90% You are buying strings wrong

[CoreyT]

Thoughts on this?
I have posted some of his other videos here before.

 

[Orange Tiger]

Hhhhm, he hasn't persuaded me to think about changing my strings!! I know it's his video and he can say what he wants, but I think he made some pretty sweeping generalisations in that video. The guitar was the star of the video for me.

 

[sleary]

The guy has some good points. Esp guitars are really easy to play because of the extra jumbo frets and running with 11's , real easy to press down on the note.

 

[johanP]

Billy Gibbons uses 7's. Is he a pro? What this guy says may be relevant to him, but we are all different

 

[CoreyT]

I use 9 - 42 on all of my guitars of various scale lengths.
Looking forward to how a bigger string on the SE Angelus feels when I get it.
And of course I run 45 - 105 on my Kingfisher.
Those feel great for bass.

 

[xjbebop]

Been using hybrids for some time now. We like 'em!
Plus, we get our strings for free from GC, so there's that too.... :rock:

 

[gball]

Really simplistic and overarching. So he found something that works for him. Great!
But to suggest that this is some kind of rule of thumb for all players is absurd, and he doesn't really even mention touch - some guys, Billy Gibbons is mentioned above, play with a very light touch. Others have a heavier hand (the guy in the video seems to wrestle the neck a bit). You gotta just figure out what gauges/height/overall setup works for you and go with it.

I use different gauge strings on different guitars, with different string heights, to optimize each one for what I am trying to do with it. I suspect a lot of you are the same way. It just comes with experience.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Also of note, even regular sets of strings don't have balanced output, and the hybrid sets are even more unbalanced. For even string output, you actually go the other way and use something more like Jimi did, with regular top but LIGHTER bottom strings. There are now "balanced" sets sold like this. They pick string gauges based on balancing the output of each string at it's appropriate tuning. They are more like 9 or 10- 38 and the G string is lighter than usual since G strings in standard sets have more output than the other strings.

That said, this is a way more complicated thing than he's indicating. FIrst, not everyone is playing PRS like we are. Not all guitars can be set up for low low action without buzzing. Not everyone LIKES low action. (I DO!) Hybrid sets add bottom end, which can either be good, or can make your guitar boomy, depending on wood, pickups, amps, etc. etc. etc.... And there are even more factors. I have some arthritis in fingers from years of jammed or dislocated fingers from basketball. But I'm still good with 9s or even 10s on guitar that play as fabulously as my PRS guitars do. But as mentioned, The Reverend Willie G's fingers are getting to the point he's down to 7s! Out of necessity! Heck, my Taylor 614 is as sweet as it gets for slick playing acoustics, but the 12s on that thing kill my bad fingers after a few songs. I'm going down at least to 11s on the next restring.

So, there are no RULES per say, IMHO, your mileage may vary, consult your physician for erections lasting over 4 hours, and all the other disclosures.

 

[László]

PRS ships its USA acoustics with a hybrid set, coated D'Addario Bluegrass, basically light tops, medium bottoms. I've found the sound to be very balanced, and surprisingly easy to play, and I've stuck with it. The hybrid strings can work very nicely.

I play standard PRS .010s on my electric guitars. They give me a nice balance for both rhythm and lead; I find it good for my own playing style to have enough string stiffness that rhythm playing doesn't feel rubbery, and I can still bend .010s sufficiently. I like my action high enough that I can get a nice push against the string using my fingertip in a bend, and by minimizing the fret buzz I think I get a better tone (for my taste, etc.).

But I think the important takeaway from the video is that it makes sense to experiment a little.

 

[swede71]

Stringbending i find easier with at least 2mm action at 12th fret for all strings.Especially with thicker strings tuned to standard.I use 10s for standard and 11s for E flat or open G.

 

[mezzio]

I didn't know I could purchase something that's considered a personal preference and do it wrong...

 

[dogrocketp]

I'm an old guy who played archtops for years, with bigger strings and lower action, just like he said. What I would take away from the video is experiment. If the guitar lacks low end, try hybrids. If the highs are missing, try lighter with higher action. If the instrument sounds unbalanced, then adjust the pickups. I'm amazed at how many people will ditch a guitar because it doesn't sound or feel right, without trying different strings or resetting the pickups or just adjusting the pole pieces. People, IT'S YOUR GUITAR! Make it sound the way you want. It ain't made out of stone. OK. The meds kicked in. I feel better now.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Nonsense.

 

[markintime]

So what he doesn't tell you is what to do with the strings that you don't use from the broken mixed sets. Cheaper? Aaaah, thbbbbbbbT! If you buy 2 sets to make one. Unless you get 'em for free, like xjbebop!

 

[Raven17]

After 25+ years of experimenting with brand and gauge...

