Why I'm Switching to Super Light Strings
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 พ.ย. 2024
- #guitar #stringgauge
Ever considering switching to lower gauge strings? Have you or not? If not, what held you back? In this video I'm going to discuss why I'm making the switch from 10s to 9s. If you want to try the strings I'm using in this video, find them here (Affiliate Links):
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I've played 9s since 1963. Had two broken strings, played every kind of music there was. The tone of 9s has always been the reason for me. Nice job Jack!
Billy Gibbons swears by the 7s he uses and said that he rarely, if ever, breaks any high E strings. Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar used 12s and had to give up playing until his carpal tunnel syndrome was fixed and rehabbed. He blamed the use of those heavy strings for his injury. Enough said. 🎸🇨🇦👍
I use 10’s over 9’s not because of tone but because of feel.
Good on you Jack! I use 8s on Fender scale guitars; 8.5s on Gibsons; and 9s on my 24” scale guitars. The feel is the same across all my instruments with these gauge strings. After playing 11s for years I switched to 10s for a few years. Once I made the jump down from 10s to 8s my tone and playing dynamics dramatically improved. I’ll never go back to heavy strings
Cool, I already have a set of 9’s waiting for me to string them up 🎸🤙
I use 9.5 to 44 s - they are a real sweet compromise.
I switched to 9’s and use nickel strings. Love the sound and very comfortable for big bends.
That opening line straight up killed me!
I play 11s as I divide my time evenly between acoustic and electric guitar, so the 11s feel more consistent between them and the 12s I keep on my acoustics. I have a percussive right hand technique, and like to dig in, so it just works for me. I am sure that someday when I get older I will gauge down, and that’s completely fine with me. I love the tone of players who use many different gauges of string. To me it’s all about comfort, and adjusting EQ/technique to make any gauge work
Cool!
Amen this what I do
10s here.
I like the 9s experience too, but haven't switched due to limited availability (in my area) and just simple familiarity.
There will come an age though when we'll all have to drop a gauge or 2, and facing that thought is uncomfortable but mostly inevitable.
I played 10s for most of my life. I watched Rick Beato’s video on how he preferred 8s. I was so inspired that I went straight to Guitar Center to buy 8s but they weren’t in stock; however, they had 9s and the rest is history. I now play 9s and I love them.
I like D’addario 10s on my telecasters, and Fender Super Bullet 9s on my Stratocaster.
Great video Jack! I moved down in gauge a few years ago which has really shown differences in opportunities In playing.
First I kinda made me a lighter picker which to my surprise resulted into more tone and sustain. It also was more comfortable as I was in the early stages of arthritis on both my hands and wrists.
Vibrato became more natural and personal as well.
I haven’t looked back since, tone wise and feel. Like they say, we are here to play music, not lifting weights ;)
I recently (6mo ago) tried out the “new” EB .0085/ .040 Slinkies and stuck with them, so far so good and like you no strings breaking ;)
I'm playing 9's on my 64 Strat only because I am getting back into it after 50 years and thought the strings would be easier on my fingers! I guess I'm lucky I did and looks like I'll stay there.
Ya know thats just it -- alot of people play 9s and somehow feel like "well, its just because..." and in all honesty, it can be "just because" you like them and they sound good. Some players make you feel like you're on the JV team for using lighter gauge strings when in reality, its nothing like that at all.
It took me a long time to realize that different guitars are best with different string gauges. I have a couple of strats, one of which feels slinky with 10's, while on the other, 10's feel like bridge cables.
I also discovered that different brands have different tensions: For example,, Curt Mangan 10's feel looser than D'addario 10's.
One other thing I figured out late in life is custom gauge strings: I mostly use 10-48, but I have my B and G strings from a lighter set (B is 12 and G is 16, as opposed to the typical 10 set gauges of 13 and 17). This makes a huge difference in ease of bends, because 9 times out of 10, I'm bending on the B and G strings.
There are more and more people switching to lighter strings. I also switched to lighter strings and ended up with 10s (ej20 jazz super lights from daddario) on a fender scale. Love a wound third string.
