Hey there... Have any of you ever gone back down to .009's when you'd played .010's for years and years and years?

A neighbor of my sister & brother-in-law had a set of Dean Markley .009's sitting around not being used and asked them to ask me if I wanted them (Sure thing! Why not?)... I have always always always played Ernie Ball Slinky's .010 - .046 and maybe occasionally, D'Addario .010 - .046 for a change of pace.

Anyway, it was time for a string change anyway, so I figured I'd try out the Dean Markley .009's. Hey, they were free, so what the heck, you know? I will say this though... Wow, I had to adjust my tremolo bridge's spring and claw screws! But nothing else. I didn't have to adjust the string height, the neck, the nut, or anything - only the bridge/tremolo springs.

My first impression.... Man, I feel like I am going to snap these strings when I do a hard string bending vibrato! Wow, are they light! But they sound so thin out of my '95 Strat and my amp, it's really weird.

Has anyone else switched string gauges (.009's, .010's, and back & forth) ???

yes.

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......it's a topsy-turvy world when noses run and feet smell...

sure

+1
-even vice versa

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A-man

Yes, although at this point I have stopped putting 009s on the Strats. I like 10s better there, and save the 9s for my Les Paul. Nine-year-old god-daughter comes to play, and the Strat neck is too long and strings too stiff for her fingers. I bought her a Squier Strat to grow into, but she likes the LP with the lighter strings right now.

9s to 10s to 9s... okay, I'm a wimp, but I haven't broken a string in 30 years.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Lucky 9-year old.

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Bill

I agree with the assessment that 9s sound slightly thinner but there are also some positives to them besides the lighter touch. I always find I can get slightly better chiming bell tones with 10s but I do think that snap and spank and quack are slightly improved with the 9s. I prefer 10s mostly because I switch between electric and acoustic quite frequently and I find the 9s are too much of a feel change. 10s are already enough of a difference to deal with.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

what are 9's?

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9s are what the factory puts on guitars, that as soon as you buy it, they are quickly changed!

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2000 American Deluxe Stratocaster
2011 Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro 50's
2007 Epi Les Paul Custom
90's ESP Eclipse
JH-1B Jimi Hendrix Crybaby
Analogman KOT
Korg Pitchblack
Boss NS-2 PH-2
Blues Deluxe Reissue
1999 & 2007 Marshall TSL 100 w/1960BV cab

ahhhhhh. then no i don't, I keep everything set at 11

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My ja90 came with .9's on it. Combined with jumbo frets and my heavy touch I kept fretting them out of tune. I put .11's on everything, and used to use .13's sometimes.

Wow, those are really, really big strings You must have hands of steel
cheers,
Alex

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......it's a topsy-turvy world when noses run and feet smell...