8s vs 12s Electric Guitar String Challenge!!
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👆 There's a lot of guitar folklore about players like Stevie Ray, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Gibbons & the like, as to whether or not the string gauge they used really contributed to their unique tones. So we took a Les Paul & a Strat, whacked some extra light/extra heavy strings on them & we compared the tones...
The Les Paul is a Les Paul Classic & the Strat is a modded Squier Classic Vibe.
Cheers
Lee & Rob
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Do Ernie Ball have a string gauge set above the "Not Even Slinky"? I can imagine a heavier set being called "Are You F*in' Kidding" or "Dude Just Play Bass".
Ozzy Pete they have 13’s but market them as baritone strings.
Dean Markley makes some 13-56 , sturdy asf!
Not Even Slinky's G cable can suspend bridges by itself.
LOL
Yes, the mammoth set
My doctor told me I have 8s.
omg🤦♂️😂😂
FeelsBadMan
HAHAHA, nice one XD
You sure it wasn't Walker that told you that?
Relax, you're probably just two tens
I use a hybrid set 8, 10, 14 24, 32,42 I had a stroke advanced arthritis (left thumb joint all but gone...so my left hand is very weak.. but I get no loss of tone what ever amp I use. But then I am a very light player ...great video chaps
Pete Townshend's strings during the height of The Who's touring years were 12, 16, 16, 32, 44, 56.
I did the same to my SG Special by using a set of Not Even Slinky's plus an extra B and it feels remarkably good. Easy to bend the G and B and nice and heavy on the low strings. Combine with a Univox Super fuzz for 1970 heaven.
Incidentally, he said he started doing this because he hated the sound of ultralight strings and wanted to have to work to play his guitar.
Finally got 11-74s on my 27-inch scale Agile. Only downside is neck needing work and the Stringjoy 74 has a lighter core/wind ratio than the D'ddario 56, so isn't as bright and snappy.
7 string
Glenn I just ordered my Agile 27 scale 7 string. What tuning do you play in with the 11-74’s? I’m usually half or whole step down. Wondering what feels good to you! Thanks man!
great example of tone is in the fingers
15:40 - A thick pick? Tell me, what effect does pick thickness have on your tone?
Funny, Rob mentioning his comment about SRV's tone lead to people hating Rob, but even to people hating SRV.
Jokes on you, guys.
Kurt Cobain and Jack White are nown for using heavy guage strings apparently Kurt was even know for using piano wire on some of his guitars
Slash use 11s, and its been my go to gauge for ages now.
One of my mates actually put 7s on his schecter. My fingers almost started bleeding when I tried it... (used to my 9s)
SRV used heavy strings but he tuned down a whole tone.
i've been using 0's and they play like air! not the best tone unfortunately
instantly recognizable tone
Ya might need to switch to active pickups
bro you should try -1s.
Should try air pods
SRV is instantly recognizable but i think it’s due more to how he actually uses an axe & less about his tone.
Oh you don’t think it’s about the fact that his amp costs more than your house?
@@johnnybrown9581 That's one cheap ass house.
his tone is pretty incredible
Srv has one tone...
@@cdreyes81 no
when I first saw the title of this video I thought it was going to be a competition between an 8 string and a 12 string guitar
Bass wins
So did I, and was wondering why they would randomly compare the two since they are no way similar, in that it's unlikely someone would be debating between the two of them.
I thought it was going to be speakers 🔊 lol
The only thing thinner than an .8 guage string is my will to live.
don't listen to Harrison, Hank. This comment is gold and I will be stealing it so thx
Hank Dale here.
For me, only thing thinner is the toilet paper I used in the bathroom.
Hank Hill For me it's my penis.
that comment is almost as good as propane
Zach Black I'm sorry for you.
Personally I absolutely hate jimi handrix's tone as well as jimmy page's, it hurts my ears when I hear them, however I love lil Wayne's tone and I would give anything for his rig and to play like him
Reubenswagseaton nice bait
Same here
Reubenswagseaton I too hate Jimi handrix's tone. But I really do like Jimi Hendrix's tone
oh my god. jimi handrix was such a bad player. yes i remember.
You are full of shit he was awesome
SRV used bridge cables on his guitars for strings - The Captain 😂
8's have a more articulate sound especially from string to string. 10's sound muddier and I think most guys who play heavier strings AKA SRV wasn't for pure tone it was based on his on his power and heavy handedness he played everyday and believe it or not if you play strong its harder to bend notes correctly with lighter strings you tend to over bend.