Your Videos are really entertaining and informative.
Wow, thanks for the input
Glad it was helpful!
From Leo: Depending on the guitar, I use a 9-42 set and replace the .009 with a .010. I can always turn the tone pot for less highs, but I cannot add more with the tone control. I tried .007 and .008 sets, but I kept pushing the notes too sharp even when not bending. I tend to use 10-46 with archtops, but they really need 12's, 13's or 14's with wound 3rds to come alive if you are not using the pickup.
Been using Super Lights and/or Ultra Lights. Luv'em. Thanks for the vid.
Wow -- they sound very clear and focused. Definitely noticing something similar with the low mids and cleaning up a lot of the muddiness that is present with thicker strings.
I had always used 10-46 then read about Hendrix used 10-38’s tried them and love em more balance to my ears always enjoy your vids 👍🔥🎸🦅
I've gone back and forth a couple of times over the past 30 years before settling on 10s for my Gibsons and 9s on the Fenders. To me they sound a bit better this way in standard tuning, but it's more about the feel. Probably has to do with the difference in scale lengths and the radius of the necks. It's all about what sounds and feels best for your playing styles on a particular guitar.
I use either 10s or a hybrid 9-46 depending on the guitar. I pick gauges based on feel rather than tone.
The tone is what counts. That is a personal choice. I prefer 9's for trebles and 10's for bass.
Hey Guys...
Having some of the same issues with tone that you've described, at the beginning of this year I've started using D'Addario 9.5/44s. Amazing as a new string. To me...shy of selecting individual string gauges, it has just the right amount of the best of both. Easy, but controlled bends, without being too light to where the fingers begin to loose the feel of the pull.
Beware though...I have found that, at least in the studio thru headphones, their tone tails off fairly quickly. I find that I'm changing out for new strings, about every other week...and that's playing about 2 hrs a day.
But they break in quickly, and if you don't mind changing your strings a little more than what your used to...perhaps these may work for you.
Be well...Dred.
Great Review Jack! I started playing in the ‘60s and at that time I was using Medium Strings, but then again they only made Light, Medium and Heavy Strings (no gauges were marked on the packaging) they were Gibsons. Some years later l started using 9s and all was still cool. I liked the ease of playing them. Then for some reason I started twisting the neck of the Guitar (then again I had been playing Bass for 10yrs). A Luthier friend of mine suggested using 10s. And I have been using them ever since! Love your Channel! Please keep ‘em common’! Cheers from Salem, Ohio US!
Thank you Rick! So I've heard that back in the 60s, to get light gauge strings one would have had to use banjo string sets -- any truth to that?
@@JackFossett I would say that was the early ‘60s. By ‘64 or ‘65 they did make them up in Sets but no gauges were displayed.
I use 9s on everything, even acoustics. It just works for me. On one of your tele videos you were saying how it’s more difficult to adjust your truss rod on a traditional tele , well stew Mac sells an offset screwdriver just for doing that adjustment without loosening the neck or removing the neck.
Late to the party but I'll throw my hat into the ring! I have been playing with 10-46 on my Les Paul since the early 70's. I did try 9's but found the sound a bit thin, especially when I was playing broken / arpeggiated chordal stuff, so it's been 10-46 ever since on all my guitars. I saw the Rick Beato vid and it was interesting. I guess having a lighter EAD might help in tightening up things for power chords and so on . . . open mind on that. I recently bought a Duesenberg Starplayer and it came with 10-50, which was intriguing. What I noticed was that the heftier low end got me writing more riffy stuff so I'm going to stick with their recommended gauges. On your SG comparison I found the 9's a bit tinny on the clean setting, frankly - some of the high single note stuff felt a bit too 'shrill' when a note popped for me. All that said, I may try 9's on one of my Strats and my PRS SE Custom ( they come with 9-42 anyway but I switched in the store when I picked it up and they offered to change them and check the set up etc) and see if my life changes. Thanks, as always, for another considered and musical vid! 😀
I have used 14’s, 13’s and for the past number of years 10’s but have also considered 9’s in the past year or so. I am slowly looking at 9’s as well. They are easier on the hands and sound about the same overall to-my ear.
