It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:17 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 21 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Do 10's really sound "better" than 9's?
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:47 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:53 am
Posts: 113
Very recently, I switched back to 9's on my Tele. I had been using 10's. Over the years, on a Strat, I had even been playing 11's. On a semi-hollow body, 12's...

I have come to the conclusion that 9's actually sound better on a Tele. Sure, there's the issue of kind of music, or going for a heavier rhythm approach...and the whole sense of personal preference. But I really think 9's are the optimum string gauge for a Tele (for a Strat, 10's).

Listening very carefully to 10's at higher volumes with my amp, I came to the conlcusion Jim Campilongo makes on his website that 10's actually sound "brighter" and furthermore I was losing a sense of string separation and dynamics for the sake of a kind of louder, not necessarily fuller, less dimensionally diverse sound. BTW, I have no troble bending 10's...

I think string gauge also gets caught up in guitar legends such as SRV and even a sense of string gauge machodom...


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:07 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 2:58 pm
Posts: 2293
Location: Adirondacks
I use 9's alwyas have and always will. I tried 10's but just didn't care for them. To me it is about personal preference. I find that with 9's I have a better time bending them and also it feels easier to me to get the subtle expressions I am looking for. Again, this is just personal preference and of course my opinion. :D


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Do 10's really sound "better" than 9's?
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:26 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
njupasaka123 wrote:
... Listening very carefully to 10's at higher volumes with my amp, I came to the conlcusion Jim Campilongo makes on his website that 10's actually sound "brighter" and furthermore I was losing a sense of string separation and dynamics for the sake of a kind of louder, not necessarily fuller, less dimensionally diverse sound ....


I find the exact opposite to be true. I always run 10's. Always have. Always will. Couple times I was in a bind and needed to borrow a set of strings for a gig. Of course most people run 9's so when beggars can't be choosers chances are you're gonna get 9's. IMO they suck. Is it my imagination? Could be but I don't think so. 9's have less sustain, fewer harmonics or at least quieter harmonics. Possibly more spank though. That's only my subjective opinion.

So to answer the original question, "Do 10's sound better than 9's?"

Yes.

_________________
Image
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.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:04 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:58 pm
Posts: 2121
airbornestrat wrote:
I use 9's alwyas have and always will. I tried 10's but just didn't care for them. To me it is about personal preference. I find that with 9's I have a better time bending them and also it feels easier to me to get the subtle expressions I am looking for. Again, this is just personal preference and of course my opinion. :D

airbornestrat i agree with you 110 percent. i was using 10's on my sg for a while and when i bought my strat and felt the 9's on it i was hooked. ive used 9's ever since.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:19 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:53 am
Posts: 113
A few Tele players who need to learn that 9's "suck":

James Burton (actually 8's custom...)
Albert Lee
Jim Campilongo

Feel free to Google Jim Campilongo on YouTube...and listen to those "sucky" nines...

Add to the list of players who play those 9's that "suck" most session musicians in Nashville....


Frankly for Rock I am more sympathetic to playing 11's...whuch I have done.

10's seem "neither this nor that" by comparison...and so begins the endless upgrades, etc...after the intial sense of "sounding better."


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:21 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:27 pm
Posts: 1151
Location: In.
I think the 10's provide a bigger or fatter sound, but that may not be what you want in every situation. I use moslty 10's on everything except for one Strat and I use 9's on it just to have some variety.

_________________
"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." Blazing Saddles...


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:11 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:11 pm
Posts: 2621
Location: Sunny So Cal
I think it's all subjective.

Whatever you THINK sounds better, does sound better.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"
Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:28 pm
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:53 am
Posts: 113
One good Jim Camplilongo solo featuring 9's is on YouTube...

Jim Campilongo Trio (Watching You Drown)...

or with Nora Jones and The Little Willies...

I think the "brighter" opinion of 10's that Campilongo has which I agree with has to do of course with timbre not pitch...the pickup is effectively hotter over the treble strings, not simply the bass in a set of regular 10's...the louder bass can fool you but the treble strings tell a different story, IMO.

