To those that tried Billy Gibbons string gauges how many of you still use them and gig with them ?

[bluescaster72]

I've used as high as 12's but I find high gauges a bit limiting . My thoughts with the light gauges is speed and better ability to play more complex stuff as well better control due to less fatique. Also there is a sweetness there that isn't with higher gauges. So what do you lose ? Volume is to my ears the most immediate thing as they don't sound very full at low volume practice volume persay. But gigging volume is a different story . Listen to the solo to we will Rock you . Brian may used at one time stupidly low gauge strings and He wasnt thin. His former gauges were 34 -22-16-11-9-8. Rather slinky and a 24 inch scale guitar My take on it with these light gauges you can't be slopply you have to be more precise and develop a lighter touch . I have fairly strong hands perhaps too strong as I feel I put too much pressure on my hands when I Play with heavier gauges. so this is quite an experiment for me. I am learning to use effects to aide me as well and really enjoy the tone shaping. Toni Iommi uses the same light gauges practically as May did . as was stated we all process our sound in some way . so gauges matter less and less .

 

[FenderLover]

I bought a Strat that the previous owner had set up for 8's.
He gave me an en extra set of new strings with it too, so I kept that set up for two string change cycles.
Like others here, I had intonation issues with strings that thin, but I was kinda/sorta getting used to them by the end.
I went back to 9-42 because that's what I had on hand, and that's what I am used to for Strats.
The 11-49 gauge work better for slide, and 10-46 seem to be a happy medium where I can play slide as well as play regular style.
10-46 also works well for playing in Eb standard on a Strat, or DADGAD on a Tele.
Variety is the spice of life.

There's more than one reason why I have 20 guitars. Different pickups, necks, tunings, strings....I feel bad for the dude that can't pick up a Gretsch or a Tele or a Strat and play them all with equal contentment. Can't say that I've ever gone down to 8's though....

 

[Buttered Biskit]

I use "10's" but I insist on a wound g string. That is the smallest string set I could find with a wound g.

 

[tfarny]

I'm not sure why we are holding up Gibbons as some kind of string gauge guru anyhow. I'd imagine that lots of shredders play super light strings too, otherwise they wouldn't be sold at every music store. As this thread attests, the best thing to do is go try out a bunch of different kinds and gauges and see what you prefer. My journey brought me to the Daddario "balanced tension" sets with a slightly bigger B and A string. The bigger B string does create a slight volume balance issue but otherwise I much prefer the feel. 10s but I also like 11s.

I'm not convinced the tone of heavier strings is "better" in part because I don't really think there is a "better" or "worse" tone. It also seems clear that touch and playing style and hand / wrist health all play a big role,

TLDR; IOW YMMV.

 

[harold h]

I read that the Right Rev. Gibbons uses .008's , and tunes down to D.

He does. He also uses 7's and tunes down.

And this is no rumor, this was verified by Richie Fliegler (sp?) at the Fender Custom shop
when he worked on the Primavato Tele.

He said the strings just flopped for him but Billy could play it without issue.

He posted the whole story on TGP.

Frank Marino also used 7's back in the 70's, not sure what he uses now.

I would use the Willy G strings, but once a year an online store has Dunlop 9's for $1 a pack
in bulk, so I stock up on those.

 

[Sparky2]

8's tend to go sharp on me, and require an exceptionally light touch.
I gig with 9's on all my guitars.

Think pink.

I think the true test of your strings is when you allow a guest guitarist to pick up your Tele or Strat for a sit-in, and they play it brilliantly, without a missed note or a complaint.

That's how it went this past Saturday evening.
We played a 40th Class Reunion gig, and were blessed to have an old friend and former band mate on hand to help set up and sound check.

During the 2nd and 3rd sets, we had Danny come up and play/sing on a couple of songs, and he hit the mark like he owned the guitars himself.

Same story on the songs that our new drummer played guitar. He just grabbed my Strat or SG, strapped them on, and killed it. No complaints about too-light strings from either performer.

Good times.

 

[Wayfaring Pilgrim]

I used 8s on a Strat for years then went back to 9-42s and (briefly) 9-46.

Since I saw the light and became a Tele man I've used only 9s. Might give the 8s a try with the Tele sometime out of curiosity. I don't care for the sound of strings heavier than 10s.