9s on my rock/blues/country guitars. My Schecter has 11s for drop tuning.
I was forced to change to 9’s, after I had to rehab from a wrist injury, and have come to prefer them on my Strats, but still use 10’s on my Tele (mostly for feel, & not really tone).
I switched to Elixir 9's 4 years ago.I was thinking of going back to 10's .Maybe tomorrow. Really like the light set though seriously. Great playing by the way.
I really like 7's... Specifically Wiley Mexican lottery (Billy Gibbons). I threw a set of these on my modified Gibson Firebird zero and they are just so damn comfortable to play. And they work well on the longer strat scale guitars I think. For me, the key, is guitar pick attack. Soft and delicate. Slow and suave.... Like touching a woman. You don't have to smash strings all the time in order to play well and sound good. Cheers.
That s an interesting topic because from the music we love there are examples for great sounds with every gauge I guess.
B.B. was a huge guy, strong hands played 9" and his sound is legend even later through solid state amps.
SRV played 13" detuned and his sound was just perfect.
I personally think it depends on your mood, what you wanna play and the combination of gear. I like 9" with humbuckers on a semi-hollow 335 type for blues. But 12" flats on a 335 are great for jazz.
On a Tele I like 12" for blues and slideguitar. As well with Charlie Christian pickups.
A Strat is great with both thin and thick gauge. I guess I would use thin strings more with humbuckers since the PUs have more power and do not require heavy strings to create volume, on singlecoils I would use thicker strings for the opposite reason.
When you play classic jazz on an archtop strings can be 13" and sound great while playing fusion jazz like McLaughlin or Scofield 11" are fine on a 335.
The only guitar I don t like is a Les Paul. No matter what strings.
By the way. For bass guitar the strings are so important. Fat flatwounds give it such a great tone. Way better than roundwounds except for funk.
Always played 9s. Love em.
I like 11 through 50 pure nickel for my Fender guitars, 9's for Gibson scale. I used to play 13's so I have switched.
Hi Jack, there are some information in the internet: Rick Beato and Rhett Shull have done experiment as you said. BB King is also said to have adviced other guitarists not to work so hard.
So funny you mentioned that, I was going to mention the BB King quote and I just totally forgot to 😂
@@JackFossett I think the 9s and 8s may just have sweet vibration spot to create great guitar tone.
Interesting video. 9s are a bit too light for me. If I used 9s I'd break too many strings, but they sound good. I'm going to continue to use what I have always used.
I use 9.5 to 46 slightly easier than 10's.
I found that thinner strings forced me to lighten my touch. An unexpected effect from that, was that it increased my dynamic range. I'm using 9's on Fender-scale guitars, and 9.5's on Gibsons, and I won't be going back. I have a couple of packs of Billy's 7's, but I haven't gotten around to checking them out...
The 9's were instantly more fluid 10's left a gap between notes, where the 9's blended. Much nicer tone, and lot's of harmonics floating around. They have always been my choice for my Strat's. I play only clean, and am an upside down lefty, so have to stretch for my high C string.
I agree, they have more of an even quality to them.
As Angus Young uses 9s I thought I must be able to do it :) Works great on my SG! Such effortless playing! But I will keep some heavier gauges on other guitars (up to 11s) so that they are like "gyms" for my hands/fingers... :)
I'm thinking of trying the roto yellows for electric. Not sure which gauge yet, they were impressive. Adamas super lights on Acoustic guitar. I like lights too; I find people play guitars too hard for sake of argument I get better feeling when I play softly and just turnup the amp. Thats what they are for after all. But beauty is in the ears of the beholder so I'm not knocking anyone preference.
Run 9s on my Sheraton ii pro. Run 10 on acoustic 12 both Elixers. I run Martin 12's on my Martin. The toughest thing is switching back and forth between guitars in the pit or playing gigs. I tried Elixer 11's on the Martin and didn't like the tone. I love the 9's on the Epi.
your videos are the zen guitar channel for me.. Laid back plus. Love them! BTW I play 9's as well.
