Is string gauge important? Check out this vid

guitars4you

There has been chatter for years about thicker strings ='s bigger sound, especially when SRV came on the scene using 12 or 13's

Yet so many player we rave about including there tone use a very slinky gauge like a 9 or less - Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, Santana, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Vai + Satriani, EVH and maybe most surprising of all with his big tone is BB King, Jimmy Page

I think the key issue is to select a gauge that you can handle and feel comfortable  with - No use saying I'll have a set of 11's to get a bigger sound, yet in reality can't play or bend them, in which case you'll get a poor sound anyway

ROOG

I have recently switched a couple of guitars to 8's and 9's having persevered with 10's and 11's for years mainly out of macho attitude. (Rolls eyes). I am supprised at how little different they sound to the heavier gauges, however my clumsy beginner playing shows up more, particularly in the bass end where strings seem to buzz more readily. I'm going to stick it out, and see how I feel after a couple of months.

pintspiller

I chose 10s after a few years of trying different guages and brands. I was on apprentice wages when I began and used heavy strings for financial reasons. They didn't break so quick. The bridge on my Hondo could have been at fault though. That ruled out lighter strings and I settled on 10s by D'Addario.

Fez

@ROOG your guitar might benefit from a set up which should sort out the string buzz.
I didn't remember using 8's in the 70's but must have if the round plastic Picato "tins" were red for 8's as I have one here.

ROOG

Thanks @Fez  agreed, I have since raised the action very slightly which helps, but it is my observation that the light gauge strings do feel a bit baggier! 

JayGee

.008s were pretty much the default amongst my peers when I started playing back in 1975...

FWIW my take on this is that feel is all. 

If it feels right (for you, on your guitar, with the rest of your rig, playing what you play) then The Tone will follow...

For me what feels right these days is 9-46.

Fez

ROOG said:

Thanks @Fez  agreed, I have since raised the action very slightly which helps, but it is my observation that the light gauge strings do feel a bit baggier! 

Without knowing what guitars you have I would agree that 9,s on a Les Paul would feel a bit loose.

oldfoxy

JayGee said:

If it feels right (for you, on your guitar, with the rest of your rig, playing what you play) then The Tone will follow...

This

guitars4you

I think part of the reason so many 'old stagers' from the 70's used 8 gauge was due to vintage frets

With modern guitars like a PRS with a 10" radius and jumbo frets, then even a 10 gauge feels slinky - I've heard many players try such a guitar and ask 'is this strung up' with 9 gauge

I re-string most shop guitars with 10-46, but occasionally on say a 70's Strat or Tele then I might go back to 9-42

guitars4you

ICBM said:

Yes. There were even 7s, and 6s too - really! Have a look at the old ad pic under "1980's" on Rotosound's website...

http://www.rotosound.com/history-4/

I can recall the 7's and 6 gauge strings in the Rotosound catalogue - not sure if I ever sold any - Can't recall if I ever had any single 7's or single 6's top E strings in the custom single boxes we all stocked

Philly_Q

I remember the very first time I bought a set of strings, around 1981 or 1982, I went for 8's because that was the "done thing" at the time. 

It was a weird Gibson set which actually turned out to be the same gauges as a standard 9-42 set, but with an 8 rather than a 9 for the top E.

Anyway, I put them on my Hamer Special and hated them.  As I remember it, there didn't seem to be enough "energy" in the strings to make the guitar vibrate.  It was like it had died.  So I went out and got a set of Dean Markley 10s and I've used 10s ever since.