First.. Just in case you all were wondering my name is Chris Painter.. So you can call me Chris (if you want).

As for my comment- the Twin is an extremely transparent amp with a huge power section and a relatively weak pre amp and no master volume. This means that it will respond much more to input changes (bigger strings and stronger pickups will send a stronger signal). It could be said that using bigger strings on that amp is comparable to turning up the channel volume (if there were one).

My JCM 800 is also a very transparent amp but it has a very strong preamp and a master volume so by simply giving the pre amp a little more push I can achieve basically the same thing.

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Custom Shop '59 Strat with John Cruz Master Design Pickups
Vibro King
Fulltone Clyde>Deja-Vibe>TS-808>TS-9>Boss Tuner

I used 9's for many years, and switched to 10's on my strat. It took very little time to get used to them, but now my other guitars strings feel too floopy. The tone difference is pretty small, it may be more between 9's and 12's, but 9's to 10's is minimal. I think once you have cemented your style and technique, you have to use similar tensions on your strings or it messes with you. Once you change, change them all

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

I play with DR 10's on my MIM HSS Strat. took me a little time to get used to them, but I wouldn't go back now. when I play guitars in the shop, the 9's they have them strung with feel flimsy.

With regard to heavier strings = stronger signal, you have more metal (heavier strings) moving through the magnetic field created by the pups. more metal moving in a magnetic field = stronger signal.

take your time to get used to the 10's. you'll like em, and you won't break as many high E strings (i used to break em all the time)

Try this:

With 9's, I believe the second string is a 11-13 guage. So tune your B string to E and you can A/B the tone difference by playing the same parts on the E and B strings both tuned to E. I find its minimal, more of a feel thing than a tone thing to me...what do you think?

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

Jay- the physical characteristics are fairly simple; bigger strings need more tension to ring the same note as a lighter string. More tension means that the object in motion will tend to stay in motion longer and also will require more energy to move it from stop. Also, larger strings have a larger surface area for pickup magnets to 'pickup' on.

As I said before, it is more a case of how it changes your pick attack, etc. than anything else.

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Custom Shop '59 Strat with John Cruz Master Design Pickups
Vibro King
Fulltone Clyde>Deja-Vibe>TS-808>TS-9>Boss Tuner

Hi

I don't understand. I would think the tension would act as friction and cause the string to vibrate less and have a smaller amplitude given the same pressure applied. This seems like it would hurt sustain. Also if the magnetic pull on the larger string would be greater giving it less sustain.

To me I would think higher guage have an greater attack with a faster decay time. What am I missing?

_________________
Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

from 9s-10s does take little getting used to.
i like playing shuffle style and sometimes hit my chords hard when im emphasizing a phrase. so i prefer 10s. tonewise, well it sustains a little better but not a total improvement. to my ears and hands 10s sound and feel perfect.
oh, i forgot the point i was trying to get at.
try elixers 10s, they are slick. i have those on my les paul.
if your planning on changing them back to 9s,reconsider.

Well, I'm still finishing up my correspondence degree in mechanical engineering so don't take me too seriously.

Tension does reduce amplitude but increases frequency which is why increasing tension on a given string will result in a higher note. But make that string heavier and now the heavier string is throwing more weight back and forth and thus bringing amplitude back up.

As for magnetic pull reducing sustain- this is valid but the effect is lessened as the string gets larger because of the aforementioned phenoms so the lower pickup/more sustain theory is not as applicable to those using gigantic strings.

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Custom Shop '59 Strat with John Cruz Master Design Pickups
Vibro King
Fulltone Clyde>Deja-Vibe>TS-808>TS-9>Boss Tuner

Well, thinking through this further, I am thinking that the extra mass of the string may offset the additional tension, so that is a wash. So now, sustain may come down to the magnets pull on the string. If the magnetic pull on the string is equal for all guages, higher guages will have greater sustain

I wonder what is acctually going on? I notice very little

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

The magnetic pull is not equal on all strings. As it was said earelier, the pole pieces are staggered to fit the radius of the neck as well as compensate for the differrent strength of the strings. Notice that Low E is not much louder than the high E. Which goes to my original point that pickups and amps affect tone much, much more than string size.

_________________
Custom Shop '59 Strat with John Cruz Master Design Pickups
Vibro King
Fulltone Clyde>Deja-Vibe>TS-808>TS-9>Boss Tuner