First strat , what string Guage do you use ?

1poorplayer

1poorplayer

Power User
35 years of les paul , meat and potatoes , humbucker playing , and I just bought my first strat , with the standard SSS pickups.
I love the beef and growl of humbuckers , but there are sounds that live in strat land , where nothing else will DO. I plugged her in today for the first time , and did a little twanging. It's going to be fun , I can tell.
I will be lost in my AX8 , while I rediscover amps and pedals within , that produce the best strat tones.

My question for you experienced players is , what is your preferred string Guage ? I believe 9's come on it standard. I think Gilmour uses 10's , with a couple 9 guage strings in the mix. My Les Pauls I run 10's.

....and any advice with the floating trem ? I am a complete strat newbie.
 
I have 11s on mine. D'Adarrio or Dunlop. 12s on my Gibsons. I can't have them too far off between the two or I overplay, underplay on them. For me less than 11s is super slinky. But that's just me of course. I have played with 10s, but I can't do 9s.
 
What is my preferred string gauge? It doesn't matter. It's your guitar. What is your preferred string gauge? That's the only thing that matters. :)

The trem? Some people let it float. A lot of people drop it to the deck so it can only dive. That's my preferred Strat setup. But like string gauge, it doesn't matter what I like. The only thing that matters is what you like. And the only way to find that out is to try.
 
henryrobinett said:
I have 11s on mine. D'Adarrio or Dunlop. 12s on my Gibsons. I can't have them too far off between the two or I overplay, underplay on them. For me less than 11s is super slinky. But that's just me of course. I have played with 10s, but I can't do 9s.
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I put 9's on guitars every blue moon when I need to track something a little outside of my normal speed range.

9's down low enable to me to play faster rock runs but in general 9's feel terrible to me.

I'm 6'6" and built like a football player, so dainty little strings or guitars don't jive with my caveman style :)
 
Rex said:
What is my preferred string gauge? It doesn't matter. It's your guitar. What is your preferred string gauge? That's the only thing that matters. :)

The trem? Some people let it float. A lot of people drop it to the deck so it can only dive. That's my preferred Strat setup. But like string gauge, it doesn't matter what I like. The only thing that matters is what you like. And the only way to find that out is to try.
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.... just asking. Some people use different string guages for feel , others for tone. Ultimately I'll do what ever I want , but I like opinions. As many as possible.

I'm leaning toward the trem on the deck approach for stability , and possibly for tone transfer thru the body.
I actually liked the way 9's felt on my Les Paul, but the tone from 10's is well worth it.
 
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This is what I use and like on my Strats and LP's.

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Toopy14 said:
This is what I use and like on my Strats and LP's.

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This is what I use on my LPs. Didn't know if it would be considered sacrilegious to have them on a strat.

And , I should note , I didn't want to find myself subconsciously trying to make this strat sound like my Les Pauls.
When dialing in my AX8 , with the abundance of amps inside , I still tend to adjust and tweak each model until it sounds similar , like the tone in my head already.
 
I've tried many gauges..Tried 11's and 12's (for slide) but those killed my fingers, and I can bend 9's off the neck.. .
Been using D'Addario Light 10's or Elixir Nanoweb 10's [both 10-46], for some time now. .
 
I use 10's on all my guitars. I have a practice guitar with 11's just to keep my fingers in shape. When I go back to the 10's they feel great.
 
Hi @1poorplayer after using a LP for so many years with probably 10-46 string gauge I'd suggest to go with 9-42 on the Strat. You may not like 10s on a Start as the 'longer' neck makes note bending more 'challenging' at first (i does for me al least). I've got 9-42 on my Strat but 10-46 on my LP ( didn't like the 9-42 on the LP)

.... as as @Rex said the string brand is a mater of personal choice. I'm sure the brand you're using is just fine....and I use the term flush as well. Enjoy your Strat. :)
 
.008's & .009's are like playing with cheese graters on my fingers.

I mainly use .010's now.

For a time I used .012's too, but I only use them for slide now.

.012's used to be a thing for punk rhythm players at one point in time because they had a little more "meat" to the sound.

YMMV
 
I use 10's on my Strats although I'm a relatively small guy. I've been tempted to go to 9's when I learned that Mark Knopfler uses 9's on his Strat. Just haven't done it yet.
 
I use hybrid 9's on almost every electric guitar I have. I switched to 10's for about 10 years, going for that extra drop of beef in my tone. Eventually, I realized that whatever I could play on 10's I could play cleaner/faster/better on 9's. And I'd much rather play better than have a slightly fatter tone that I can achieve just as well by tweaking my rig.

I use the hybrids because the slightly larger bottom strings are less floppy and easier to control.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate it. She has 9's on her now , stock. I will give 10's a shot soon.

Still battling with the " floating vs resting " with the trem. I'll PROBABLY set it up to - rest.
 
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