Hi Forum. It´s pretty amazing how different gauges and brands of strings affect the tone of our beloved strats.
On my newest strat I started with .10´s Blue Steels, and I didn´t like them, the guitar sounded too punchy, and the strings were hard to bend.
Changed to Daddarios 09´s and the sound is so much mellower, now it sounds "like a real strat", kind of a Dire Straits tone, very bright, but a bit shrill in my opinion.
My all time favorites are .10 DR strings because they´re the only "thick" strings I know that are soft to bend, but they´re a bit hard to find here down south, and a bit more xpensive.
I was wondering what kind of strings and gauges some of you prefer, and mainly if u know other brands that produce .10´s or .11´s that are soft to bend and still sound bright.

Hi

Not sure what do you consider a "soft" feel. I personally use d'addario and fender super bulets .11' on my strats. On the same guitar did not notice any difference while bending strings. Tone wise there is very, very minor difference between them (nothing scientifficaly measured just daddarios seem a bit melower). I like them both however I think daddarios last a bit longer.

11 gauge string sets can either have a wound 3rd string or a plain 3rd string. It used to be more common to find sets of 11s with wound 3rd strings so manufacturers started clearly indicating when a set had plain 3rd strings. Bending a wound 3rd string is a real pain in the butt.

Please note this just my opinion based upon my experiences.

When it comes to electrics, choose a gauge that feels comfortable to you. The differences in tone and volume of different string gauge is minimal at best.

The main reasons people use certain string gauges on electric is because:
1) They pick too hard for the gauge their using and end up breaking strings. If you adjust your picking strength, you can play any gauge.
2) They don't want to spend the time building up the extra strength to bend heavier gauge strings or they can't because of physical limitations.

Also, fret height can change how strings feel and how easy they are to bend. If a guitar has vintage (short) frets, it is more difficult for your fingers to "grab" a string and bend it so lighter strings generall work better. If a guitar has taller (jumbo) frets, it's much easier to grab a string and bend it's a bit easier to use heavier strings.

When it gets right down to it, almost anyone would be hard pressed to be able to hear the difference between different string gauges. There are plenty of pros that use really light strings that end up with a HUGE tone.

Thank you for being respectful of my opinions BigJay. Everyone feels and hears things differently so there are no absolutes when it comes to something as subjective as string gauge.

Agreed. Sometimes certain guitars feel and sound better with a certain gauge of strings, scale length not withstanding.

I agree, i also find changes in sound, a .09 dadarrio vs .10 bluesteel vs .10 DR, i do hear diffrences in the same guitar. I personally like thick strings but my hands are thin, that´s why i look for "soft" .10´s.
Has anyone tried DR strings here? the colored ones? to me theyre superior in all aspects.

DR strings are coated with a rust resistant material, the same as elixir strings. Their said to last longer for it.

Some people love em, I think their terrible for the afore mentioned coating and alledged longevity. They sound great when they first go on, just like normal strings. That lasts about 15minutes and dies off to a kind of dulled down not worn out but flat sounding string. They stay that way for ages. 18months was the longest I could last on them before I had to change strings.

_________________
No no and no

I use Fender Pure Nickle 11 gauge. I like the pure nickle because it warms the tone on a guitar that by its very nature is bright, and the 11's for, well, I like the sound and feel of heavier strings. I go with fender because I find the gauges in the set .11-.49 to be a bit more balanced. But, to my dismay, Ive been contacted by the sales rep I use at sweetwater to tell me that Fender is discontinuing those strings.

I change strings every 6 months, so. DR .10´s in red color specifically, are superior in my opinion, because they´re the only .10´s that feel soft like .09´s and that sound very punchy like a thick string should and also sound bright as a thin string should. They have that specific quality.
That´s why I like them. I´ve been playing for 30 years if it matters.....

I agree with nikininja. The coatings on both the DR and Elixir strings seems to dull the sound. At least thats my opinion. I've been using D'Adds .010s and .11s, Ernie Ball Power Slinky .11s, and Fender .008s to .012s consistently. I find the tone of all of these string brands and makes sound better in many different ways than the coated strings that I have heard. I also prefer the feel of the uncoated strings to the Elixir and DR coated models.

Thats just my opinion. I'm in the process of finding the right string and action height due to osteoarthritis. I've been set in my ways for so long and now arthritic pain is causing some issues. I'm to the point were I may just fight through it as long as I can with the gauge and action I want until I can't take it anymore. Then I will compromise. I'm still invinsible for Godsake.

Russ

Evidently each one has it´s own preferences, so then my question could be which are the thickest gauge strings youve played that you´ve felt softer to bend? (as a recommendation 4 me plz)
In tones, for my ears, light strings = dire straits early albums tone, and heavy strings = SRV tone
Correct me if I´m wrong or add up 2 the list?