Vibrato final note .
This is true. Me being an acoustic player primarily, I use .011s with a wound 3rd, because when I pick up my electric, I find it harder to play in tune, being used to heavier acoustic strings.
@@andrewalderman Yep, that's why I prefer thicker strings as well. The lighter gauge feels like a slinky to me when playing electric. I can adjust, but I just don't like the feeling.
and i say...what's wrong with 9's????...
Yeah thats the reason I want to change to 10s. I can easily overbend 1,5 step bend with 9 gauge. Full step bend are becoming harder to hit for me haha!
I've only been studying guitar for a few years, but cannot get over the "hate" directed at Rob on other channels and here. I've never seen or heard the man say a negative thing about anyone; he's always positive, industrious, encouraging. Not looking to kiss-a**, but "green" seems to be the color of a lot of guitarist-TH-camrs. Thanks for the vids gents. Thoroughly enjoyable over the years.
northof50now The haters are always going to be there. Very sad.I guess it is a jealousy thing.
I always feel inspired to go grab an axe as soon as I finish watching a Chappers and Captain video
I guess everyone will have people that dislike them, but honestly how can anyone not like Rob? He's such a likeable guy.
On every Internet forum be it guitars, cars, football etc there are swarms of haters unfortunately. My conclusion is they are largely people who are disappointed with their own lot in life and how things have turned out so vent on everything and anything as an outlet. They should be pitied.
Everybody bases their opinions of people on the worst day in that person's life, when by shear chance the individual has mourning the loss of their most trusted canine companion, the break up of a long term relationship, or the loss of a job in a bleak economy. Frankly they just don't understand the back story behind the tone of the meeting. Relationships, even aquaintences take time to develop, and often need that momentary break through, where the two people find common ground and a degree of trust.
That said, I believe that people are jealous of the Andertons/Rabea/Chapman group, because of their Internet and product success. What they see is success in a sped up time frame provided by the TH-cam platform, and don't consider the time, back stories, and relationships it took to bring everything to where it is now.
it's incredible, isn't it? tbh he's kind of the opposite of everything i appreciate in a guitar player, but his technical knowledge, his ability, his 'ear' and his enthusiasm are first rate.
As always, never let go of your video editor!
The edited Rob laugh killed me
Twimpy Boy pretty sure rabea said he does most of the video editing and the amp set ups in another video. Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo don't let rabea go!
justin nolan Rory edits the videos :)
Eclectic Music Discussion Club I
I somehow expected 8 String Guitar vs 12 String :-D
Glad to know i wasnt the only one
Same here lol
Exactly what I thought.
Thank god im not insane
#metoo
I use 7” strings and I have the best tone and no I didn’t leave out a decimal point I play in triple drop brown note
Surely it would also be interesting to have also tried using thicker strings on the shorter 24.75" scale length les paul, and thinner strings for the 25.5" strat as well?
As the longer scale length of the strat would cause higher tension, but thinner 8 strings require less tension to make the same note, how would this then compare to feel and tone with the les paul with a set of 10s, or even 12s...?
Obviously the tone would be different, but I'm intrigued to find out how it'd affect feel and whether the string tension would even out.
Shorter scale lengths are easier to bend, as are thinner strings...
I just got this jazzmaster and the strings feel sooooooo loose it’s crazy. I’m assuming it came with 9s (or even 8?) but now I’m wondering if the scale length is shorter
Just play the gauge of strings you feel more comfortable with.
But Craig, we play guitar we have to argue tone wood, strings, pickups, amps, and who is the best ever it is in our nature. Plus what else are we going to talk about what people need to understand it is all in fun bullshitting with each other. But there our the 2 % that take things personal and take it to far and they are called trolls and losers.
Most comfortable = smallest diameter strings
@@airgliderz not if it means your fingers are slipping all over the fretboard throwing notes out of tune
@@eldritch6871 wrong again slick finger eld rich. Just because you have terrible control your own fingers, you need more practice. Your wrong again, you have far more and better control, far, far less finger slipping. Far better feel. Better yet, far better tone and tone inflections creating better music.
