Went to 12s and 13s

[Lewguitar]

I used to use flatwound when I was a kid. But that was 55 years ago. Couldn't imagine using them today.

But you know who used them on a Tele? Luther Perkins, Johnny Cash's original guitarist.

That twang you hear on I Walk the Line is Luther playing flatwounds, probably with a wound G, on a Tele or Esquire.

A very distinctive sound.

 

[JB_From_Hell]

I put flatwounds on one of my basses once. They felt really gross, and my fingers stuck to them like a glossy neck. Picked up an Epiphone Joe Pass in a music store with them once, they sounded cool, but sill felt gross and sticky.

 

[Clint 55]

I’m going to the tension pro to find a set for my daughter’s Strat mini that feel like 11s on a normal one. I’m predicting 16-70.

Edit- I was wrong. It’s 13-59.

The strat mini is a friggin good guitar. Put 11z on there and have em be loose plus bassy.

 

[Lewguitar]

I put flatwounds on one of my basses once. They felt really gross, and my fingers stuck to them like a glossy neck. Picked up an Epiphone Joe Pass in a music store with them once, they sounded cool, but sill felt gross and sticky.

I don't know what Fender uses now on new basses, but back in the day all Fender basses came with flatwounds.

First roundwound bass strings I ever saw or heard were those Rotosounds John Entwhistle was using.

Sounded like a plucked piano string to me.

 

[Clint 55]

The daddario ones I have are slick and I really like them.

 

[ItsaBass]

12s are the sweet spot for me on Gibson scale in Standard tuning, or on Fender Jaguars, Duo-Sonics, etc. Makes sense that they'd be good in D for most people.

I learned on 15–58 rounds with a plain G on a Strat (standard tuning), and played nothing but that for about 12 years. I don't consider them "hard." They are just well suited to certain styles of music, and not to others.

13s with a wound G were considered the standard professional level string set well into the '60s. 12s were "mediums" and 11s were "lights" – kid/student strings – the same way most people would think of 8s today. Anything lower was unheard of...until people started making 10s themselves out of a set of 13s minus the low E, plus a .010" banjo string for the high E. And most of the time they were flatwound strings. Flats, being more massive than rounds, reach a higher tension when tuned to the same note. So not only were the strings stiffer because they were thicker, but also because they were flatwound...AND had a wound G. Thus the standard pro string set of the '50s and '60s was really not much different in tension than what I learned on, and played all those years as a kid and teenager.

FWIW, until '66 or so, it was flatwound 12s that came on Fenders from the factory...and after that, it was roundwound 12s, well into the '70s, at least.

This is why Ernie Balls were called "Slinkys." They were the first to sell pre-packaged super light strings (10s).

 

[GuitarStv]

12s are the sweet spot for me on Gibson scale in Standard tuning, or on Fender Jaguars, Duo-Sonics, etc. Makes sense that they'd be good in D for most people.

I learned on 15–58 rounds with a plain G on a Strat (standard tuning), and played nothing but that for about 12 years. I don't consider them "hard." They are just well suited to certain styles of music, and not to others.

13s with a wound G were considered the standard professional level string set well into the '60s. 12s were "mediums" and 11s were "lights" – kid/student strings – the same way most people would think of 8s today. Anything lower was unheard of...until people started making 10s themselves out of a set of 13s minus the low E, plus a .010" banjo string for the high E. And most of the time they were flatwound strings. Flats, being more massive than rounds, reach a higher tension when tuned to the same note. So not only were the strings stiffer because they were thicker, but also because they were flatwound...AND had a wound G. Thus the standard pro string set of the '50s and '60s was really not much different in tension than what I learned on, and played all those years as a kid and teenager.

FWIW, until '66 or so, it was flatwound 12s that came on Fenders from the factory...and after that, it was roundwound 12s, well into the '70s, at least.

This is why Ernie Balls were called "Slinkys." They were the first to sell pre-packaged super light strings (10s).

I don't even think I've seen a .15 gage high e being sold in a store.

 

[gsammo79]

I haven't been extremely experimental with string gauges considering how long I've been playing guitar. Started with 10s and liked them fine. They were my introductory string gauge.

After 3 or 4 years I moved up to 11s. I liked the sound of them better than 10s, but the tone difference was subtle and I couldn't play with the same confidence and speed. Bends took more force. Noticed more hand fatigue and also needed to practice a little more to keep my chops up. After playing live the first time I decided 11s weren't making rhythm and lead work easy on stage.

After I got married I put my guitar down for a few years and when I picked it back up in 2017 I went to 9s. They felt better and, to my ears, didnt sound thin as I assumed they would. Less hand fatigue and I can play faster and more confidently. I could see myself going back to 10s on a whim but that would be it.

 

[Clint 55]

^ Ya 9s in standard is about the tension I prefer for that rock style of playing. I would use 10s in D standard.

 

[Lewguitar]

I don't even think I've seen a .15 gage high e being sold in a store.

Ernie Ball makes them.

 

[Clint 55]

I piece together custom sets of daddario singles. They have everything. The only constraint is with flatwounds the only 2 options you have for a 6th string is 52 or 56, so I had to base my balanced set of 12s and 13s around those.

 

[JOLLY]

I thought this thread was going to be about the the ages of your new girlfriends.

 

[Clint 55]

What? No!

 

[ItsaBass]

I don't even think I've seen a .15 gage high e being sold in a store.

You've never been given the drawer of single strings in a music store? You're missing out!

My set was put together from single Ernie Ball strings. Actually, I might still have a backup set...probably very corroded from sitting around for 20 years.

I don't remember every string, but I remember most of them:

E – .058
A – .048
D – .038
G – ???
B – ???
E – .015

 

[GuitarStv]

You've never been given the drawer of single strings in a music store? You're missing out!

My set was put together from single Ernie Ball strings. Actually, I might still have a backup set...probably very corroded from sitting around for 20 years.

I don't remember every string, but I remember most of them:

E – .058
A – .048
D – .038
G – ???
B – ???
E – .015

You sure you didn't grab the E and A from your drawer of bass strings? : P

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Strung up my Tele with a bunch of odd singles I had laying around: 13, 17, 22p, 38, 48, 59. Standard tuning.

Tightened the truss rod about 1/4 turn, did a setup with relatively low action, sounds killer. Played for about half an hour, it’s obviously not as easy to play as the 10-52 set that was on it, but the plain strings sound glorious, as does slide. Now where near as hard to play as one would think.

I’m gonna give it a few weeks and see if I end up dropping to 11s, or stringing my Strat the same way.

 

[Lewguitar]

Strung up my Tele with a bunch of odd singles I had laying around: 13, 17, 22p, 38, 48, 59. Standard tuning.

Tightened the truss rod about 1/4 turn, did a setup with relatively low action, sounds killer. Played for about half an hour, it’s obviously not as easy to play as the 10-52 set that was on it, but the plain strings sound glorious, as does slide. Now where near as hard to play as one would think.

I’m gonna give it a few weeks and see if I end up dropping to 11s, or stringing my Strat the same way.

That's kind of like the set I have on my Fender Tele Custom that I have set up for slide. I have the action very high, but it's set up for slide so that's all right. I did put a Barden bridge and Duncan Jerry Donahue bridge pickup in it for more mids and less treble. Fralin Strat neck pickup. Sounds really good for what I use this guitar for. It's the red one. I keep it in open D (DADF#AD) or open G (DGDGBD).