Thinking about going back to 9 - 42

[mtrejo]

I like Hybrid and Regular Slinkys

 

[Roubster]

My preferred solution is 10-46 tuned down half step . Nice fat thick heavy tone, and easy to play as well.

 

[guitrr]

On my Albert Lee HH I use 10-46, standard pitch. My Luke III, which I am using a lot lately in my surf band, has the first three strings 10,13,17, for ease of playability; but the bass strings are .30, .40., .50 or sometimes .52 - flatwounds. The sound is huge.

I love the feel of flatwounds, and the fast tremolo picking often used in surf music seems much easier with flatwounds.

It's been over 25 years since I used .09's; I like to feel some resistance from the strings. My intonation would probably suffer at this point if I used .09's, and I imagine I'd overbend them, too.

In an interview with Tonequest Magazine a few years ago, Don Grosh said (and I'm paraphrasing), "Big strings and thick necks just sound better". I tend to agree. Everyone just needs to find their ideal balance of how much wood in the neck and how thick a string they are comfortable playing with.

 

[Lanky]

I just received my new Luke 3 and absolutely love the guitar. However, the 09's strings it came with feel extremely thin and wobbly. So far, I have played shorter scale guitars with 10's, and I though longer scale + thinner strings might be perfect. In fact I am surprised how thin and soft these 9's feel on the Luke, despite the (partly much) longer scale. I'm concerned that 10's on the longer scale will be too hard to play for me and am thinking of trying 095's from either Daddario (softer) or GHS (harder). I wonder if anyone tried these on a Luke?

 

[QuietSpike]

I use 10-46 on all of my guitars with a 25.5" scale and standard or 1/2 step down tuning.... I've used these Since I was a teenager, so a set of 9s feels really fragile to me. I use the skinny top heavy bottom EB strings for my Les Paul (10-52), and that is perfect for that guitar tuned 1/2 step down or lower.

The JP12 I just got has 9s on it (I'm quite sure), and I keep over-bending my notes because they feel so loose!

I use 12s on all of my acoustics, and I hear a significant tonal difference over 11s.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I use Cobalt 10-52s on all my guitars. Maybe I'll try a set of Hybrids next time around. For me it's just a feel/resistance thing. I've never noticed much of a tone difference except on the bottom two strings. With that 52 on the bottom though, you really can get some beautiful rich piano like bottom end tones.

But what the hell, I'll throw some Hybrid Cobalts on there next time!

 

[BrickGlass]

9-46 RPS Hybrid Slinky's. Love them. Easy to bend still and a little bit chunkier on power chords than 42's.

 

[Mikey]

9-46 for me as well. Used to use 9-42 but tried the hybrids when I bought my JPXI, which came from the factory that way at that time. I liked how stable thy felt when diggin in the cords for lack of better terms, while retaining the ease in bending. I have since changed all my electric guitars to 9-46 and haven't looked back.

 

[agt]

I primarily use 11s. Mainly because I like the feel of 11s and I can get the lowest action from 11s (3 or 4 64ths of an inch) without buzzing. I like tension on the strings. For guitars with single coils - my Silos, Lukes, or my AL - always 11s. On certain guitars with a darker tone (e.g. my BFR ASS, 25th, or JP6), I prefer the sound of 10s and I reluctantly string them up with 10s.

Every so often I experiment with 9s and I can't deal with the lack of tension. Too squirrely for me. I like my strings to fight back! YMMV and probably will.

 

[Stratty316]

I like the hybrid slinkys as well. Use them on everything now...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ksandvik]

I just received my new Luke 3 and absolutely love the guitar. However, the 09's strings it came with feel extremely thin and wobbly. So far, I have played shorter scale guitars with 10's, and I though longer scale + thinner strings might be perfect. In fact I am surprised how thin and soft these 9's feel on the Luke, despite the (partly much) longer scale. I'm concerned that 10's on the longer scale will be too hard to play for me and am thinking of trying 095's from either Daddario (softer) or GHS (harder). I wonder if anyone tried these on a Luke?

GHS Boomers 9-42 feel more solid than corresponding Slinky's -- plenty of tension. My guitar tech even claims that the Boomers 9-42 are slightly bigger than most other brand sets of same size. Slinkys are fine but Boomers feel more solid with my Luke. It's a matter of taste.

I have not heard much sound differences between 10-46 and 9-42 sets, prefer the 9-42 as I'm always worried about overloading fingers and I can't down tune my guitar due to all the sub work I'm doing.

 

[acwild]

For me, using heavier gauges is not about tone but feel. I hate that rubber band feeling from thin gauges. That's not to say that I don't use 9's as they seem to feel right when I tried them on my JP XI.
As far as heavier gauges causing wear and tear on hands goes, I hope that's not true as I also play bass and a 12-string acoustic.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[CHill]

My JP6 came with RPS 10s. Last weekend I put on Cobalt 9s. I tune in Eb. The 9s after the spring tension adjustment with Eb vibrate when stumming or slightly touching the trem. Will be putting on some fresh RPS 10s this weekend. The Cobalt 9s sound great but with my set up the 10s have the correct tension for my tuning and playing style. ~C

 

[Astrofreq]

I tried 10's once. Once.

9-42 Cobalts all the way for me. Although on my baritone, I have 13-72's.

 

[Tubes4Tone]

I've been using 9-42 sets for years. (Webstrings.com) That's ALL I use on both of my Silhouette Specials.

If I'm not mistaken....Paul Gilbert & Steve Lukather use 9-42 sets.

 

[t_rod]

Been using 9's since I got my JP. Tone is huge and bends are super easy. Just have to make sure my left hand is fretting properly and my pick glides over the strings so i dont bent out of tune etc... With the heavier gauges I find that I can play a little sloppier without it affecting my tone as much, but then it also limits certain things. All just a compromise really IMO.