PRS Hollowbody II - String Guage Change for 11's to 10's - Comments

[CVS]

I have had a PRS HB II for about 2 years now. The guitar came strung with 11 gauge strings on it. I quickly changed our the wound G string for an unwound G string (I do a lot of string bending). When I play through the piezo, the tone is fantastic with the 11's. The same can be said for the tone on the electric side as well. I have been thinking for a while about changing to 10 gauge strings because most of my playing with the guitar is electric in nature and I do a lot of string bending. I just want to give my fingers a bit of a break.

If any of you have made the change, I would be interested in your feedback. Did you have to have a whole new set up? How was the tone effected (both piezo and electric - especially the piezo sound)? How do your fingers feel after you made the change? All comments are welcome

 

[veinbuster]

I have 10s on one and 11s on one.
I would expect the change in setup to be minor.
The change in tone is fairly subtle in the grand scheme of things.
My fingers honestly don't notice much difference, but I play different string gauges all the time and all of my acoustics are 12.

 

[django49]

I cannot play without bending strings, it seems. Though not on a PRS, I have a 25.5" scale Semi-hollow that was "made for 11s". When I got it (used) the store cautioned against changing out the 10s on the longer scale. But somehow it just did not have the sound I was looking for. So I went to 11s and I love the difference. Some MAY be due to it being shipped with what MIGHT not have been quite as fresh as the store thought. But in either case, I like the 11s better, all the more so with the "hi-fi" pickups that came stock. And I have no finger problems, even with my aging digits, as a result.

It does NOT have a piezo, so I am not seeking a balance between "acoustic" and electric outputs. Still, with an internal volume a bit greater than an ES-335, it does seem (to me) to have a bit more "air" in the tone.
I would def try the heavier strings.

 

[CVS]

I have 10s on one and 11s on one.
I would expect the change in setup to be minor.
The change in tone is fairly subtle in the grand scheme of things.
My fingers honestly don't notice much difference, but I play different string gauges all the time and all of my acoustics are 12.

I am probably going to change to 10's - worst case - I will put back on a set of 11's. Only major concern I have is the piezo sound.

 

[JMintzer]

D'Addario makes a set of 10's w/a wound G string. I love them! Best of both worlds...

 

[jeffgoobs]

Been playing PRS Hollowbodies since 1999. At first, I switched and had them set-up for .010s. The guitar sounded and played great.

After a few years, I got curious and switched back to .011s. It sounds much better, louder, more acoustic, and "woodier" with the .011s, straight up. This is both live and recorded. And with the piezo, it's no contest.

I can't deal with a wound third, so the DGT PRS strings work great for me (.011s with an unwound third.)

YMMV. Best of luck!

 

[CVS]

Been playing PRS Hollowbodies since 1999. At first, I switched and had them set-up for .010s. The guitar sounded and played great.

After a few years, I got curious and switched back to .011s. It sounds much better, louder, more acoustic, and "woodier" with the .011s, straight up. This is both live and recorded. And with the piezo, it's no contest.

I can't deal with a wound third, so the DGT PRS strings work great for me (.011s with an unwound third.)

YMMV. Best of luck!

Your response was the kind of response I was afraid I was going to hear. Worst case, I will change back to 11's.
Thanks for your input.

 

[Egads]

Been playing PRS Hollowbodies since 1999. At first, I switched and had them set-up for .010s. The guitar sounded and played great.

After a few years, I got curious and switched back to .011s. It sounds much better, louder, more acoustic, and "woodier" with the .011s, straight up. This is both live and recorded. And with the piezo, it's no contest.

I can't deal with a wound third, so the DGT PRS strings work great for me (.011s with an unwound third.)

YMMV. Best of luck!

Same here. I've been playing piezo-equipped electric guitars since the mid-nineties (PRS, Godin, Parker, Gibson) and have always felt they sounded fuller and more acoustic with 11s than 10s. I've also gone back and forth between 10s and 11s. Every time, I come back to 11s for the tone.

That said, my P22 Trem has 10s. The trem adds a special chime to the piezo sound that makes up for the slightly less full tone.

Set it up how you'll play it more. If the tone doesn't work for you, go back to 11s. I didn't have to make any nut adjustments when the guitar started with 11s. You'll probably need to adjust the truss rod and the intonation a bit, but that's it. Good luck.

 

[CVS]

Thanks for all the feedback! I will definitely play the guitar much more on the electric setting if I change strings (and I just love the tone from the 57-08's). I just hate to give up any of that beautiful tone that the piezo delivers with the 11's.
In any case, I have decided to change and will make the switch on Monday. Worst case, I will switch back...........Stay tuned.

 

[shinksma]

Yeah, it is worth the experiment. You might happen to prefer the tone with .010s loaded vs the current tone with .011s.

Personally, I use .011s with a wound G on my Spruce HB, and regular .010s on my P24. I also play acoustic with .012s, and bend strings on that all the time - I play regularly enough my fingers are quite strong now, evidently...

If I ever pick up a guitar with .009s, I wonder who put the noodles on.

 

[Huggy Love]

I use D'addario 10's on my HB II but I swap out the top E for an .11.
It's always a trade off going from 11's to 10's, the tone and tuning stability on 11's is way more solid, but can be a challenge depending on your style of playing. (Heavier gauge suits rhythm players and jazz style improv, lighter gauge fits blues, rockers, and twang stylists)

I found that with a little amp tweaking I can get a set of 10's to sound really jazzy and still have the flexibility to play rock & blues, the .11 on top keeps the top E from sounding too "plinky". (When I used 11's I would swap out the top E for a .12, I like a lot of tonal solidity on the top string)

I think a little amp adjustment will keep you in or near the tone zone you want to be.

Hope this helps, and don't forget to do a "setup" after you switch gauges.

 

[CVS]

Finally got up the courage to do the string change and test both the piezo and electric tones. All systems "go"! Should have done this a long time ago. My fingers are thanking me.
Thanks to all for your inputs.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

D'Addario makes a set of 10's w/a wound G string. I love them! Best of both worlds...

Same here.

 

[CVS]

I play songs requiring electric guitar in front of people while I play acoustic songs for my own personal enjoyment only, so I go with an unwound G string. If it were the other way around, I would put a wound G string on quickly.

 

[CVS]

Final follow up on string change. After a few weeks of playing with 10's - I noticed fret buzzing on the low E string and to a lesser extent on the A string - on just about all frets except when plucked open. My guitar is now undergoing a proper set up. I must say that there has been no compromise in tone, either electric or when played through the piezo. Once the set up is done, the guitar will be played a lot more.

 

[CVS]

Nothing like a good set up! All buzzing is 100% gone. I was told that the neck had started bowing in the middle (around the 7th fret), probably due to me changing the strings from 11's to 10's. Action is set to factory specs. Guitar plays and sounds great! Both electric & piezo settings.