Interesting video by Rick Beato about string gauge.

[Thin white duke]

I was thinking to try 0.10 in my Gibson es 335 instead of the 0.11 that i've always used and i've found this new video by Rick Beato, it's followed by this other one by Rhett Shull which was in the other video as well, i think it's very interesting.
Cheers...

 

[LKB3rd]

Is a recap he says there is no reason to use heavy strings unless you like fighting them more?
I recently used a set of .09's when i broke a string and discovered i was out of spare sets of my usual 10's. I like them and at the moment I have become a 9's guy. They feel good, easier to bend, and sound just as good. I can't hear any difference at all.
I have used 11's in the past as well, but had gone back to 10's with the same sort of "why fight the strings" attitude.
Possibly I am playing with a little bit lighter touch on the 9's, which is nice too.
I'd say try it if you have the idea in your head you "need" heavier strings for some reason other than you genuinely like them better, which is a valid reason if it's true. It's easy enough to try for a set.

 

[Thin white duke]

Is a recap he says there is no reason to use heavy strings unless you like fighting them more?
I recently used a set of .09's when i broke a string and discovered i was out of spare sets of my usual 10's. I like them and at the moment I have become a 9's guy. They feel good, easier to bend, and sound just as good. I can't hear any difference at all.
Possibly I am playing with a little bit lighter touch on them, which is nice too.
I'd say try it if you have the idea in your head you "need" heavier strings for some reason other than you genuinely like them better, which is a valid reason if it's true. It's easy enough to try for a set.

Thanks, recently i've played a Les Paul style guitar with 0.10 and man, the fretboard was very confortable so i thought let's try in my 335 which is quite similar, i use 0.10 in my Tele but i've never tried with the Gibson, i'll see how i feel.....

 

[Jupiter]

I play light top/heavy bottom sets. Seems to give me a bit more snap on the fat strings because the tension is higher.

 

[Thin white duke]

I play light top/heavy bottom sets. Seems to give me a bit more snap on the fat strings because the tension is higher.

I bought a regular gauge 0.10-0.46, i hope i won't have to adjust the truss rod...

 

[Caleb Cull]

I do agree with Shull about the preconceived "bigger is better" thing, which I'm also guilty of - I can't remember when or how I got the idea that heavier strings were preferable or even what it was based on (I do think it was around the time I swore off modern guitars in favour of pre-'66 designs exclusively), but I've been using 10s on Fender scale and 11s on Gibson scale for a long long time.

Thing is, while I don't doubt these videos are correct, I do still prefer the feel (resistance?) of these gauges to lighter ones, and I don't think the very slight tonal advantage is enough to justify changing. For now, anyway.

I think this is kind of similar to the big neck vs. thin neck thing, where up until recently I wouldn't have considered anything slimmer than a chunky C - until I started GASsing for a 60RI Strat, that is...

 

[El Marin]

Is a recap he says there is no reason to use heavy strings unless you like fighting them more?

Yes, there is. Thin strings are like rubber. If you are a heavy strummer and gripper like me, you cannot play thin strings. They rattle and go out of tune in 10 seconds.

That video is stupid. Brighter? so what is the treble pot of your amp for? come on. As Keith Richads said: gimme 5 minutes and I get the same sound

 

[Thin white duke]

Brighter? so what is the treble pot of your amp for?

I agree with this, i actually want to try a lighter gauge not for the tone but just to see how it feels under the fingers a 0.10 with a Gibson scale...

 

[LetItGrowTone]

With heavier strings - because the tension is higher and the mass of the string is greater - relatively more wood gets involved. I always went with SRV's opinion (reportedly 10-52) because I liked the solid bass.

EDIT: Obviously, I *stayed* with them because *I* liked them after trying them.

 

[Thin white duke]

I do agree with Shull about the preconceived "bigger is better" thing, which I'm also guilty of - I can't remember when or how I got the idea that heavier strings were preferable or even what it was based on (I do think it was around the time I swore off modern guitars in favour of pre-'66 designs exclusively), but I've been using 10s on Fender scale and 11s on Gibson scale for a long long time.

Thing is, while I don't doubt these videos are correct, I do still prefer the feel (resistance?) of these gauges to lighter ones, and I don't think the very slight tonal advantage is enough to justify changing. For now, anyway.

I think this is kind of similar to the big neck vs. thin neck thing, where up until recently I wouldn't have considered anything slimmer than a chunky C - until I started GASsing for a 60RI Strat, that is...