Elixer 9-46 for me

 

[aristotle]

I don't know...maybe the title was a bit off-putting, but the main theme was that smaller gauge strings are easier to bend, and that thicker gauge strings are easier to get close to the fretboard without buzzing. Sounds right to me I guess, though I'm not positive that the reduction in the physical motion of the string isn't offset by the increase in diameter. If you don't have trouble with bends, and you don't particularly care about super low action, then sure, it doesn't apply.

And for Dream....what's the principle that drives lower output for thinner strings? It's been some time since I've needed to dust off Faraday's law, but it's not clear to me that the higher velocity of the thinner string (higher velocity because the lower tension translates to more physical excursion in the same time period) doesn't more than make up for whatever reduction in field disturbance you'd get from lowering the cross section of the string. You're probably right, but just wondering why...

Also of note, even regular sets of strings don't have balanced output, and the hybrid sets are even more unbalanced. For even string output, you actually go the other way and use something more like Jimi did, with regular top but LIGHTER bottom strings. There are now "balanced" sets sold like this. They pick string gauges based on balancing the output of each string at it's appropriate tuning. They are more like 9 or 10- 38 and the G string is lighter than usual since G strings in standard sets have more output than the other strings.

That said, this is a way more complicated thing than he's indicating. FIrst, not everyone is playing PRS like we are. Not all guitars can be set up for low low action without buzzing. Not everyone LIKES low action. (I DO!) Hybrid sets add bottom end, which can either be good, or can make your guitar boomy, depending on wood, pickups, amps, etc. etc. etc.... And there are even more factors. I have some arthritis in fingers from years of jammed or dislocated fingers from basketball. But I'm still good with 9s or even 10s on guitar that play as fabulously as my PRS guitars do. But as mentioned, The Reverend Willie G's fingers are getting to the point he's down to 7s! Out of necessity! Heck, my Taylor 614 is as sweet as it gets for slick playing acoustics, but the 12s on that thing kill my bad fingers after a few songs. I'm going down at least to 11s on the next restring.

So, there are no RULES per say, IMHO, your mileage may vary, consult your physician for erections lasting over 4 hours, and all the other disclosures.

 

[Chiliphil1]

The guy makes a point or two here but generally it's all up to the player. This guy probably loves the setup whereas the next guy will hate it. If there is anything I have learned in the years I have been fiddling around with guitars it is that (to me at least) the strings are the single biggest factor in making the guitar do what I want it to do. When I was 8 and started playing I had no idea about different gauges or set ups I played super slinky strings and left the guitar as it was set up from the factory and on a $100 guitar that wasn't very good. Once I learned I could lower the strings it was a whole new world, then I started trying out different gauges and find that when I am doing some hard choppy stuff the hybrids are great but then if I want to solo I prefer 9's.. The sound and feel difference you can get with a simple string swap are stunning, currently I am running regular slinkys and that seems to work pretty good for me.. I think I am going to get some of the GFS 10-52 strings for my jackson though to really get that guitar into the palm mute insanity arena. The PRS's came with 10's and I like the way it feels, I think that it says something that they use 10's, I think given the r&d in a PRS guitar it is a good idea to stick with the 10's.

 

[CVS]

Interesting video. Thanks for posting. IMHO there are trade off's when you select a particular string gauge. Most of my electric guitars have .10 gauge at the moment. I would not over analyze, but I would encourage experimentation to see what works best for you.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Aristotle, good question. Thing is, I don't go by science on this one, I go by what I know and trust. My ears. There is absolutely NO doubt that when I go form standard 9-42 set and replace with hybrid 9-46 set, the balance of the guitar is shifted and it has more bottom end. Now, it may be true that I could then adjust the pickups down some on the bottom end side to even out the response again, but that can soon becomes chasing ghosts IMHO. If I thought a guitar needed more bottom, it might be the first thing I'd do.

But my action is already low (standard for PRS) and I don't need it lower. So I'm not inclined to put heavier bottom strings on, adjust pickups to regain my balance, adjust intonation to bigger strings on bottom, etc., just because he said so. Now, if Les said so, I'd probably give it a try.

Seriously, again, this is not a "here's the right way" thing IMHO. It's a "here's what works for me on this guitar" thing. I don't use the same gauge strings on all my guitars. No rules, PREFERENCES!

See my standard discloses above for all opinions I give...

I haven't seen anyone else yet comment about the new "balanced" sets or gauges of stings. Anyone tried it? I've read several established players, saying they got their best tone ever from strat style guitars when they tried the 10-38 D Ad set.

 

[aristotle]

Thanks Dream.... I can usually confuse myself with a little bit of basic knowledge applied using circular logic.... I'll give the balanced output strings a try just for the fun of it. Me personally, I'm not terribly affected by the feel part of it. But it'll be cool to see if I can hear the difference. Won't be scientific though in that it'll just be based on perception and not measurement. I'll let you know how it turns out...