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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
 Posted - 08/31/2008 : 08:14:08
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I'm sure this must of been covered before( and i hope it's in the right section... are strings classed as gear...?) but i was running out to a gig last night and i needed to change the strings on my strat...the only ones i had was a packet of .011's i tried using a while back(i normally use .010's)..the difference in sound was amazing and i can't believe i never noticed it before..... much fatter and smoother sounding...part of the reason i went back to .010's was because i wasn't playing much acoustic and i found the .011's a bit hard to play but since i got the walden acoustic ( it came with .012's)i started using .011's on it and playing it a lot around the house,so even though i found them still a litle bit harder to use on the electric,i think it's worth it..i'm still in shock that something so simple could have such a big impact one my sound... .......... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 08/31/2008 08:15:55 |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 09:11:30
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Hi FRANZONI
I'm not surprised that you are very pleased with the tone of your guitar running 11's.
Just quietly I use 11's on all my gigging electric guitars, but had Blackie set up with 10's, but had the Trem. locked/blocked back to the body for the tone.
I use Phosphor Bronze 11's on one of my Acoustics, that I tune to "Open D" not dropped D.
The rest of my acoustics run 12's .
My new All Brass Acoustic resonator (picture soon), is now fitted with 12's as well  .
My Guitar Tech & 12 months of playing, has convinced me, to switch exclusively to the Italian branded Gali - Rockstar strings, for both electric & acoustics (where available).
I've played the Ti.ts off Blackie & the strings still rock.
Gali are well known & regarded, for their strings in the Orchestral world.
If you're really keen, try a set of 13's for a real surprise.
Of course this jump in string gauge, will probably require a slight tweak to your Intonation.
Now go play someones Strat of Tele fitted with 9's you'll  as to how poor the tone really is, but man can you bend them....
Regards Dr. Bob |
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 09:22:20
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Franz:
back when i was wasting money on studio gear instead of saving up for new guitars i tried everything i could to fatten up my strats... replacement pickups, amps, eq's, etc...
ended up gradually moving up in string gauge.
peaked at 13-58's w/ a wound .019 2nd string and a wound 3rd string.
it always floored people when they would play my guitar and they were shocked by the fullness and low end. i used to play in DGCFAD tuning a lot back then as well, which helped with the string tension.
downside was that it really carved the crap out of my frets.
the hard part about it is that every step up in gauge will affect the tone by a noticeable margin... but at the same time there becomes a point where it's too hard to play the damn things. |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 10:19:14
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quote:
Originally posted by zentropa
Franz:
edited
it always floored people when they would play my guitar and they were shocked by the fullness and low end. i used to play in DGCFAD tuning a lot back then as well, which helped with the string tension.
Hey Zen
I just returned the Fender Acoustic to DGCFAD
Kept me amused for the past 45 mins or so, I don't normally play (2 half steps) down,
With the 12's on the Fender, it still sounded pretty cool.
Swamp takes on a whole new meaning, down there. 
Don't post any my, I'm a sucker for alternate tunings...
You'll keep me up all night again, Insomnia & Alt. Tunings don't go well together, when you have wife/partner a family as well.
Regards Dr. Bob |
Edited by - Dr. Bob on 08/31/2008 15:56:13 |
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 10:41:06
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DGCFAD is only 1 step down :P
hehe. i didn't use it for darkness. more that i wanted my open chords to sound f'n huge. i used to play 12 strings a lot as well |
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Dirk
Platinum Member
Netherlands
1309 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 11:51:05
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Bigger strings also stay in tune a lot better.
Plus there's more mass, which means more sustain and tone.
I've been using .11s for years.
And I also noticed what a huge difference it makes tonewise
when I changed the stock .09 set on a new guitar to .11s. |
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jaymzHal
Silver Member
United Kingdom
297 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 12:48:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Dirk
Bigger strings also stay in tune a lot better.
Plus there's more mass, which means more sustain and tone.
I've been using .11s for years.
And I also noticed what a huge difference it makes tonewise
when I changed the stock .09 set on a new guitar to .11s.
I had a very similar change a while back, I put Elixir light-heavy strings (10, 13, 17, 32w, 42w, 52w) on my PRS SE with wraparound bridge and it absolutely sustains forever. Drop D absolutely grinds without the flappy bottom end you get with strings that are too light. As well as this, the high strings aren't impossible to bend. Oh, and quite a few months down the line they still sound, feel and look new.
