How do you setup your guitars?

Billbill

Billbill

Power User
Hello FAS family,
After some 35yrs of playing I realized few weeks ago that I change my guitar setup as I age. When younger I was all about super light gauge strings usually 9-42 Elixir and now being 40yrs old I just can’t do it very uncomfortable. Low action and light strings just almost immediately turn me off nowadays. Who knows maybe it’s just what happens as a man’s body changes?
Currently have my guitars strung up with 10-46 D’Addario nyxl and jacked up my action by at least almost a mil. And I love this setup. Truly amazing epiphany lol. I don’t even like the way the Elixirs feel and I used to be the biggest advocate for their strings amongst fellow musicians. Only exception are my 27” scale 7/8 string instruments I have them low action because longer scale and heavier string and the type of music they’re typically used for.
What’s yalls thoughts on this? Anyone else experienced this sort of change?
 
I’m surprised that you can discern the difference of a mil 😉

(In case you don’t know, there’s a significant difference between a mil and a millimeter)
 
I use NYXL 10-46 right now (go back and forth between those and Paradigms). I like my action low, I'm not a fan of fighting the guitar, but that's just personal preference. I played a buddies Jackson the other day and he likes his action high, and it was like I couldn't play anything. So for me that's an immediate turn off, but again it's just my personal preference. Nothing irks me more when I go to a guitar shop and pick up a nice guitar and it's setup with high action, I know, I'm a pansy :laughing:.
 
Jambi said:
I’m surprised that you can discern the difference of a mil 😉

(In case you don’t know, there’s a significant difference between a mil and a millimeter)
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Thanks for clarifying that for the community. I’m enlightened by not only that fact that you clearly understand what I meant, but are far more experienced with measurement than i would ever need to be. Good job
 
The only thing that's changed for me is I'm now using 9.5 Slinkys on my Tele. I still use 10s on the rest.
 
Billbill said:
Thanks for clarifying that for the community. I’m enlightened by not only that fact that you clearly understand what I meant, but are far more experienced with measurement than i would ever need to be. Good job
Click to expand...
The measurement is used a lot in machining and manufacturing. It’s also good to know when buying vinyl sheets/wrap, gloves, trash bags, etc.
 
Your technique got better with age. Lighter gauge strings = less string tension (in the same tuning). Higher tension requires better technique & finger strength.

It also depends on how much you play acoustic. I play acoustic quite a lot so when I pick up someone's guitar with .08s or .09s and low action they just feel way too squishy and too close to the fretboard for me. I get much cleaner vibrato and bends on .10s with a little height for the way I play.
 
In my 50's now with tendinitis issues and arthritis in my hands, no way could I go bigger strings. I'm on .008's and gonna stay there( hopefully). Glad to be able to play a few hours at a time.
 
It depends on the guitar. Either 9-42 or 10.46. Low action unless it's a strummer. I have to have one guitar with really low action for my ridiculously slow hands. I also have one guitar that needs 10s to keep pressure on the neck from back bowing. (the truss rod is backed off as far as it will go)
As a side note, I pick cleaner and faster with 10s than I do with 9's. The 9's being more pliable can get in my way if I dig too deep.
 
I don’t like the action too low but not high either, and always buzz free. Moved to 9’s on most of my guitars, used to have 10’s on the short scales. I think bigger strings sound better but 9’s are comfy. I used to enjoy fighting it a bit but not anymore.
 
I use 10-46 strings on all of my guitars regardless of scale length. I aim for an action of 1.56 mm at the last fret of the low E string and 1.19 mm at the last fret on the high E string. The rest of the strings are tapered successively lower between those two heights. I put between 5 and 7 thousandths of relief in the neck (measured at the 7th fret with a neck relief gauge).
 
When I was a young-un, I used lighter strings, 9s, even 8s. I think maybe I picked a lot lighter maybe, because I was playing a lot, gigging a lot, and also obsessed. I liked my action LOW.

In my dotage, I've been using 10s for a fair while. My Collings definitely isn't effortless to play, knew that when I bought it, but it's great. Strat has 10s on it, also not effortless, but cool.

I have @MindCrime's Vigier Expert Retro incoming later this week, that may be somewhat slinkier, we'll see. I believe it has .095 - .044 on it now, which I've never used.
 
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10-46 Ernie ball regular slinky. Low action, flat neck. Even a little buzz is fine by me as long as it wont be heard through the amp and wont fret out at the upper part of the neck.

Playability is more important to me than sustain/high action/bragging rights with a harder to play guitar.
 
MattBowman said:
I use NYXL 10-46 right now (go back and forth between those and Paradigms). I like my action low, I'm not a fan of fighting the guitar, but that's just personal preference. I played a buddies Jackson the other day and he likes his action high, and it was like I couldn't play anything. So for me that's an immediate turn off, but again it's just my personal preference. Nothing irks me more when I go to a guitar shop and pick up a nice guitar and it's setup with high action, I know, I'm a pansy :laughing:.
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Most of my guitars are NYXL 10-46, one is 9.5-44, and one is 11-49 I think. The later is a PRS DGT, and that’s the factory gauge, but it doesn’t feel that heavy. The 9.5 set is on a Strat with 59-ish pickups where I wanted a bit more of that era’s sound. The 10s work well on everything else giving them a nice full sound that is really responsive.

Years ago I used 8s and 9s on my Strat and Les Paul guitars respectively. For some reason the wee-bit heavier gauges feel good these days.

And, yes, I keep both the NYXL and Paradigms in my cabinet and bounce back and forth.
 
I used .009-040 (specifically with a .015 G string) for a long, long time. Years later I found out that was what EVH used as well.

I ultimately ended up using Fender XL150 strings, which were about the only ones I could regularly find with those specific gauges.

A few years ago, Fender stopped producing them (after decades)... I scoured the internet and bought a bunch but that only lasts so long.

I've now moved on to Fender 250L that are .009-.042 with a .016 G string. I've acclimated.

I have one shorter scale guitar (Anderson Lil Angel) which I tried .010s... I could play but not enjoyable. Went to .095s... Better, but still a bit stiff. So, next string change it will get .009s, too.

I also have a long scale baritone that I tried several sets on - that's currently D'Addario .011-.056, tuned to C.
 
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