Has anyone tried 8.5s on their strats.My new AmDx strat was shipped with 9s.The store did a set up before shipping but when it reached they were tuned to D as opposed to E.It felt great until it was tuned to concert pitch & I was a little disappointed as string bends were tough.(For some reason American strats are not easy on bends like the Mex strats atleast for me).I ordered an 8.5 set D'addario EXL 130+ & boy what a difference ! It now feels like butter & the bends are great with no compromise on tone!
Just wondered if any one here tried this gauge before.
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... sku=100394

There are even 9.5s available which I use on my Carvin & Steinberger headless.
I' ve also ordered a scratch pad to keep the Strat from scratches & dints from belt buckles.

[quote="Jesuscares"]

Interesting observation. The 9's are placed on Fenders because the are considered the more 'generic' gauge and generally easier to play. 10's are placed on guitars historically supplied with them. I used 8's years and years ago...as Fender Light Gauge strings. They were, in my opinion, lacking in tone quality. Of course, easier to bend. If you develop your chops, you should be abel to bend heavier and heavier gauge strings.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I used to play 8's a long time ago. I was switching strings at least once a month. I went to 10's and played them for a long time. When I purchaced my Fender it came with nines and loved the way they sounded and played. I have been keeping the Superbullets .009's on for that reason. It would be interesting to see what the 9.5's feel like. I'll have to find some and research the rest of the strings guages as well to see if it is only the high E string is different.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

8.5 I didnt know those existed.. hehe I only played 8's when I started playing guitar but now I mostly use 10's and 9's

Hi JesusCares: if memory serves Albert King used 8s, which on his slightly shorter scale length Gibsons would give very bendy strings indeed! There's one or two other famous players who have used 8s as well.

Don't be cajoled into heavier strings by the idea that heavy strings = better tone: for many people that is true, but you need to find the right strings for your own ears and fingers.

Good luck - C

I've been thinking the same way ...

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

same here i used 8's years ago. now i
use 10's. i find 10's to be perfect for any style of playing

As far as i know Malmsteen uses 8's too.

('s would be to light for me I attack the strings wery hard and I'm used to 11's so I would probarly break them after a couple of minutes.....

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It's a mix between Jazz and Funk, it's called "Junk"

I used 9.5s for a while, they're pretty good, better tone than 9s, with easier playing than 10s, at least at the time. I've gone up considerably since then. 11s on standard tuning and 12s on e flat. I really can't use too light now. I play on a vintage neck with a real round fretboard so I have to keep my action relativly high so I can do deep bends. I find, with me at least, if I don't have enough tension the string ends up bending as I pull it toward the frets because of the distance it needs to clear before it gets fretted. I used 10.5s before my strat was stolen. What ended up happenng was that I played my acoustic exclusively untill I got a replacement strat a couple months ago. I guess playing on thicker acoustic strings affected my fretting hands muscle memory, and when I went back to playing a strat, the 10.5s felt way to thin and slack to me. I'm actually glad, because I do defenitly like the tone heavier strings give me. But I in no way suggest using strings that someone finds too heavy but I do suggest ebventually trying to work your way up. I find the heavier strings last longer for some reason too, although they wear the frets down guicker.

I have tried the D'Addario super light 130's before but they did not hold up well they were 8 -38.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Bah I used to use 11s and had no trouble bending, but moved down to 10 because I wasn't getting the sound I wanted. If I went to bend a light/super light string I'd break it.

I used Ernie Ball Extra Slinky strings on my Strat when I was first learning how to play. Bending was easier and they didn't hurt my fingers as much as heavier gauge strings. I switched to 9s when my fingertips toughened and calluses formed and then eventually to 10s, which is my preferred gauge now.

John

Which could be a better brand-Dadarrio or Ernie Ball? Or anything better than that?

I like many brands. It's personal choice what you use. I have used:

GHS Boomer's
D'Addario's
Ernie Ball
Elixer
Fender
Dean Markley

Out of all of them I prefer D'Adarrio's for my ESP and Fender Superbullets for my Fender. Play around with different Brands and guages until you find the right ones for you.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

I've definitly grown quite partial to the Fender pure nickle strings, they're a tad more expensive, and do get carroded a little sooner, but they sound better in my opinion, and I noticed that when I change stings and stretch them out right afterward, I only have to retune 3 or 4 times instead of 9-10 which leads me to believe they dont stretch out as much. They also tend to keep tuning better. I've only been using Fenders because they were the first pure nickle strings Ive used, Im not someone who only buys one string maker, I'll get whatever is on sale, or in stock in the gauge I use.