weepingminotaur
Well-known member
I haven't, but it's OK. Pretty much decided on 10-48. I'll take a look at that calculator the next time I have a string issue, though!
String gauge for E flat metal in a Gibson-scale guitar
- Thread starter weepingminotaur
- Start date
I haven't, but it's OK. Pretty much decided on 10-48. I'll take a look at that calculator the next time I have a string issue, though!
Spaghetti Bolo
New member
Go as light as you can stand.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Each to his own. Maybe I overgeneralized, but I know lots of players who are like "my strings are heavier than yours, so I must be tougher".
What is a fact is that lighter strings to sound less thuddy and leaner. I personally prefer that. It's easier to dial in a crunchy tight tone that way to me.
Diatribe:
The "macho" thing is a weird assertion to me. Most of my friends are musicians and I've never met anyone who thinks that way. I don't see anyone here calling you and 80s and the OP a bunch of wimps for preferring thinner low strings. We like what we like.
The most important thing to me is string tension. There's a range I like, which is between about 20-22 lbs on each wound string, between 15-17 lbs on plain strings. I zeroed in on that through years of ordering custom string sets for different tunings. Strings in that range snap back how I expect when I do a lot of tremolo picking, deflect how I expect when I do hard palm mutes, bend how I expect, etc etc. Lighter tension below that range is fine for my fretting hand but actually harder on my picking hand because the strings aren't as physically stable. I like strings on the tighter side of that range on a Gibson scale. That puts me around .068-.070 for a low B. As the scale gets longer, I find I prefer less and less overall tension. It's slight but it keeps the response similar.
I don't have a problem with clarity. I find that Duncans are more prone to muddiness and a lack of string separation on my Gibsons, which is why I like the openness and articulation of BKPs so much. Duncans work better for me on longer scales. I'm also playing through a dry amp that has a lot of dynamics even at high gain, and I play a lot of alternate-picked parts with ringing open strings, so string separation and note definition are really important to me and it's pretty noticeable when they're not good enough.
The point of all of that is to say that there's a pretty wide range of optimal string gauges depending on your gear and how you play. Even if we're just talking about "death metal", which is what I play too.
BeKindRewind
New member
Damn dude you guys got some strong fingers. I play in Eb with 9's and I go as low as C# standard and they still feel fine for me. gibson and fender scale don't feel any different to me, I use 9s for both.
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
I'm very much on the lighter side of string gauges. It works for almost all the genres I tend to play and saves some wear on my middle-aged hands. That said, if I'm ever able to afford a guitar strictly for jazz, I'd use heavier strings there to suit the genre. Not like I'd be doing crazy bends on that guitar or anything.
i play 11-50 on all my electrics these days in std tuning, dr pure blues so round core nickel. i started playing when i was 13 and had a squier ii strat. slash used ernie ball power slinkys, so i did too. i didnt know he was tuned down a half step or that a lp had a shorter scale length than a strat, i just read that slash used 11s. you get used to things. if i play something with 9s i overbend the shit out of em unintentionally. its not macho, and what works for me, works for me. might not work for you. figure out what does and dont worry about what others have to say about it. billy gibbons uses 7s in std tuning these days. thats what works for him and im 100% sure he doesnt care what you or i think about it 
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
The macho thing with string gauge is real. I'm not saying people around here subscribe to it, but I have definitely encountered that attitude among guitar players elsewhere. Ultimately, yeah, it's about finding what works for you and shutting out the noise.
Phantasmagoria
watch where you point that sabre
I have a simple system 9-42 if it's a Fender scale, 10-46 if it's Gibson. Everything I play is tuned down a half step for tone & easier string bending..
If 8's are good enough for Iommi & Yngwie, 9's are just fine w/ me. Never been told my tone sucked for anything, so I see no need to struggle w/ heavier gauges. If that make s me a wimp so be it
If 8's are good enough for Iommi & Yngwie, 9's are just fine w/ me. Never been told my tone sucked for anything, so I see no need to struggle w/ heavier gauges. If that make s me a wimp so be it
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
I don't think (for me) that pickups can offset the tone that I get from heavy strings. I get it that you like what you like. Whatever. It's just that for me, heavier strings sound thuddy and scratchy in the attack rather than crunchy and nice. Each to his own.
I use 12, 16, 24w, 32, 44, 56 (in Drop C), so I'm kind of in the ballpark of the tension that you like. I just feel that for Metal, especially on that low C, if I go too heavy, the tone suffers. It might be alright in the room, but recorded, it really shows, IME.
You said it, though. We like what we like.
I have a simple system 9-42 if it's a Fender scale, 10-46 if it's Gibson. Everything I play is tuned down a half step for tone & easier string bending..
If 8's are good enough for Iommi & Yngwie, 9's are just fine w/ me. Never been told my tone sucked for anything, so I see no need to struggle w/ heavier gauges. If that make s me a wimp so be it
The Rev (ZZ Top) must then also be a wimp. But HIS tone sure doesn't suck.
He does tend to work hard to make sure every guitar he plays sounds the same, though.
weepingminotaur
Well-known member
A lot of it is genre-specific, too. If I have a guitar I use mainly for jazz, I'll definitely want heavier-gauge strings. But for metal, rock, pop, and funk, give me lighter strings every time...
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
Yeah, The Rev doesn't really play Death Metal either.
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weepingminotaur
Well-known member
Got 10/48 in the guitar today. Sounds great, feels great. Fast metal rhythm feels appreciably easier. I think I've found my gauge for E flat!
xxxplorer
New member
For e flat... I use the 9.5 Ernie Ball hybrid set.
I tend to use the 12-60 when down at C standard, but even there I've lightened it up to 11-54.
I've noticed lighter strings have more 'bite' and tightness to the attack at times which I like.
I do like the thicker strings for playing slow doom riffs though.
I tend to use the 12-60 when down at C standard, but even there I've lightened it up to 11-54.
I've noticed lighter strings have more 'bite' and tightness to the attack at times which I like.
I do like the thicker strings for playing slow doom riffs though.
Rex_Rocker
Well-known member
FWIW, I joined a band that plays in Eb, and I was using D'Ad 10.5-48, and it's slightly loose for me, which I didn't expect.
Gonna up the gauge to Ernie Ball 11-54 because we're doing a couple of songs in Drop Db. I hope it's not too much. I wish there was an 10.5-52 set somewhere.
Gonna up the gauge to Ernie Ball 11-54 because we're doing a couple of songs in Drop Db. I hope it's not too much. I wish there was an 10.5-52 set somewhere.
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weepingminotaur
Well-known member
Well, there are certainly 10-52 sets (what I was using before on this Eb guitar), but you might find the top strings too loose if you weren't vibing with 10.5...
