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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 5:52 pm
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CAFeathers wrote:
I have used strings ranging in gauge from 8's to 13's (I even tried a set of 15's once) over the years and have found that string gauge does matter to certain guitars. Some guitars seem to play, feel and sound better with a specific gauge of strings. Currently I have guitars with 9's, 9.5's, 10's, and 11's.


Agreed; different guitars play better with different string gauges.
My SG does just fine with .008s, while my Tele Select HH plays better with .012s, and my other guitars are somewhere in-between. I think the shorter scale and softer neck wood of the SG is part of why it plays so well with thin strings, and its humbuckers are pretty responsive to light strings too.
What the strings are made of matters just as much. I use steel strings, which are harder than nickel, which makes a difference.
But it's as much up to taste as anything else. I had .007s on another tele for a while, and it played just fine. Not much natural sustain, but then again, not all music needs that.
Play what feels best for you on the guitar. Don't be afraid to waste a few sets to find out what feels and sounds best - strings is the smallest of the expenses.

And yeah, you may have to spend a few minutes adjusting the action and intonation when changing string gauge or string material, but it's no more job than changing the strings.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 6:29 pm
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arth1 wrote:
CAFeathers wrote:
I have used strings ranging in gauge from 8's to 13's (I even tried a set of 15's once) over the years and have found that string gauge does matter to certain guitars. Some guitars seem to play, feel and sound better with a specific gauge of strings. Currently I have guitars with 9's, 9.5's, 10's, and 11's.


Agreed; different guitars play better with different string gauges.
My SG does just fine with .008s, while my Tele Select HH plays better with .012s, and my other guitars are somewhere in-between. I think the shorter scale and softer neck wood of the SG is part of why it plays so well with thin strings, and its humbuckers are pretty responsive to light strings too.
What the strings are made of matters just as much. I use steel strings, which are harder than nickel, which makes a difference.
But it's as much up to taste as anything else. I had .007s on another tele for a while, and it played just fine. Not much natural sustain, but then again, not all music needs that.
Play what feels best for you on the guitar. Don't be afraid to waste a few sets to find out what feels and sounds best - strings is the smallest of the expenses.

And yeah, you may have to spend a few minutes adjusting the action and intonation when changing string gauge or string material, but it's no more job than changing the strings.


And a possible claw adjustment.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 4:04 am
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I've always used 10's on all my guitars (Les Paul, Strat, 335, and Gretsch). A lot of folks over on the Gretsch forum claim that you can also run into some intonation and consistent tuning issues depending on your nut. Some are not cut in a way that supports lighter strings. So if you have a problem with it going out of tune you may have to make adjustments there.

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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 5:12 am
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I run 10s on all my electrics. I keep forgetting some companies offer 9.5s. I suppose I should try them at some point.

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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 11:56 am
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I have 10's on everything but one guitar; my Peavey V type EXP. I keep 9's on it. Just seems like it was made for 9's. Don't ask why. It just seems to play and feel better with 9's.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 9:20 pm
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I use 10's on everything. My biggest reason is that I play 9's out of tune too often. I tried them and went back to 10's, but I didn't give them a fair trial to get used to them either. The 9's just didn't feel right to me, but sound-wise, I didn't notice a significant difference.

I did a search on Google some time back on what various gages well known guitarists prefer. It was all over the board.

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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 12:03 am
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CAFeathers wrote:
I have used strings ranging in gauge from 8's to 13's (I even tried a set of 15's once) over the years and have found that string gauge does matter to certain guitars. Some guitars seem to play, feel and sound better with a specific gauge of strings. Currently I have guitars with 9's, 9.5's, 10's, and 11's.


Exactly - why would anyone want to lock themselves into the exact same strings for every guitar. Different gauges and brands have different tones. If you have more than one guitar why string em all up the same? Some of mine have 9's and others 10's. Some sound better with Elixers and some with Earnie Balls. When I get a new guitar I try several sets till I find the one that just seems right for it. Usually works out to 9's on rosewood necks and 10's on maple for me but that just could be coincidence.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 4:22 am
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I use a hybrid gauge of 9s on top and 10s on bottom.
I have found I like them the best over the years.
I only have two guitars, but those are on both.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 7:03 am
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9's on 25.5" scales 10's on 24.75" scales. Right or wrong that is the way I was taught 50 years ago and have stayed with that.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 10:05 am
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Personal preference: 10-46
9-42 are do-able, but just a little too light for my finger-picking comfort.

My blacktop HH strat likes 12s for some reason.


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 2:21 pm
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I got my Strat with 9s. I like to play a variety of music, have played with acoustic 6 strings, acoustic 12 strings, electric 11s, and 12s (if I recall correctly), so I am used to higher gauge. The 9s were okay, but I elected to go up to 10 gauge. If I had another axe I might have gone to 11s or 12s. With a third guitar I might want one strung with 9s. I went with 10s because it meant very little change in the guitar, requiring minor adjustments. It allows me to get (IMO) a better surf sound without going to the next option. The other genres can pretty much be covered with 10s as well. It mostly depends on personal choice and what you're used to, and brands/gauge will have a bearing on the tone which may mean 9s of one brand may or may not be your better choice than the similar 10s.

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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 1:53 am
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Got a low cost guitar which had 9's and couldn't get rid of buzz due to neck bow. Tried truss rod adjustment but to no avail (obviously something wrong going on there). Used 10's and they applied enough tension to pull the neck straight and got rid of the buzz. maybe some gits need heavier strings.
Regards, Ross


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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 11:30 pm
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If I go into a store and pick up one of the Fenders, I find I can barely play it because the factory-installed 9s are way too bendy for me. I thought there was some kind of defect with them. I've been using 11s, 12s, and 13s on my Strat so I'm used to them.
Then when I got my Epi Les Paul with the 10s, I liked them perfectly fine and stayed with that gauge. It's probably because I like to do more bending on the LP.
Still, I like 11s on the Strat now. I might go to 12s on my Jaguar when it arrives.

But 9s? Never again.

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Post subject: Re: 9s or 10s or who cares?
Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 2:38 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
Your guitar's set-up *may* need to be tweaked when switching string gauges, especially the intonation and the trem claw (if the instrument is a Strat). One size down (or up) should have only minimal effect if any on your neck's relief.

Arjay



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