I love being the zen guitar channel. Suits me just fine!
Been playing 9s since day one. Tried 10s briefly, went beck to 9s. I don't have to prove that I'm tough by playing bigger strings.
I use 10’s. Personally I feel string gauge is 100% feel and what you play. You can EQ any gauge of strings to sound the way you want with a good amp etc. To me there’s never been an audible difference between string gauges; especially on electric guitars. This argument holds slightly more water on acoustics.
Exactly! People have to play what feels right for them, whatever gauge it is
Hi Jack. So....I use to play 9’s player for years. I switched to 10’s due to...I play for my church. I don’t do a lot of bending. For me 10’s was a nice compromise to a light-ish string but with enough tension to do the playing I do.
I can definitely see the tension of 10s being better for certain style of playing. Like I mentioned in the video, I have a pretty light touch, which makes the 9s really work for me.
Use to use 9s since the 80's but it's in the last couple of years of years I moved upto 11s before experimenting with string gauges. In the past month I've moved up to 12s on my electric in open D and 13s on my acoustic open C. For me it's all about the tension. Using 11s downtuned are abit too flappy for me but are ok in C standard.
Mostly a Fender type guitar player and prefer 10's in these guitars. However 9's on my Gibson type guitars feel about the same as those 10's on the Fenders.
Why this is?...Haven't a clue
It's a feel thing for me. Haven't noticed any loss of tone.
Bend a lot, so feel is important.
Of course the type of picks I use makes a big difference as do my string manufacturer😎👍
😎👍❤🖖
Love brother
I use 10’s on my les Paul and SG. 13’s on my PRS baritone. 9’s on my Jem 7v.
I find 9’s easier to bend and do vibrato. 10’s feel better for everything else.
I find string gauge sound only matters when it comes acoustic guitars. Heavier sound better.
Just went from 11s to 10s on both my electric guitars (Telecaster and semi hollow Gretsch). I play mediums (13s) on my D28, thinking of going to lights. I'm turning 48 this year and looking to be easier on my hands. I'm not changing gauge between my Fender scale and Gretsch scale mostly because I like to feel that difference in scale on the different guitars.
string gauge is a very personal thing same as any gear where options are present. Some players have heavy touch and would have all kinds of intonation problems while fretting notes and chords and pulling them out of tune, others have a light touch and playing heavy strings is uncomfortable and unnecessary. Take someone like Josh Smith who uses 13's and when someone else takes his guitar all the presence and attack is gone, when he plays it sounds great. I have guitars with 9s-11s and can play all of them just fine but I do prefer lighter ones because I don't like to be afraid of bends and with heavy strings there's only so much endurance until bends start having questionable intonation, while playing live with all the adrenaline it's as important to not overbend so it becomes a balancing act as most things in life are
I went back and forth ,10's and 9's depending on the scale length. 9 on strays and 10 on Gibson's.
My problem was and I am still working on it is my touch..
When talk about Billy Gibbons from what I have read is that he has a soft touch and has to to get by with 7's using a peso as a pick.
But to me and my emotional playing I tend to dig in with my picking hand for dynamics , which I have a hard time to control.
I think it's all about your touch and control of your playing technique,once you can do that you will have the control of the instrument..
As far as macho is consernd ,may guitarist develop hand and wrist problems from the SRV heavy string thing ,but Stevie had very strong hands from interviews I have read too.
I have seen old black blues players down on Beal street in Memphis playing on the sidewalk for tips with guitars held together with sheet rock screws and string hight of an inch above the fretboard and wonder how they can play the darn thing and sound good.... Go figure...
I think I read where BB king told Gibbons don't fight your guitar just turn your amp up or you will be wore out after the first set .
So lighter strings ,lighter touch is the way to go ,you will have to retrain yourself a little ....
I know alot of players who do exactly that, 9s on long scale length, 10s on shorter. Im switching all together to 9s for now but thats something I've considered for the future if the short scale prove too slinky. Plus I have a bunch of sets of 10s that I don't want to waste...
