String gauge?

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 6:46 pm

They go sharp for me with 9s. God knows what it would be like with 8s. I'm not a delicate player - I wish I was.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:13 pm

NickD wrote:They go sharp for me with 9s. God knows what it would be like with 8s. I'm not a delicate player - I wish I was.

I didn't think you were a particularly heavy handed player from what I recall.
You see some guys that strum aggressively from the forearm. I'm sure The Hives guitarist emphasized it just for effect.
I use my wrist, or pivot my hand on the bridge.

Didn't Proggy Rob use heavy strings, 13's I think, for that woman tone.

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:47 pm

More inaccurate left hand than heavy handed right - my right hand is similar to yours. I end up bending strings too far and pulling chords out of tune with light strings, although it may have a lot to do with what I'm used to.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:49 pm

11s everywhere... they're a little bit stiff on Strat and Tele, but great elsewhere for how I play.
Testing guitars in-store always feels a little gross

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sat Jul 22, 2017 2:23 pm

Fran wrote:
Doog wrote:I think it really depends on your playing style; one of the biggest differences between light and heavy strings is how sharp they go on the initial attack, especially if you really dig in. Was watching this earlier, a bit waffley but interesting

[youtube][/youtube]
(jump-to links in the description)

In the above video, there's some differences for sure, but nothing an EQ knob wouldn't readdress. I think so much of this stuff is about what feels right to you. That shit is gonna have an effect on your playing, which will have an instant effect on the whole shebang. We're nae robots, capn.
Quite interesting. I didn't know Billy Gibbons uses 7's

Thinking about it, I'm quite a delicate player, which is maybe why the strings don't go sharp for me.

Was going to mention Billy when you posted about 8s.

dylanafghjkl · Post by **dylanafghjkl** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:52 am

dezb1 wrote:
Fran wrote:
Doog wrote:I think it really depends on your playing style; one of the biggest differences between light and heavy strings is how sharp they go on the initial attack, especially if you really dig in. Was watching this earlier, a bit waffley but interesting

[youtube][/youtube]
(jump-to links in the description)

In the above video, there's some differences for sure, but nothing an EQ knob wouldn't readdress. I think so much of this stuff is about what feels right to you. That shit is gonna have an effect on your playing, which will have an instant effect on the whole shebang. We're nae robots, capn.
Quite interesting. I didn't know Billy Gibbons uses 7's

Thinking about it, I'm quite a delicate player, which is maybe why the strings don't go sharp for me.
Was going to mention Billy when you posted about 8s.

wow i really want to try 7s, i've noticed the lighter gauge strings the more i enjoy playing the guitar

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:29 am

Seeing as two local guitar shops have just closed it looks like I'll be buying strings online in the future. Obviously bulk is the way to go so maybe gone are the days of spontaneously just trying some of these on this.

Do most folk on here buy strings in bulk online?

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:32 am

dylanafghjkl wrote:
dezb1 wrote:
Fran wrote: Quite interesting. I didn't know Billy Gibbons uses 7's

Thinking about it, I'm quite a delicate player, which is maybe why the strings don't go sharp for me.
Was going to mention Billy when you posted about 8s.
wow i really want to try 7s, i've noticed the lighter gauge strings the more i enjoy playing the guitar

I think I'll try these at some point...

LINK

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:16 am

I think they'd be hopeless for me; I would be constantly out of tune.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 2:52 pm

BearBoy wrote:I think they'd be hopeless for me; I would be constantly out of tune.

Do you play like these?

P.S. Just ordered a set.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Sun Jul 23, 2017 3:15 pm

It's more my fretting hand than my right hand that's a bit over enthusiastic. Maybe I'd be able to adapt but I'm just used to much heavier strings and so when I play anything strung with very light strings I find myself being too heavy handed and sending everything sharp.

Post by **Doog** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:38 am

Fran wrote:Seeing as two local guitar shops have just closed it looks like I'll be buying strings online in the future. Obviously bulk is the way to go so maybe gone are the days of spontaneously just trying some of these on this.

Do most folk on here buy strings in bulk online?

Yeah, dem 3 or 5 set-in-a-pack of D'Addarios have always been my go-to for years. Although I've busted like 3 high E's in a row so have a load of 'Keith Richard' sets to look forward to..

George · Post by **George** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:58 am

The only reliable 9 or 10 sets to work on my Bratomaster's Jazzmaster trem are Fender Bullets. Every other brand I've tried has unwound at the bottom of the high E string at some point. Sadly my local music shop doesn't sell them but they perform really well. No windings round the tailpiece means they look quite dapper, too.

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:21 am

George wrote:The only reliable 9 or 10 sets to work on my Bratomaster's Jazzmaster trem are Fender Bullets. Every other brand I've tried has unwound at the bottom of the high E string at some point. Sadly my local music shop doesn't sell them but they perform really well. No windings round the tailpiece means they look quite dapper, too.

I had this problem when I used D'Addarios. I always tin the e & b strings with solder before I string up. It stops them unwinding.

George · Post by **George** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:31 am

I had experimented with soldering the windings before switching to Bullets. I found it didn't really help, and there's an additional amount of work involved with soldering. If I didn't like the Bullet sound and feel, or they were very much more expensive than Ernie Ball or D'addarios (they're about the same price), I'd probably suck it up and solder them, though.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:07 pm

I must be several years since I last played with 7s, which were my standard for probably 20 - 25 years. I tend to use 9s these days.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:52 pm

Doog wrote:
Fran wrote:Seeing as two local guitar shops have just closed it looks like I'll be buying strings online in the future. Obviously bulk is the way to go so maybe gone are the days of spontaneously just trying some of these on this.

Do most folk on here buy strings in bulk online?
Yeah, dem 3 or 5 set-in-a-pack of D'Addarios have always been my go-to for years..

This^

plaidbeer · Post by **plaidbeer** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:58 am

9s on my Strat and Tele for no particular reason other than I've had carpal in both hands in the past and don't ever want that to become an issue again.

10s on my Jag and Epi LP Special (and I think my acoustic)

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:24 am

Johno wrote:I had this problem when I used D'Addarios. I always tin the e & b strings with solder before I string up. It stops them unwinding.

I've used D'Addarios for years. Never tinned the windings, though. I'd be concerned that it would weaken things, rather than making it stronger. I've haven't problems with strings coming apart there, either.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:43 am

Behind-the-nut bends, a la Rory Gallagher, are a lot easier with lighter strings, though he used to use 10s.