Just tried 10's on my Axis

[acwild]

It really transforms the guitar but I'm not decided yet on whether it's better or not. 9's felt like rubber bands to me as I'm used to playing heavy gauges. The first thing that I noticed when I restrung with 10's is that I had to put the extra spring in to keep the bridge from floating. That in turn made the trem a bit stiffer than I like. Since I don't really use it much it's not a big deal. I really like the extra punchiness.

Generally, I like the tension that I've got now. The only issue is when I'm doing bar chords near the first frets. Some of the tunes that we're covering use a lot of those and my left hand is getting fatigued. If I can get used to it within a month, I think I may stick with this gauge. If not, I think I'll see if there's 9.5's.

Anyone prefering 10's on their Axis?

 

[Tollywood]

Hi,

I had been using 10's for years when I was playing my Gibs. Then, a few years ago, I switched back to playing stunt guitar (80's hairmetal) and switched over to an Axis. I went with 9's on the Axis since I like the rubbery feel of the strings and the tremolo bar.

So, I went from heavier 10's to the 9's and I like it better. The 9's sounds great to my ears.

Good Luck!

 

[acwild]

It really isn't about the sound for me as much as the feel. I'm not looking to fight the guitar but a little bit of resistance is nice. The perfect string tension that I like is 10's on my JPXI. I have no idea why it's easier to play as I think it's the same scale length. Maybe the bridge just has a little more give.

 

[TSHOW]

I switched to 9's ....and I am hooked.......Why fight it....I have way less problems with hand pain, corpul tunnel etc..I personally feel the Axis fits better with the 9's....I tried 10's for a day on the Axis but decided it wasn't for me...Anyway, whatever makes you happy is best.!! My tone is great too....If you eq it you can't tell the difference....Good luck!!

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

9s all the way for me, I do alot of bending and tapping and alternate picking, I have always used nines since my first tele and fell in love with the feel, my ax40 came used with 10s and I hated the feel so naturally when I did my string change it went to 9 super slinkys.

 

[acwild]

I switched to 9's ....and I am hooked.......Why fight it....I have way less problems with hand pain, corpul tunnel etc..I personally feel the Axis fits better with the 9's....I tried 10's for a day on the Axis but decided it wasn't for me...Anyway, whatever makes you happy is best.!! My tone is great too....If you eq it you can't tell the difference....Good luck!!

10's may be a bit much but 9's feel a bit too slinky for me. Just for some background, I play acoustics a lot (including 12-strings). I think I'll find a set of 9.5's and see if they do the trick.

9s all the way for me, I do alot of bending and tapping and alternate picking, I have always used nines since my first tele and fell in love with the feel, my ax40 came used with 10s and I hated the feel so naturally when I did my string change it went to 9 super slinkys.

I do a lot of bends also which is why I want a bit of resistance. My Tele has 10's as well and my LP has 11's so I guess I'm just used to more tension. There's definitely a solution to making my Axis absolutely perfect for me. I was just curious about what everyone else is using.

 

[mtrejo]

Hybrids?

 

[acwild]

Hybrids?

That may be what I'm after. I'd like higher gauge thin strings and thinner wound strings. Searching the web now...

 

[Jack FFR1846]

When I had my Axis, I always ran 9's. On my ASS, I always run 10's. I can play faster solos on 9's for sure. Not that they're all that fast anyways......

 

[joe web]

since about 5 years or so i'm on 10s on all of my guitars and i like it. in the past with 9s on the guitars, i always hadw trouble with the tune. seems like i put a lot of pressure with my picking hand onto the string, so heavier is better for me. on regular tunings 10s work great for me and i prefer the fuller tone they produce. with my band " Morbid Sky" we do 1/2 of the tunes in drop-d... and i ended up putting "heavy bottom, slinky top" on my drop-d guitars. wow, that's great but if you tune it up to regular e, it is getting a bit heavy to play.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Years ago I used to use 9's on everything, and even 8's! About 12 years ago I went to all 10's on all guitars and never looked back. I used to break a lot of strings with 9's, and with 10's its very rare to do so. They stay in tune better and I prefer the feel.

 

[TSHOW]

Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top uses 8's..........Fyi.....

 

[ozzyrules]

That may be what I'm after. I'd like higher gauge thin strings and thinner wound strings. Searching the web now...

Yeah Andrew. I've heard that about you; don't know which way to go. Lol. I'm sold on 9's.

 

[Stratty316]

Hybrids?

I use the Hybrid slinkys on my Axis(s) and HHAL and it is perfect! Feel and tone balance real nice with the Hybrid Slinkys.

 

[Mikey]

I'm on Hybrids on all of my guitars now, too. I really like the punch of 10's in the bass and the easy bending of 9's on the higher strings. Perfect combination for me.

 

[sixstrings]

Been using 10's for a long time, but for me it's a must since I tune all axes to D standard. However stiff trem is something that happened to me first time on the axis, never ever on any guitar before and very tempted to try 9-46 set on it to see how it feels/sounds in D.

 

[fbecir]

in the past with 9s on the guitars, i always hadw trouble with the tune. seems like i put a lot of pressure with my picking hand onto the string, so heavier is better for me.

Same problem here.
I play with 10-52 because when I play in Drop D or in Open G, I need heavy strings otherwise I am out of tune.

Besides it was proven in this thread :
http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-guitars/55874-albert-lee-using-his-wang-bar-2.html#post910643
that 9-42 strings, like whammy bar, is the ultimate proof of "sissyness"

 

[auxren]

I use Skinny Top/Heavy Bottoms on my Axis and I love em. Fat bottom strings to slap on for some funk/chunk

 

[acwild]

After searching for some hybrids, it looks like they're all set up opposite of what I'm looking for. I actually want it heavier in the skinny strings and keep the wound strings lighter. That's ok though. My fingers are already used to 10's in normal tuning on the Axis and now I love them. Looks like I'll have to adjust the spring screws to release some tension for the trem.
Like others have mentioned, I guess I have a heavy picking hand as well. 10's have really transformed my Axis into another guitar. I already loved it but I love it even more so now. By next year I'll be ready for 11's.

 

[fbecir]

By next year I'll be ready for 11's.

Be careful, it's what happened to my SUB : when I bought it, it was with 9-42 strings. After I put 10-46 strings, later on 10-52 strings and now 11-52 ...