10's for me. Most of my playing/practice is done unplugged with my designated couch guitar (that's the cheap guitar I don't mind wearing frets out on). I think the difference between gauges is more apparent unplugged, and for me 10's sound and feel better. My better guitars are strung with 10's too.
Been playing 9's since the 70's. Own 6 Fender electrics, all came with 9's from the factory. Maybe they know something about the sound of their guitars. Do not see any need to change. Cheers.
I use 9-42 because i have strain injury on my fretboard hand, but i like the tone of 9's too now. Usually i use ernie ball. Those have little more loose feel than other strings.
i feel like string breakage has a lot to do with the variables in nut/bridge saddles
a binding sharp cut nut will always snap more strings than a smooth nut
the same can be said about the quality of machining done on the bridge saddles
I use 10s but set up my Strats (loosen the springs and slight truss rod adjustment) to make ‘em feel like 9.5s.
I think a lot of it depends on the individual guitar as to how it responds to different string gauges.
I've a Esquire that will in certain situations sound thin-ish when using 9s. Also, with that Esquire I tend to be heavy-handed and the 10s and sometimes 11s seem to hold up better.
I wish I had a lighter touch when playing, I think being heavy handed detracts from what is possible.
The 9's sounded better to me . . I'm a dedicated player of 8's, and I'm not looking back! :)
Swtiched about a year ago. Like the change but got to be careful with the low strings and chords. Pushing down to hard can make things sound out of tune.
9s are way to go clear and articulate...some guitars won't last a gig with 9s but that's at setup issues ...enjoy
9 - 46. The heavier wound strings sound chunkier for rhythm. Have done the A B comparison.
One of the reasons jazz guitarists prefer thicker guage strings is that, with progressions of complex chord shapes, the required finger contortions make it WAY too easy to pull chords out of tune with thinner strings. While I vastly preferred the clarity of 9s on my Casino, I just switched back to 10s because of this problem. Still have 9s on the Strats and Teles.
Yeah jazz is a whole different approach all together.
Ive played for a year only and use 9s on my fender scale length and 10s on my Gibson....no reason beyond that's what I started with on each guitar. I use Ernie Balls as they are often at a price point I like.
I exclusively use Curt Mangan round core pure nickel 9-46’s now. I tried almost every brand(even the cobalts/nyxl /etc)and gauge. The Curt Mangans in 9-46 feel and sound the best on all of my guitars. They are very different on the wound strings.
Everyone should try either the Pyramid Classics in the orange pack or the Curt Mangan Round Core Pure Nickel.
Oh, I haven’t broken a string in 25 years! All of my guitars are very well maintained. I clean and inspect my guitars every string change. It doesn’t take long if you do it every time.
Very nice -- I have some friends who swear by Curt Mangan strings also.
My Tele shipped with 9's. I have replaced them twice, but honestly, I prefer the sound of 10's on my Strat. My D'Adderio 10's on my Red Growler have a great tone, and since I also play acoustic, don't hurt my fingers. Heck my new Taylor K26ce is killing my fingers. And it has light strings on it.
All of my humbucker guitars, my Les Paul and my SG also use 10's. I am going to try some 11's.
I use custom, 10-38. 10, 13, 15, 26, 32, 38. Try a set of Stringjoy. Awesome!
Cool, thanks!
Dedicated player of 8’s here! ❤️
I use 9s and 10s on all my electric guitars, fenders and Gibsons. Depends on the guitar; and I don’t just mean 10s on Gibsons and 9s on fenders. Some of my gibsons ate better with 9s and some of my fenders are better with 10s and vice versa. I find it easy switching between the 2.
10’s go on ALL my “Gibson-style” set neck guitars. They just sound and feel right to me.
But on my bolt-on necks like my Charvel San Dimas get 9’s.
For the Humbuckers the 10's, might be too loud for pick-up, using low output single coils the 11's sound better. On fat sounding Gibson 9's are a little brighter. Angus Young uses Earnie Ball ss pink 9s. What ever works for you.
