The impact of string gauge on tone

Today I departed from long tradition and fitted .11s onto my Heilo custom (its a hand made PRS style guitar), where I would usually use .09s.
I have found that the od channel on my Stiletto responded nicely to the heavier gauge strings, but the clean channel that was so nice is now a bit too lower mid range heavy in a way that I dont quite like :? I had to change string brands too, the local store only had D'addarios in .11s, and I have played Ernie Balls for over a decade now.
I dont know how long these will stay on the guitar, I dont really like them, but it is interesting to note the impact of strings on tone.

Anyone else got similar experience?

So many artists use/used specific gauge strings as a part of their sound, and given how much it changes the guitar character, it may be a vital ellement. If you have knowledge of an artists string gauge the hows about sharing that too?

As far as I know SRV used .13s and Eric Clapton uses Ernie Ball .09s, but I am open to correction :wink:

SRV's tech in the end was able to get him to use a lighter gauge.

I have used ernie balls for decades and i just tried Dean Markley blue Steels.................

I have found the Holy Grail of strings for myself.
If you like bending....(you mention SRV and EC), I have an EC strats...sold the SRV) try these strings.

one of the guys with the biggest tone of all....

allan holdsworth.

uses .008's.

LOL

I like .011's on my '57 RI Strat, they seem to work well with the vintage-style single coils. They just seem to add more of a beefier tone than lighter strings. I use Fender Bullets, when I can find them in that gauge (They are kinda hard to find). I think the bullet ends helps with the tuning stability, this guitar almost never goes out of tune with bullets! And after playing with thick strings like these for a while, I'll pick up a guitar with .009s & its like "Whoa!" I'll do a bend & end up bending it an extra step & a half sharp than I intended...

On my Les Paul, I like .010's. They seem to facilitate the shorter scale neck pretty well. I currently use D'addarios, but I think I'm going to start experimenting with other brands. I'd like to give those Blue Steels a try. I think I tried them out when I was younger, but at that time didn't think much of them. But that was about 15 years ago, before my discerning ear had developed.

When I first started playing in bands, I had .008's on my Ibanez RG-550, doing divebombs & tapping/hammer-ons through solid state Crate amps...

Technically speaking I would think a bigger string would sound thicker and louder because there is more metal because of the size of the string interacting with the magnetic field the pickups put out.

Heavy strings sound pretty good for chords and heavy rythm stuff but for jangly clean sounds I feel like lighter strings have the advantage.

Like Gonzo said, Holdsworth uses .008's. Petruccis uses .009's in standard tuning .010's dropped down a step and other variations dependant on his tuning. Alot of shred guys use .009's

For me the string gauge has the most to do with feel. I used to use .011's only then I went down to .010's and now I'm using .009's.

I play on an SG and I feel like the .009's are great for my left hand but since there isn't as much tension I feel it's alittle too slack for fast picking with my right hand. SG's are 24.75 scale though so that effects the tension too. I feel like on a 25.5 guitar .009's would be perfect in standard tuning. It would be enough tension for the picking hand and enough comfortable playing with the left.

So, I'm not so sure that thicker strings always have a better sound.

i play Ernie Ball .11's on an SG and i LOVE how the strings sound and play on it.

This is great, I really appreciate all the contributions to this thread.
I have been playing for just over two decades, and one of the things I enjoy most about being a musician (apart from playing) is talking about music, gear, or experiences with other musicians, and trying new ideas :wink:

I have tried lately to change some of the things I do out of habit, like changing string gauges, so that I dont become inflexible and limited in my thinking. I dont want to do things just because "thats the way I have always done it", I want to do things that work for me.
Having tried 11s I have come to the same conclusion as you, Turumbar82, that 09s work best on 25.5 scale guitars for me, but it was worth trying out the 11s just to see.

I will be re-installing 09s, I do a lot of bending so I might give the Dean Markleys' a go.

