Great Video by Rick Beato. I have previously used a 9-42 set on all my guitars (including Strats, Teles and Les Paul) and was constantly mocked by those who used thicker sets .
9-42 felt more comfortable and set better in the mix imho. I might try the 9-42 on the Nocaster this weekend and see how it goes.
What gauges do you guys use?
p.s. Have to get my posts up to 100 as I have a few cool guitars to sell in the next few weeks due to a possible incoming tele
"Have tone issues with all the options available today? practice more...." -John Suhr
yeah thats quite interesting. he difference is a little surprising.
One thing that stood out to me was the guy in the white shirt just sounded "heavier" on all gauges. His tone was just fatter/full/bigger than the other 2 guys
I use 9-42 turned to E or maybe Eb if to many of the songs I write end up in the same key
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
This is rather timely because I bought a guitar this week (no, really!) and it has 10s tuned to Eb. I was rather taken with both the sound and the feel, notwithstanding that all my guitars are usually 10-46s tuned to E.
It has made me consider switching a couple of guitars to 9s in E.
For electric 9-42s. I have a pretty light touch when playing. Heavier strings feel nicer to me for rhythm stuff, but not sure if it make a difference to the sound once amplified. For Acoustic 12-52s. 95% of the time I'm in standard tuning
I don't think its string guage that makes a difference, well not the actual strings, but how you play them. Intentionally you're going to hit 8's less hard than 12's and therein lies the difference.
I once did a scope pic here of 9's against 10's. Nothing changed at all. They sounded the same to my tin ears too. I should do one of 8's against 12's but hitting with the same pressure.
So, is that low alcohol or no alcohol at all? mmmm, no alcohol, do you want to try it? Noooooooooo.
Bg wrote:I don't think its string guage that makes a difference, well not the actual strings, but how you play them. Intentionally you're going to hit 8's less hard than 12's and therein lies the difference.
I once did a scope pic here of 9's against 10's. Nothing changed at all. They sounded the same to my tin ears too. I should do one of 8's against 12's but hitting with the same pressure.
I can hear a slight difference but yeah as I said the guy in the white shirt had a very different tone to the other guys to my ears..I think with heavier strings you attack them differently for sure
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
Bg wrote:I don't think its string guage that makes a difference, well not the actual strings, but how you play them. Intentionally you're going to hit 8's less hard than 12's and therein lies the difference.
I once did a scope pic here of 9's against 10's. Nothing changed at all. They sounded the same to my tin ears too. I should do one of 8's against 12's but hitting with the same pressure.
I can hear a slight difference but yeah as I said the guy in the white shirt had a very different tone to the other guys to my ears..I think with heavier strings you attack them differently for sure
I heard no difference, tin ears maybe, but the scope readout was virtually identical. So maybe you're playing harder/softer or fooling yourself
So, is that low alcohol or no alcohol at all? mmmm, no alcohol, do you want to try it? Noooooooooo.
Bg wrote:
I heard no difference, tin ears maybe, but the scope readout was virtually identical. So maybe you're playing harder/softer or fooling yourself
I wasn't playing at all BG .... with all these type of things I listen with my eyes closed to see if I can hear the change in the first instance and I could hear the slight changes. Was it enough to change the world? no. Let face it when you are standing in front of 2 to 4 speakers at even lowish volumes none of this sort of thing matters (Now it does not mean it doesn't exist ..... like tonewood ) at all
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
I wasn't expecting a difference at all. To my ears the 11's sounded muddier and there was more clarity in the 8's. But as BG has said the change could be due to the change in attack from the right hand and grip on the left. I still like 11's on my guitars though!
I mostly play rhythm, and I hit too hard with a thick pick so 10s can go sharp if I lay into them. The beauty with 11s is the dynamic range you can get, they tend to not snag the fretboard and buzz out when you hit hard, but will still produce a full sound when played gently.
I love that Billy Gibbons story about BB King playing his guitar with heavy strings on it.. "why are you working so hard?"
I put elixir 9's on the Aurum and it makes a big difference to me. Probably makes me guilty of over bending at times, but its a huge difference on how fxcked my fingers are after a long gig. Less separation between the nail and nail bed.
Someone told me the coating on elixirs makes them feel heavier than they are, and that makes sense. Coated 10s on the LP feel heavier than the regular 10s I have on another guitar. Also stringing the LP up with regular 10s put the intonation out noticeably, so while I want to put lighter strings on there I need to get it set up for them. I still have one more pack of elixir 10s to get through before I go spending $$ on that.
jimi wrote:
Someone told me the coating on elixirs makes them feel heavier than they are, and that makes sense. Coated 10s on the LP feel heavier than the regular 10s I have on another guitar
that makes sense. The weird one is stainless steel strings. For some reason they feel Lighter gauge than they are. When I use to use 10's I got a pack of SS strings and they felt so much lighter I thought i'd bought the wrong gauge, but no they were 10's. It felt so good to play I went back to 9's in regular strings on all my guitar
If Less is More Then Just Think How Much More More would be
jimi wrote:Someone told me the coating on elixirs makes them feel heavier than they are, and that makes sense. Coated 10s on the LP feel heavier than the regular 10s I have on another guitar. Also stringing the LP up with regular 10s put the intonation out noticeably, so while I want to put lighter strings on there I need to get it set up for them. I still have one more pack of elixir 10s to get through before I go spending $$ on that.
I think that was me, when you were having buzzing issues with the Les Paul. (Side tangent: the Les Paul that used to be mine, shock horror - a “G” guitar!).
To me, the Elixirs do feel slightly heavier, or a higher tension, to uncoated strings. And typically, while there’s this talk of going to a lighter gauge, I’ve just switched one of my guitars from Elixir 10s to 11s.
Jimi, you should be able to adjust the intonation yourself mate, it’s not rocket science.
I used to be into 9s, it was what all the 80s thrash bands and shredders used, but then I found drop tunings and 10-52s and loved the way the low-E responded to rhythm, these days I'm happy with 10-46s in standard...
Slowy wrote:
That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.
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