9s on the tele
Nice and slinky and bendy
10s on strats feel better tuned down half step and I have a heavy hand
Tone deaf so I just use what feels good to play!
Thinner strings (to a point) sound better on electrics - 9s rather than 10s, 10s rather than (the horror!)11s.
Why? Well, given that physics is not a matter of opinion, it is well-known that a thinner guitar string emphasizes upper-mids more than a thicker one. Electric guitars live in the mids to upper mids (approximately 80 - 1,200 Hz, although harmonics above the natural basic frequency of a particular string are largely prevalent, especially regarding the lower strings. Accordingly, a string that more readily reproduces the guitar's basic harmonic frequencies is the better string to use.
An interesting but ultimately unfortunate thing happened with regard to string gauge between 1983 and 1990. Some of you may already know of what I speak by those dates. The great Stevie Ray Vaugn came to world prominence in 1983 and so tragically died in 1990. In that period he was one of the world's most influential guitarists justly based upon his brilliant playing and remains so to this day. His style, energy, musical imagination, technique, tone, and touch were impeccable and exciting to hear. There was a joke going around then: How many guitarists does it take to imitate SRV? Answer - All of them.
It became well-known that he used very heavy gauge strings, .013s, etc., or higher, string gauges previously known only to jazz guitarists. Well, it was then that an entire generation of heavy-gauge using electric blues players was born, many of whom remain steadfastly if stubbornly in that camp even today. These guitarists stood and stand by the idea that SRV got his incredible tone from those heavy strings and, by god, if that's how it's done, I'm gonna do it too.
Well, apparently that's the way SRV did it - maybe. I mean how many other great guitarists use and have used .09s or at most, .010s? Like, most of them. It didn't take a genius to figure that string gauge was only peripheral to SRV's sound. Like everyone else, it mostly, largely came from his playing. Would he have sounded as good on a lighter set? While we'll never know, I think so.
So, that is how the modern use of heavier strings on an electric guitar came to be. For most players, they just drag the sound down to a more muddy, indistinct place and make playing so much harder than it needs to be. You need more volume? That's what the knobs on your amp are for. You want a fatter sound? Ditto. Increasing string gauge is the least efficient and most debilitating way to achieve a good guitar tone and, in fact, just may do the opposite. Why fight your guitar? For me, I'm at my best when the guitar just disappears from my mind as I'm playing and all that I'm aware of are the notes.
Yeah, IMO, the lightest strings you can comfortably play is the way to go.
I use 11s for Strat Eb tuning and 10s for the others with standard tuning. I like the feel of it, a bit of fighting with it, but definitely want some more flexibility like 9s. I will miss 10s if I change. Maybe I should go with 9.5s, but it's not really popular in my country (South Korea), so I just stick with 10s...
Tried 9s and 10s on 25.5 scale. Like the 9s better. Just put a set of 8s on a strat. The 8s are good too. Still using 10s on shorter scale instruments but will probably try some 9s next restring.
So i just got an epiphone les paul with 10s. I'm a 9's guy. Can i run nines on the les paul without having to modify the nut? What about the truss rod? Certainly the intonation would have to be fixed.
Hey Jack,
What kind of picks do you use? Has the gauge changed as your string gauge changed?
Thanks!
Always used the same, Fender teardrop medium guage
Just bought a used strat, the guy had 11’s on it. I threw a set of 9.5’s on it. Honestly, 9’s feel too noodly to me, so I compromised.
.....had no idea they made Elixirs for electric. Love em on my Taylor.
Yup! Been using Elixir electric strings nearly exclusively since 2004.
Listen to that angelic, almost acoustic sound on the Strat. That requires light strings and a softer touch. You can't get those tones by digging in hard with a heavy picks on 11's...
sticking to 9-11,5-15-22-30-42 for playability and string tension...
9's are definitely easier to play and they sound great. I bought a 25 pack of Super Slinkys and I like those. All my electric guitars have 9s or 9.5s on them now. I love Elixers too, but they're just too dang expensive.
The Nice gauge sound brighter!
10's work best for Me on My acoustic & electric guitars.
