Hey guys, first post on this forum so be nice =) I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but I felt I might give it a shot.

I just bought myself a Fender MiM HSS strat last week (love it). I can't put it down I love the strat sound. This thursday I get a new amp (Bugera V22 or the Vox AC4). Although before that I need your help on a question I have about strings.

When I picked up my strat I asked for a pair of Ernie Ball Hybrids, I love SRV's tone and those higher guage strings I heard would get me closer to that sound. The question I have is will my guitar need anything done to it when changing to those strings from the standard fender strings that come with a strat? Such as adjustments to the trem and such.

Also will I need to de-tune? What I mean is dropping down from Standard tunning. Sorry if these are stupid questions, I'm not the most "experienced" with strats or even guitar for that matter so thank you guys very much.

Moving up a guage will require some re-setup. The trem claw screws will need to be tightened a bit to counter the new tension on the bridge. This will keep it at the same heighth it's at now with standard 9's. Your intonation will need a tweak. You'll just have to experiment on your tuning. Tuning to Eb will make the strings easier to bend, that's for sure. Hope this helps.... Welcome to the forum..... Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Hi PocketRockets, welcome to the Forum.

Ditto to what Cherokee says above.

Additionally, if you are especially chasing the SRV sound then I believe he was often tuned down to Eb, if memory serves.

Do that by all means, but only as a way of getting at a sound. It is not a technical requirement related to changing string gauges.

On setup: a new Strat probably came with a manual that contains the information. If not then it is also available here. Work through this in the order they set it out:

http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php

If still in doubt take the guitar to a good, well recommended tech for a setup. Money well spent.

Cheers - C

Welcome to the forum,I hope you're keeping in mind that Stevie had incredibly strong beefy fingers and it would be very hard to replicate his bends and finger vibrato on heavy gauge strings unless you were gifted with a vise-like grip.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

What are earny Ball Hybrids made of ? Personally, I find you get the best "twang" sound with nickel plated steel. I like the fender bullets, but the recent ones I bought (mim) seemed somewhat corrodded along the strings like used strings !?

Dan