I just tried 8's

[telewacker22]

I've been using Blue Steel 8's anyone who says degradation in tone don't know what they're talkin bout and these are the nicest feel strings i've EVER played on and that's 30 yrs.

[maxsmith]

Originally Posted by David Barnett

I'm pretty sure that a lot of the jazz-fusion type players use 8s or 9s. The late Emily Remler used .008s, and I think Stern and Scofield do too.

Scofield uses a 13-52 (ouch) set and one of those thick shiny purple Dunlop (2mm) picks:

http://johnscofield.com/equip.html

That said - I think it's all in the touch - some guys get great tone with "8's" - I've found "9's" to be my comfort zone.

[JTM45blues]

Originally Posted by Vihar

Anyone could make the maths of SRV's string tension? That would be cool to see and compare it.

I could, math geek here , but mathematics should never enter the guitar playing arena.

Suffice to say that 2/1000ths of an inch is ridiculous to think you will gain or lose tone over. I agree that if you're trying to cop someone's style that you should try to use their guage of strings (use .009's for Albert Lee, use .013's for SRV), but lets not get too stupid about this. Most of that "tone difference" in string guage size is in your head, I'd love to see a closed curtain hearing test on that one some day.

I use .010's simply because they're comfortable, but I've went as high as .012's and as low as .009's, which I prefer on Teles. I just say to play with what works for you.

Oh and I highly doubt Billy is tuned to C, I've seen enough of the recent live performances, and at least there he isn't tuned down to C, but in the studio I'd buy that. But most of his huge tone comes from the billion digital processors he uses these days and the fact that he has SERIOUSLY MASTERED THE ART OF MIC PLACEMENT!!!! Wow! The guy's tone is always fat, and sassy and DRIPPING in GREASE!! HAVE MERCY!

[maxsmith]

[quote="JTM45blues"]

Originally Posted by Vihar

Oh and I highly doubt Billy is tuned to C, I've seen enough of the recent live performances, and at least there he isn't tuned down to C, but in the studio I'd buy that. But most of his huge tone comes from the billion digital processors he uses these days and the fact that he has SERIOUSLY MASTERED THE ART OF MIC PLACEMENT!!!! Wow! The guy's tone is always fat, and sassy and DRIPPING in GREASE!! HAVE MERCY!

I did see an article on the web from a guitar customizing shop (can't remember the name) that was modifying Gibbon's guitars (new nuts and low fret profiles and other stuff) to suit his recent - past few years - change to super slinky strings.

One thing I have notice the three times I have seen ZZ Top live and whenever I see them on TV is that the Reverend has a very light touch on the picking hand - he barely moves - its odd to watch him get that snarling snaky phat tone with such little effort.

If you check the stuff on Rhythmeen, Mescalero, XXX against your standard tuned guitar - you'll see that (in the studio, at least) he gets tuned down to C and A pretty often!

It's always amazed me how Beck and Page got such killer tones with .008s...

[stantheman]

But honestly My Tele has been in The Case for way too long....This evening I'm going back to the 11's
which I use on everything. It just doesn't feel good like
I'm gonna scrap the skin near my joints (pickless guy).
It does twang a bit more and I've discovered that I prefer
a little less twang than the rest of You.
I had no idea that Emily Remler used such light gauge strings - but hey - whatever works for You is right-on.

[maxsmith]

Originally Posted by stantheman

But honestly My Tele has been in The Case for way too long....This evening I'm going back to the 11's
which I use on everything. It just doesn't feel good like
I'm gonna scrap the skin near my joints (pickless guy).
It does twang a bit more and I've discovered that I prefer
a little less twang than the rest of You.
I had no idea that Emily Remler used such light gauge strings - but hey - whatever works for You is right-on.

You rarely hear women players boast about how heavy their strings are...

Maybe having thicker cables than the next dude is a guy thing...

[skepticult]

Originally Posted by JTM45blues

Oh and I highly doubt Billy is tuned to C, I've seen enough of the recent live performances, and at least there he isn't tuned down to C, but in the studio I'd buy that. But most of his huge tone comes from the billion digital processors he uses these days and the fact that he has SERIOUSLY MASTERED THE ART OF MIC PLACEMENT!!!! Wow! The guy's tone is always fat, and sassy and DRIPPING in GREASE!! HAVE MERCY!