Strat: 10 to 38 in E flat / Tele: 9 to 40 in Std
Oh cool - first person I've heard from who does different gauges on Fenders. I know a lot of people who use multiple gauges based on scale length but thats really cool
@@JackFossett 10 to 38 for a late 60s Strat feel and tone, especially in E flat. 9 to 40 for a robust, slightly more balanced feeling in std. Although not that different in feel, it works out perfectly for me.
I like 9s more, I discovered they sound better for me a few years ago. But they don't work well when playing hard slide (e string only) and that's why I haven't switched to them yet. Maybe I should try to improve my technique or buy more guitars to use both gauges :)
9-42
Nice video, I clearly can hear the difference.
I went from 10 to 9 on all my guitars there is one year ago ; after buying a Tele Vintera with original 9 gauge.
To my ears, pro for 9 :
sweeter and warmer sound in crunch conditions ; I can ear the woody tone of my guitars in clean. More easy to play. A way better clarity with humbucker neck position.
Cons for 9 : I had to change my touch on the strings (less pression) to have the good pitch.
Pro for 10 : more thump and authority
🙂
Right on board. I'm actually not as into the "thump" so its not a con for me to not have as much. So far, touch on the 9s has been easier than I expected, but I think the real test will be once I've had them out live a handful of times.
As for the difference in tone between gages the fantastic Joe Bonnamassa says there isn't any.
I think he said he plays 9s. It's about feel for me, I like 9s because of the spongeyness of them.
I've gone down to 10s on my acoustic. Great videos Jack.🎸👍🏻
I'm betting that what Bonnamassa was getting at is that the tone quality doesn't suffer with 9s. If you play clean, there is UNDENIABLY a difference; thinner guage strings are clearer, with less of a "wooly" tone. It's like you're playing with less gain on the amp.
@@TH-camHandlesAreMoronic From what I remember Joe uses 11/52s’, at least for stage use. Not sure what he uses on his guitars he keeps at home. I believe he’s trying to say it’s all about feel when it comes to a string gauge choice. I love all kinds of players who use many different string gauges
@@LucasHaneman Agreed. "Ideal" string guage is subjective. Even for the same player, it varies depending on the guitar, the music, and the amp.
I seem to recall reading a quote from JB saying he thought 10s were the best but needed 11s for more durability touring. Not sure if thats accurate but thats what I have in the vast recesses of my memory.
I tried 9s on my white Les Paul a couple weeks ago and broke two strings after only 45 minutes.
I use 11's, I much prefer the feel. And 12 on acoustic. Suits me fine.
Cool!
I agree that 9s are comfortable... but is that just because I'm used to 10s? Maybe it always feels more comfortable to have less tension than you're used to. I'm worried that if I play 9s all the time, I'll get used to them, my hands will get weaker, and then I won't get any benefit from using the 9s anymore.
The same concern has kept me from switching as well
Hi. I'm wondering if, 9 months down the road, you are still using 9 gauge? Thank you.
As of 3 years ago, 9's on all my electric guitars. Just easier to play, why should I have to work so hard. No noticeable diff from 10's for me.
You like .009s? Try .008s. They're even better but, like s was going to .009s, they require some time, practice and a lot of relaxing to play using them. That above all else BTW, will improve your playing in every way to a great degree. So, with thinner strings you get better tone, you can relax, and you improve the nuance and musicality of your playing. Win, Win, Win.
I used .011-.049 D Addarios NYXL
i started with 9s, moved up to 11s, then moved back to 9s. thinking about a set of 8s for the les paul. i tried to play an old guitar i have that still has 11s on it, just hasn't been used much in years, and it was so hard to play i had to put it down after 30 minutes. i have no idea how anyone could play strings that heavy professionally without destroying their hands - you would have to tune at least a half step down, whole step for my hands. really not sure how i did 11s for a few years. guess i got used to it, but then lost the finger strength after i stopped using them. still i can't imagine it being healthy to use 11s in standard long term if you play a lot of lead. the
I like 7s and 9s better than 10s. Gonna try 8s next
Elixir 9-42 Optaweb. You will never go back!