@@airgliderz you've said "wrong again" twice now. What was I wrong about in the first place? I don't recognize your name or remember having spoken to you before, but you sound like a real piece of work
Mad respect for Rob coming out and saying SRV's tone isn't a gift from God. I'm a major SRV fanboy but find it so annoying when people salivate over his amp and string preference. He was the shit though.....I'll never forget seeing him in Nashville. Dude almost set the damn building on fire. He opened the show with crossfire and tightrope and I almost had a stroke.
Rob v SRV... just saying...
As a drummer, I feel the same way about Neil Peart as you do SRV.
Shilbo Shaggins Are you stupid?
Nick From Cleveland lucky
I admire Stevie as having been an amazing player but his tone was too abrasive and wiry for my liking. I love the Fender Stratocaster but personally I much prefer the tone that other guitarists have achieved rather than Stevie's tone.
I've been playing for 8 years(roughly) and I've just been diagnosed with a neurological disease which severely limits my strength due to pain. I was playing 10s and 11s on teles and strats and now I have to play 8s on a Mustang. I don't seem to have noticed a change in tone that much. More just because of the way I play with them which I feel is the key difference.
Anyone watching this after Beato?
I use 3’s and they’re pretty good
SmokyHillTV breathes on strings and they break
@@gamesandguitars3901 LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
u use air.
Not great but pretty good
Spider webs?
Shoulda done 7s vs 13s haha 13s would be scary to tune up
MusicalPhoenix I feel like Lee would have struggled with 13s
RIP the truss rod on that squier then
Zachary Williams I know that a lot of jazz guitarists use flatwound 13's in standard.
Danoe B-G Jazz guys don't bend strings. It's all about bending otherwise gauge doesn't really matter. It's the bending.
I haven't seen it done before, but it could be done definitely. Gotta have balls of steel to do that though, but the .7 string set could be cool.
I use 5's. I sound incredible!
Purplehaze4291 I use 11s on electric and 13s on acoustic
I was considering becoming a complete tone monster and going so thin that i just remove the strings altogether and let the tone come from my fingers
Purplehaze4291 bitch please I use 1' s
Yuriy Ivanauvych Nice! Your tone must be god like!!
what a joke... I have 0's, yeah, that's right, I don't even have any string on my guitar anymore, and it never sounded as great as now! Go figure...
My trick is just to just buy 6 low e strings, I sound fat as f*ck
Hmm you can't really have a "better tone" because
its subjective dun dun duuuuuunnnnnn
STFU
Dun dun? Simple? You are not guitarrist
@Ewan Mcconnell that's still subjective though, I really like a lot of dirtier older sounds and whatnot, one of my favorite guitarists uses a squire strat, one of the lowest tier guitars from a reliable brand, and his tone is delicious
You're 100% right.
Adam Bayer because there are things called mixing and mastering dun dun duuuuuuuunn 😂😙
They are rarely played solo and actually as we try to pick our fav guitar, we tend to play along to see it on somehow mix :)
Dick Dale (Surf guitarist) played 16 - 60s.
DAMN
SYNTHS!! well he isn't really a bender now is he lol
3:30 And on his Strat, mind. It's not easy to find a reliable source for that exact figure or specific information on what the strings in between are, though. Still, that probably explains why he breaks picks left and right...
Peter green and pete townshend used 12s!!
Danish Pete is Pete too. So Pete and Jim make up all the good guitarists then :)
Pete Townshend uses a thinner G-string to help fingering A minor ^^
CyberChrist 🤣
My name is Jimi. I can confirm, it does not help. Or maybe it does and I'm just really bad to start with...
I'm also a Jimi even have the H in my middle name, but I'll never be confused with the Jims of yore!
Aren't you the guy requesting Rory Gallagher tunes on GOTD?
Fluro Flash you’ll get there soon
Well my name isn't Jimmi , and I am really bad with awful tone.?
Regardless of string gauge, if you're not comfortable with what's on there your tone will suffer. Use whatever feels right. Playing with confidence and soul with a command of your instrument will have a much bigger effect on your tone that a few extra micrograms of nickel and steel.
SRV is indeed “mind-blowingly amazing.” How dare you! 😂
You guys need to stop bitching about Rob not liking SRV's tone. It's called an opinion, guys. Geez.
