What gauge strings do you use?

[Daisy]

Lately this question has been on my mind.

I noticed that some of the most popular guitarists use .010 gauge. Jimmy Hendrix has mentioned in multiple interviews that he has used 8 different kinds in his career. That's a lot. 🤩

You shouldn't (you can, but I wouldn't recommend it, haha.) just walk into your guitar shop, point at some strings and say "I'll buy those!" without first knowing a few things like the type of music you will be playing, or the tuning you'll use. Some people prefer thicker strings, and some prefer the thinner.

I'd love to hear more about the strings you use and why you prefer them over the rest 🎸

Here is a small list of what our famous friends used. 🤘

Jimi Hendrix: .009, .010, .013, .015, .02, and .038.

Jeff Beck: .011 - .049, and .009 -.052

Angus Young: .009

 

[Fred Soukup]

Acoustic .012-.054

PRS D'Addario, .009-.042

Fender Stratocaster Fender, .009-.042

First Act .009-.042

[Dewey]

I am relatively new to guitar, having purchased my first electric last May.  I didn't know what guage the strings were until one broke and I had to contact the company that sold me the guitar!

I tried a couple sets, the ones I like the best are Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky 9,11,16,26,36,46.  They seem to have a nice consistent output from bass through trebel.

 

[Yves Cadieux]

Acoustic: 0.011 - 0.052

Electric: 0.010 - 0.046 or 0.009 - 0.042 for a change!

Usually, I buy D'Addario or Elixir strings.

YC

[Mysterious One.]

Different strings for different guitars from .08 to .11 here.

[Mark Parkhurst]

Electric: 10/46 with D standard tuning 

[Mike M]

Daddario 8’s and 10’s

[Glenn Gay]

I've generally used 10's on all my guitars because my fingertips were always a tad sensitive. So I would use the lighter gauge. I mainly played acoustic guitars so they worked pretty well. BUT, now that I am playing more and more electric guitars, I find I tend to press too hard and bend them out of tune. I was advised to use the next heavier gauge it will help. So - I will try. I always use D'addario. I have been using D'addario for about 35 years now, and I have never had a problem. Why fix what aint broke.

 

Glenn

[John Long]

String gage depends on the style of music you play, the scale length of the guitar, and how large/strong your fingers and hands are.  For electric guitar, it is best to try 9's or 10's first, and change up or down based on how they feel and the sound they produce for you.  If you have a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece you may need 10's or 11's to stay in tune.  If you do any bottleneck slide styles, 10's or 11's are better.  Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughn all had very large strong hands and could use heavier gages with ease.  Jeff Beck and Stevie liked those fat chunky neck profiles too.

In my case, I have thinner/weaker/smaller hands and always use 9-42 Daddario strings on both Fenders and Gibsons.  I use tube amps to get the sound I like.  I use 10's on my Gretsch with Bigsby, and 10's do sound better with solid state amps, but they are harder to bend, hammer-on and pull off.  On my acoustic guitars I prefer the extra light 10-47 strings with low action as close to an electric as possible.  For Jazz it is fun to experiment with flatwound strings.

Musician's Friend has a great string buyers page that goes into more detail.  Have fun experimenting!

[CaryneAg]

I haven't used a lot of different strings, but I started with D'Addario 9s on my Strat and they sounded too anemic for me.  I also had trouble playing in tune because I'm heavy handed from playing acoustic so long (25 years). I don't want to have to re-train myself jumping between the two instruments.  10.5s have been ok with me, but I think I'm going to try 10s to get some easier string bends.  I also have some arthritis and I've been told they'll be a little easier on my hands.

[Fred Soukup]

2 hours ago, CaryneAg said:

I haven't used a lot of different strings, but I started with D'Addario 9s on my Strat and they sounded too anemic for me.  I also had trouble playing in tune because I'm heavy handed from playing acoustic so long (25 years). I don't want to have to re-train myself jumping between the two instruments.  10.5s have been ok with me, but I think I'm going to try 10s to get some easier string bends.  I also have some arthritis and I've been told they'll be a little easier on my hands.

I learned on an acoustic guitar about 51 years ago. I found it easier to play a Gibson SG because of the lighter strings. After I had a stroke in 2017 I could not hold down a chord on an electric or acoustic guitar. I had to retrain the left side of my body to function again. Then I had to relearn how to form chords and regain hand strength. It was very painful just to do simple chords. The finger stretches were very painful and that was just in PT. The secret was for me anyway was to work slowly on the stretches, like 3-5 minutes a day and then not to force it but just try to take it a little further. Then after a while I tried on the guitar. Point is the motion keeps the arthritis at bay. Just don't give up!

[davidlarew]

I got shocked by touching another guitar both amps were not grounded back in 85... I still have some weakness in my left outer 2 fingers so quick chromatic changes is tricky for me, too.

Appreciate your tips on pt.

[Lightfoot]

D'addario XL Nickel wound ( 10.5-48 ) EXL110 for my electric.. It's an age thing !  I find that their stretching life is longer than most other brands.  But hey....  Strings are strings...depending on situation.  !0 minutes before showtime and your string breaks.  All that is available on short notice is an acoustic polystring.  When possible, I buy my brand five packs or so at a time.  Sometimes you use what is available.   Play on