Made a big switch: .10s to .09s

[RJpilot]

I have been using 10s for about 7 years and an old set of 9s laying around so I strung up my Kramer with em. What a huge difference. Much less effort to play, and my hands don't get tired quite as fast. I know most folks on this forum think that going down in string guage is sinful and others will say your not a real man unless you use .13s or heavier.

They can go scratch. My playing is much more expressive and i don't have to try as hard. And I can last longer.

 

I tune to Standard and Eb, and play mostly Classic Rock, Metal, Shred, and Alternative. (mostly distorted)

 

More power to the 9s!!!

[ashasha]

I've never subscribed to the idea of bigger gauge means bigger anything other than bigger chances for tendon and muscle fatigue. If Iommi can get that monster tone from .08's than .09's should be great for us common folk.

[Solcat]

I read that BB King uses 8's. He said it an electric guitar, why suffer?

[sleepeatplay]

.09's are great. That is all I've used. I got turned on to DR Hi-beams and I'm not looking back!

[magnido45]

glad to hear that you had a great discovery by switching to .09s...never played .o9s before...infact, I was thinking of going the other direction and trying out .11s just for fun

[fmw]

I think the confusion stems from the acoustic guitar world where heavier strings produce more volume. On an electric, any difference in tone from one gauge to another is adjustable and correctable. I use 9's for everything except jazz. The jazz box has 11's but there isn't any string bending on that guitar.

[Saturn]

I have gone back and forth from .10s to .9s for years. Currently have .9s on all of my guitars. I really don't think there is much tonal difference if any between those two gauges.

[Jkater]

I decided to go with 9"s on my stratlike guitar after much deliberation and even a thread asking pro's and cons of both (you can find that thread if you search my profile). I like the feel of them and I am happy with the sound.

[jnapruitt]

I just started using the GHS Santana Signature Series in 9.5's. I have used 9's for years, but in the current setting in which I'm playing I need absolute tuning stability. I'm really impressed so far. I can still bend effortlessly, yet they seem to be more stable. Time will tell, but that's my initial impression. The high E is a 9.5 and the low E is a 43. It's a happy medium.

[GAS Man]

It's okay, you don't need to feel ashamed.

 

 

 

 

J/K

 

 

Yeah, it's said that Billy Gibbons and BB King have been known to play with 8-38 sets. (Never know fer sher how much to believe on internet reads though)

 

 

But the obvious upside is that the thinner gauges do allow for more of your tone and nuances to come through. I was watching a ZZ Top DVD last week and thinking to myself, "there is no one that I've ever watched play where it is more true that "tone is in the fingers"". It was just amazing to listen to the different sounds he gets without stomping on any boxes. From cleans to brewtalz to harmonics to chugs.

 

My personal pref is pretty much all 10-46s. I only use 11s on my '72 Tele Deluxe RI and on one strat that's dropped a half a step.

 

But what I've found is I'm fine with the tone of a HB equipped guitar with 9-42, it's mostly on the SC Fender style guitars that I really feel I need to switch up to the 10-46, but then again, I play a lot of cleans. With more gain tossed in, the need to up the gauge is diminished.

 

I also find that to balance out the tone, if you're going thin gauge, add more nickel to warm it up, if you're going thicker, then drop the nickel to "nickel plated" or even stainless steel on a set of 11s.

[Josh S]

I've always felt like there is a difference in tone that can't be adjusted out... There's a difference in the initial attack, the snappiness... I dunno how to describe it

 

I strung a guitar up with 8s once... That was fun. I could pretty easily bend the high e right to the bottom of the fretboard... Pretty silly stuff.

 

Anyway, I've used 10-52 for a long long time... But perhaps it's time to experiment with 9s again... This thread has inspired me

[eutychus]

i like my 11s

funny thing is i prefer i lighter gauge of 10s on my acoustic

personally i dont think you should move down

[BlackHatHunter]

I used to play 13-62s on all my guitars. My wrists simply can't take it anymore. So now I am down to 9s on all my guitars, except my TAG Cobra T which really sounds better with 10s. What I lost in tone I gained in ability to still play, and play for longer, pain-free.

[cephus]

I tune to Standard and Eb, and play mostly Classic Rock, Metal, Shred, and Alternative. (mostly distorted) More power to the 9s!!!

 

You are a girlie man

 

[Pine Apple Slim]

Always played 10s on my electrics up until about a yr ago. But then I was a gibson 24.75 scale guy for the most part. When I got my Strat, it was strung w/9s and I decided to keep them.

I have my Rogue tele strung w/10s tho, cause I use it mostly as a substitute for acoustic, clean settings, open chords, capo, chicken pickin. Thinkin about even goin up to 11s on that one.

My acoustic, I go between 13s for bluegrass and 12s for everything else.

[Dudleyjackson]

IIRC a lot of the really famous gtr playesr, BB, Pagey, and many more would admit to 9s,but, then a lot of them used to make up their own "sets". You don't need whacking great cables to get great sounds.

[Chief Ten Beers]

i could never go back to 9's and 8's are out of the question.like jimi once told jeff beck when he used to use light gage strings,how can you play with those rubber bands?he later changed gage's and never looked back.plus light gage strings always brake on me.i use 11's on my les paul and 10's on my fenders.

[metalmanic]

11s are usually what I play.. On the lower strings it's easier for me to do fast passages with the right hand (I play a lot of metal). Maybe it's because I use real thick picks and they don't get along with slinky strings? I have more control over vibrato and bending with thicker strings too. Maybe I'm just weird like that

[Nomad000]

I do notice a considerable difference in tone between .9's & .10's, but my main beef with .9's is that they break too easily. I can't recall the last time I broke a .10

[AndersonTech]

Every time I got a new guitar with 10's on it, I switched them over to 9's because I get much better control.

 

I don't use heavy picks or "dig in" that hard, so it's rare when a string breaks.

[Musicscotty]

I used 10's exclusively for years on my LP- as that was the only guitar I played but in the last few months Ive diversified into using a Strat fitted with 9's and a Yamaha SG2000, which is also set for 9's.

 

I'll keep the 10's on my LP but I think I'll persevere with 9's on the Strat and Yamaha.

 

I use 12's on my acoustic but keep meaning to try out 13's.

[xStonr]

I used 11's for years and started to experience some fatigue in my fretting hand so I stepped down to 10's and the fatigue has dissipated and bends miraculously became easier. I still use a wound G though.

[Loxley]

[wagdog]

I played 9-42 for YEARS. However my band recently started tuning down a 1/2 step flat and the 9's felt like spaghetti. So I switched to 10's - feel like the 9's in standard tuning.

[tlbonehead]

I have been using 10s for about 7 years and an old set of 9s laying around so I strung up my Kramer with em. What a huge difference. Much less effort to play, and my hands don't get tired quite as fast. I know most folks on this forum think that going down in string guage is sinful and others will say your not a real man unless you use .13s or heavier. They can go scratch. My playing is much more expressive and i don't have to try as hard. And I can last longer. I tune to Standard and Eb, and play mostly Classic Rock, Metal, Shred, and Alternative. (mostly distorted) More power to the 9s!!!

Umm, ok. Why'd you use 10s for so long if you didn't like them?