I have a few with 11's...I hear the diff. when I am playing some spankin' clean to light overdrive stuff...its all up to the playa'...I tune down half step with my 11 axes, and I do a good bit of hybrid pluckin' and spankin' and it has the right FEEL,1st of all(esp. on a strat for me..)...and I bend the sheeee-ut out of my strings,so I like the heavy gauges-keeps my bends in check and makes me DIG IN-and, when doomin' out the occasional TOOL riff, 11's just feel/sound right -Gilmour is known as a Tone meister, and I believe he loves the .08's!

I use dean markley, they were not as bright as the d'addario, but they have a warmer sound, and retain their life alot better. I like their warm sound. I have to change d'addario due to sound degradation within a couple weeks.

I tried blue steel Dean Markley's, the positive I have found for them is that they retain their out of package sound quality for a long time.....however the downside is that even when brand new they sound like my regular dean markleys once my regular ones get stale.


I also tried 8's and they are far too tinny sounding for me, couldnt get enough fullness from chording with 8's.

gonzo said:

one of the guys with the biggest tone of all....

allan holdsworth.

uses .008's.

LOL

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so does Billy Gibbons, do does Tony Iommi so did Jimi Hendrix.

Frank Zappa used 8's and 7's.

Anyone that says you cant get big tones with little strings is an idiot...and you can quote me.

Rocky said:

.
Anyone that says you cant get big tones with little strings is an idiot...and you can quote me.

Click to expand...

There you go, you've been quoted :wink:

My tone is not bigger with the 11s, it is thicker tho. But then I think the "Big" sound comes more from the guitarists passion and the musical ideas they are expressing, the guitar rig is probably secondary :shock:

I've just switched to 9's after years on 10's, DR's are my fave. I like big bends and loads of vibrato and now I don't ache as much or feel as I'm fighting the guitar after long sessions. TBH tone is about the same I reckon and I prefer the slinkier feel so much I'm even considering topwrapping my lesters.

Tempted to try 8's but figure that's just too girly :lol:

Stronger & more tone with heavier strings.. just can't bend them unless you're Stevie.

scruffydoo said:

I like big bends and loads of vibrato and now I don't ache as much or feel as I'm fighting the guitar after long sessions.

Click to expand...

Lou said:

I have found the Holy Grail of strings for myself.
If you like bending....try these strings.

Click to expand...

I like bending a full note and then some. stings are about five bucks a pack today...never anything to lose to try

I've been using the hybrids on my JP and love them. Basically it's 10's on bottom and 9's on top. Chording feels nice and solid and leads feel nice and easy to bend. Best of both worlds! Try 'em. I'm trying to get used to the 9's on my new BFR, but I have a feeling i'll be switching them to hybrids like my standard JP here soon.

You should give the Snake Oil strings a try. Great string tone and they last a long time. http://www.sobstrings.net/

I've used blue steel's and elixir's mainly for 11 years. I've tried all kinds of strings, but those are my favs for sound. I have NEVER broken an elixir. But I have broken a few blue steels. For the price slinky's arent bad. I hate dunlop strings and the super v. My overall favs are definitely elixirs, they sound good the longest. Blue steels and slinky's sound better than the elixirs when you first put them on, but that doesnt last that long. The Elixir's keep on going and going.

i've tried slinky's, elixir's and boomer,s all in 11's. Slinky's were the most alive and brightest. I like the thicker sound of the 11's even for clean playing. Defiantly better for a band with one guitar IMO or a worship team setting when you don't want cut.

BTW once you get used to them they are easy to play... unless your a wimp!

I used to use really thick strings like .012s when I first started, since I was coming from a background in bass guitar, so I had an idiotic penchant for very heavy gauges. As I've evolved as a player I've been moving towards lighter strings, and have pretty much settled on .010s. For some reason I can't really dig anything lighter than that.

Tonally, I've felt that the thick strings did have more GIRTH to them, like a more viscous sound to leads and a deeper crunch tone, but it's not a huge, significant thing imho. In fact I've begun to find that I like the snap and attack of the .010s than I ever did with .012s (plus bends are far easier!).

I just recently started using Boomer .010s (I've been a GHS guy forever) but am willing to try some other bands to find something even better for me. Also of note is that I've only broken a string once while using GHS strings and that was while having a cleaning accident!

I noticed when i switched from 10s to 9s that my tone changed a bit. Wasnt too impressed :s