Help with Blues string gauges.

[LesPaul95]

Hey guys I own and Epiphone Les Paul and I have Ernie Ball Power Slinkys .11-.48 and I'm inspired by Page, Clapton, and Vaughn. i realy need to know if my string choice is right for my music. I've considered getting .10-etc. but im not sure if i should. Ive grown used to these strings and get good tone out of them, but would I be able to play better with lower gauges? (PS. another problem is that I like to play the occasional fast Van Halen or Paul gilbert lick)
Thanks, Jake

 

[Slingy]

Hey whatever feels good to you. I think 11's are a bit beefy myself, and 10's do not sound thin at all. Have you considered a hybrid set with a fatter bottom and skinny top?

 

[TNT]

The 9's cover the entire spectrum with "excellence"!!! Especially the pure nickel Classic Rock n Roll Slinkies - awesome!!

 

[Slingy]

I need to try those too! Seems to be alot of love for the nickel.

 

[YtseJam92]

12s.

 

[Volt]

I am a blues/rock/Jazz fusion player and for a 24.6" or a 24.75" scale length I like a standard set of Ernie Ball RPS "10's".
For 25.5" scale lengths I like a standard set of "9.5's" or the Steve Morse custom RPS Slinkys: (10p-13p-16p-26w-32w-42w) string gauge setup.

 

[DrKev]

Clapton has used 10's for what seems like centuries now. Jimmy Page used 8s or 9s, Billy Gibbons uses 8s (and that's a big full sound if ever I heard one). I've read that Buddy Guy and Tony Iommi used 8s, 9s, or 10s depending on the year and what they felt like. Hendrix went for 10s.

Light gauge adversely affecting tone is NONSENSE. (Especially where the SRV gang are concerned - if you cant tie down a boat with it it's to light for your guitar?? Screw that!) What is too light for you is up to you and you only to decide. What SRV decided was good for him and his unique enormous mitts and he made that decision all for himself. It doesn't apply to anyone else, including, it would seem, many of his heroes, like those mentioned above.

Throw away any idea, stereotype, preconception, bias, and mis-truth you have heard about strings. Buy a few sets of EBs and find what gauge feels and sounds best to you. You'll never look back.

Personally, I decided finally on 9s a few years ago because I play better with them (and that gives me better tone too).