I'm not a huge ZZ Top fan, but his tone on "Joe Blues" from the CS&BBQ box set is about the sweetest guitar tone ever. (Might have been from the Moving Sidewalks?) It's almost painful to listen to any his 80's sounds after listening to that track. Don't mess with perfection...there is indeed such a thing as having too much gear*.



*Edit: Just kidding. There's not.

[maxsmith]

Originally Posted by skepticult

I'm not a huge ZZ Top fan, but his tone on "Joe Blues" from the CS&BBQ box set is about the sweetest guitar tone ever. (Might have been from the Moving Sidewalks?) It's almost painful to listen to any his 80's sounds after listening to that track.

The tone on the (very early) "Brown Sugar" and "Just Got Back From Baby's" kills. It's so dynamic and present and in your face - unlike a lot of their MTV processed Rockman-era tones...

[tiktok]

Originally Posted by Vihar

Anyone could make the maths of SRV's string tension? That would be cool to see and compare it.

D'addario has a string tension calculator on their website (or used to). Somewhere I've got their chart for all their guages and how much tension there is on a given guage tune to five or six notes in its optimal range. The quick rule of thumb used to be that tuning down a half step was roughly equivalent to the next guage down, so 10's at E flat were like 9's at standard, and so on.

And the whole SRV bridge cable thing has been inflated over the years. I remember reading that he was mostly into 11's and 12's, but always tuned down. Sometimes he tried a 13 because he broke a lot of high-E's, and that story stuck. And let's recall, he wasn't feeling a lot of pain for much of his playing career...

Billy Gibbons used to claim to use 13's also, but he was never one to let the truth get in the way of a good interview.

[skepticult]

Originally Posted by maxsmith

The tone on the (very early) "Brown Sugar" and "Just Got Back From Baby's" kills. It's so dynamic and present and in your face - unlike a lot of their MTV processed Rockman-era tones...

Ah yes. Those are my other two favorite songs on the box set. Good stuff!

[JTM45blues]

Originally Posted by skepticult

I'm not a huge ZZ Top fan, but his tone on "Joe Blues" from the CS&BBQ box set is about the sweetest guitar tone ever. (Might have been from the Moving Sidewalks?) It's almost painful to listen to any his 80's sounds after listening to that track. Don't mess with perfection...there is indeed such a thing as having too much gear*.



*Edit: Just kidding. There's not.

Joe Blues was supposedly done with Billy's blackguard Esquire into a Vox AC30 or Super Beatle. Just as a side note.

[Wowbanger]

Actually, I swapped the .08 out for a .09 (.09 - .38 now)and I can't believe how much I love them. I taken to using a 2mm Dunlop pick and it might sound dumb, but, it's like all of a sudden I can rip off runs like never before.

As far as the sound. Absolutely no complaints. I like it better than when I was using .11's. The low tension means a lot of sizzle, for lack of a better word.

I tried this little experiment in my MIM Tele ourfitted with Duncan 59's, a regular size in the neck and a Lil' one in the bridge that is wired through a push pull pot allowing series or parallel for that pickup. Tons of crunch in series and very bright with easy pinch harmonics running the bridge pickup in parallel mode.

One thing I've noticed in the string gauge to tone debate is that my Tele loves the thin strings as does my Jackson with a Duncan JB/Jazz combo, but, when I tried to go to .09's on my Strat with low output CS '69 and 62 Reissue pups it was very anemic, wimpy even. Now I took that and strung it up .10-.42 (High E and B from a .10 set, the rest from as set of .09's) and tuned down to Eb. Weird. That's what that guitar likes. Since it's my "Jimi Hendrix mood" axe, it's right in line.

I don't see myself going back to heavy strings any time soon. All this and no numb fingers anymore.

[J-man]

Jimmy Page swears by 8's.

[Mur]

To maximize a tele, you need to experiment for the right combination of gauges ..different sizes for different teles. And both camps are right ..super-slink strings will sound dumb on many teles, but then, guys like James Burton and Bob Warford come along with great tone (using small strings).

[Blazer]

No matter what arguments are brought up, it all comes down to personal taste.

And in my case I'll gladly stick to the 011-049 set I have used for years, they feel right for me and they can endure much more than lighter strings.

