who here's using 8's?

[appar111]

Re: who here's using 8's?

I could see putting 8s on a guitar with humbuckers, but not one with single coils.

Thankfully I'm running a JB as the sole pickup on this strat. 8's with singles would need a major kick in the pants, OD or EQ-wise, or you'd need a beastly amp so the combination of thin strings and low output pickups wouldn't sound too weak.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: who here's using 8's?

Agree. Even 9s is too. I found 9s and below are too thin and soft on the tips of my fingers, like playing a toy guitar. I have been with 11s for the last 5 years.

I bet 8s sound sucky, lacking in power and heaviness.

Oh, so because you don't like them, no one else should. On top of that they sound bad but you've never tried them. I can tell you now, there was no difference in sound from when I used 8s to now when I use 12s and 13s. It is only a matter of feel, and the sound is how you play.

Tony Iommi plays 8s cause 2 of his fretting fingers are truncated. He even tunes down to B flat sometimes. EVH is a thing of the past. His style is outdated and he is struggling to make a come back and has to withdraw miserably.

Yeah, so Iommi has a real reason. Still not girly strings. Also, calling EVH outdated is stupid. I don't care for him, but a lot of people see something in his playing that you or I don't. You are probably just saying all that because he never visits your island.

Also, Jimi Hendrix, Page, Malmsteen, Perry, May, Clapton, Gibbons, Cantrell (he used 9s before Dunlop), and MANY more are girly men? They are likely to be more manly then someone who judges their masculinity over string gauge.

 

[LReese]

Re: who here's using 8's?

There's a timbre I think that comes from the thinner gauges. I experimented with .009s tuned down a half step and felt it contributed a small part to the VH vibe. Certainly with the .008's tuned down works for Iommi. Certainly worth trying.

Been there, done that and gone back to 10s. Its just what I'm comfortable with.

 

[Inkstained]

Re: who here's using 8's?

EVH is a thing of the past..

:22:
:smack:
:biglaugh:

 

[arellanon]

Re: who here's using 8's?

Slapped a set of Ernie Ball 8's on my strat build so I could get it up and running while waiting for the new pickguard to show up. Tuned to pitch and playing on a vintage radius & vintage fretted neck and I'm loving them!

Definitely had to lighten my touch up from 11's and 10's (and even 9's) on my other guitars, but I'm loving the feel.

Seems like Ernie Ball Extra Slinky 8-38 is the best value out there, with GHS being a close 2nd. D'Addario 8's are like $1.50 more a set ($5.50 versus $3.89/$3.99 for EB's or GHS).

Anyone else out there in SDUGF land rockin' 8's?

I string my Carvin ST300 to standard with 8s; feels just right. Guitar scale is 25.

I play with a light touch so heavier strings are tricky for me to play on.

:fingersx:

 

[Archer_of_Fish]

Re: who here's using 8's?

I used 11's at standard tuning for years and years. My hands are paying for it now, huge strings cause all sorts of issues for me these days.

I am using a 9-43 set. Big strings can effect more than just tone