changed from 9 to 10 now tone is harsh

[underblu]

When I swapped out 9's for 10's on my Santana SE the tone changed from warm and melodious with lots of sustain, a lush midrangey very well blended fundementals and harmonics to a kinda harsh sound with little midrange bloom and a metallicy higher strings tone lacking overtones, harmonics and sustain.

 

Odd thing is unplugged its sounds pretty decent with the tens.

 

Could the lower strings somehow be overdriving the pickups.

That would explain the hash but the higher string overtones -maybe I need to do a better intonation job.

(its not my mic pre (padded it to be sure) or the amp -I notice the harshness most after playing back from my DAW -I checked my levels though)

 

BTW the strings are EB slinkys.

 

I don't know if I should try some other 10's or go back to 9's. I will be installing new pickups but its goota be more than that. Would the nut effect the sustain and harmonics by pinching the thicker strings.

 

Anyway any recommendations would be appreciated.

[TheDarxide]

It might just be new string twang. Play em for a couple of hours and see if they settle in.

[Metal|Boy]

that metallicy higher strings tone is definatly a bright new string tone.

[Milkman1]

How often do you change your strings?


The reason I ask is that changing to 10s should if anything do just the opposite of what you describe. It shouldn't do so to a huge extent, but a little deeper tone and more bottom end is not unexpected when moving up a gauge.


Give it a day or so.

[linthat22]

I started using 10's on my Agile and the strings sounded dead. So I bought another brand and the sound was the same. I switched to 9's and the strings sing. Don't know what it is

[Professor Tom]

Originally posted by linthat22 I started using 10's on my Agile and the strings sounded dead. So I bought another brand and the sound was the same. I switched to 9's and the strings sing. Don't know what it is

You like 9's and they like you. Stick with them !

[wilmer]

I have had the same experience with fatter strings. They tend to be overwhelming. I always use 9s.

[Hendrix95]

Did you give the guitar a setup after switching gauges? The harsh overtones you're hearing on the higher strings could be some minor fret buzz. It could just need a truss rod adjustment. If you aren't experienced doing this, take it to a tech. However, if you already did this or it doesn't need one and this isn't the case, then it could be that the strings are new and overly bright sounding and need to be broken in.

[ranalli]

Originally posted by Milkman1 How often do you change your strings? The reason I ask is that changing to 10s should if anything do just the opposite of what you describe. It shouldn't do so to a huge extent, but a little deeper tone and more bottom end is not unexpected when moving up a gauge. Give it a day or so.

 

 

 

+1

[Knottyhed]

Originally posted by underblu When I swapped out 9's for 10's on my Santana SE the tone changed from warm and melodious with lots of sustain, a lush midrangey very well blended fundementals and harmonics to a kinda harsh sound with little midrange bloom and a metallicy higher strings tone lacking overtones, harmonics and sustain. Odd thing is unplugged its sounds pretty decent with the tens. Could the lower strings somehow be overdriving the pickups. That would explain the hash but the higher string overtones -maybe I need to do a better intonation job. (its not my mic pre (padded it to be sure) or the amp -I notice the harshness most after playing back from my DAW -I checked my levels though) BTW the strings are EB slinkys. I don't know if I should try some other 10's or go back to 9's. I will be installing new pickups but its goota be more than that. Would the nut effect the sustain and harmonics by pinching the thicker strings. Anyway any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

 

Maybe you just need to lower the pups away from teh strings a bit. Thicker strings = more magnetic pull... too much pull = sapped sustain. If you are 'over-driving' the pups, moving the pickups closer to the body should fix that too. Check your neck relief too if using a higher gauge.

 

Generally you can't just take a guitar set up well for 9's and have it perform at it's best when you slap a higher gauge on without adjusting the setup.

[walt0915]

Originally posted by underblu When I swapped out 9's for 10's on my Santana SE the tone changed from warm and melodious with lots of sustain, a lush midrangey very well blended fundementals and harmonics to a kinda harsh sound with little midrange bloom and a metallicy higher strings tone lacking overtones, harmonics and sustain. Odd thing is unplugged its sounds pretty decent with the tens. Could the lower strings somehow be overdriving the pickups. That would explain the hash but the higher string overtones -maybe I need to do a better intonation job. (its not my mic pre (padded it to be sure) or the amp -I notice the harshness most after playing back from my DAW -I checked my levels though) BTW the strings are EB slinkys. I don't know if I should try some other 10's or go back to 9's. I will be installing new pickups but its goota be more than that. Would the nut effect the sustain and harmonics by pinching the thicker strings. Anyway any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

 

Only one question - why did you change in the first place? Were 9's not doing it for you?

