String gauge change.. is it worth it?

I`ve had hand surgeries 3 and 4 thirty days ago. Unfortunately, It's 9`s or go home at this point in my life. My 2 Tremonti SE`s love them, and my hands can handle it. The USA guitars are fine also. Every single guitar is a 25" scale length, no shorter scales.
 
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i see many posters are switching from .09's to .10's on their PRS guitars....i am thinking of going the other way...i have just purchased my first PRS...a PRS SE Tremonti....i am an old guy with arthritic fingers....the .09's feel a little tight for my tastes...i'm thinking of trying out a set of .085's Hybrids....GHS and D'addario make hybrid sets...and the Rev Gibbons has a set of .08's to .40's....has anybody tried these types of string on their PRS?.

I used Ernie Ball 8-38s on my Bernie (24.5” scale length) for a while. Then got some of the Rev G 8-40s for a while as well. Both play extremely easy but have a slightly different tone.

I moved up to 9s or 10s now as I started playing more older Maiden and I felt it was easier to get the tight rhythm gallops right with larger wound strings. I am considering getting some of the Fender hybrid sets which where the wound strings are from a set of 10s and the unwound strings from a set of 8s. Will allow me to get the rhythms right and still do bends with ease. If your only issue is with bending, then these are worth a shot. If you have issues with fretting then of course they won’t work for you.

Also try out guitars with different fret sizes as they change the feel. Jumbo frets bend easier and require a reasonably lighter touch so as not to fret the strings out of tune. I know there are some PRS core guitars that have Jumbo frets - not sure about SEs and S2s. Narrow and tall frets are similar, but with a slightly different feel. Not many guitars have those. I only know of the Ibanez FRM range that have them. First time I played that Ibanez I considered refretting all of my guitars as it bent easier with 10s than my Bernie with 9s.

Fret material also makes a difference and the frets on my USA Standard 24 are roughly the same size as the Bernie, it is strung with 10s and bends about the same as the Bernie with 9s. Stainless steel frets should bend even easier, but I have no direct experience with those.

Lastly, thicker necks also make a difference when bending. I have small hands and my best playing guitars have thick necks. PRS Wide Fat works extremely well for me and the even larger Ibanez FRM neck is just as comfortable.
 
I just nabbed an SE Custom 24 from Sweetwater. They did a full setup with 10-52s on it and it plays like a dream. I also have an SE245 that's setup with 11s in standard.
 
The heavier strings do sound different. Here’s a good video on it, and it’s easy to hear the difference. Whether different is better, of course, is always a matter of personal preference. I went to .010s on all my guitars.


I actually liked the tones from the 8-38's on these guitars. The lighter strings offered better articulation and less distortion even without changing the pedals or amps. The 8's gave the guitars an old school AC/Dc vibe with plenty of air within the notes, in my opinion.
 
I actually liked the tones from the 8-38's on these guitars. The lighter strings offered better articulation and less distortion even without changing the pedals or amps. The 8's gave the guitars an old school AC/Dc vibe with plenty of air within the notes, in my opinion.

Interesting!

For me, the meatier tones with the .011 gauge strings were a preference, though I also liked the .0105s and the .010s. Of course, all of this is completely subjective, and that’s as it should be.

If we were all after the same exact tones, what a dull world this would be.

One thing I’ll mention is that different strings (formulations and brands) sound different, too, and before changing gauge, it isn’t a bad idea to try out a few brands/materials and see how that goes. For example, I’ve found that with some guitars, I prefer a pure nickel wrapped string to nickel plated steel. And the round core ones feel different from the hex core ones, and blah, blah, blah. Point being, it isn’t only about string gauge.
 
Interesting!
One thing I’ll mention is that different strings (formulations and brands) sound different, too, and before changing gauge, it isn’t a bad idea to try out a few brands/materials and see how that goes. For example, I’ve found that with some guitars, I prefer a pure nickel wrapped string to nickel plated steel. And the round core ones feel different from the hex core ones, and blah, blah, blah. Point being, it isn’t only about string gauge.

Truth. I also found that strings from different brands can great alter a set up. Even if you stay with the same string gauge, different brands will effect the set up in different ways.
 
Truth. I also found that strings from different brands can great alter a set up. Even if you stay with the same string gauge, different brands will effect the set up in different ways.

Totally agree!

I generally use the strings PRS puts on the guitars at the shop. With a few guitars, I’ve liked the pure nickels from a couple of manufacturers, but it’s always a thing to change brands, right?
 
I moved up to 9s or 10s now as I started playing more older Maiden and I felt it was easier to get the tight rhythm gallops right with larger wound strings. I am considering getting some of the Fender hybrid sets which where the wound strings are from a set of 10s and the unwound strings from a set of 8s. Will allow me to get the rhythms right and still do bends with ease. If your only issue is with bending, then these are worth a shot. If you have issues with fretting then of course they won’t work for you.

