Lighter strings on a Les Paul?

[JB_From_Hell]

Last weekend I traded into a 2018 Les Paul Studio. I'm eating tons of crow for all my years of Gibson-bashing, but that's another story.

It had 9s on it set lower than I typically prefer, and it felt pretty great. A day later I went up to 10s and raised the action. Wound up near a music store yesterday, and got an EB Slinky 9.5-44 set. Put those on, dropped the action back down. I'm gonna try the 9.5-46 set next, but I think one of these will be the winner.

My Strats are setup in standard with 10s, action high enough to play slide and get pretty aggressive with picking. Most of my guitars that aren't Strats are basically Strat-style, and setup with a similar intention. They all come out various heights, but none except the PRS are setup low. It still gets 10s for standard.

I guess I shouldn't be that surprised, since I've already had dozens and dozens of examples of what's on paper not translating to real life. I suppose it's just fun being almost 30 years into this, and finding something new- Especially when that new thing (a Les Paul setup to play really easy) has been around for 60 years.

 

[jeremy]

find what works for ya and run with it. aint no rules to this game

 

[Blille]

I generally use 10s on 25.5 guitars and mostly 11s on 24.75 guitars. But then depending on the frets of the guitar, whether the bridge is fixed or not and the kind of songs I play, a set feels better or worse. I don’t try to understand it anymore lol

 

[Mincer]

On my Gibson, I use 10s, but a Warmoth I built feels too stiff with 10s, so I use 9.5s on that. The only thing that sucks about that is that not many stores have them, so I just get them from Amazon.

 

[Securb]

All of my Les Pauls have 9s with super low actions. I was using 10s for a while on my Les Pauls but typically I use 9s on everything. The 10s felt fine but it is easier having everything set up for one string gauge and not having to manage a library of stings. It is also cheaper being able to buy a box of one gauge when they go on sale.

 

[JOLLY]

I've always used either 9s or 10s. As long as the biggest string isn't over 46 then I'm cool with it. It has nothing to do with playability either. For what I do, I just don't like the sound of anything over a 46.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

I've always used either 9s or 10s. As long as the biggest string isn't over 46 then I'm cool with it. It has nothing to do with playability either. For what I do, I just don't like the sound of anything over a 46.

I'm really starting to get that. I've been really hung up the dudes like Ty Tabor or Adam Jones who will tune normal strings way down and have this insane clarity. "Prison Sex" by Tool is a 46 tuned down to B, and it sounds killer. The 44 is really interesting. It's kind of how I want a 42 to feel. Instead of trying to fight the lower tension on the wound strings, I'm leaning into it.

 

[dave74]

I'd say the Turbo Slinky set.

 

[JOLLY]

I'm really starting to get that. I've been really hung up the dudes like Ty Tabor or Adam Jones who will tune normal strings way down and have this insane clarity. "Prison Sex" by Tool is a 46 tuned down to B, and it sounds killer. The 44 is really interesting. It's kind of how I want a 42 to feel. Instead of trying to fight the lower tension on the wound strings, I'm leaning into it.

For the most part it's a palm muting thing for me. Bigger low E and A strings just have this flubbiness in tone to me while doing any type of palm muting. I personally feel that smaller strings have more clarity, but that's just me.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

If you're used to .010s on a Strat set up for slide playing, I'd stick with that gauge on your Les Paul.
The 24¾" scale on a Les Paul will make them feel noticeably slinkier than they do on Fender scale.

Playing hard, you're going to need medium action rather than super low.
If it's too low your notes will splat out when you dig in.
Low action drastically limits one's dynamic range.

 

[ErikH]

I’ve got 10-46 on everything, Fender and Gibson scale. If do uses 9’s it’s 9-46 most of the time but I’ve used 9-42 a lot too. Just depends on what I’m doing really. When I was in a Journey tribute, I used 9-42 on the Les Paul. Once that stopped I went back to 10’s.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

Relevant:

Spoiler alert: apparently 8's actually sounded the best.

 

[alex1fly]

Yeah it's fun to let an instrument dictate to you what sounds and feels good. I tuned my SG up a half step a month or so ago because it was feeling loose and it's been a fun experiment.

 

[Securb]

Relevant:


Spoiler alert: apparently 8's actually sounded the best.

This is very subjective. It all depends on the EQ, amp, pickups, and the guitarist's attack and style. Telling someone the correct string gauge and action height use is akin to telling someone how much salt and pepper they should put on their steak. We all have different tastes, and what feels good to one might feel horrible to others. For this reason, manufacturers produce different gauges and adjustable bridges. There is no correct answer.

 

[jeremy]

This is very subjective. There is no correct answer.

this.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Yeah it's fun to let an instrument dictate to you what sounds and feels good. I tuned my SG up a half step a month or so ago because it was feeling loose and it's been a fun experiment.

Did you tune it to F, or were you coming back up from E♭? I don;t think I've never tried tuning a guitar higher than concert pitch.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

This is very subjective. It all depends on the EQ, amp, pickups, and the guitarist's attack and style. Telling someone the correct string gauge and action height use is akin to telling someone how much salt and pepper they should put on their steak. We all have different tastes, and what feels good to one might feel horrible to others. For this reason, manufacturers produce different gauges and adjustable bridges. There is no correct answer.

And then there's this story from Billy Gibbons meeting BB King.

“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!’

 

[ErikH]

A buddy of mine who used 10’s for years and then 9’s, recently went to the Dunlop 7’s, 7-38 to be exact. He gets a damn good tone too.

 

[DCikes88]

^^ This.

I've been slowly and gradually going from fatter gauges to lighter ones for years now. I suppose it just feels better to me, and as time passes I develop a lighter touch, which in turn makes even lighter gauges more easy and comfortable to play.
I was very much of the opinion that heavy strings equal heavy tone, but in practice, as Powdered toast man quoted BB, it just made me work harder and I could play for shorter amounts of time before acute discomfort sets in.

Now I use 9-42 on a 25.5" tuned half a step down, and 9-42 on a 24.75" tuned standard (or even drop D).
I will soon get some 8.5 and 8 sets and give those a try.
I really like bending the b string two and a half steps with zero discomfort.

 

[Aceman]

My #1 has 10's
My Ace Frehley's have 9's
My Studio has 10's (and on occasion 11's.

They all play amazing.