9s or 10s

scrumhalf

9's, I play with a light touch.

I was using 9-42s but I've switched to 9-46 on my Strat and it's an improvement. So far.

thegummy

Matt_McG said:

thegummy said:

The 10s are only not easy to bend if you're not used to them. 

For me, that isn't really true.

I've been playing guitar for 33 years, and I'm not the proverbial 9 stone weakling (not that there's anything wrong with that).  I'm 15 stone on a good day, and have fairly large hands, but I still find 10s slightly on the heavy side for full step or larger than full step bends, especially in lower positions on the neck. And as per my comment above, I have generally defaulted to 10s for most of the time I've been playing.

Interesting.

When I first went to 10s they felt stiffer but got used to them quite quickly.

The last time I put 9s on just to try them out it felt incredibly loose and wimpy and I didn't feel I had enough control.

Maybe it's because I'm used to bass strings that I find the 10s fine, rather than if I had just been playing guitar and persevered with them.

Matt_McG

I suspect we are all different in terms of how we adapt.

I like low tension strings on classical, too. Which are, actually, harder to play from a technique point of view, but which just sound and feel better to me.

LastMantra

Could someone please explain to me why it is so common for people to use thicker strings in gbn-types and thinner on fdr-types?
Never got that.

thegummy

LastMantra said:

Could someone please explain to me why it is so common for people to use thicker strings in gbn-types and thinner on fdr-types?
Never got that.

The scale length s shorter so the same gauge of string feels slacker on a Les Paul than it does on a Strat / Tele

Grunfeld

Hootsmon said:

if 9s are your bag do you find yourself breaking more strings than you would normally do as a 10s user?

Is there a drop in volume and oomph with them old skinny 9s?

I use 8s.  I don't break strings and there's no volume drop.

Beexter

Used to be 9's on everything but now on 10s or 9.5s. I must sweat acid and play like a hamfisted baboon as strings don't seem to last too long. The gauge doesn't seem to affect longevity 

brucegill

Currently use 10-46 but had a long spell using 11s. They were fantastic on a Tele I owned but I’ve realised they make a lot of guitars too muddy and just too much. and they loose there spank if that makes sense. Also found I play far too heavy handed now so maybe a trip back to 9s or at least 9-46 might do me a my technique a favour. 

rossyamaha

https://imgur.com/a/YvEAKrW

Adam_MD

10s on a fender or prs and 11s on a gibson for me. 

robinbowes

Trick question. The correct answer is, of course, 11s.

thomasross20

sweepy said:

Use 9.5's perfect for me on Strats 

Same on my suhr.

thomasross20

10s on PRS. 
One gauge lower on both acoustics (11s and 10s).

ICBM

10s or 11s. 9s feel like banjo strings to me, especially the B which is just too light even compared to the rest of the set.

I've recently gone down from 11s to 10s on a Fender scale, initially because I broke my arm and my hand strength was reduced, but even though it's better now I think I prefer the feel. On a Gibson/Rickenbacker scale I much prefer 11s - with a wound 3rd on a Rick, too - they just feel more solid and controlled. I think this is why they sound better, more than an actual difference in the tone itself.

HPhillipsmusic

I've never really understood the bending argument for lighter strings, presumably its just the G string that makes the difference as if you can bend a G string on a set of 9's, bending a B and E on a set of 11's is still easier? Am i talking rubbish? Not trying to be facetious.
Used 11's for years on all my guitars, but don't do huge bends all the time, just got to lean into them a bit more when the mood strikes!

Rabs

Hybrid player here too.. I used 9s most of my playing life but tried the Hybrids a few years ago.. LOVE them... To me they give you the best of both worlds.. Slightly thicker bass strings for rhythm playing and thinner high strings for bending and stuff.. I always recommend them when people ask what they want on their guitars.

RoadStar666

9-46 on Strats, 10-46 on Les Pauls..
 11-48 on offsets
have used Hybrids, but seem to have settled on Rotosounds now
I do use EB sometimes
this week I put a set of Fender superbullets on a Strat, I’d had the strings in the cupboard for about a year, and hadn’t used Bullets since the 80’s
the strings come in a cardboard pack, but sealed inside in twos
once strung, I noticed corrosion on the high E!
also the odd way they are packaged, in pairs, but not in any sequence, mean I put the wrong strings in the wrong position, and despite being .026 & .036, I had a bloody hard time telling which was which..even when correctly strung, the A & D, felt the wrong way round..more tension on the D

i have an old load of Rotosound odds and sods from many years, just single strings in paper packets.. none are corroded.
i do like Rotos but hate the way they are currently packaged all loose together 
which is fine if they just gave you 6 strings, but the free high E, which is wound with another string, just gets fouled up.. at least Gibson give you a free string and they are all wrapped individually 


I’ll not use Fender again

Calum13

9s on a guitar where I’m playing lead stuff, like a strat  and 10s, maybe 11s, on my jag, which I mostly use for playing distorted rhythm.

chris_john

I switched to 9s because I was suffering from some kind of repetitive strain injury in my wrists. As I've aged, my grip strength and endurance has decreased. I have a lighter touch now, so 9s just feel much easier and faster to play. 

OilCityPickups

10-52 on my Telecasters ... gives the best twang for buck. 9.5-46 on my Strats. 9.5-46 on my LP.

Swap to 9-42 sometimes if I'm playing stuff with lots of bends.