Changing again to 9's from 10's

Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

EB skinny top heavy bottoms are kind of the best of both worlds. I tune down 1 step.
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

I've been playing "Custom Lite" most of the time for more than 20 years now. three high strings from the 009 set, the wound strings from the 010 set.

It gives you the "dang" on the bass strings and the high strings sound airy and are easy going.

Sometimes I use one step up, highs from 010 set, bass from 011 (010-052), mostly when I was forced to play jazz, or when I'm in a bad mood. The 009-048 can feel like they give way when you hit them too much.

I never recorded a session with one set each for a 1:1 reference. I think that some of the sound difference is imagination or comes from involuntarily using different right hand techniques. Or that the 009s get overbent by applying too much force from the left hand fingers and sound off tune some of the time (in particular if that hand just dealt with thicker strings).
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

I use 9s, 10s, 11's, 12s, and 13's on my guitars. They all have different gauges, and I like the feel of each. My carvin has the 9s, which suits it nicely b/c it has a really fast neck, so it's great for shredding and metal. My strat has 10's, which thicken up the tone a bit. My epi lp has the 11's, which I love for standard tuning, but they're heavy enough for eb w/o feeling too loose. My agile lp has the 12's for drop c and I noticed a huge difference in tone after I switched from 11's, it's now super thick and heavy sounding. My acoustic has the 13's and they feel great on that guitar, a little stiff, but that's mainly cuz I'm more of an electric player.

So I have to agree with KeeperOS, the guitar chooses the strings. You can definitely tell if the strings don't work with the ave almost right away.
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

Update:

I switched the Elixir 10-52 to D'addarios 9-42 on my Epiphone. Yeah, that was a huge change.

After the mandatory EQ tweaking, I can say it's much better like this. There was too much of something with the heavier strings and the JB. Now it sounds more open, a bit brighter, the mids feel a bit more laid back.

Lovin' it! Lesson learnt: Heavier strings aren't always better! I had that written on my forehead for years.

I've been on a Deep Purple bender for months, and so I found myself using a much lighter touch and pick attack, like Blackmore. That didn't go too well with the heavier strings. Now I'm set!
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

I've been on a Deep Purple bender for months, and so I found myself using a much lighter touch and pick attack, like Blackmore. That didn't go too well with the heavier strings. Now I'm set!

Blackmore uses Picato 010-046, IIRC.

He always looks and sounds like he has vintage barbed wire from the first world war and hits them like a boxer, but the opposite is true, and you certainly can't tell by sound. He's using a very hard pick, though, with the straight lines to the tip.
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

I think I would break a 9-42 set after about 10 minutes of playing. They just don't at all feel stable even on 25.5's

10-46 as always for me.
 
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Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

I use std 10's on all of mine except the Wolfgang, I use Ernie Ball Hybrids 9,11,16,26,36,46. I believe that's what EVH used with the Wolf anyway, but it does feel right. I tried 10's on it and it felt really wierd, even after a full set up?
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

Blackmore uses Picato 010-046, IIRC.

He always looks and sounds like he has vintage barbed wire from the first world war and hits them like a boxer, but the opposite is true, and you certainly can't tell by sound. He's using a very hard pick, though, with the straight lines to the tip.

That's odd. When he doesn't go nuts on the guitar, he always looks like he's using a very moderate pick attack, working out his sound. Plus I read somewhere that he played banjo for a while, and that any unnecessary strength on it made it go out of tune, and that he developed a light touch because of that.

And if he doesn't do that, then I still prefer how I sound like this. :D And both my forearms are saying thanks in the meantime!
 
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Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

That's odd. When he doesn't go nuts on the guitar, he always looks like he's using a very moderate pick attack, working out his sound. Plus I read somewhere that he played banjo for a while, and that any unnecessary strength on it made it go out of tune, and that he developed a light touch because of that.

And if he doesn't do that, then I still prefer how I sound like this. :D And both my forearms are saying thanks in the meantime!

I think you misunderstood. What I said is he uses very light playing although it doesn't look or sound like it.

I wonder what Michael Schenker is doing in this department.
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

Ouch. My english looks better than what it is, sorry. :argue:

Schenker? Honestly I've never bothered much with his tone. His playing and his songwriting, I love it. But his tone was never my thing. Couldn't tell you to be honest.
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

Speaking of string tension, did you know that all of your tensions are WRONG!!?!!!??!

Zachary guitars told me, he is the bestest guitar maker ever : http://www.zacharyguitars.com/Strings.htm

ITS PHYSICS!!!

(ps. Timmy does not hold any responsibility for any lost brain cells as a result of reading said site..)
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

Speaking of string tension, did you know that all of your tensions are WRONG!!?!!!??!

Zachary guitars told me, he is the bestest guitar maker ever : http://www.zacharyguitars.com/Strings.htm

ITS PHYSICS!!!

(ps. Timmy does not hold any responsibility for any lost brain cells as a result of reading said site..)

Uh... WTF?

I refuse to read something with so many colors and changing fonts on it. What's the benefit of these wonder strings?
 
Re: Changing again to 9's from 10's

I think I would break a 9-42 set after about 10 minutes of playing. They just don't at all feel stable even on 25.5's

10-46 as always for me.
Well, that is what comes standard on Jacksons, so that is what I use. I have went months without breaking a string. I play lead and rhythm. In fact, my strings unravel before they break.
 
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