Just a couple of months ago i was this close to try 0.12 now i want to go lighter...

 

[wulfenganck]

Hmm....wonder if it would be the same result with a cleansound and single-coils and/or P90s; i.e. there is a difference in sound, but I actually prefer the sound of my 0.10 to 0.52 hybrids. I'm mainly playing hollowbodies/semi-acoustics with 24,75'' scale and P90s.
I tried out 0.08 to 0.40 when I started with electric guitars - I have rather small hands and someone (who I thought knew what he was talking about) advised 0.08s as it would be more comfortable. But it actually felt wobbly to me, even on a larger Fender-type neck-scale. I switched to 0.09 to 0.46 until around 2012.
That was the time of a rather fundamental change: I stopped using picks and played with my fingers only.
I had always implemented hybrid-picking, but as soon as I threw away the pick I felt a lot more comfortable and confident.
Only that 0.09ers felt wobbly, especially the lower strings. I don't know if the actual impact on the strings is really harder than hitting with a pick, but it feels like that.
I tried out a couple of variations and ended on a hybrid set from D'Addario with 0.10, 0.13, 0.17, 0.30, 042, 0.52. Those suit my style perfectly.

 

[Chunkocaster]

My tele with 6100 frets played much better, sounded much better and stayed in tune much better when fitted with 11's. Imo comfort is just dependent on how many weeks you have payed with whatever gauge fitted. That's provided you play daily. If you pick the guitar up once a week or so i think all strings would feel a little awkward and your fingers would be soft.

I'm sure you could fit 8's or 13's and be used to them by the end of the month if you play them daily.
Big frets with light strings just don't work for me and i'd rather not have to develop a light touch to accommodate them when 10's and 11's feel light anyway thanks to playing acoustic with 12's every day.

What works for Rick wont necessarily work for the next person.

 

[Bones]

Who is RIck Beato and why should I care what he thinks?

I know who Rhett Shill is and I definitely don't care what he thinks.


String gauge like everything else comes down to what sounds/feels good to the individual player. There are no definitives when it comes to "tone".

IMHO both of these guys are just trying to advertise Ernie Ball strings, which are strings that I never use because I do not like them at all, I know millions of people do, but I do not.

 

[Thin white duke]

Who is RIck Beato and why should I care what he thinks?

Well why should we care about someone's thought in general, if you see it this way we can even close this site.
Rick Beato is a much appreciated guy that does great videos on you tube, that's all...

 

[LKB3rd]

I am surprised at the amount of hate this is generating haha.
Just play whatever you want for whatever reason you choose. No need to down talk someone else's opinion.
And I'll add as an example of my opinion. Stevie Ray Vaughn was one of the greats, but he isn't an expert on what strings I like. So doing something because he did it, or any reason other than that you actually like it, isn't a good reason in my opinion. I know there are probably a lot of players doing things because he did it, or they read it on the internet, and I'd say forget what anyone else says and try some different strings and use what you like, and they will sound good and there will be no drawbacks. In fact you'll probably be better just because you like the feel. .12's .07's whatever you end up with.

 

[Bones]

Well why should we care about someone ideas in general, if you see it this way we can even close this site.
Rick Beato is a well appreciated guy that does great videos on you tube, that's all...

Oh, I like other people's ideas and the people here are not posting their opinions for financial gains. These guys have monetized You Tube channels, so any content they have is for the purpose of making money and in my opinion not incentive for to me reconsider what I have already done on my own. I assume everyone has come to their own conclusions about string gauge based on their own experiences and wouldn't be swayed by these dudes.

 

[mad dog]

Another expert to be safely ignored.

I go by my own experience. Which led me to .11s mostly on solidbodies and semis, higher on archtops. Much better feel and sound. I don't generalize to others based on my preferences, don't see the need for others to do it either.

 

[Jackroadkill]

If I'm in standard tuning I prefer to use .10s or .11s. If I'm in D or C standard then it's 12s.

I'm not really bothered about the rights and wrongs of it. I like what I like and others like what they like.

 

[nosuch]

I saw the video and I think it's food for thoughts. When I got my American standard and George Harrison tele they sported .009s. And although I liked the feel and tone I went through my usual routine and switched to .010s. Maybe I should have given the skinny strings some times. Now that video makes me reconsider. It's always a good thing to challenge your habits IMHO.

 

[Thin white duke]

I like what I like and others like what they like

Amen....