Yes it is but me busting his balls about saying Billiy from ZZ-top has better tone is my opinion. Does not mean I don't still have respect for rob. If I was out having some beers with Rob and he said that I would say the same thing but I would still say nice meeting you be safe going home. I hope that you understand
The great surf rocker Dick Dale uses 16-60 because of his tremolo technique.
jesus christ that is thicc
Dickdale is a beast. Glad he's still out there doing it
Dick Dale also compared his playing a show to him wrestling his strat for 2 1/2 hours. He didn't want to replace strings every other song.
Where can I get those (for F standard, low F)
But dick dale not doing many bemd
If any one cares I like 9s
David GIlmour is one of the most distinctive guitar players of them all. He only has to bend one note and you know who it is. He uses 10s
Marcus Hogan He just has like the Midas Touch of the guitar world.
He can bend any note and you just hear that unique Gilmour tone.
Just, amazing. For sure one of my biggest influences.
Marcus Hogan In another Andertons video I think they said he used 9s.
He definitely uses 10s. It's a custom gauge set though 10-48. Just google David Gilmour GHS boomers
He has his own set it's 10.5-48 I think
Marcus Hogan 10-48 on strat and 10.5 to 50 on les Paul. Yeah custom gauges for middles
Heavy Strings? Malcolm Young. I think he used strings that were so heavy, that even the g string was wound.
And of course Chuck Norris puts the Cables of the Golden Gate Bridge on his guitar
Haha Malcolm used 13's
Eric Burns ...but he can't remember ...
I'm not sure on which point in the past his memory loss starts, but it's probably late enough to be in the really early AC/DC time and I think he kind of already had the heavy rhythm/string stuff already down before he did this band...so he may still remember this
Chuck Norris memes died when he hated on the gays.
And when it stopped being funny.
chuck norris has metal rods on his guitar.
Tried loads of gauges over 30 years. I just find light top heavy bottoms, 9 - 46 perfect match of tone and playability ;0)
I also prefer fat & juicy bottoms myself. Mmm. ;)
I love muffin tops too haha but I think fenders bullet 10s work the best for the strats I use
So does Malmsteem - perfect for Strats!
I think Queen wrote a song about preferring a heavy bottom.
And Spinal Tap did as well
I do love it when people in the comments section or in forums get elitist about guitar strings. It makes me laugh. Ultimately, although guitar strings will make a difference (and I mean difference, not 'one sounds better than the other as a matter of fact'), you're going to sound best on whatever guitar strings feel most comfortable to you. SRV had a fat tone with 13-58s (I believe). Billy Gibbons has a fat tone with 7-38s. There's not really an argument to be made about which gauge is 'better'. It's like arguing about what's 'better' out of Gibsons and Fenders. Nobody is going to agree because everybody has their own personal preference, and rightly so.
Is it just me or is Rob starting to look a little like Clapton?
Or Saddam Hussain
Rob Chlaptmon?
Stevie Ray Vaughan is King of tone
John Osborne Yep, and that's not an opinion. It's a FACT.
No it's very much an opinion, one which you happen to agree with. I'm personally not a fan of his tone.
ScottishCunt And that's what I said. You may not like his tone, but it is really good. Just because you don't like it, it doesn't mean that everyone else is wrong and your opinion is the best.
John Osborne My man, Eric Johnson is the tone Lord.... still love SRV tho
Apologies, it was supposed to be a reply to as pedlas who said "Yep, and that's not an opinion. It's a FACT."
Malcolm Young used 12-56 (sometimes 58) and Angus used 9-42. Put those together and you get the most perfect Rhythm and Lead guitar tones ever
Umm, I guess to me the gauge is a comfort thing the more comfortable you are playing then better you would sound.
I skim read the title and thought this would be another of those "who is less comfortable" videos with Lee on an 8 string and Rob on a 12 string...
morodochable I like that idea
I clicked the video so fast, I thought I'm gonna see an 8 string vs 12 string video.
You cant hear any difference when Chappers plays. You only hear gain
B. B. King did not use 8's. I read an interview in a guitar mag a while back with B.B. He asked to play Billy Gibbons guitar and told BG, "Why are you working so hard." BG switched to 7's and 8's, so some people thought BB told BG to use 8's. But BB said he used 10-52. The point was that BG was using much heavier gauges than 10-52 at that time.
Also Jimi didnt use 8's. He used a custom set of 10s with a light gauge g string because the g string has a thicker core and overpowered the other strings because magnets.
