Preferred Strings Folks

BobRob

Just a feeler what's your preferred strings and gauges for Electric Guitar.
I'm newish to Electric and have just purchased a second hand Epiphone Prophecy plus Les Paul for  £200 with a Hard Case absolute bargain...strings fine at the moment but just wondering what strings folks are using and why....probably a stupid question as it's personal choice but just curious cheers Bob 

guitars4you

Ernie Ball and D'addario by a huge distance are my biggest sellers - new formats/materials come along by both companies - But the big sellers are still the nickel wound Slinkies for Ernie ball and D'addario nickel wound with their XL sets

As far as string gauge goes I nearly sell 2 to 1 ratio of 10-46 as against 9-42

I'd try 10-46 on your LP and take it from there - to light then next time try 11-49 - to heavy then try 9-46 or 9-42 - You have to try them to see which suits you, your guitar and playing style

Clashman

Myself Ernie Balls or Martin

JerkMoans

Almost invariably 10-46 for me.  Tried 11s and they felt like steel hawsers.  Not fussy about brand: Ernie Ball seem ubiquitous; got a good deal on a job lot of Gibson Brite Wires on Amazon so for now they're the string du choix.

In fact they're still up for grabs: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008ZC9PV0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

£17 for 5 sets seems pretty good to me!

ICBM

11s. D'Addarios of the more common brands, although I also like DRs and Newtones.

Plain G on more 'solidbody' guitars, wound G on more 'semi-acoustic' ones usually - it just seems to suit the different sounds better.

HAL9000

D'addario for me. Used to use EBs until I found that D'addarios sound new for longer. I use 9-42, or 10-46 depending on the guitar.

meltedbuzzbox

Daddario 11 guage in everything

guitarfishbay

D’Addario on guitar, acoustic, and bass.

Regular nickels on guitar, phosphor bronze on acoustic, and nickel or pro steel depending on the bass. String gauge by tuning

thegummy

I use D'addario but used to use Ernie Ball. I can't remember why I switched, I assume it wasn't just on a whim but can't be sure.

I like 10-46. Recently tried going down to 9-42 thinking it would be easier on my fingers and easy to bend but I didn't like the feel or the sound.

Winny_Pooh

Daddarios are standard for me
Blue steels if a guitar needs more bite

DaiCapp

D'Addario XL 10's for me. Tried a few different ones over the years but come back to these...

Jonathangus

Currently using Rotosounds because, well, they're cheap, and seem to last OK.  Bear in mind they're UK-made, so you're not paying the import costs compared with the big two (D'Addario and Ernie Ball).

As for gauges, 10-46 is pretty standard on a Les Paul scale.  If you're a new player, though, you might prefer a little less tension to start with; 9-42 would probably be a bit floppy, but D'Addario do 'half-gauges' (9.5-44) which might be worth a look.  Alternatively, 'top-wrapping' the tailpiece is supposed to lessen the tension slightly (but I've never done a direct comparison).

One last thing - keep a cloth in your case or on the stand, and wipe the strings down when you finish playing.  Cleaning the sweat and grease off the strings will help them last longer.

Lestratcaster

Ernie Balls for a long time. Had a brief stint with D'addario for a while but prefer Ernie's as they seem brighter. Means changing a bit more often but I don't mind too much. I use 3 different gauges, 10-46's in standard, 10-52's in drop d and 12-56's in drop c.

Philtre

I use D'Addario 9-42 EXL120 generally. Gibson Brite Wires are good, too. Lately I've been trying out Fender strings on my Tele. Quite like these as well. Will try D'Addario 10-46 EXL110 on the Tele soon.

richardhomer

D’Addarios on electrics - 9s on 25.5 scale lengths, 10s on Gibson. Martin Mediums on acoustics.

Voxman

D'addario EXL120 Nickel wound super light gauge 009-042

John_P

D’addario 9 - 46    I prefer the heavier bottom strings. 

Sassafras

Daddarios for years now.

Chris_J

Daddario here too

10-46 on Fender
11-49 on Gibson

12-53/54 on acoustic

Badnotes

D'addario 11-49 on Gibson, 10-46 on Fender. I like 13's  on acoustic. 

neilg

I used to use Ernie Balls and tried Elixiers a few years ago but didn't get on with them so went back to what I'd always been using, earlier this year I decided to try D'Addario NYXL's and haven't looked back since.

When it comes to guage I always use 9 -42, I've tried 10-46 but wasn't keen.