Ok, I know this has a lot to do with personal preference. But I was wondering what others like for blues. I currently play with DR Pure Blues 10's on my Strat and really like them. I put a set of Elixir 10's on my Ibanez Artcore AF75D (which is a great guitar!) and they seem to bend easier. But it's not a fair comparison since the Artcore is a hollow body.

I've tried Slinky and Xl's on my Strat, but keep coming back to the DR Blues. What do others play and like. Not trying to open a can of worms, and I'm sure there must be many other posts on this, just curious.

Thanks

I know, I just like to tinker. As soon as I got my amp, changed the tubes before I even played through it. Always looking for that really cool blues sound, and in reality the only one that will care is me

It's just the fun of it.

I guess I'm not so subtle to where I can truly distinguish the sound of one brand from another. What I is very real for me is the difference in tone of string gauges. My preference has been, for the last 30 years, .011s. The thicker gauge, to me, have a better tone and stays in tune easier than the OEM .009s that Fender uses on most of their new guitars. Of course that requires 4 springs and a whole new setup. And once again, this is just my opinon that works for me.

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"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix

I really like .12-.56's. The problem is I can only handle them in Eb, and I don't play in Eb nearly as much as I thought I did. The tone is amazing, but you have to work your butt off for it. So I use .11's 95% of the time. I can't have one of my Strats tied up in Eb tuning all the time.

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NIckel strings like Ernie Ball Rock and Roll size 10. Most of the pro's use them, like Buddy Guy.

I love them and have been trying to find a better string, havent so far.

DANO

You are on the right track

I have played a long list of strings and I am using DR TITE FIT 11s which I am very happy with, I am yet to try the PURE BLUES as I have just switched to DRs. Nothing comes close apart from Ernie Ball Slinkies IMO. If you want something that will bend easier try using Slinkies, personally I like to work the bend so I can really hit the sweet spot. 10s sounded too thin on my strat after a few months so I went to 11s which have a much fatter tone for blues, I might even go to 12s in a few more months.

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Fender Highway One HSS Stratocaster '09
Modified Fender Champ600
Honer Special20 Harmonica

Hey Fender Cats-

I've been using Fender Stainless Steel (10's) strings and I really like their tone- Give them a try...

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There's Always Room For MELLOW !!!!

2000 MIM Stratocaster, Midnight Wine W/Texas Specials
2000 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
1969 Fender Vibro Champ

Hello form Italy.
As you see I have A Strat Classic Player '50.
Aftefr first time with standard strings Fender Super 250R, Nickel Plated Steel,
I change it with DR pure blues .010 and its sound it's better for blues than Fender for me.
Bye
Guido

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Fender Stratocaster Classic PLayer '50 2 color sunburst;Digitech GSP-1101;AKG-PG58;AKG-240MKII,Cakewalk/Edirol UA25EX,ProjectHeadBoxII; no amp directly to PC.

Well I think is all a matter of personal preffrence, like SRV his high E string was actually a D string I believe. BTW I am new to the forum and would like to say hi.

I've played a few different types of strings (Fender Bullets in 009 and 010), GHS Boomer 010, D'Addario 010, Ernie Ball Slinky 010 and I have settled on The David Gilmour signature strings from GHS.

They are the blue set; gauges 10, 12, 16, 28, 38, and 48. I use them on my Strats, Tele, and Musicmaster. They feel good and sound good to me and seem to be a high quality string, they also stay in tune very well for me after I stretch them. They're not too expensive (about $5 / pack). I do a lot of bending and I have never broken one, but then again I may not bend as aggressively as some others. I have not made any nut or truss rod adjustments with these strings, but I always adjust my intonation when changing gauges. I do not use the trem and usually will block it or at least use 5 springs and adjust it flush to the body. I do use a graphite lubricant on the nut.

I am thinking of trying 11s, as I do not seem to have too much difficulty achieving the bends that I want with 010s. I would like to hear the tonal enhancements reported by many with the 011s. I did notice a big improvement in tone when I went from 009s to 010s.

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I am using DR Tite Fit 10 to 52 on one strat and Blue Steel 10 to 46 on the other. I got into Dr strings when the Blue Steel that I had used forever got hard to find.

I play mainly blues and bend the H out of the strings, no problem.