 

If you have a reason to change to 10s, then you need to re-setup to get the best tone from them, and let the strings settle in.

 

If you changed because "10s are supposed to be better" that's a myth - use what works for you. If you have a good setup with 9s, stay there.

[jerry_picker]

Originally posted by underblu When I swapped out 9's for 10's on my Santana SE the tone changed from warm and melodious with lots of sustain, a lush midrangey very well blended fundementals and harmonics to a kinda harsh sound with little midrange bloom and a metallicy higher strings tone lacking overtones, harmonics and sustain. Odd thing is unplugged its sounds pretty decent with the tens. Could the lower strings somehow be overdriving the pickups. That would explain the hash but the higher string overtones -maybe I need to do a better intonation job. (its not my mic pre (padded it to be sure) or the amp -I notice the harshness most after playing back from my DAW -I checked my levels though) BTW the strings are EB slinkys. I don't know if I should try some other 10's or go back to 9's. I will be installing new pickups but its goota be more than that. Would the nut effect the sustain and harmonics by pinching the thicker strings. Anyway any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

 

Give it a couple days of playing.

If you are still dissatisfied, lower the pickups a wee bit.

 

The set-up suggestion is excellent: be certain that intonation (twelfth fret harmonic precisely matching that note fretted) for all strings is right.

[Europa760]

its just new strings son.

put on new 9's and see what happens.

you'll hate it.

[Tedddy]

You get better tone with lighter strings IMO. Heavy gauge strings = bad tone IMO

[cfgsteak]

10s are heavy gauge?!?!?!?!?!?!

[ranalli]

Originally posted by Tedddy You get better tone with lighter strings IMO. Heavy gauge strings = bad tone IMO

 

 

 

 

10's aren't heavy in the least.

[Milkman1]

Originally posted by Tedddy You get better tone with lighter strings IMO. Heavy gauge strings = bad tone IMO

 

 

 

A matter of opinion I suppose.

 

 

I find quite the opposite. 10s are not heavy, in fact they're typically referred to as 'light gauge".

 

The difference in how the guitar rings with slightly heavier strings is hard to overlook.

 

I use 11s on my Tele and the guitar really came alive when I change from 10s.

 

 

9s or smaller sound pretty weak to my ears. The only reason I would consider using a gauge smaller than 10s is if my fingers hurt, but as that's not a problem....

[Vibroluxman]

yeah give it a day or two, and a setup and see what happens. I use 11's on my electrics and 13's on my acoustic. I like how it sounds and I like how they play. If I play on a guitar with 9's I feel like my hand is moving all over the place on the neck.

[Funkytone]

Everytime a string gauge question pops up, I'm reminded that Billy Gibbons uses 8's.

[Vibroluxman]

I'm pretty sure Buddy guy uses 9's or so as well, but then again, SRV used 12's and 13's, and when he tore his hands apart, 11's.

[underblu]

Hey gang, thanks for the feedback.

I think I will first try to intonate the guitar a little better. I usualy have the setup done for me but I would like to be self reliant in this regard. Gotta tap my frets a little better.

If not i will try some new strings 9 & 10's and see which ones work best.

Nobody thinks it could be an issue with the nut. I mean the strings lay in there correctly but maybe there getting squeezed a little. I don't know how to determine this.

Anyway thanks again for the suggestions

[Twangster]

My favs are 9.5, just feel right to me.

[jerry_picker]

Originally posted by underblu Hey gang, thanks for the feedback. Nobody thinks it could be an issue with the nut. I mean the strings lay in there correctly but maybe there getting squeezed a little. I don't know how to determine this.

 

 

If the nut slots are tight, you might get "hang up" where the string binds when tuning or bending, actually changing the tuning of the note as you play. That's pretty severe.

More often, you'll ust get a "ping" sound as you tune individual strings. This can often be dealt with by a touch of teflon lube (like Tri-Flo from a bike shop).

[fuzzy4dice]

Originally posted by Tedddy You get better tone with lighter strings IMO. Heavy gauge strings = bad tone IMO

 

 

That may be a matter of opinion, but it's a highly disputed fact.

 

I think most players are very suprised at the improvement to their tone when the increase string gauge.

 

Personally, I use 11's and 12's on my electrics. 13's on my acoustics.

 

9's just seem to get away from my fingers in a wimpy way. I can get a fat tone out of them.

[chris ernst]

As stated above - check your intonation. Keep in mind that as the mass of your strings increases, intonation errors (harmonic 'clash') increases, too.

10s are really light but compared to 9s...

I think that bad intonation is what often turns people off to standard / heavy gauge strings. Set up properly, 11s and up are (to my ears) the best gear available to improve tone.