I read that BB was using 8's for ever, then recently changed to 11's. I thought that was strange since he is an Eighty something year old dude, why mess with something that has been a part of you tone for so long, then I saw he has his own Signature strings, so I figured Money Talks when your payin' the cost

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People say I'm a nice guy, I can't figure why

I believe most Gibson guitars including BB King's Lucille have a 24.75" scale length. 8's would be way too light and would rattle like all get out. It's the same as my modded Ibanez AS73. I had 9's on it and they were way too light. 10's are just right for me. 8's would be virtually unplayable unless you has a really, really light touch. BB has a stinging vibrato and it look like he's a little heavy handed at times.

It's funny how y'all are debating manliness. I'm a teen aged girl who plays .11's in standard and .12's in Eb. Does that make me manlier than most of you? I hope not.

I don't hear very much difference in tone between .10s and .12s, but it does change the way you play guitar. You can (and have to) hit heavier strings harder, so you can get more aggressive without worrying about string breakage. If I tried playing Pride and Joy on a Strat strung with .8's, then I'd probably break a string before the song was through. Or I'd have to change how I play it.

Remember, a Les Paul or a ES-335 both have humbuckers and a big fat warm tone. A Les Paul basically does the work for you if you want a big tone. So comparing a Les Paul with .8's to any Fender isn't a very fair comparison since they're totally different.

Personally, I'm really happy with my .11s. Yes, the reason I put heavier strings on to begin with was 100% because of SRV. But now I've sort of figured out how I like my guitar to be set up, and what's comfortable for me. And .11's in standard with medium high action is what I think works best for me. At first it was rough changing to heavier strings and it hurt a lot, but now that I'm used to them I'm so glad I went for it or I would have never found what I like.

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Wow! texasguitarslinger...you're a teenaged girl?
That's a surprise,a good surprise,you speak with a maturity about music that most teenagers,male or female are lacking in...way to go!

As far as B.B. King and his sound,I talked to a guy one time who played in a band with my brother in law,and he was somewhere and actually got to talk to B.B. and he asked "the question",how do you get THAT tone?
B.B. looked at him and simply said,"I just turn my amp up all the way."...that was it.

You should hear her play!!!

I would love to hear her play.

A solid state amp at that.

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No no and no

Alright, alright. I was just using "manly" as a humorous phrase. don't take it too much to heart ya'll. When I first started playing I heard much about how big strings hurt and will cut your fingers. I didn't believe it and tried them out and liked them. I've been using 12's for two years now, had the guitar set up, nut properly slotted, all that good stuff. I tune to pitch and do bends 1 step to 1 1/2 steps up and it's not too bad. I just like the feel of the high tension, purely personal preference, I don't think I'm compensating for anything but who knows right? As for the comment about damaging the neck I'd like to hear from more people with personal experience about that. I've dropped my strat on more than one occasion and the skunk strip has raised finish around it but other than that the neck seems built like a tank. I was just wondering who else likes the feel of heavy strings, I'm still in my early 20's so no hand problems just yet, I'll be sure to drink plenty of milk. Also aren't these gauges pretty standard on acoustic guitars? Just remember everyone, It's all good, right?

I use John Pearse strings 16-18-28-38-49-59 on my resonater. They sound great and I play strictly slide on it. Forget about fretting with them It's slowly destroying my neck. It's to a point where you can't straighten it anymore. It's not a seriously expensive resonater. That could have something to do with it. When I was using heavy gauge strings on my Strat, it didn't hurt the neck. It's a solid maple neck. I don't know about rosewood fretboards though. I never cut my fingers. I was damaging the tendons in my left hand. It's nothing to joke about and milk won't help you. If you're floating your trem, it's even harder on the tendons if you bend a lot because you have to fight the trem a little. It just depends on how muscular your hands are I guess and genetics. I'm a pretty aggressive player and that may have had something to do with it.

I even have trouble fretting my Martin above the 5th fret....with this arthritis.
Back when I was young I could handle the heavy strings,but not now and it's kinda frustrating but I've been using DAddario 9.5 lately and it's surprising what that small difference will make.
Arthritis sucks.

I used heavy strings till I was about 28. I don't have arthritis in my hands. I do have it in my feet and it does truly suck.

The point I'm trying to make is make wise choices. I'd rather play till I'm 90. Les Paul played till he was 94. I saw him a few times at the Iridium Jazz Club in NY and his hands were a mess. Only two of his fingers were working, but he still played incredibly well. Man I miss seeing him play.