What Size Strings Are The Best?

[higrob]

I'm a beginner.

I bought a new electric guitar but now I'm wondering if I've got the right gauge strings on it.I have .10 gauge but some people are telling me that I should go with .08 or .09 gauge.

Is it easier to play with thinner strings?I like the thicker sound with the .10 gauge.

Any opinions?


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[terrafirma]

I like to play with 9 guage because I think it makes the guitar easier to play. Especially when you bend or play higher up on the fretboard. I tried to play my new acoustic and i had to hold a death grip in order to make a sound. I think they were 11's or 12's. I would go with 8's or 9's. Thats just what I would use, but its entirely up to you.:D

[Andrew]

10s are the best all round strings. I use 11s or12s. It is up to you, but I like this size because they are not too difficult to bend, and they stay in tune well, and have good tone. The larger the strings are, the better the tone and tuning stability (stays in tune). The smaller strings you get, the easier to bend. That is about the only advantage of small strings. A lot of people say that if you bend strings a lot, you should get light strings.I completely disagree with that.If you bend a lot, then with lighter strings, you will go out of tune very easily.

Keep your 10s just now anyway. Most people would agree, they are definitely the best all rounder for starting on. Move up to heavier strings if you want better tone and tuning stability. If you really find bending strings with this gauge a huge physical effort, you could move to 9s.

There is a lot of disagreement on this subject, but dont do what a lot of people do - get 8s because they heard they were easier to play on, and swear by them for the rest of their lives, without even trying anything else.

[Coffee]

I agree with Andrew. Although lighter guage strings are easier to bend they do go out of tune faster and wear out faster. I find 10's are a good tradeoff between ability to bend and sustain duration. While lighter strings bend more easily they are also (I find anyway) harder to control and finger pressure alone can cause slight tonal variations out of the key. If you end up playing a lot you'll spend a fortune on light strings from breakage and early loss of response. Another bonus is heavier strings will build hand strength which will give more control.

[Andrew]

Heres another option - use extra heavy (13-14) strings and tune the guitar down to Eb or D, that way, there will be less tension, so it is easier to bend, but the strings will still have more mass, so good tone. You will get the advantages of heavy and light strings, main dsisadvantage is that you will be on a different tuning than the rest of the planet.

:)

[Coffee]

Good point Andrew. Stevie Ray Vaughan used a guitar tuned a major second lower than the competition. So did his bass player. If you play with the same guys all the time and they're in agreement, you're on your way.

The major downside with a major second lower tuning is that since there is less tension, the strings vibrate further each way meaning you may have to set your guitars action higher to get away from buzzing. That's something else Stevie did.

[13noon]

Jimi Hendrix (one of the all-time greats) always tuned to Eb for that same reason. You don't need super-heavy strings to get a different tone. James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica use .09-.42 Ernie Ball strings.
I use .10-.46 Fender Super Bullets, because i have a Strat, which doesn't take heavy gauge well and the bullet ends help it stay in tune (I use the whammy bar a lot).
Which brings me to another tip: what kind of bridge does it have?
If it has a synchronized trem, like a strat, I would go with bullet ends in whatever gauge.
If it has a double-locking trem, it doesn't matter what ends you have cause you don't use them, so go with the cheaper standard ball ends in whatever gauge.
If it's a hardtail, just go with regular ball ends in whatever gauge you prefer.

~13noon

[Chickwithapick]

I use low gauge strings, but I don't really know much about guitar. Those are what the guy who gave me guitar (for FREE yeeeah!) put on for me, because he said that they're easier when you're first starting out because you don't hafta press as hard. *shrug* So anyway, that's all I know about strings cuz that's what he told me! :D

[Andrew]

By the way, coffee, I was just reading over this thread because of the new posts, and i noticed something. Didnt stevie tune to Eb? I know Crossfire and Pride and Joy and Im pretty sure they're in Eb. Or am i wrong about a major second. Its two frets, right? Maybe he did both, I dont know.

Also, good point about the buzzing with less tension. I never thought of that. Now I know why Stevie always had such high action. It seems if you change one little thing in a guitar, everything else is affected.:( :confused:

13noon, Jimi didnt always tune to Eb, only sometimes. I think maybe when it came to recording he just tuned to Noel, and they ended up about a semitone out.

[Coffee]

Oops. Yep, you're right Andrew, minor second, 1 fret.

[Jasper_e]

Hmm, :o not too thick but also not too thin! :D :D

Jasper