Lol BB King eights? In one interview he personally said that he use 10-54
Zach Bauman That's what i'm talking about mate
saw an interview with billy gibbons where he said he used really thick strings, until he played with BB king who asked him why he "was trying so hard", and lended him a guitar with 8s
Johannes Kristiansen Probably he used several different gauges or had a guitar with 8' just for fun, although its a lie to say that he used only 8'.
the quote was "why you workin' so hard"
King lied a lot about himself and his abilities, that being said I'm pretty sure you use thinner strings when you get to your 70s and 80s. He probably used 8's alot
If you like high gauge strings that's fine but I think most of it is machismo elitism and bragging rights about who can bend big strings. I play what's comfortable for me and I happen to really like 8s.
That's because you aren't good at playing 8s. You have to get used to them. I actually find that 10s and heavier are way harder to use in that regard, because if they go out of tune, I can't compensate at all. I can't bend them in tune while I play chords and etc.
brutalbeetle yep, it doesn't matter. just enjoy playing...
With a few notable exceptions, many of the people using heavy gauge strings (hello, Mr. Obvious?) are not known for their brilliant string bending technique. And many of the exceptions, detune.
i don't do it out of machismo, i do it so my strings don't flop and i can control my picking and bending better. that's the problem with having an absurdly strong picking attack. dialling back is much harder to do than adding strength. it does make me think twice about bending strings willy-nilly, but i don't really like "all bends all the time". tapping rythms in clean tones becomes a new playing style, vibrato control is off the charts, and slides resonate more. playing heavy gauge makes you think of the electric guitar as closer to playing a folk acoustic rather than a striclty lead instrument. it's two opposite views, but not irreconciliable. that, and yes, i'm comfier playing 12-60 over anything lighter. i'm too used to fighting my strings. i've got a guitar strung in 10-46 and i'm all over the place playing on it, just like i was when starting out which incidentally is why i moved on to playing with really heavy gauges.
one caveat: heavy gauges chew through your fret wire fast. i've maybe got 6 months left of playing until one of my axes can be considered a fretless instrument. refretting costs a hell of a lot, unfortunately.
@@Diax1324 I'm super late to see this comment but this makes no sense to me. Just tune the guitar. Even if you're in the middle of a song, flip your tuner pedal on, and tune the guitar if it goes out of tune. I don't understand the concept of bending the strings slightly to get the notes in tune in chords, and I'm a performing guitarist. I play with 12s though, so maybe this really is a phenomenon I'll just never understand. Props to you if you can actually think about that while playing.
Rick Parfitt used 14s.
Brandon Gee he called them Tramlines!
Crazy dude
Was that in standard? 14s tuned to standard is roughly 210 lbs of tension. That would probably decimate the neck pretty quick. (For comparison 10s are about 100 lbs, 13s are about 180 lbs.)
I moved to the 8 squad just a week ago and now I'm never going back. Took me a couple days to get used to the noodles I now play with, but now it sounds immaculate!
I believe Slash uses 11's
I think he has 11 for down tunes
He uses ernie ball 11-14-18p-26-36-46 D# standard
Believe it or not!
He uses both 9s and 11s.
@@artwizardsam3238 I cant see slash using 9s. I've seen how hard the man plays in person (saw GnR on the not in this lifetime tour).
2:42 WTF CHAPMAN
TRIGGERED
I feel fine, I was talking more about the look the Captain gave us
It sounds good but it's not an amazing tone
The look on the captains face as he tried to process what he just heard hahahaha
I think SRV's PLAYING is amazing. His tone wasn't as good as his playing, in my irrelevant opinion.
Same thing with Marty Friedman. Insanely good guitar player with a tone pallette that goes from meh to good, never ever great or exceptional. He's a very utilitarian guy regarding his gear as well.
SRV tuned 1/2 step down, making the strings not as tight or hard to play.
exactly no one ever brings that shit up
@@TheJasonmoretti SRV used pure nickel roller wound, easier to play than any steel alloy around and more flat/smooth than round wound. 13, 15, 19 plain, 28, 38, 58 is his most commonly used around the time of the first Montreux gig all the way up to his death. Though over the 80s he experimented with a 12 and 11 and eventually used 12 then 11 permanently than the 13 because he needed an easier bend.