[AJ Love]

whatever works, works.... I wouldn't hesitate to use 8's if I thought they would work better for me... 9's seem to be working very well for me right now

[Coyote]

I tried some of those once, GHS Boomers .008 on my MIM Tele, and I hated them. It felt like there was nothing under my fingers when I played, which confused me, and the tone was really weak sounding. I went back to .009-.046 (custom light) only a week later.

[Red Tele]

I've been using .008's all my playing life.

I've always gotten compliments on my tone. I guess it's just a matter of what you are used to and knowing how to work various guages for the best possible tone.

I've tried .009's and .010's and they always sounded pretty bad (with me playing them).

Go figure.

[Laroosco!!]

Originally Posted by hippietim

For those that can't play in tune with 8's - you have a technique problem. Squeezing the neck that tight is gonna limit what you can do and/or lead to hand problems eventually. Playing the guitar is hard enough without wrestling with the strings.

Look at it this way, Yngwie plays with 8's on a scalloped board and has amazing intonation.

I agree.

I can play an electric with 11's or 8's.

I prefer the midddle ground though.

[J-man]

I'm still using 9's on all my guitars. But now my B string is an E I stole off one of my other guitars (the cheap ass I am :D ), so bends are even easier!

[Ed Bickert]

I use my Tele for straight ahead jazz. I have been using Thomstik 12s or 13s flatwounds. I just got a 2005 NAMM 52 RI with the humbucker in the neck.

Anyone who's been playing for any length of time knows for a fact that sting guage will definately change tone. Especially through a clean signal. 20 Years ago when i played rock I used 9s. The string guage/tone isn't as important when your signal is dripping with effects. Overdrive or distortion will pretty much nullify any real differences in the tone due to string guage. I liked the thinner guages so I could bend my strings without watching my fingernails come away from my fingertips.

For some "cleaner" players such as Robert Cray, John Mayer, or SRV, the string guage matters a lot. Because they're signal is relatively clean.

if you like a clean sounding guitar then I highly recommend changing string guages before you modify anything else. Going from 8s to 13s with a clean signal is the difference between night and day. Likewise, 13 round wounds sounds MUCH brighter than 13 flatwounds.

The sound is "thinner" on lighter guage strings. I wouldn't call it "whimpy." But if you want the bell-tone pop of like John Mayer or Eric Clapton, you'll have to sting up some heavy guage strings. If you want some Metallica or some AC/DC. any guage will likely do.

My two cents.

[Crazyquilt]

I started with 9s, then went to 11s, occasionally 12s, because I was playing a lot of blues, and thought that was the "right" gauge to play. (I was young.)

As I've gotten older, and my hands have started to bother me more, I've started using lighter strings. But I can't go lighter than 10s. It just doesn't feel right.

Coincidentally, just last night, I was going some work on my Tele, and, after I was done, I strung it up with 11s, although I've been using 10s. It just didn't sound right to me, especially on the bass strings. I messed around with amp settings, picking attack, etc., but I was worried that I'd somehow put my pickups in a strange configuration or something.

I put 10s back on, and there it was ... that glorious sound. It felt a little looser, but not too loose; I like to have some dynamic tension with my strings.

The only guitars that I feel must have heavy strings are those I'm using for slide. With a heavy slide (which I favor) there needs to be enough tension to keep the slide from fretting out. Can I play slide on 10s or 9s? Yeah, but I don't like the sound or feel, and my arm is actually more tense (and hence, less controlled) than with heavier strings, because I have to take positive action to keep the slide from fretting out.

edit to add

Ed posted while I was posting ... but I agree, the differences are far more pronounced with clean tones than processed. I do think that, without compression or other forms of tone-shaping, there's a point of diminishing returns with thinning strings. And none of the artists mentioned who play with really light strings are known for their clean tones (except Albert Lee, although I'd hazard a guess that he knows his way around a compressor.)[/i]

[the velvet catfish]

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

Albert King used 9's. And also a solid state amp he did everything wrong according to most people but sounded great.

I agree..Albert was THE man.

[Rick B]

One more .008"s player to throw into the mix: Richard Thompson always used them his '57 Strat, I believe.

For me it's 10's on Fenders, and 11's with a 12 top – blame the Bigsby – on the ES-330...