.

    Been telling folk id never go back to "wimpy" strings.

    Ive played [Eb] for the same 10 years but recently got hired by a band & they are A440 Standard and the vocalist plays a mean Harmonica.

    So i went to a slightly lighter gauge as my fingers & hands have been taking some stress with rehearsals.

    I tried D'Addario .0105 to .050

    Sounded good at low volume at first but when i turned up the Marshall man did it sound crappy.

    Immediately went back to .011 to .056

    Wasted about $60 buck on strings i'll never use but hey, i tried.
    Last edited by JMP/HBE; 07-06-2020, 04:24 PM.

  • #2
    Re: String gauge

    I've found I sound best when my hands don't hurt so I like 10-46 but
    Every now and then I try to go heavier and really like the sound but can't play often enough to get real lasting hand strength.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: String gauge

      Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_20200706_172951.jpg
Views:	1
Size:	44.7 KB
ID:	5821021
      I just won't change. Never.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: String gauge

        I currently have electrics strung with 9-42, 10-46, 10-49,11-50 (or 52? I forget) and 12-...something.

        It's not that I'm not picky; it's that I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all solution. Different guitars just seem to work better with different guages.

        I keep thinking about going full Gibbons and trying some 8s.

        People who link their sense of manliness with their strings are... well, they're not me.
        ---------------------------
        The most popular thread I've ever made was 1) a joke and 2) based around literally the most inane/mundane question I could think of. That says something about me, or all of you, or both.

        https://forum.seymourduncan.com/show...or-for-a-Strat

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: String gauge

          I use 9-42 on 25.5" and 10-46 on 24.75". Always sounds great to me
          Administrator of the SDUGF

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: String gauge

            Originally posted by St_Genesius View Post
            I currently have electrics strung with 9-42, 10-46, 10-49,11-50 (or 52? I forget) and 12-...something.

            It's not that I'm not picky; it's that I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all solution. Different guitars just seem to work better with different guages.

            I keep thinking about going full Gibbons and trying some 8s.

            People who link their sense of manliness with their strings are... well, they're not me.
            Nobody mentioned anything "macho" Maybe you're reading too much into this.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: String gauge



              She's hell of a real guitar player!

              So what's up with the machoness & manliness etc. C'mon! String gauge doesn't have anything to do with that...

              My ideal set on my Deluxes is 11-14-17-30-42-52. On the standard, I go with lighter wound strings (helps to wash off some boominess)... On tele's it's 10-52 set...

              B
              FaceBook; SoundCloud; Barlo's Blues; Barlo Digitalized; Soundclick!;

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: String gauge

                11-49's on my Epiphone Wildkat .

                The last Strat i had, i used 09-42's ,

                it was much easier to play fast and solo.

                I'm much of a rhythm/riff player though, and enjoy the tone of 011's.

                -Erl
                If somethings important- send a PM. I might be offline for long periods. Rock on!!!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: String gauge

                  going to 7's like the rev means a really light touch, no way i could do it. he is a true example of let the amp do the work and his rig makes those 7s sound huge.

                  i put 11s on everything these days, dr pure blues 11-50. not because its macho or for any reason other than its what ive found works well for me across all my electrics. i used to put different strings on different guitars but thats a pita and expensive. nickel plated hex core 10s on the tele, pure nickel round core 10s on the esquire, round core pure nickel 11-50 on vintage single coil strats, 11-52 hex core on higher output single coil strats etc... im over it. a set of 11s on a guitar works for me, if i cant get pure blues then whatever set of 11s i can find will work.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: String gauge

                    Originally posted by PS412 View Post
                    [ATTACH=CONFIG]105653[/ATTACH]
                    I just won't change. Never.
                    It's good to see someone else on here gets that acoustic guitars are supposed to sound good, not play effortlessly

                    If you have a good sounding guitar, you should try their Nickel Bronze strings.
                    “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: String gauge

                      10 13 17 28 38 48 Ernie Ball ultra slinky

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: String gauge

                        I use Fender pure nickel .009-.042s pretty much exclusively. I used to use .040s for the thick E string, and I think it sounded marginally better, but that meant that I had to be more careful with that string with regards to intonation, and that set it out of production anyway, so it is a moot point. I've always been bemused by the preference for heavy strings within rock and metal circles, as the bass/treble balance never sounded right to me once you go above .010s.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: String gauge

                          Originally posted by JMP/HBE View Post
                          Nobody mentioned anything "macho" Maybe you're reading too much into this.
                          Well, you did describe thinner gauges as "wimpy", but that is so light that it barely features on my radar. I've been treated with sexist, homophobic and transphobic (I'm a straight cis man, by the way) slurs over this for the better part of twenty years now over my choice of strings, so whilst St_Genesius' reply might seem like overkill, I suspect it is not coming out of nowhere.
                          Last edited by Sirion; 07-09-2020, 02:10 PM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: String gauge

                            Originally posted by Sirion View Post
                            Well, you did describe thinner gauges as "wimpy", but that is so light that it barely features on my radar. I've been treated with sexist, homophobic and transphobic (I'm a straight cis man, by the way) slurs over this for the better part of twenty years now over my choice of strings, so whilst St_Genesius' reply might seem like overkill, I suspect it is not coming out of nowhere.
                            Nobody is bashing you personally Bro. But i get it. In 16 years on the internet ive had plenty of hate come my way, most of it un-warranted.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: String gauge

                              I mentioned my preference for heavier strings, and had someone insist I was incorrect that they sounded and felt better. I said some people's hands are stronger than others, and he said I was being macho.

                              Beyond enjoying discussing music gear, I don't know why anybody would give a crap what someone else liked. There are myriad examples of people getting awesome tone with pretty much every piece of gear ever. Anyone who parrots the names of players using whatever string gauge to justify their opinion is probably not worth listening to, as there are just as many awesome players who use the opposite.
                              “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X