I still have nines on my strat however, does anyone find that when they switch to tens or elevens that it loses all the twang? because that's what I like about strats, the quacky twang. |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 17:21:38
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Thanks for the replies guys...
Zentropa.. i know what you mean bro' about wasting the money..i'm sure that some of those things probably similar to what i've done.. speaker changes,output and preamp valves,pickups etc.... they probably help too..i know going back to the original celection greenbacks in my cab was also a huge thing...
jaymzal... i too like fenders for the 'quacky twang' we did 'sultans of swing' last night in the set and of course we haven't played it in weeks and as soon as i move up a string gauge..... i normally do it knopfler style with the thumb and fingers and i really had to dig in.this brought about too positive side effects...
1/ it keeps your 'head in the game'.......
2/ sometimes slowing down a bit in note choices isn't a bad thing either.......
i play a sort of hybrid rock/country/blues style with a little bit of folk and jazz type licks as well,i should also point out that i'm left handed and play right handed guitar so my left hand is naturally very strong,and this my give me a bit of an advantage in string bending which is a big part of what i do...generally country players use lighter strings,i read somewhwere that the great James Burton(elvis guitar player from the vegas days and superb player) used .008's or even banjo strings to get the pedalsteel effect..... |
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jack
Platinum Member
USA
1418 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 19:03:03
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I have been using D'Addario EXL115s (11-49) for the past 15 years, and have been tuning a step down (DGCFAD) for the past 3 years...where you all been? |
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 20:31:22
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Franz:
something i forgot to mention. yah, when i got that heavy in string gauge the strat-like qualities were almost gone. in the end my solution was buying a gibson.
the peak gauge i found that still sounded strat-like was probably 11-52's or a set of 12's that still had unwound G and B. |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2008 : 13:59:55
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| I think 11-52's is probably the heaviest i will go as i like to be abable to bend in concert pitch....another excellent effect is the bottleneck sounds much more authentic now...i always knew slide players used heavier strings and higher actions but i never did enough slide to justify the setting up and dragging another guitar to gigs..at the moment i have to set up every gig..two electrics,acoustic,mandolin,amp,pedalboard and D.I. for the acoustics...so now i have the best of both worlds with the strat ... |
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midibuddy
Silver Member
Ecuador
285 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2008 : 16:42:39
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| 15 years ago when I started learning to play guitar, I used 9's and 8's. Close to a year and a half ago I started going up in gauges, first I tried 09-46, and then I finally switched to 10-46 after a little tweaking on my guitars (adding an additional spring to the trem, adjusting the truss rod, etc). The difference in punch and in sustain was amazing! Now I tell everyone how much of a big improvement is going up in string gauge... Right now I have a shecter-type guitar with 10's on it that feel a bit floppy... Maybe I'll put 11's on that one in a couple of months... but 10's are ok for a Jackson type guitar... Heavier than that is maybe too heavy for me. |
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the-destructor
Silver Member
USA
334 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2008 : 19:13:55
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I'm a big pussy!!! I've used D'Addario EXL120's for ever. I used to run 008's many, many moons ago.
 T-D |
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One-Way
Bronze Member
New Zealand
104 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2008 : 10:59:30
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| I must be soft because I like 10's. I only use standard tuning, boring I know. I run 10's on my acoustics and my Strat and LP. I have 11's on my 335 but find they are too stiff for my liking. For me I like easy bendability of strings and find they have plenty of tone for my liking. I know 8's and 9's sound a little thin but 10's are a good compromise. |
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DarrinPA
Silver Member
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2008 : 05:56:53
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| I use 10-46 on my Ibanez guitars. I'm glad I moved up in gauges because the feel and tone is better. I want to step up to 10-52. I use standard tuning. The strings on my strat and tele are still 9-42 because..... I don't know why. |
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starr36
Platinum Member
Canada
1172 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2008 : 04:06:03
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When ernie ball 008's were all the thing, dropping your whammy bar would cause those skinny things to stick to the pickups. While it was so easy and like air to bend, the tone was really weak. i agree with everyone here, 10s 11s, and your guitar takes on whole new life. Once you get used to the heavier action, it feels great to just work that axe over; 9-42 is just too flimsy.
A real ear-opener to move up the guages, with the added bonus of being able to play slide PROPERLY on a low-action guitar. |
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Topic |
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String Gauges
