String Gauge - What do you use?

[Ron]

My CU22 came from the factory with 10's and I've left it that way. Lately I've been considering a change to a lighter gauge. I've used a 9.5 set on my Tele that I like. I tried a set on the CU22 but it would require a trem setup to work so I changed back to 10's. I'll be changing pups on the guitar soon so I was thinking about making string gauge change at the same time. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on 9 vs 10 gauge strings.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[jfb]

Elixir Nanoweb 10-46. I prefer the feel of 10's to 9's. I like the Elixir 11's as well and use those for Drop C.

 

[CoreyT]

Ernie Ball Cobalts 9 - 42 on all of my guitars.

I played Paul's guitar Monday at the Meet & Greet for Paul at my local shop, and it had 10s on it I believe.
I am use to 9s, so the 10s felt a little strange on it.

 

[jazzrat]

Elixir Nanos here as well. On my P22 I sub an 11 and 14 for the E and B for a little fatter tone.
On Fender scale stuff I use a 9-42 set with a 10 and 13 on top.

 

[László]

I use the PRS .010s. I like the feel and the tone. I was told they're a pure nickel wrap, maybe that's why.

My hands are pretty dry, so they last a long time on my guitars.

 

[Ron]

I've stayed with D'Addario 10-46 but recently tried the Elixir Nano's and was very impressed. I've used DR 10's but always had a buzz in the D string, maybe a setup tweak was required. I did like the PRS 10's too but mostly come back to D'Addario. Haven't tried the EB Cobalts although I have used a Slinky 11 set on my Strat tuned down a half step.

As someone mentioned I was concerned about tone loss dropping to the 9 set.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Sage]

Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys, 10-46. They sound great and they last.

 

[John Beef]

11-48 or 49 Mangan or D'Addario or sometimes Ball Slinky, depending on if I want to get the best and spend $6 a set or go cheap and buy bulk for $3 a set.

EDIT: 14-68s on my SE baritone

 

[Jazzedout]

D'Addario 10-46

 

[Danerada]

I use whatever is on hand on my SE One. Right now I am playing 11's on my SE One (I forget the brand). However, on my HB II i play D'Addario jazz light with the wound G.

 

[Rider1260]

DR Tite fit 10-46 is my string these days
Used to be a 9s guy until I started on the PRS thing

 

[Chris528]

PRS 9s on CE22, Santana SE & SE Semi-Hollow w/Bigsby
PRS 10s on Custom 24 SE
DR DDT Extra Heavy 11-54 on Tremonti SE
Ernie Ball 13-56 on Epi Les Paul John Connolly Custom

 

[Sage]

This really should be a poll.

 

[cjmwrx]

10-52 on stoptail/2 piece bridge guitars, and 11-52 on Trem equipped guitars. The little bit of give on a trem guitar makes the 11s easier to bend and a little extra bite and sustain.

 

[RichardJ]

I used to user D'Addario 9.5s all the time but they are hard to get over the counter in France so switched back to regular 9s.

 

[andy474x]

Love 9.5 Tite Fits on my 25" and 10's on the 24.5". I was playing 9's on my SECU24, and they were super fast, but I was overshooting bends and it sounded a bit thin. Switched to the 9.5's like I'd been using on another PRS and it really fattened up. Going 10's to 9's is a big jump, but 9.5's feel more like a really comfortable set of 10's. Totally hooked on 'em! OP, if you feel like the 10's are fighting you a bit, 9.5's will cure your ills.

 

[Rango]

I played 9's for years but when I started playing A LOT over the past couple of years I found it hard to FEEL the .9' thru the calluses on my finger tips. I so went back to .10's, I can feel them better and it helps me in my attempted to bend to pitch. ...And have considered .11's.

 

[Ron]

Sounds like the 9.5's might be worth the effort to try. I do like them on my Tele, so they should feel really nice on the CU22 trem.

Good stuff y'all, thanks!

 

[boxstop7]

I've been using the new D'Addario Balanced Tension (.10 gauge set), and I really like them. There are some slightly funky string sizes in the set, but I've noticed a palpable difference in the overall "evenness" of the strings (i.e., I don't feel that one string stays "tighter" or "looser" than any other string). I find them to be quite comfortable. Right now they're strung up on my "FrankenSchecter", but I intend to use them on my Artist Package 408 as well, once it's arrived and I've worn out the factory strings.

On my LP Studio, I'm using the D'Addario BT strings in .11 gauge, as I keep that guitar in dropped D flat. But I found a few sets made specifically for dropped tunings from ClearTone, and I'd like to give those a try as I think they might better suit what I'm trying to accomplish with the LP.

On my acoustics I use Elixirs in .11 gauge. Any bigger on the gauge and my hands/fingers get angry.

 

[erizaverde]

Flatwound .13-.52 on the archtop (main guitar), flatwound .12-.50 on semi-hollows, and roundwound .12-.52 on solid bodies. All Thomastik Jazz series. Won't play anything under a twelve - can't stand it. I love the thicker sound. Plus it feels like I'll break 'em instantly.

What was it SRV played? .16 on the high E? Or was it .18?