Les Paul advice please - string gauge/action?

CDM83

i've played a strat as my main guitar for years  - set up with 10s and not overly low action, so i can dig in a little. 

just got hold of a lovely les paul. The action feels a bit on the low side (although absolutely no choking) and the strings feel quite light with 10s. 

I'm after Kossoff tones really. Would people recommend going with 11s ? maybe that'll raise the action slightly . Or stick with the 10s for now and see how it goes for a while ? 

Any advice welcome. 

hotpickups

I use 11s and a fairly high action compared to some players I know. Gives it a much fuller sound IMO also my strings don't break half as quickly. But then again I do punish them a bit

mattdavis

I suspect they feel light cos of the scale length change from a strat to a les Paul. It'll always feel slinkier than a strat - it's part of the les Paul thing. 
Think maybe this thread needs moving though :-)

Gadget

You might get more answers in the 'Guitar' forum, rather than the 'FX£' mate.

stratman3142

I use a gauge higher on my Les Paul compared to my Strat. In my case it's 9's on my Strat and 10's on my Les Paul.

 I like an action that's a bit higher than the manufacture's settings on my guitars.

As a huge Kossoff fan (I was obsessed with his playing in the early 70's when I was starting out) I think the string gauge might be a second order factor in getting his tone.

I like slightly lighter strings for legato reasons but I find heavier strings are better for picking every note. But that's just personal taste.

CDM83

moved forum...

thing is, i don't want to play a les paul like i play a strat. And maybe, lighter feel/lower action is part of the les paul thing. 

but just wondering if most LP players tend to go up a gauge of strings (compared to their stats etc)?

richardhomer

I always go a gauge higher on Gibsons than I use on Fenders, just to make the string tension similar.

That said, I'm a wimp - 9s on my Strat, 10s on my 335..,,

stratman3142

CDM83 said:

moved forum...

thing is, i don't want to play a les paul like i play a strat. And maybe, lighter feel/lower action is part of the les paul thing. 

but just wondering if most LP players tend to go up a gauge of strings (compared to their stats etc)?

I know what you mean. The action on my Les Paul is a bit lower than my Strat. Also, the frets are lower on the Les Paul (although not silly low like the 2015 models). At first I didn't like that but now I'm starting to get used to it as part of the different feel of Les Paul. However, my wimpy 9's (that I use on a Strat) would definitely be too light for me on a Les Paul.

Bridgehouse

Yep. I use 11s on Gibson scale and like it a lot. I don't possess a Fender at the mo but would have 10s as a preference

ICBM

11s. It's one more innit.

jimmyguitar

One thing to bear in mind going from a strat to a les Paul is that a strat has a floating bridge (how much depends on set up but it's still floating a bit) and this means you have to try harder to bend the note to pitch. For this reason I can see why 11's would feel better for you on a fixed bridge guitar. I like 10-52's on both my lp and strat though so everyone's different I guess.

Skipped

Sounds like it is set up for 10s. No choking.

I would stick with 10s, raise the action a little, and give that a good trial.

Voxman

At the moment I use 9-42s on all my electrics.  I might try 10s on my les paul just to see how I get on with them and if there's any tonal difference but I can't see me ever going to 11s. 

Bridgehouse

Voxman said:

At the moment I use 9-42s on all my electrics.  I might try 10s on my les paul just to see how I get on with them and if there's any tonal difference but I can't see me ever going to 11s. 

I thought that about 6 months ago when I was on 9-46 hybrids - then I went to 10s and finally just thought 'sod it' went to 11s and have not looked back. 

At at first you think it's telegraph wire, but within half an hour it's all just more natural.

To be fair, I spent a lot of my musical years on acoustic, mandolin and octave mandolin so maybe I'm biased towards a bit more 'fight' - but still...

Go on, try 10s then try 11s - you will be amazed...

Guitarse

jimmyguitar said:

One thing to bear in mind going from a strat to a les Paul is that a strat has a floating bridge (how much depends on set up but it's still floating a bit) and this means you have to try harder to bend the note to pitch. For this reason I can see why 11's would feel better for you on a fixed bridge guitar. I like 10-52's on both my lp and strat though so everyone's different I guess.

 

I've recently put 10-52s on my 335, and they're perfect. Love 'em.

p90fool

I regard Strats and Les Pauls as different instruments, and am not particularly bothered about trying to make them feel the same. They don't sound the same, so why bother?

I use the same strings on everything amplified, even electro-acoustics.

RandallFlagg

On my R8 I use 10-46 and action is 5/64s low E to 4/64ths high E with 0.010 relief. It plays very nicely with that setup.

I am switching to 11-48 Power Slinky's at next string change on my Les Paul and Tele and going to .013s on my acoustic

welshboyo

I'm on 10-52's at the moment on my R7 and 70's Custom.

Will probably go back to 10-46 as I feel I've lost a little slinkiness in the playing feel.

roberty

Skipped said:

Sounds like it is set up for 10s. No choking.

I would stick with 10s, raise the action a little, and give that a good trial.

I agree with this - you you may find the perceived tension is higher when you have to push the strings down further

CDM83

ok, thanks all. how easy is it to raise the action on a LP ?  best get it done professionally ? 

roberty

There's two thumbwheels under the bridge that can be used to raise or lower the action there.  I find slackening the strings off first makes it easier to raise the bridge.

If you're worried about ruining your lovely Les Paul it may be worth getting a cheap guitar to experiement with.  I've learnt a few things the hard way (mostly how not to jab things with screwdrivers).  Save you money in the long run (edit: on set ups).