The Gauges Of Strings

[Lux84]

Right now i am using Ernie Balls 9 - 42 on both, Stratocaster and SG guitar. on a strat i notice much tension, but still not enough for me. i am thinking of this sets:

10 - 46 for Stratocaster ( standard E )

and

11 - 48 for SG or maybe 10 - 48 ( standard E, drop D )

I can't decide about these two for SG...

Which one is better for SG?

 

[AlexR]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

The usual rule of thumb is that 10's on the longer scale will feel similar to 11's on the shorter assuming the same tuning

 

[Lux84]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

The question now is, 10 or 11 for an SG... still not so sure..

 

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

Spend a few 10s or so of hours playing with this, and you'll see how deep the rabbit hole goes:

http://www.surveyor.com/guitar/stringtension.html

 

[Mont97]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

10-46 on the Strat for E standard would be a good place to start if you find that 9's are too light, but for the SG in E standard and Drop D, I personally would use 10-52's... but thats just me. I tried 11-48's and the treble strings had too much tension for me, while the bass strings (mainly to low E when dropped to D) didn't have enough tension for me. Again, all this is my opinion, but if you try the 11-48's and have the same problem as me, the 10-52's would be my suggestion.

 

[Lux84]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

Well, i think i'll go 10 - 46 for Strat, and 10 - 48 for SG and will see if there'll be any improvement in sound, tuning stability and most of all feeling.

 

[Maynardo]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

10-48 dunlop heavy core

 

[thespricket]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

Its all about the scale length in relation to the string gauge. Just remember, you're going to need to adjust the neck relief after changing string gauge. Higher tension strings will likely put more curve on the neck, requiring a tightening of the truss rod.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

I'd say 10-48 for the strat and 11-54 on the SG.

 

[Bludave]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

Right now i am using Ernie Balls 9 - 42 on both, Stratocaster and SG guitar. on a strat i notice much tension, but still not enough for me. i am thinking of this sets:

10 - 46 for Stratocaster ( standard E )

and

11 - 48 for SG or maybe 10 - 48 ( standard E, drop D )

I can't decide about these two for SG...

Which one is better for SG?

Man up & put 11's on them all! that's what I do, I use 11'2 on all electrics & 13's on all acoustics. (J/K about the Man up thing).

In my case I was playing a lot of acoustic guitars & I found that when I retuned to open D or open G The 12's on my acoustics weren't cutting it. The string tension was way too sloppy & I needed a heavier string. This helped me a lot, but I found that when I went to my electrics; which were strung wit 10's i was having hard time keeping my guitars in tune. So I stepped up to 11's. Wattage recommended I do it as I was complaining to him about it. I switched over maybe 10 years ago & never looked back!

 

[blueman335]

Re: The Gauges Of Strings

The string tension was way too sloppy & I needed a heavier string.

Don't blame the equipment for sloppy playing. :biglaugh: You ham-fisted guys need to learn some finess. There's too many great players that use(d) 9's and 8's for anyone to be blaming their strings.

A more correct statement might be: "My technique being what it is, I need thick strings to compensate. You on the other hand, may have a more refined style and be able to use lighter strings to achieve the same results."

I rest my case. :14: