12 gauge strings

Megadebt

Experienced
Any of you guys play with 12 gauge strings on a 25.5 scale guitar? I'm just curious, for conversation. What do you like about them? Dislike?

How about standard drop d tuning with 12 gauge strings, Ernie Ball not so slinky strings for example.

Advantages, disadvantages of the heavy gauge strings? Pros/cons

medium low action (1.50 mm/1.25 mm) with 12 gauge strings in standard drop d...I'm interested enough to set my new E II MT II NT up this way - to try it out. I'll use a digitech drop pedal for lower tunings than that, D Drop C for example
 
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Any of you guys play with 12 gauge strings on a 25.5 scale guitar? I'm just curious, for conversation. What do you like about them? Dislike?

How about standard drop d tuning with 12 gauge strings, Ernie Ball not so slinky strings for example.

Advantages, disadvantages of the heavy gauge strings? Pros/cons

medium low action (1.50 mm/1.25 mm) with 12 gauge strings in standard drop d...I'm interested enough to set my new E II MT II NT up this way - to try it out. I'll use a digitech drop pedal for lower tunings than that, D Drop C for example
Never used that heavy of a string set on electric. I did use 11s on a 25.5 inch scale tuned to C# standard, down a step and a half. That worked pretty well for me.

BTW: At that time, I also tuned my Modulus Quantum 5-string bass UP a full step, so it was also tuned to C# standard. I used a lighter gauge string set for that tuning.
 
I use 11's on a guitar in standard tuning. "It's a challenge" when I haven't been playing it every day.

Why? First, the guitar, a PRS DGT, is spec'd for them. The guitar is designed to have a growl to it and thicker, heavier, strings do that.

The heavier strings make me play differently too. I'm not as inclined to bend strings, instead, I'll slide and use double-stops, which is actually part of David Grissom's technique. Grissom is the designer of the guitar, and if you want any of his videos he uses an amalgam of double and triple-stops, with bends. Grissom is the artist in residence at the Saxon Pub in Austin on Tuesdays, and if you EVER get the chance to see him do so.
 
I play D'Addario EXL157, which are 014-068 on a 6-string, 25.5" scale guitar, but tuned to drop b.

What I like about them is the feeling. I have a very percussive playing style, so I hit the strings quite hard. Those strings don't detune that much and the response is great!

Bendings are quite hard with them, of course. But good enough for me.
 
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I had 12's on a LTD AX500 in standard tuning a while back, there were things I liked about the heavier strings. My playing has progressed since then. I want to try them again. I'm still experimenting, trying things out. The guitar may be great for some things, not so much for others. A reason to have multiple guitars, right?!

I may try the 12's then go down to 11's. My thinking is, since I'm getting work done on the guitar, I'll get the nut made/cut to fit the 12 gauge strings, then if I decide to drop down to 11's the guitar will accept them no problem. That's my thinking anyway.
 
if you and in standard tuning there is no point in 12's The tone is not better and they prevent a lot of playing technique . Some of the best tones on record out there are on light strings.
The mistake people make who play heavy strings when they try light ones is not adjust fully before judging them. Light strings played too hard sound bad. Lots of players in the 80's started using heaver strings because of SRV and it stuck. The most popular set before was 9's and now it's 10's but for a lot of styles 9's actually sound better . I played 11's on a strat for a while but it adds nothing and when I got older I went down to 10's and may even swap to 9's . I have 9's on a few rock guitars and the dynamic between legato and picked notes is far better. Distorted tone is definitely better . Mark Knopfler has great tone with 9's .
 
Any of you guys play with 12 gauge strings on a 25.5 scale guitar? I'm just curious, for conversation. What do you like about them? Dislike?

How about standard drop d tuning with 12 gauge strings, Ernie Ball not so slinky strings for example.

Advantages, disadvantages of the heavy gauge strings? Pros/cons

medium low action (1.50 mm/1.25 mm) with 12 gauge strings in standard drop d...I'm interested enough to set my new E II MT II NT up this way - to try it out. I'll use a digitech drop pedal for lower tunings than that, D Drop C for example
you dont want thicker than standard 10 gauges on standard tuning for treble strings if you wanna bend or do lot of legato licks , It will cause more breakage and upleasant experiece other wise however you can use upto 52 for drop d easily on the bass side of strings because you wannt more tension there. , for drop d i'd use a standard 10-46 set annd maybe replace the last two strings with thicker ones. so its balanced for leads and rhythm both.


Again its personal pref.
however thicker strings sounder fuller in my opinion.
i love high gauges for rhythm stuff i use 14-64 ( have also used 72 for g earlier) on my drop A 6 string guitar you see in my display, aint nothing that beats the chug and power of a thick low string,and
thinner gauges can sound clearer for somethings though.
Why not use axe 3 pitch shifter? tune to drop C 10-54/56, use axe virtual capo to shift lower and higher.
 
I understand and agree with everything you guys are saying. I just want to set this one guitar up this way. I know it will be great for some things I play!

I'm going to have the work done by a pro. Nothing that is done will be irreversible.

I'll report back after it is done. Thanks to everyone for the discussion!
 
I think you are talking about tuning down, so this may not be relevant to your situation. I tried heavier gauge as a part of the quest for better tone. In the end, and especially with the Fractal, it doesn't seem to be factor in tone, at least that I can hear. In fact if I am not able to play as fluidly, it can be detrimental.

I used .012s for a while on Les Paul which I believe is the shorter scale you referred to. I had heard Kenny Wayne Shepherd talking about the difference in tone was big from 9s to 10s and then 11s. He thought that the jump to 12s was not significant in contributing to better tone. So I did it for a while for tone reasons. The most I ever tune down to is Eb, mostly I play in standard or Eb, occasionally D if the song calls for it.

My hand was more "in shape" at the time, and I was playing a lot, also on the acoustic guitar more often at the time, and there were still some single note lines that were more difficult, but at the same time some lines "felt" better and bending the high E and vibrato seemed better having the E/B strings that felt thicker. I did really like on the low strings for rhythm. I was playing through Mesa Tube amps at the time, without much gain - blues breakup type tones at the most.

In the end I decided to take the advice of Billy Gibbons which he received from BB King, saying why make yourself work harder, and he said he had gone down to .008s. And there are lines and bends that become very challenging with the if I haven't been on the guitar for 4+ hours a day, which unfortunately I cannot always do. So I will use .010s on my guitars, but I have a shred style guitar I put .009s on.

That said if I was tuning down to C# on any scale guitar, I would consider using heavier gauge strings.
 
12's on Acoustics. 11's on LP's. 10's on my Conversion necks. 9's on my Strats. All standard tuning. We guitarist are a strange lot.
 
I wouldnt. 10-52 was my standard regardless of scale and now its 10-46.

I used to run 12-60 in C standard 25.5 and 25, now run 11-54 on 25 in C.
 
You guys cause me to think about it and think it through. I changed my mind, and now I am having the tech guy put a set of Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings - .010-.052. The guitar will be tuned and set up in standard drop d tuning. I think this is the better choice.

Also raising the action a little to approximately 1.50 mm on the low E and 1.25 mm on the high E. I'm also having the frets checked, leveled if needed, and polished.

Thanks again to everyone for the helpful discussion!
 
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if you and in standard tuning there is no point in 12's The tone is not better and they prevent a lot of playing technique . Some of the best tones on record out there are on light strings.
The mistake people make who play heavy strings when they try light ones is not adjust fully before judging them. Light strings played too hard sound bad. Lots of players in the 80's started using heaver strings because of SRV and it stuck. The most popular set before was 9's and now it's 10's but for a lot of styles 9's actually sound better . I played 11's on a strat for a while but it adds nothing and when I got older I went down to 10's and may even swap to 9's . I have 9's on a few rock guitars and the dynamic between legato and picked notes is far better. Distorted tone is definitely better . Mark Knopfler has great tone with 9's .
I have 11s on my PRS DGT because that's what they spec it at, but I've been thinking it's time to drop to 10s. My 10-equipped guitars will probably get switched to 9.5 NYXLs or 9s depending on the guitar's scale length.

Besides feeling nice under the fingers, especially after playing all night, lighter strings seem to be pushed around more easily by the air coming from the speaker, so getting controlled feedback is a bit easier.

B.B. King convinced Billy Gibbons to switch to 8's, and I won't argue with the tone either of them got.

PS - I used to run 9s on my Strats and loved the feeling. They tamed the longer string length’s tension well, though I thought they made the guitar sound a little bit thinner sounding. That was good for the quack sounds but hurt the main three sounds because they weren’t quite as thick as I wanted. I eventually started using an MXR 10-band EQ as my last stage before the amp so I could control the tones a bit more. And basically that’s what Billy Gibbons does so I guess I was in good company.

I guess the only reason I haven’t made the conversion back to a lighter string weight is the tweaking I will have to do to the necks and bridges and tremolo springs and maybe pickup heights and amp EQs. I got them where I like them now and that change can cascade into other parts needing to be adjusted. There’s something to be said about not messing with a system that’s working especially when it’d mess with seven guitars.
 
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I received an email that the guitar has made it to the bench. Upon evaluation, the tech suggests 1.8 - 1.4 action, and the guitar IS getting a fret level. His play test showed a lot of buzzes. The nut will not need to be replaced for the string change. It will be getting the skinny top-heavy bottom strings in drop d tuning.

Everything else on the guitar checks out fine – electronics, hardware, etc.

He is a bit behind, so he says four - six weeks.
 
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You guys cause me to think about it and think it through. I changed my mind, and now I am having the tech guy put a set of Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings - .010-.052. The guitar will be tuned and set up in standard drop d tuning. I think this is the better choice.
That's exactly what I did on one of my Majesties. I think that's good solution for drop D.
I'm late with this thought, but in case anyone else thought to go to 12's, I'd wonder if you'd have to alter the nut to prevent the strings from binding.
 
I play hybrid 9's (9-46) when playing out. I use 11's for practice. Anything I can do on 11's I can do better and with more confidence on 9's. Why hybrid 9's? Because the low strings on regular 9's feel too floppy to me.

Advantages of 9's: easier bends, easier to pay with nuance... just plain easier.

Disadvantages of 9's: its easier to drive them out of tune with hard picking or aggressive fretting. Also easier make them buzz with aggressive playing.

Advantages of 11's: more constant pitch, and less buzz, with aggressive playing. And they build you up.

Disadvantages of 11's: everything is harder to play.


Whatever you choose, give yourself a week to get accustomed to them.
 
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