And that's true. I've got complications on and off with carpal tunnel. I've used his exact gauge before, it's not that difficult to play if you're new to it. So if you get used to it you'll really enjoy it. I know I remember I did but didn't use it a long time because they're rare and expensive (GHS Rollerwound Low Tune). It's 2nd to 5th string which are NORMAL to most players and the 13 and 58 which sets off all alarms and makes people believe he's some Hulk Guitar God or something. Over the years I've bounced between 9s 10s and 11s. Right now I'm on 10s for all tunings and I've planned on going for 8s and for tuning lower than E flat 9s. I can't take it anymore with the struggle and my physical complications which come and go. It's not fun wrestling on days where my hands cannot be bothered doing that. I need an effortless amount of tension for both hands. Medium/light picks I use.
Right now I have a ganglion cyst in my right hand. I have to pick lighter than ever and it taught me that the sound and intonation is best with the lightest touch with both hands. A heavy pick will fuck your hand if you use 10s and above, particularly if you're a medium to aggressive picker. I generally was but I don't enjoy it anymore. Where are my dynamics that I NEED? It's all in developing dynamics for yourself. I know how to pick mad, but know how to pick delicately for dynamic styles, BUT i NEED to work on picking soft. I'm thinking I can do almost all my styles picking as soft as possible without being silent. Electric guitar makes anything louder. On one of my acoustics I'll be using 10s once I get accustomed all over again to the electric 8s and 9s. I realised I pick more smoothly and less messy when not doing fast licks aggressively like I used to.
I had no idea with all this stuff. Learned it all on my own. But recently I do listen to Iommi/Sabbath so I suppose it's made me pay attention to what others do and how I can improve with new techniques I never practice myself.
@Mike S I'd say never start or try heavier strings. What they may mean to you is 10s or 11s and above. You should try 8s and 9s and see which ones you prefer, but on the exact guitar and same tuning.
I personally would use 8s forever because it forces you control yourself and relax with both hands. Like I said all the stress and pressure my hands have endured over the years have led me to complications and some pain. I don't want either of those ever again so I'm sticking with 8s. If I find 7 gauge I will try those because most people who try those have said they love them.
If you have jumbo frets then light strings will only do you favours for how hard you fret with your left hand. Too much pressure then you go out of tune, so it'll keep you in check and it ACTUALLY MAKES YOU A BETTER PLAYER and people will eventually be inspired to take notes and techniques from you. Seriously a light touch on both hands and light strings objectively makes you a better player. Classical musicians always use light strings and Flamenco players probably use even lighter!
Hope this helps. Nobody taught me shit when I started, so I wish!
@Mike S You're welcome. Send me a message when you need help again.
As a metal/rock player I’ve used medium-heavy gauge strings for the longest time. I always thought they would give me a moderate-heavy tone. Especially chugging on the low E. I’ve run every brand you can think of but always liked Dean Markley and D’addario best. But in the last few years I’ve really got to say, I was wrong on the thickness issue. Every new guitar I purchased sounded fantastic with factory strings. So I wondered what they were. So I went to the ESP website and found my guitar came with Elixir 9-42. My new Jackson came with 9-42 as well?! So now I run these light gauge strings on most of my guitars. I thought they would sound “thin” and wimpy. Oddly, they sound heavier but with bite and brightness, if that makes any sense? I do however tune 1/4 step down just to add punch. And the results are utterly amazing. And the lighter gauge strings just sound and play more dynamically then my mid-heavy gauge string equipped guitars. I do have one guitar in drop D with heavier top strings (actual physical top E,A,D) and light bottoms ( GBE) . Those work pretty well for that application. But I’ve got to say, light gauge strings are totally amazing and I’m embarrassed to admit it took me this long to figure that out. I guess it took me a while before I got to a place where I could afford “new” guitars regularly. That’s how I made the discovery. All my early guitars were used or just second hand stuff I picked up from a friend of a friend or whatever. It also took me a while to figure out I got more buzzing out of my heavier strings. I don’t know if this is a result of the nut getting chewed up by heavier strings, or the fact that most of my early guitars had more than one owner? Whatever the case, light gauge (9’s) are the way to go for me. If you haven’t tried them, you’re seriously missing out.
You both jumped 2 gauges and didn’t need a whole new set up? Strange
Edit: Guess I should of waited till the end
The most important thing surely is that the guage strings you use have to be comfortable for you. No point having fat tone with 13s if it hinders your playing.
Absolutely correct!!!!
