The impact of string gauge on tone

[scott7d]

one of the guys with the biggest tone of all....

allan holdsworth.

uses .008's.

LOL

I think Vai uses 009's or 008's too. Personally I find 10's to be a great balance of tone and playability.

 

[Rocky]

Vai, Petrucci, Di Meola, Satriani and EVH all use 9 gauge strings (Petrucci uses bigger strings on instruments that are tuned down)

 

[MusicManJP6]

I'm still a huge fan of the hybrids on my JPs, but the blue steel .09s are great on my strat copy Peavey!

 

[kingster911]

I too enjoy the hybrid slinks a lot of the time, I'm still young but have been trying to get to know my preference. I know by now at least that that preference is ernie ball! this isn't an endorsement I'm just sayin'...The new guitar world mag has a 3 page article guide to strings!@

 

[Axxis]

Well growing up playing guitar I always bought Ernie ball because they were fairly cheap. Then I started using elixirs because of the life of the strings. THen all of the sudden( i think I got a bad couple packs or something) I snapped two low E's in a row changing my strings during the first tuning! I havn'et broke a guitar string in 3-4 years and I was stunned. That basically made both of those packs useless and I was pissed. I know it was probably a fluke or maybe my tuner battery was dying, I dunno. I have a pretty good ear though and I'm sure that I didnt have em THAT far out. Anyways, I'm back to Slinky's now, no way I'm spending that kinda money on something that breaks.
----Everyone here says that the longer they play the lighter they like their strings. (well several of you said this anyways) I myself have been just the opposite. In my teens I played with 8's so I could bend easier, I loved them. Extra slinky's I think, b/c the super slinky's are 9's. Anyways, the older I got the heavier I like the gauge and now I'm all the way up to Power slinky's, lol. I love the fat bass rythym you get from 11's, lol. Maybe I should try those hybrids, I always wanted to.

 

[nomad100hd]

found the skinny tops heavy bottoms slinkies to be very unbalanced. I must have good hand strength because i've never had problems with 11 be hard t move around.

 

[thinskin57]

There you go, you've been quoted

that's been done here many times before. the joke is now old.

 

[Bleeding Recto]

I use D'Addario 12-56 on my Les Paul Custom and 13-60 on my Les Paul Classic all tuned drop C and i don't think i could use anything lighter. Don't think it really makes a difference to my tone, but it certainly helps with sustain and adds alot of girth to big chords.

Don't know about anybody else but i have severe problems using an unwound G string on my Les Pauls. They just don't seem to intonate correctly for me. Anybody else find this?

 

[coppa]

string tension plays a big role here.
have a look at the the string package it tells you the tension of each string when in tune. the low E is always the lowest tension and it should be much tighter so it doesnt give you flabby bass notes.

my fav set ever was a d'addario 10 ,but with the 46gauge low E swaped out to a 49gauge that gets it balanced pretty good big chords are big it doesnt compromise the clean sounds ..perfect IMO

 

[thinskin57]

string tension plays a big role here

i totally agree. as much as i love the feel of having my guitars tuned down a half-step, they unquestionably sound better when tuned up to 440. i guess all the extra tension gets all that wood and metal vibrating more, offering up a more "alive" sound to my ears.

 

[DeFrag]

Great string info at Snake Oil:
http://www.sobstrings.biz/articles_dean.htm

 

[Gtr_Pkr]

When I play in the AC/DC band as Malcolm, I only use Gibson 12-56 strings. I can nail Mal's tone with my JTM-45 clone and my Gretsch. When I was experimenting for a classic lead tone, I tried the light top, heavy bottom path. At the same time, I decided to go with nickel wrapped strings. I now have a lead and rhythm sound that I am very happy with. The strings are 9's on top and 10's on the bottom, and nickel plated. I use my volume knob around 7 to get my rhythm sound and kick it to 10 for leads. This works very well for me, and I have gotten positive feedback on my tone. When I want to go a little heavier, I'll bring out the distortion pedal. I use this setup with my TR, minus the pedal, and it rocks!!

Generally speaking about string gauges and the effect on tone....I notice that when I go heavier, the sound becomes fatter and smoother. Going lighter gives a thinner, clearer sound. Too light though doesn't sound good to me.

I enjoy tweaking way too much. Maybe I should be a guitar tech instead on an Accountant!

 

[tunedown]

I use D'Addario 12-56 on my Les Paul Custom and 13-60 on my Les Paul Classic all tuned drop C and i don't think i could use anything lighter. Don't think it really makes a difference to my tone, but it certainly helps with sustain and adds alot of girth to big chords.

Don't know about anybody else but i have severe problems using an unwound G string on my Les Pauls. They just don't seem to intonate correctly for me. Anybody else find this?

I tune to drop C also.

I've always played 10s or 11s and I've always had problems with my unwound F string on a Les Paul (or equivalent). I even play an LTD Deluxe now and I still have problems keeping the F string in tune. It's especially obvious during octave chords. At what string size is the F string wound?

I really don't like extra heavy strings and I usually play 10-46. I used to use DR but have been informed that DR string can cause me even more tuning issues because of the way they're manufactured and packaged. I was told that a DR string has a greater probability of variance from pack to pack (then some other brands) and so the DR strings that i used to intonate the guitar the first time may not be the same as the next pack of DR string that I use (which would throw my tuning off).

I recently switched to D'adarrios but I don't like them as much as the DRs and I think the strings are giving me a new problem too. When I hit an open chord, sometimes the chord will flatten out even when I haven't hit/strummed it too hard. So the string will kind of vibrate too hard and give me a "waaa-oohm" sound instead of a nice clean (in tune) chord.

I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll try Ernie Balls. What do you think? Has anyone (playing heavy aggressive stuff) had any luck with string brands other then DRs or D'Adarrios?

 

[MrBoggles]

personally i use sit 9-46
and 9-54 for my 7
back in the day i used blue steel for a while but they tarnish so fast and break so easily
went to D'adarios and they are great but again short life span
never had a problem with sit been using them for about five years think i've only ever broken 2 strings since using them

one thing i don't understand tho is why so many people do the whole drop c tuning. I really think any serious guitarist should own a seven string
(i am biased tho)
It makes life so much more interesting not to mention the versitillity.

 

[tremayne007]

DR's. best strings I have found. Last longer, and very rarely break.

11's on my PRS and 10's on my strat (the slightly longer scale of the strat increases the tension a bit compared to the PRS, according to my tech).

Anything lighter just feels too flimsy.

I used to play 10's on the PRS and I definitely noticed a tonal difference when I switched to 11's.

That being said, it really depends on rig, especially in terms of how much gain you are running, to how much you will here a difference. You could probably string you axe with dental floss and not hear a noticable drop in tone if you are running enough distortion

 

[fishyfishfish]

I would have to say that the string gage does affect tone a little, but I think the only person that would notice it would be you. I just went back to .009's after 21 years of .010's and I don't have a noticeable difference in tone. You might have a difference if say you went from .009's to a set of .012's on a Strat that is played on a clean channel tuned down a step but that's about all. I don't hear what string brand or gage a player is using, just the overall tone.