10s for standard and increase a gauge for drop tuning
ie
11s for D tuning
12s for C tuning
etc
8's
9's
10's
11's
12's
13's
This is a discussion on what Gauge Strings Do you Use? within the Ernie Ball Strings forums, part of the Gear Talk category; 10s for standard and increase a gauge for drop tuning ie 11s for D tuning 12s for C tuning etc...
10s for standard and increase a gauge for drop tuning
ie
11s for D tuning
12s for C tuning
etc
Blue Steels that is
.10s are my preference, although I do enjoy a set of .10-.52 Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms every once in awhile.
I guess I'm the only one that used .08s lol. Well, I love them and never have changed, never will too.
Started off on 9's, then went to 8's thinking it would help me play quicker and bend better (it didn't).
I then went to 10's which I found were just like 9's but just a bit more painful. So I went back to 9's
I decided to bite the bullet and try 11's the other week. One of my biggest regrets in life is that I didn't do it sooner.
My playing has improved no end just through sticking on these babies. One of my weaknesses in my playing was that my string bending was never accurate enough - now it seems I get it just right these days (oh and 20-odd years of practice helps...)
The other thing that I've changed recently is to move from a thin pick (.50) to a much thicker one (1mm+) which again has really helped with my picking speed and accuracy.
Different strokes for different folks of course, but a combination of heavy-ass strings with a heavy-ass pick is what does it for me these days
10's on my Epi EA-250 (hollowbody) which I play most, 12's on my Hagstrom Superswede so far but I think they are a bit too hard for me so I'll try 10's too, maybe 11's.
I use 12's.. I like the feel of them. I actually started on 9's and moved my way up haha
.045 - .100
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Strings come in different sizes. When speaking of acoustic guitar strings we often denote the size by stating; light gauge, extra light gauge, medium gauge, etc.
Larger gauge strings can help boost volume and sustain but can be more painful on tender fingertips unaccustomed to the tension or those bending strings.
Lighter gauges are often easier to fret and bend, but very light strings can cause some players to over-bend the string causing the note to play sharp.
I use tens. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, the entire affiliation I have with Ernie Ball and Music Man is due entirely to John Petrucci. I don't know how I managed to be living so far under a rock as to never hearing of either Ernie Ball or Music Man before then, but I managed. So, that's why I started using Ernie Ball strings, and why I eventually ended up purchasing a Music Man JP7. Now, prior to me "discovering" Ernie Ball strings, I certainly went through quite a few other brands, and for the lack of a better term, they were of garbage quality. After a while, I noticed that sets of 10s were drastically less likely to have a broken high-e string while bending up a full step at the 22nd fret (I don't know why, but they always seemed to break when doing that specific bend). I've now been playing for about thirteen years, and my experimentation took place for many years in the beginning. Because I was so much more satisfied with the resilience of the 10s, I just got so used to them, and now that's all I truly like.
I use 10's in E standard, and Eb, 11's for D standard, and 12's for C standard.
Ernie Ball strings of course! Prefeably the RPS when I can use them.
What gauge, brand, wound to flats, and how many years have you been using these strings. Thank you.
To start I use Daddario Chromes 11-50 Flatwounds for 2 months now. Twangy but less twangy than rounds.Actually, I find if you boil your strings in vinegar every few years they last for decades!
I use hybrid slinkys on my JPXI.
So does Ruby.
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JPXI - Axe Fx II - Triple Recto
I don't do any drop tunings, I just like the ballsier sound of heavy bottom strings. I've found that on top strings, gauge hardly effects tone, though others may disagree.ya know...one thing that I have noticed now that Im back in the LP world is that the .10s are way shakey for some of the 12 fret and higher bends.Im thinkin' 11s might add that tension I got used to on the PRSs with 10s. Any of ya'll know what I mean!?!?
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