 

[Old Tele Hack]

I'm nobody, and know nothing, but, I've been pretending to play guitar for a lotta years now, and what I've figured out is that it's a good idea to try out different combinations of everything - because if you don't, you might miss out on something that really works well for you. As many have already mentioned "tone" isn't an assemblage of pieces - and there's no single, exclusive, "right" sound. Right now, I've got my MIM Ash Tele strung w/the Ernie Ball Heavy Bottom/skinny top strings, tuned to open G, I've got my '52 w/10-46's, in drop D, I just strung the Elite w/.009-42 Elixir Polywebs, and my SG has Cobalt .009-42. Each one does something a little different for me, and I like 'em all.

 

[tele_savales]

Haven't tried them but might. I was a confirmed D'addario 10-52 user and usually tuned to E flat. I've also used the 11-56's and used a couple of different tunings. Then I decided to put 9-42's on everything I have because the fingers on my fretting hand are always in pain due to 25 years of rock climbing (having dislocated at least two fingers over the years), and it takes an hour of easy scales to warm up properly, which of course I never do.

I also hardly ever drop tune any more- I've kinda got all my necks set flatter than they ever were before and have also lowered the action substantially on all of my guitars, which is an approach I've never preferred but it's become a necessity. I mean, 9's feel a little wimpy to me and I will totally state for the record that heavier strings have more sustain and tone, but it seems better in the long run if I want to continue playing. My string gauges are uniform and the overall feel is similar on all my guitars. I think I like the slim taper neck on my Explorer the best. Unfortunately, it sounds nothing like a Tele

I have been pretty amazed w D'addario strings as I have tuned guitars all over the place, play pretty hard and I rarely if ever break strings. If I do break a string it's usually when I'm tuning. I've also noticed that I can't really fiddle around w different tunings so much w locking tuners-strings tend to break at the tuner.

 

[bluesky1963]

I find it quite easy to believe Willie G is having us on, collectively.

It's always been hard to tell with the Rev what's real and what's "burnishing the legend".

He used to play with a filed down peso coin as a pick. To me that plus .08's is not a recipe for good tone. I suspect his conversion to ultra light gauge strings came more recently, once age and possibly arthritis started working on him.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

I have .008's on all three of my guitars now, started using them about 2 months ago. Contrary to popular belief, they don't seem to break any easier when I bend them, and they don't sound "thinner" or whatever. The only thing I've had to adjust was my picking technique, because they go sharp if hit too hard. I like them and can't see myself going back to a heavier gauge.

 

[Bob Arbogast]

I switched to a D'Addario "balanced tension" .009-.040 set about a year ago, after playing .010-.046 for decades. I made the switch to encourage me to develop a lighter touch. So far, I think it's working.

By the way, I have found the balanced tension sets to intonate very well on a non-compensated, three-barrel Tele bridge and on a Junior-style non-compensated, stoptail bridge.

 

[bluescaster72]

I think that is what the Hendrix set is a balanced tension set in a sense , but it was also about output balancing. I find it an interesting concept . I think most guitar string gauges feel a bit unbalanced. sometimes in sound other times in tension.

 

[darren7]

Go to 5:40

 

[Ben-Zion]

Go to 5:40

I loath the sophomoric lyrics to ZZ Top songs, but MAN do I always find Billy’s tone and soloing so exciting!

 

[bluescaster72]

Well , I'm surprised this thread is still going. I went back to 11's and 12's I don't seem to have the finesse for light strings. I have also found you lose volume which you have to make up for when going that light. Billy Gibbons makes them work somehow so good for him. My sound isn't that processed so It doesn't work for me.

 

[AngelDeville]

I just bought another dozen 7-38’s. My son uses 9-42s and I put them on one of my guitars and don’t notice much difference.

 

[jamesr]

Little late to this party, but...
I think Gibbons has been known to embellish the truth as far as gear goes. In Dan Erlewine's guitar book, Dan interviewed BB regarding Lucille, setup, strings, etc. He quotes BB as saying he uses Ernie Ball light top-heavy bottom strings (10-52), and sometimes 11's. He said he'd tried the 8's years ago and didn't like them. So, based on that, if Gibbons says BB turned him on to super light strings, someone isn't remembering things correctly. Or maybe it's Erlewine, but I doubt that.

 

[teleplayr]

I use 9's on all of my guitars. Fender's, Gibson's, ect...

A lot easier than having different gauges on different guitars and keeping track of what's on what guitar.

 

[Chunkocaster]

I think by now it's been well established that anything under 10's are girly mans strings.
Those with medical reasons excluded of course.

Good luck milking decent sound out of an acoustic if you will only ever play a max of 8's or 9's on your electric imo. Acoustic playing must be very painful for you guys.