The most important thing I learned from this video is that it sounds awesome when you guys mix in a bit more of the room sound/distance mics when you’re playing!!
Hey guys. Captain - how could Rob saying simply 'Ray Vaughan' be mistaken for his brother Jimmie? His brother's name is Jimmie Vaughan. Not a Ray in sight.
"SRV hasn't got good tone" Bruh listen to Rivera Paradise
The disappearing strings in a puff of smoke was the best thing I've seen in any of your videos. Well done.
That strat with the 12s sounds very SRVish
Surely using more similar guitars would have been a better test?
Bats they wanted to get different tones, for example a LP being darker he put 8's on to see how it would open up, a strat being bright and quacky they put 12's on it to see the difference in tone, it wasn't about how it's directly different more how you can take advantage of the gauges to create different tones on different guitars
IMHO Its all about feel. Whichever string is that you're most comfortable playing with is the right one for you, resulting the best tone. Too thin and you become sloppy, too thick and it becomes too hard to express yourself. Yes thinner string sound thinner but that is what you can compensate with pedals, EQ, etc., but you cannot compensate your playing.
This is the way!
I think it's more about what you like the feel of. I like the guitar to fight against me a bit. On a Les Paul that means 11s. Also thinner gauges tend to sound a little brighter and sustain a little better.
If you play both acoustic and electric and switch from acoustic to electric in once session, you feel like you’re going to rip the strings off of the electric even with 12s
This.
String gauges? The different tensions make you play differently, hence you sound different. You sound best on what you are most comfortable on. You set the amp to sound best, regardless of the strings on the guitar... People really over estimate the guitar side of all this.
could not agree more. I think the amp is more important than the guitar. Not that it doesnt matter, just that a great amp will make an okay guitar sound great but not the other way around. Pete Thorn said something along the line of guitar, amp, speaker and cab all have a huge impact not just the guitar and then I think he said arguably the speaker and cab are most important. or could be the amp and speaker lol dont remember izzackly but the point is it wasnt the guitar.
intermediate player here. I use 10-46 on 25" and 24.75" scale length guitars and 9-42 on 25.5 length. I've watched 3 videos on string gauges and think 8s have more clarity. I might give them a try.
I played 010's for the first 20 years or so, then 009's with the occasional set of 008's for a few years. I've played 007's for 3 years or so now and I have no intention of going back.
Tony Iommi used banjo strings originally as guitar strings were too tough on his fingers, I never hear complaints on Tony’s tone, string thickness affecting tone in a greatly measurable way is a myth, choose your thickness due to comfort and preference
I like 11 gauge strings because of the feel and tone I get from them, especially since Stevie Ray is probably my singular biggest influence at the end of the day. But also a big argument for using heavier gauge strings is you can get more sustain with less gain, which is why jazz players use them so much.
4:55 captain about to do a limp hand gesture but realised possibly non pc
What gesture?
Yeah just stated as banter, they wouldn't do anything purposefully offensive!
Fwiw, I often get more compliments on my tone when I'm using 9s tuned down, especially with my vibrato technique. The way I see it the feel makes the player play in a certain way, and that's what you hear as the difference in tone:
IMO if you're playing more 'rhythm'/chordal stuff, especially clean, you may find that higher gauge strings suit you best. Think of the more piano-like tightness and resonance you get from an acoustic guitar's thicker strings.
If you're more of a 'lead' player for whom being able to manipulate the strings however you desire and as easily as possible is the most important thing, use lower gauge strings. The late Mike Casswell was a firm preacher of this idea, in fact it was one of the few things he ever taught me during my time at ACM.
Captain, Congratulations on Over 300,000 Subscribers! You guys really rock! Way to go Andertons!
You mean a baby vs Stevie Ray Vaughan?
Worst video ever, very much misinformation
You forgot cables, pedals, amps, how the pedals were dialled...
I've only used 8,9,10 gauge due to where strings are available. If you really wanna play, you'll buy strings and play.
