Going up or down in string gauges? Now general string adventures

thegummy

skullfunkerry said:

Philtre said:

Anything less than 11's on a Strat and you're a WIMP. The tone is so much better.

Cain, is that you?

Wow you must have a very guitar based real life if you have a friend who's named after a guitar pedal and sends you photos of string gauges

skullfunkerry

thegummy said:

Wow you must have a very guitar based real life if you have a friend who's named after a guitar pedal and sends you photos of string gauges

Haha! His real name is Cain, but his nickname is Super Overdrive as it's his favourite OD pedal (although I think I'm the only person in his life who calls him that). I have a lot of people stored in my phone by their nicknames. My favourite being 'Rotating Wobbly Hat'  

thegummy

skullfunkerry said:

thegummy said:

Wow you must have a very guitar based real life if you have a friend who's named after a guitar pedal and sends you photos of string gauges

Haha! His real name is Cain, but his nickname is Super Overdrive as it's his favourite OD pedal. I have a lot of people stored in my phone by their nicknames. My favourite being 'Rotating Wobbly Hat'  

Never tried that pedal, is it a Leslie sim?

FelineGuitars

I stepped down from 10s on my Les Paul & flying V style guitars to 9-46 (hybrid set) as I was just not enjoying playing the treble strings from the 10s (should practice more)

However I found that if I tuned down a half step to play tunes by bands that tune like that the 9-46 was too sloppy, yet the alternative that was available of 10-52 was a bit much, so I cooked up a set that was half a set of 10s and half a set of our 11s and found they worked a treat.  Impressed enough to make it part of our string line 

kennedydream1980

I played standard 10 gauge for around 8 years this was predominantly on hardtail guitars. Then in August this year I picked up a Charvel Pro Mod with Floyd that came with 9's on. I haven't felt any need to change them so I guess I play 9 gauge now :-)

soma1975

Right, I have ordered the only set of 10-38s that will get here tomorrow just to test it out - GHS Boomers. 

Will report back. Currently got a new set of Pyramid 10-48s on so expecting a major change. 

thegummy

Could someone put these in order from slackest to tightest? : 

• Strat with 10s tuned to E

• Strat with 10s tuned to Eb

• Strat with 9s tuned to E

• Les Paul with 10s tuned to E

Also, which of the 2 would be closest in slackness?

sweepy

9.5’s on Strats/Suhr/Anderson
10.5’s on Tele/Jazzmaster/Les Paul

Fishboy7

I find 9s completely unplayable, but can happily switch between 10s and 11s. 

Actually if tuning down a half step, I'd definitely go for 11s. 

ICBM

thegummy said:

Could someone put these in order from slackest to tightest? : 

• Strat with 10s tuned to E

• Strat with 10s tuned to Eb

• Strat with 9s tuned to E

• Les Paul with 10s tuned to E

Also, which of the 2 would be closest in slackness?

Hard to say precisely because the ‘tightness’ can be affected by the string brand, and various factors with the guitar and even the setup, for a given true string tension, but -

Obviously the Strat with 10s in E will be the tightest. The other three will be more similar, but the way I feel it, the Strat with 9s in E will be the loosest and feel the most different - but this is partly because the B in a standard set of 9s is too light, and I tend to feel that most when I bend. The Strat in Eb and the Les Paul in E will probably be the closest to each other. But you would have to try it with the same brands of strings on all of them to be sure.

gordiji

thegummy said:

Could someone put these in order from slackest to tightest? : 

• Strat with 10s tuned to E

• Strat with 10s tuned to Eb

• Strat with 9s tuned to E

• Les Paul with 10s tuned to E

Also, which of the 2 would be closest in slackness?

I'd say 9's , 10's e flat  , LP 10's  , Strat 10's

BRISTOL86

Have always played 10s but after a long break and only just coming back, I’ve overdone it and blistered two fingertips to fuck bending 10s. 

I’ve ordered some Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky which I think are 9-46 so it’ll be interesting to see if I notice any difference on bending. 

DLM

thegummy said:

Could someone put these in order from slackest to tightest? : 

• Strat with 10s tuned to E

• Strat with 10s tuned to Eb

• Strat with 9s tuned to E

• Les Paul with 10s tuned to E

Also, which of the 2 would be closest in slackness?

@thegummy You can do it yourself or outsource it to someone bored on here lazyweb stylee with this: http://stringtensionpro.com/

FarleyUK

I keep alternating between 11-49 and 10-52... still not sure which I prefer TBH.

soma1975

go 11-52?

Wolfetone

I went down to 8's on my Strat a while back and opened up a whole new experience.

soma1975

My 10-38s arrived but just as they did I dialled in the greatest tone on my strat/marshall/fuzz face/vibe I have ever had and I'm loathe to change anything while it still sounds glorious. 

Will do it soon once my kid changes all the settings.  

thegummy

DLM said:

thegummy said:

Could someone put these in order from slackest to tightest? : 

• Strat with 10s tuned to E

• Strat with 10s tuned to Eb

• Strat with 9s tuned to E

• Les Paul with 10s tuned to E

Also, which of the 2 would be closest in slackness?

@thegummy You can do it yourself or outsource it to someone bored on here lazyweb stylee with this: http://stringtensionpro.com/

I was just being lazy hoping that someone already knew the answer but I've done the comparisons using that website and here are the results, in order from slackest (Strat with 9's E Standard) to tightest (Strat with 10's E Standard):


So the closest in feel are the Strat with 10s tuned to Eb and the LP with 10s tuned to Standard.

Was kind of expecting that really, I've tuned one of my Strats down to Eb and it does feel more like a LP in the way that bending feels a lot nicer but it also doesn't feel too light and flimsy and easy to play out of tune like I remember when I last tried 9's on a Strat.

soma1975

Right. Had to stay up late last night so changed the strings. 10-38s. 


These are the gauges. No problem with bending to correct pitch. Definitely faster and I've been experimenting with medium gauge picks which seem to work very well with them. Tonally maybe it doesn't have the girth in the low end if you're chugging on the E-string but the sweet brightness and snap is a valid thing all on its own. 



I've been enjoying being tuned to Eb, at which point the g-string and the a-strings are really getting a bit flappy. Usable but a smidge more tension would improve things. 

I think a custom set of 

10
13
16
26w
34w
42-44w

Could work. 

soma1975

Right so I've now put some Curt Mangan 10-46s on 

Sound lovely but I think I prefer the lower tension of the equivalent Pyramid Classic Nickel sets. If they did a 10-44 set I think might be the perfect middle ground.