Keep in mind that the Ibby is a 24.75" scale which is easier to bend than the Fender 25.5" scale

[quote="SRVFender"]Well I think is all a matter of personal preffrence, like SRV his high E string was actually a D string I believe.


First off, Welcome to the forum. I seriously doubt SRV used a D for an E. I believe he used 13's. You wouldn't be able to bend it unless you were Superman or something. I've never seen an unwound D string for guitar either. You wouldn't be able to tune it that high. You would also have massive setup, neck and trem problems.

Personally for blues, I like metal strings.
Sorry, I just couldn't help it.

Well, as you say this is really more of a personal preference thing. Personally I used .009 gauge GHS Bommers almost exclusively for many many years. In my earlier years, like yourself I tried -a lot- of brands before I settled on Boomers. EB Slinkys were always decent enough but they never seemed to have the longevity that the Boomers did...about the same sound but didn't seem to last as long. D'Addario's...I've had those suckers rust out on me iafter a single gig under humid conditions so I never went back to them. SIT's...while they certainly did "Stay In Tune", I really didn't like the sound of them...at all. The first time I tried Gibson strings on my old Memphis LP copy, the high E string broke just tuning it...when I complained they gave me another pack and this time the E -and- the B broke...never used those again either. Very simply, for the longest time every time I strayed from GHS strings, I always ended up coming right back to them.

Now...and I guess this proves that a person's tastes can and do change as the years go by...I've really started moving back to .010 gauge Fender Super 250's....for my Strats at least. In the earlier years, I always thought that the Fender strings sounded too "bright", particularly for a Strat where as the Boomers I always felt had a fuller sound with a bit more bottom end (hence the name "Boomers"?). As a person who's always played mostly classic rock and blues, I really liked the fuller sound. Also, back then I used to play my old Kramer more than my Strat(s) and my Kramer has a Kahler trem which I used to be a bit heavy handed with...longevity was most definitely a issue and again from my own experience back then, the Boomers just seemed to hold up a lot longer. On the other hand, I've moved more towards my Strats over the years, I'm not nearly as heavy handed with the trem as I used to be and more importantly, most of my electrics don't even have the same pickups or setups that they did just ten years ago...my '96 MIM for example now has Duncan rails in it which certainly provide more bottom end than the stock Mexican pickups ever did! LOL!!! Also, my ears have most certainly changed a bit as I've gotten older I'm sure and I probably don't hear things quite the exact same way that I did when I was in my 30's, let alone when I was in my 20's. Between those things alone, having strings with a bit of brighter sound has become a bit more appealing to me. I'll probably continue to use Boomers on the old Kramer as long as they're available but for my Strats, I really like the sound of the Super 250's a bit better and now a days, they seem to hold up just as well as anything else.

Now there is one other little tidbit to consider in regards to my comments....I do not and never have tried to sound like "everyone else". A lot of people seem to want to sound "just like (insert your favorite artist here)...". As such, some folks will spend a lot of energy (not to mention money) trying to find out what kind of guitar, pickups, amps, fx's, setup, strings, etc., that said artist uses so they can sound just like so-n-so. That has NEVER been my goal as a musician. From a blues perspective for example, I've always loved the work of folks like Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, SRV, etc., and most certainly these people have influenced my own playing but...if you listen to these guys, they all have their very own unique and distinctive sound and style...BB King sounds -NOTHING- like Clapton and Clapton sounds nothing like SRV (even though EC and SRV both use Strats). This was always something that I have very much shrived for with my own playing...to have my OWN style and my OWN sound. When people come to see me at one of my shows, I don't want folks walking away saying "gee...he sounds like another Stevie Ray Vaughn wanna be...", I want to be remember for -my own- music...even if I'm doing covers. As such, I've never really been concerned with what "everyone else uses"...even with stuff like strings, I'm only concerned with what sounds good -to me-.

That said, again it's all a personal taste thing. My advice would be to try as many different brands as you can and then stick with the stuff you like the most. It's kind of like eating at a buffet really...you try a little bit of everything. Some stuff will taste wonderful and other stuff will make you gag so when you go back for seconds, you just get more of the stuff you really liked the most

These are as always just my own personal opinions and should only be taken as such.

Peace,
Jim

I use D'Addario Light Top Heavy Bottom on all my electrics. They're just about perfect. Nice, thick bass strings, thinner top strings. I think they go from 10 to 52.