If you want the lighter bending with tighter rhythm feel you might try some of the Cobalts or M-Steels. They both have a tighter punchier feel on the wound strings, than standard strings do. You might be able to stay with 8's and get the tighter punch on your rhythms that you are looking for. I've tried a couple sets of Cobalts and they work well on a "rock" guitar. They do feel different though.

My current overall favorite strings are PRS 9.5s and PRS 10s. Other than that I use Ernie Balls on my other guitars. I have a "Light top/heavy bottom 9s" set on my Wolfgang but will probably try Cobalts on it next time. I have a standard EB set of 10s on the JP12 BFR. Might try Cobalts or M-Steels on it next. My PRS guitars all have PRS 9.5s or PRS 10s on them, except the Custom 24. It has 9's and they are coming off soon for something heavier. My left hand arthritis was getting bad a couple months ago and I put 9's on it but now it feels too easy to play and I want at least 9.5s, maybe 10s on it.
 
Absolutely. I tried out several PRSi when I was looking for something a year ago. Just never liked any of them, couldn't get a feel for them at all, they felt like Lincoln Town Cars....cushy, but completely disconnected. I ended up getting a 58 Tele Re-issue at a screaming price, so I went that way. Just couldn't get used to the scale length or radius. Traded it for a CE22 when an opportunity came up. Same dead, sterile feel they've all had. Put 11's on it, and had it set up........COMPLETELY different guitar. Feels like my own skin it is so natural. Haven't pickuped up either of my Gibsons since (granted, it has only been a couple of weeks).
 
The difference in tone itself is subtle; the difference in how they feel under your fingers is more significant, IMHO, and if that makes you change the way you play, then it might give you that "comes alive" feeling. I much prefer that slightly more taut feeling under my fingers, so I'd do it (and have) with no hesitation. The trem is much less bothersome than, say, a Floyd Rose, so I wouldn't let that hold you back, although it's been a while since I've dealt with it myself. Also, I haven't had to file the nut moving just to 10s yet, so I'd say your chances are good there, too.

I say, "do it!"
 
I play with a pick, and my fingers, so over the years I've found the for short scale guitars, ( like my "Ted" ) I'll use a hybrid 10 - 48 set, and it's perfect...I do a lot of finger speed runs, and heavy pick strums. For my recently acquired Brent Mason, with its 25 1/4 scale, I found the PRS 9.5's are perfect. I like a slinky, yet full feel for what I do. I'm a "feel" player, so that works for me. 50 years in, you want very guitar to feel pretty much the same, so you figure it out. String materials make a huge difference, so pure nickel works on one guitar, but not on all. You really need to try different strings, and materials, to find what works best for you....just my 2cents...ymmv!
 
I’ve always played a Strat with a 25.5 inch scale. The experience of playing a 25 inch scale is strange for me, as the bends feels so much lighter and the 10-48 that I normally use feel so easy to play. I’m considering trying a custom set with heavier gauge on the unwound side, just as a trial.
For me it’s a “suck it and see moment” as you don’t know unless you give it a go.
 
I’ve played with 0.09s - 0.11s (for different reasons at different times). All felt and sounded great, but 0.10s seem to be the sweet-spot to me, anyway...
 
In the 1990s I changed from 0.009s to 0.010s and never looked back. It was a slight bit of work to get the strength to bend the strings. Overall, the higher string mass gives improved tuning stability and note sustain. The strings have less excursion so you can set them up with less action. And they are easier to fret for chords without bending out of tune.

For those of us who are a bit hamfisted, I think they are all plus and no minus. I do my share of shred and legato, and have no trouble with the slightly heavier gauge.

If I were going for speed only, I'd go lighter. I'd also use cheaper guitars, as the light strings don't vibrate the guitar as much, and therefore the guitar quality and woods are less apparent in the tone.
 
On the topic of changing string gauges... I've always used 10s - from my SG to Strat to PRS. I figured I'd see if my Strat felt (not sounded!) anything closer to my CU22 SE if I made a small adjustment to the string gauge, so I installed a set of D'Addario 9.5's this weekend. Boy, do I not like the feel now! I know I need to do an additional setup for these slightly lighter strings, but I disliked it enough not to bother - 10's will be back on today.

Doesn't hurt to try something new - you might be pleasantly surprised, or you might find that you had it right "for you" all these years.
 
I've used .009's to .011's, as well as the light top/heavy bottom gauges.

Seem to be settle on .010's as the favorite and .009's for the hair metal guitars.
 
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