Barry Manilow uses 18-65
Captain, string tension and height above pickups will affect the sound. The thing that people say doesn't affect the sound is wood. Stop twisting the argument :D
The nut can obviously affect the tone as well, so you'd have to control for that too. Beyond that, no-one denies that the *neck* can influence the sound somewhat, though that also includes the fret material and levelling. About the only thing that almost certainly does not influence the sound at all is the body of a solid-body guitar: beyond a certain point the body is apparently just too big and rigid for the wood to make an audible difference over the pickup. But you certainly shouldn't take my word for it. Manfred Zollner, who is a real live doctor of physics, will tell you as much: gitec-forum.de/wp/en/gitec-community/the-book/content-physic-of-the-electric-guitar-with-links-to-the-chapters-pdf/
Mark Seymour the reason "tonewood" is bullshit is ONLY because you have a sample size of 1 so it's easy to find a particular piece of wood that doesn't fit in the normal characteristics it's supposed to have.
Cas van der Wal
I know this is an old comment, but just wanted to say that's the most sense I've seen on this topic in a long time.
The tone wood denying types often get caught up by comparing prices of USA/western made premium instruments with far eastern ones and assuming the price difference is the wood, not country of origin or the care taken in construction. A USA PRS is a pretty darn finely made instrument after all (although not really my style, before anyone screams "fanboy!!...")
and also, as you touch upon as well, that wood is often chosen for looks. A Burl maple top for example, it costs more because it looks fancy (and it costs more from the wood merchant btw guys....guitar manufacturers don't necessarily set the prices for this stuff) it's not going to sound better than a plain, boring looking maple top (if anything it might even be worse although I'd be surprised if you could hear that unless maybe LP thickness top) and I've never heard anybody suggest that a burl maple top would sound better than a plain one either
"I've got a lot more sustain". You've got a Les Paul vs. Strat FFS, of course you would!
Lmao deadass haha
I've been using 11's for four month and I quite like them, I felt I had more clarity and brightness than with 10's but I can be wrong. I guess my next ones will be 9's to compare the extremes and make a decision
When you're Danish and you get to 15:40 and know exactly why Pete started laughing
As a Brit, please explain the joke to me please.
Max Scardanelli the word pick sounds like “pik” which means cock in Danish.
But didn't SRV tune down, therefore compensating the tension?
Gary Jovanovitch 13s in Eb
SRV also had a massive action. Like a bus could be parked under the gap between the frets and the strings on his guitar.
Roughly the equivalent of going 1 gauge down...
In his youth days, Stevie used 0,15 and 0,16 in standard tuning. Eventually he decided to use 0,13. I think he tuned a half step down cause for not get tired singing, but If wasn't for that all guitar players would being puting 0,13 in E standard on a vintage strat. I use 0,12 in a strat in E standard, and the sound is fantastic!
Rob, i love you but please play clean more often. especially when comparing tone.
Rob's amp has a much heavier tone, nullying the thinness of an 8' set. You could feel how thin it sounded on the other guys amp. String gauge changes tone dramatically when you are playing clean or slight overdrive. No wonder high gain players go for lighter strings, all that gain compensates and they allow for wild bending.
if you value your joints and ligaments, 10s or below.
I thought this was going to be an 8 string vs 12 string guitar battle video. Please do that
Dude, the sound of that Squier, clasic vibe 50's?
They've changed some specs on that Squier some time ago, so is not Stock
he modded it with a clapton mid-boost circuit and seymour duncans. Its on the customized guitar blabla video.
So in conclusion, those 8's sounded great.
I read that Slash uses Power Slinky (11s), which I love on my Jet.
Never liked Ernie Ball any heaver than that; however, I'm in love with GHS 12-52 on my strat
Regardless of gauge everything through Chappers rig sounded awesome!
Talking about Great Tone and not mentioning Gary Moore.🤔
@Angel Gary Moore isn't English......
Because he used a relatively normal gauge and this video is about the extremes of string gauges (thinnest and thickest)
At least up until 1969 Fender guitars shipped with 12s. Not that long before all you could buy was "Electric guitar strings" with no mention of gauge on the packet. All the iconic electric guitar designs of the 1950s were developed with heavy gauge pure nickel round wound strings, or heavy flat wounds (and wound thirds).
It seems that many professional guitarists were using a banjo top string to build a lighter string set long before the Ernie Ball Slinkys became commercially available, though.
Thank Terry thats why we argue and take in fun and I learned something never thought about what kind of strings they played in the 40s and 50s
What about Iommi and his banjo strings extra light. He has some serious tone. Godfather of Metal
I just recently switched from being a die hard heavy gauge string user to using 8's and even 7's and i think its the best thing I could've done for my playing and my sound hasn't changed at all