Do you gig with 9 gauge strings?

[Elliot]

almost like the blokes at andertons read this before they posted the video

 

[Anwar]

I have a McCarty scale neck and would normally go with 10s. That said I dig flat wounds and GHS has a set of stainless steel flats but only have 9s & 11s. 12s too but they skip 10s for some reason. So it’s gotta be 9s for me. If Gibbons and BB can get great tone with 8s -9s on a McCarty should be ok.

 

[21Hemispheres12]

I use Ernie ball turbo slinky 9.5-46 on everything. So far it’s my favorite gauge for standard tuning.

 

[dogrocketp]

I’ve had 4 hand surgeries, so it’s NYXL 9-42’s on everything except my SE Hollowbody piezo. After my luthier set it up, I was able to go all the way up to 9.5’s. Better acoustic response.

 

[theDeepender]

Welcome to the forum!
Most SEs come with 9s, and most cores (Maryland built) come with 10s.

If you go bigger than 9s on the SEs, you may have to also file the nut or get a new one.
As far as gigging, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top plays 7s and gets excellent tone.
I have 9s on all of my guitars SEs and one core, as I tried 10s more than 30 years ago and did not care for them.
I use Ernie Ball Cobalt Super Slinkys which are 9-42, and that is what works best for me.

I went through a lot of super slinkys in the late 70s. That was on a fantastic Gibson hollow body.
On my SE I went to 10s and I’m quite happy with the result.

 

[theDeepender]

I don't have a lot of experience gigging, but I used 9.5's on one SE that I sold, but I loved the feel and sound. Now I use 10's on all 3, SE, S2, and Paul's and they just feel completely comfortable. That's what I'll stick with. And, btw, I don't drop tune. And I like the blues.

Big ol’ yeah baby for blues. I decided to concentrate on blues while relearning electric after a couple of decades of nothing but bass. The blues and my SE Custom 24 were perfect for my journey back home.

 

[theDeepender]

Related to this, I always marveled at Rev. Billy's pinched harmonics and wrote it off to unique technique. (How prominent they are.) Well, I'm sure he has great technique but I read this about his string gauge preference back years ago and realized .... duh! The reduced mass of those strings against a big finger is likely what is a big contributor to his artificial harmonic effect. Mystery solved!

When I used Super Slinkys harmonics were much easier and clearer than now with the larger strings

 

[Anwar]

So I'm thinking 9s and 8s are naturally less prone to string breakage given the same bend than 10s or 11s. Might check your tuning. If your tuned up a note and additionally go for a bend.. Snap!

 

[Vic6string]

I gig almost every weekend, and I use Billy Gibbon's signature strings, which are .007 gauge. It's amazing, I can play for countless hours without any fatigue. Such a light gauge requires some adaptation, however... not for the faint-hearted!

:adore:

I can just imagine if SRV would have grabbed a Billy Gibbons guitar with these on them and just started unknowingly playing. His first bend would have probably looked like drawing back the string on a hunting bow.

 

[Anwar]

Yeah, I guess you can up your gauge to control overbends. Maybe SRV was doing that. There's also his signature syncopated rhythm style which may yield best result with thicker strings. Who knows, if he chose to play closer to the bridge with less shoulder he might play 9s today?

 

[László]

I like .010s, for rhythm playing especially. The strings don't feel like rubber bands. If I played exclusively rhythm (I don't), I'd go to .011s.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Over the years, I'd always been advised that anything less than 10 ga strings were useless as far as tone and staying in tune were concerned and that no one used 9s for any serious playing, certainly never for professional playing. So I always used 10s or 11s for my (not so diligent) attempts to play Les Paul or Strat type instruments.

There is a You Tube video that Rich Beato did a while back ...

Check this out

Then buy these at Sweetwater ...

I gig almost every weekend, and I use Billy Gibbon's signature strings, which are .007 gauge. It's amazing, I can play for countless hours without any fatigue. Such a light gauge requires some adaptation, however... not for the faint-hearted!

:adore:

The only problem with skinny gauge strings are that if you are calloused and used to heaver strings ... you may have trouble feeling these ...

I think Phil McKnight who tried .007's on a Strat found that tone was not affected negatively... But it is much easier (part of the attraction ... not working too hard) to push them out of tune if you need higher string tension. That is why there are .008 & .009's

I use (but then I'm a bedroom neub) .007 on 25" and 25" + scale and longer ....008 on < 25" ...

But Hey ... Like SRV, I have .014's on 2 other guitars !!! ...

But they are 29.75" & 30 " scale length ... where they feel more like 8's or 9's on a 25" scale

One of the goofiest thigs I heard recently... Was that guys that ran .011's or higher on say a Strat ... would deliberately down tune to say Eb ... to reduce string tension ....009 would do present similar tension in standard tuning ... but hey ! heavy strings ...

 

[Aether]

There is a You Tube video that Rich Beato did a while back ...

Check this out

Very one dimensional. They note several times how SRV used the heaviest strings he could manage. SRV being a player known for his cleaner Strat single coil tones - and then proceed to merely compare dirty overdriven humbucker ala Angus Young-ish tones. Apparently any impact on clean tones are irrelevant to these guys.

 

[Mark Ray]

9.5's

 

[11top]

but 11s make me smile.

Awww shucks. I feel the same about you Kerry.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Awww shucks. I feel the same about you Kerry.

Seven years to reply! How patient do you have to be here?

 

[11top]

Seven years to reply! How patient do you have to be here?

Hey, relationships weren’t built in a day.

 

[Boogie]

Hey, relationships weren’t built in a day.

It’s the thought that counts.

 

[kirellah]

Started using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky's (9-46) not long ago, which gives me easier and more accurate string bends on the treble strings and the tension of a 10 gauge set on the bass side for more heavy handed riffing. Works really well on my Custom/Standard 24's. Brightens up my tone a little without going fully to a 9 gauge set. I play pretty hard, but the lighter strings have made me lighten up my touch and given me more control over my playing, which I found to be an interesting and positive byproduct of switching to the Hybrid set from my usual 11's.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

Very one dimensional. They note several times how SRV used the heaviest strings he could manage. SRV being a player known for his cleaner Strat single coil tones - and then proceed to merely compare dirty overdriven humbucker ala Angus Young-ish tones. Apparently any impact on clean tones are irrelevant to these guys.

But ... What has been your own experience ?

Have you experimented to determine whether going to lighter strings " destroys" your tone ?

Or that you simply require higher string tension to play as desired ?