With XL strings there is greater string balance and greater string separation esp. with a Tele which is unlike a Strat(which is more middy) A Tele is based on highs and lows.

I think that 11's with a Tele give truly something different and more worthwhile than 10's which are inbetween...

I think extremes work better with Teles...


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:42 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:58 pm
Posts: 2121
njupasaka123 wrote:
A few Tele players who need to learn that 9's "suck":

James Burton (actually 8's custom...)
Albert Lee
Jim Campilongo

Feel free to Google Jim Campilongo on YouTube...and listen to those "sucky" nines...

Add to the list of players who play those 9's that "suck" most session musicians in Nashville....


Frankly for Rock I am more sympathetic to playing 11's...whuch I have done.

10's seem "neither this nor that" by comparison...and so begins the endless upgrades, etc...after the intial sense of "sounding better."

i think if you like 10's or 11's or whatever thats okay but you shouldnt criticize other people on what they prefer. you say those people that you listed need to learn 9's suck, is totaly your opinion. they may think that if you need to learn 10's suck. it is personal preference. dont be so harsh on their guitar beliefs.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:59 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:18 pm
Posts: 426
Location: Seattle, WA
Bigger guage strings will cause more frequency for the pickups to "pick up", therefore cause more signal to go to the output. At that point, the ears may prefer whichever sound thye want :)

_________________
SG.
"Walls" video from Zero in the Sun by Villains of Yesterday


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 7:22 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 2:58 pm
Posts: 2293
Location: Adirondacks
njupasaka123 wrote:
A few Tele players who need to learn that 9's "suck":

James Burton (actually 8's custom...)
Albert Lee
Jim Campilongo

Feel free to Google Jim Campilongo on YouTube...and listen to those "sucky" nines...

Add to the list of players who play those 9's that "suck" most session musicians in Nashville....


Frankly for Rock I am more sympathetic to playing 11's...whuch I have done.

10's seem "neither this nor that" by comparison...and so begins the endless upgrades, etc...after the intial sense of "sounding better."


This is what's great about this forum..that is your opinion..I respect it...don't agree with it..but that is what music is all about :D


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:36 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur

Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:53 am
Posts: 113
Not crticizing other people. Simply the statement that 9's on a Tele "suck."

Also, raising the question, not simply what we prefer in sound but something more basic:

Is the "bigger sound" really better or really even "bigger?"

This question also relates to playing in a band and occupying a sound space...

The Tele players I referred to are obviously great....


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:58 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:51 pm
Posts: 25353
Location: Witness Protection Program
I like 10s on a Tele. D'Addario XL ProSteels 10-46.

There's also a good youtube of Bill Frisell with his Tele and looper.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:06 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 10:57 am
Posts: 602
njupasaka123 wrote:
A few Tele players who need to learn that 9's "suck":

James Burton (actually 8's custom...)
Albert Lee
Jim Campilongo

Feel free to Google Jim Campilongo on YouTube...and listen to those "sucky" nines...

Add to the list of players who play those 9's that "suck" most session musicians in Nashville....


Frankly for Rock I am more sympathetic to playing 11's...whuch I have done.

10's seem "neither this nor that" by comparison...and so begins the endless upgrades, etc...after the intial sense of "sounding better."


I don't know about the bottom two, but at James Burton's website it says he uses

.009
.010
.012
.024
.032
.038

So his B,G and Low E strings are lighter than a set of stock 9-42s.

_________________
James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
Hot Rodded Am Fat Strat Texas Special (now featuring Kinman Traditional II pickups)
Fender Blues Jr.
SWR California Blonde
Pedals Pedals Pedals


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:17 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:11 pm
Posts: 2330
Location: location, location.
i was told by the owner of a music shop that a lot of pros are switching to 9 and a halfs on their fender styles and 10 and a halfs on their gibson styles.

Never come across a set of either in a shop though


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 21 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: