String Gauge difference

nickxmix

Inspired
New to the forum and on the waiting list for the new Axe-Fx II. Just wondering is there a big difference between a Strat with (10 - 46) gauge as compared to one with (9 - 42) gauge, all other factors being equal. I'm talking fullness of sound, tone thinner? etc. Any info I need to take into account will be welcome.
Thanks Nick H.
 
!!!!

YES!!!

The thicker your string guage, the fuller, fatter your tone. It's not just a playability thing! If I'm not mistaken alot of old school blues guys use .13s - they're a bitch to bend, but sound HUGE! Changing your string guage is the fastest (and cheapest) way to alter your tone!

I personally prefer thicker strings - they sound a LOT meatier! And play better too! My 7th string is a .64 :p I loves it!
 
Not to hijack, but I've wondered about this as well... except from the opposite perspective. I'd like to increase the "ease" of bending strings in standard tuning, so that I can make more erratic and quick bends. I've been using 9's, but I wonder if I tried 7's like Billy Gibbons would it make bends easier? (would there be less tension on the string)

note: I experimented with 9's downtuned to B once and the tone was fair, but the playability was fantastic! Lots of fast bending there! IMHO...
 
Ouch! I use 11s tuned half step down! Maybe you need to work on your bends? 9s are GREAT for bends! Anything lower will adversely affect your tone alot! And 9s tuned even half step down are great for bends - in fact, Dean Markely has a string set where the bottom 3 strings are 9s and the top 3 are 10s - great balance for fast players, without sacrificing the meat in the low end! 7s... wow... here I thought 11s were the lowest I was prepared to go :p A friend of mine went overboard though - he has .70s tuned to B! It's TOO fat! Works for him though!
 
Traditionally speaking, as highlighted above, it is a balance between playability and tone.

I have my lead guitars generally setup with super lights (.009 to .042). Strictly rhythms are lights (.010 to .046) - and even heavier bottoms for metal.

I also have a couple of gigging / general purpose axes with custom lights (super light tops and heavy bottoms) which allow for thicker powerchords and more controlled leads.

Note that you should do a fresh setup on your guitar when you change string gauges / tunings as well.



Having said all of this though, I have found that due to the nature of the AxeFx, there is more leeway to break the rules (i.e. you can dial a fatter sound from lighter strings), so I tend to go with playbility foremost over anything else and then just shape the tone to suit. Pickups can also compensate for a thicker tone and I have found that actives allow more margin for doing this (they are a bit like a FRFR speaker - you get a fuller spectrum in which to mould the sound).

In the end, I would go with what feels best and just work around that.
 
There's something very wrong about getting a thick tone using thin strings :p I dunno, sure it's great, but there' just something fundamentally wrong there that I refuse to accept and adhere to!
 
If you try thicker strings it may be a bit harder to play at first, but you will get used to it as you develop strength in your fingers. Now when I pick up a guitar with 10's I'm not used to it and sometimes bend too far.. oops..
 
I'm not sure how old school you're talking about with blues guys. I don't know of any electric players other than John Mooney using anything that big. Buddy Guy uses tiny strings. SRV I think used 13 on top, but he tuned down half a step, so it's not as bad tension wise.

I play 11s which are a good balance for me of fullness and bendability. If I were doing Nashville style bending though, I'd probably use 9 or 10.

Some of the acoustic country blues people might've used 13s, but they're not doing a whole lot of big bends.
 
I play metal and play in tunings everywhere from standard down to drop g#. Having said that I ALWAYS go for heavy strings. Not a lot of soulful bending in my music and I hit the strings hard so the tension has to be high so they don't ring out sharp when I first bang on them. In standard that usually means at least a .52 or .54 on top going up to .65 or .70 in the lower tunings and dependant on scale length.

I prefer the feel of nice and tight heavy strings. For me, its a must. YM-most certainly will-V but if I could give any advice, try them both. Learn how to do setups and play around. I have a bunch of guitars and some of them take different tunings and gauges differently even with the same setup due to scale, material, pickups, etc. Play around and find what works best for you and don't be afraid to change it up with time i.e. go up or down as strength and preference develop.

Good luck.
 
Well, with 9's, I admit it does bug me how if I hit an open E chord by the nut the E and A string do go a little sharp briefly... so I have to hit it more gently, which is a pain in metal to hold back your strength. But for really fast bends ( a la George Lynch back in the day) I've only been able to really nail the vibe with 9's downtuned to B (which felt great for soloing, but terrible for rhythm playing) I believe having smaller hands doesn't help, unfortunately... all my heros seemed to have HUGE hands.

I wonder if it's possible to have 9 or 10 guage E-A-D strings and 7 gauge G-B-E strings at once?
 
I have never been able to play 9's! Too freakin' light and sometimes when I "get into playing", I find the top "E" is bent up to the low "E" or I miss and its off the edge of the neck. So stuck with 10's, briefly [months] went up to 11's (for slide/blues) but found I couldn't do the string bends the way I liked.. and ended up going back down to a combination for a while (11's on top, 10's on bottom) but ended up with tune-age issues. So now back to playing 10/46 or 10/53 gauges.

I play covers, so need a whole range of capabilities and refuse to carry multiple guitars to gigs! I have enough to worry about with setting up PA.. so want my rig to be simple. In my next life I'm going to just shut up and play!~
 
I use 10's on all my guitars except my Sweet 16. I use 12's (flatwound) on the Sweet 16. I have a "practice guitar" that I string with 11's. I do my practice including big time bends with the 11's to keep my tired old fingers strong. After working with the 11's, when I play my 10's they feel great and I have no difficulty with bends.
 
Some great advice in this thread!

Personally, as soon as I tuned down to B for the first time on my 6, I shifted to 13s. When I got my first 7 I had 10s on them by default. They always felt kinda "floppy". Mind you, I'm a hardcore rhythm player - I can't play leads to save my life, but I do play fairly fast and sometimes complex rhythm sections (or at least I like to tell myself that :D). I'm currently on 11s for the regular 6 strings, and a 0.64 I'd ordered separately! I personally love this setup - it's got SO much meat and chug, and it's not THAT tough to bend - I also drop my last 2 strings (High B & E) one & a half steps down (to Ab & Db), and the entire guitar is tuned half step down to Bb (it's a funny hybrid open tuning that I'm quite liking!) So for my setup this config is really nice! However, for standard setups where you need to bend a lot, 10s are probably the most balanced set you can use! I like the feel of 11s on standard tuning - it's got a tightness to it that is great if you're playing shred guitar or fast 200bpm+ death metally sections.

At the end of the day, it's what you like and what sounds good, and what plays great! Try different setups and find one that suits you. Don't forget to adjust your fretboard and action everytime you change your string gauge!
 
Been using 9-42 on my all my Strats and Teles for over 25 years. my Ultra sounds great with all my guitars. Never felt thin or lifeless. It really is to each his own.
 
FWIW, I use 8-38 (I have mild CTS) and am quite pleased with my tones after adjusting my technique and patches. I prefer the tone of heavier strings, but can't physically play them.
 
Yeah, some good opinions/advice here!

Probably the thing that has stopped me from really experimenting with a variety different of different string gauges is the fact that i don't know everything that has to be adjusted on the guitar each time i try different string sizes (the setup, intonation, truss rod, etc.). I'm kinda concerned about screwing up my best guitar, and its expensive to have a tech do all this for you multiple times.

Any of you guys see a tutorial of instructions on the net that covers all the bases so I do it with confidence?

Thanks!
 
Strings are just 1 part of the whole picture,
there are no rules set in stone here.
Try both and see what do you prefer.
Better yet, try different brands/materials of strings.

That said, if you like that "Strat snap"...... 9's will give you more of it.
 
I learned something really interesting in the last few years. I can hit accurate bends without thinking using 11 - 52's on my 24 7/8" guitars, while I struggle would make an accurate bend using 9-46's on a 24.4" scale guitar. My 24 5/8" Les Paul with 9-46's works OK, but just barely. The neck shape and frets will also be a part of this, but I seem to do best when I have more tension to push against.

I use round core, nickel, Pyramid strings, which are easier to bend than other strings. They are warm yet clear, in a very balanced way. The construction, and types of metal used, can significantly impact tone as well as how a string feels. The good part is that it's easy and inexpensive to try out different string types and guages to figure out what's best for you.

Terry.
 
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