Strings and tone surpises

Interesting effect. I'm contemplating string gauge changes based on the following video... from 10s to 9s.

 

Well, I think factory is actually 0.009"-0.042". Of course, back in the day they were considerably heavier, and do we hate the music from back then?

I certainly get your point, but charm is in the ear of the beholder. If it works for you, go nuts with it.

 

Hmm... you're right. The Thinline is 0.009"-0.042". Wonder why the difference. Kinda the same point though, eh?

 

I had the exact same experience with my MIM strat. It had 11-52’s on it and tuned it to drop c after a pick up swap. It sounded very dull and bends were more of a hand muscle workout than anything. I put 10-46’s back on, tuned it half step down and haven’t looked back.

 

On my acoustic I used 12's for yrs.

Bc of a thread here on acoustic gauges people use,
I tried 11 gauge for the first time in years.

To me they're much more expressive, they give and return more of what I put into it.
Vibrato's more expressive. Of course bending is easier.

Not quite as full sounding, but no biggie it's worth it in its nuances!

.

 

I switched down to 9s probably 30 years back, mainly because I noticed a different tone, which I liked, but also because of the extra control it gave me. Also forced me to be a bit more precise in my fingering which was no bad thing.

 

I've used 9's for over 30 years.

I never bought into the "heavier is better" that most players bought into during the SRV years.

 

I don't play heavier for tone. It's so I don't break strings a lot. LOL. I switched to .11s a long time ago and don't plan to go to .10's. They just feel right to me. So if I can't make the guitar sound how I want with .11's, than it's not gonna work for me. Personally I think all guitars sound better with .11s but I prefer lower tones and less twang.

 

I used to put .11-.49’s on every electric guitar I owned. Didn’t think twice about it. Once I started buying guitars from friends, I found myself liking how they sounded when I tried them out before buying them so I stopped changing the string gauge on them. If it sounds good in the condition I bought it in, I’ll leave it that way (minus getting the action adjusted to where I like it). So now I have a guitar with .11-.52 strings on it as well as another one with .10-.46. You adjust over time.

 

Sometimes heavier gauge strings make a guitar less responsive and dynamic, not more so.

 

My Am Pro Tele sounds better with 9.5s instead of the stock 9s. I tried it with 10s and there wasn't a huge change in tone so I went back to the more comfortable 9.5 and started there.

Each individual guitar probably has a sweet spot, some may be narrow and some wider and more forgiving of string size and tension.