Correct string gauge ?

[TOKAI JOE]

8) hey uk guys.... is there any good quality uk made electric gtr strings??

 

[mrsuspend]

This is an interesting thread- I'm thinking about going from 10 to 11 or even 12's on my Greco LP JR which I use to play mostly rhythm parts.
Ideally I'd just like huge, meaty chords with a lot of power tube distortion.
Does anybody know what gauge the 50's juniors shipped with originally?
I use D'Addarios but that just laziness, I'd be open to any suggestions regarding strings (I love Rotosound Swing Bass).

/Magnus

 

[mrsuspend]

8) hey uk guys.... is there any good quality uk made electric gtr strings??

Rotosound are made in the UK as far as I know.

/Magnus

 

[JohnA]

8) hey uk guys.... is there any good quality uk made electric gtr strings??

Rotosound are made in the UK as far as I know.

/Magnus

Yes, Rotosound are made in the UK

so are

Michael Messer and Newtone (apparently great acoustic strings)

 

[Ozeshin]

Sorry....haven't waded through all the posts on the topic but do you guys use the same gauge string regardless of scale length?
Do you use the same gauge on your LS as your Goldies?
Because the same gauge will feel different depending on scale length...oh....and .9-.42 here regardless of scale length...the top gauge for shredders.

 

[Anonymous]

Do you use the same gauge on your LS as your Goldies?
Because the same gauge will feel different depending on scale length.

I do, & 10-52 feels easier to bend on an LP than a Strat or Tele. Bending the top strings is always going to feel tougher on a Fender type, but if you go lower than 10s on a Strat, they can get very thin & weedy sounding, which is what puts so many LP players off Strats.

You need at least 10-46 on a Strat or a Tele to get a decent tone, but I think you can get away with 9-42s on an LP.

 

[JohnA]

You need at least 10-46 on a Strat or a Tele to get a decent tone, but I think you can get away with 9-42s on an LP.

I would say exactly the opposite. 9's on a LP feel like rubber bands to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Feel, yes, but I was talking about tone.

 

[Ozeshin]

You need at least 10-46 on a Strat or a Tele to get a decent tone, but I think you can get away with 9-42s on an LP.

I would say exactly the opposite. 9's on a LP feel like rubber bands to me.

I guess it comes down to HOW you use the strings and what you're trying to achieve.
A lot of the guys who are into traditional type blues have a "trill" like vibrato where you kind of wobble your whole hand in a left to right motion(think BB).
But my influences were people like Kossoff,Schenker and Moore who had a wide push/pull vibrato and a lighter gauge helps that.
I can manage on a 10-46 set but I've also found that the higher the gauge the cleaner the sound for some reason and all the guys I mentioned had an overdriven tone to one degree or another.
I have to admit though that I have come full circle in my old age and my tone has gone back to that Kossoff/Clapton-woman tone these days....where by backing the volume off on the guitar you clean up your tone then crank it back up for a warm solo tone so maybe a 10-46 set would help me there?

 

[leadguitar_323]

I have fairly aggressive vibrato and do large stretches of up too 7 frets and i still prefer larger strings as they just sound better. Try top wrapping the heavier strings as it "softens" the strings tension and is great to play.
Come on Oze, real men play 10's +..... :roll:

Mick

 

[Anonymous]

I have to admit though that I have come full circle in my old age and my tone has gone back to that Kossoff/Clapton-woman tone these days....where by backing the volume off on the guitar you clean up your tone then crank it back up for a warm solo tone so maybe a 10-46 set would help me there?

Oze, you must have spent hundreds of dollars over the years trying to get that perfect tone - lots of us have. Wouldn't it be kinda funny if the biggest improvement in your tone for years cost you the price of a set of 10s?

I would use 11s if I could, just to get that better tone, but they're just that bit too heavy for me to bend the way I want to.

 

[marcusnieman]

I would use 11s if I could, just to get that better tone, but they're just that bit too heavy for me to bend the way I want to.

If you raise the action, you can get under the strings better to bend them. I play 11's on all of my guitars - regardless of the scale length and the action is about 3/32 at the 12th fret for all strings - maybe 4/32 (1/8") for the high E.

An easy way to transition to heavy strings is to practice on an acoustic with heavy acoustic strings for a couple of weeks. Try to bend as well as you can. Then go to your new heavy 11's on your electric and it's effortless.

 

[Ozeshin]

Well the LS is due for a restring before our next gig so I might just try a set of 10-46 and see what happens.

 

[Ozeshin]

I would use 11s if I could, just to get that better tone, but they're just that bit too heavy for me to bend the way I want to.

If you raise the action, you can get under the strings better to bend them. I play 11's on all of my guitars - regardless of the scale length and the action is about 3/32 at the 12th fret for all strings - maybe 4/32 (1/8") for the high E.

An easy way to transition to heavy strings is to practice on an acoustic with heavy acoustic strings for a couple of weeks. Try to bend as well as you can. Then go to your new heavy 11's on your electric and it's effortless.

HAH..I have my acoustic set up with 9-42 like my electrics

 

[Anonymous]

An easy way to transition to heavy strings is to practice on an acoustic with heavy acoustic strings for a couple of weeks. Try to bend as well as you can. Then go to your new heavy 11's on your electric and it's effortless.

It's not effortless! Anything heavier than 10 & 13 on the top 2 strings impedes my playing too much, stops me bending reliably, hurts my fingers too much. Some people can manage 11s - they're lucky. I can't.

I need a 52 on the bottom E though, I like the bottom strings to fight back a bit, but I hardly bend them, so it's cool.

 

[Ozeshin]

I need a 52 on the bottom E though, I like the bottom strings to fight back a bit, but I hardly bend them, so it's cool.

I bend the bottom strings..A LOT so I won't be going any heavier than 46...the jump from 42 to 46 will not be drastic but .52....heck....I DO need to use my fingers in my day gig you know

 

[leadguitar_323]

Hmmm, i use up to 60 on the "bottom E" and because you are "pulling the string down when bending, i find it easy to do regardless of the string size. I also have small hands. I think it has more to do with what you are used too.

Mick

 

[JohnA]

Just to stick up for Oze here. There are plenty of guitarists with a great tone that use light gauge strings, a lot depends on your playing style, if you play a lot of legato 11's and a high action just isn't an option.

I've recently started using 10-52's on a Strat because it suits the style of music I'm playing with the band, I still have a set of 9's on a guitar at home for my shredding moments!

 

[leadguitar_323]

Just to stick up for Oze here.

Your just no fun any more John....

I don't actually have a high action for the heavier strings and i would say they probably suit rhythm more than lead but i drop tune with the heavier strings and this helps soften them a bit.

Mick

 

[Rustyslide]

I have my acoustic set up with 9-42 like my electrics

Wow. My acoustics have .013s, but are tuned down a whole step or are in Vastapol D or C# or Spanish G. My 12 string is set up for .010s, though I'd like to set it up for bigger strings.

As for tone, I only really noticed an improvement when increasing the gauge when using a slide, and the difference was huge. I use the same gauge for economic reasons, though I really don't have a problem making the music I want to with .011s on my 25.5", 25", or 24.75" scale guitars.