They go sharp for me with 9s. God knows what it would be like with 8s. I'm not a delicate player - I wish I was.
Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:13 pm
by Fran
NickD wrote:They go sharp for me with 9s. God knows what it would be like with 8s. I'm not a delicate player - I wish I was.
I didn't think you were a particularly heavy handed player from what I recall.
You see some guys that strum aggressively from the forearm. I'm sure The Hives guitarist emphasized it just for effect.
I use my wrist, or pivot my hand on the bridge.
Didn't Proggy Rob use heavy strings, 13's I think, for that woman tone.
Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 7:47 pm
by NickD
More inaccurate left hand than heavy handed right - my right hand is similar to yours. I end up bending strings too far and pulling chords out of tune with light strings, although it may have a lot to do with what I'm used to.
Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2017 10:49 pm
by Ankhanu
11s everywhere... they're a little bit stiff on Strat and Tele, but great elsewhere for how I play.
Testing guitars in-store always feels a little gross
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 2:23 pm
by dezb1
Fran wrote:
Doog wrote:I think it really depends on your playing style; one of the biggest differences between light and heavy strings is how sharp they go on the initial attack, especially if you really dig in. Was watching this earlier, a bit waffley but interesting
[youtube][/youtube]
(jump-to links in the description)
In the above video, there's some differences for sure, but nothing an EQ knob wouldn't readdress. I think so much of this stuff is about what feels right to you. That shit is gonna have an effect on your playing, which will have an instant effect on the whole shebang. We're nae robots, capn.
Quite interesting. I didn't know Billy Gibbons uses 7's
Thinking about it, I'm quite a delicate player, which is maybe why the strings don't go sharp for me.
Was going to mention Billy when you posted about 8s.
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:52 am
by dylanafghjkl
dezb1 wrote:
Fran wrote:
Doog wrote:I think it really depends on your playing style; one of the biggest differences between light and heavy strings is how sharp they go on the initial attack, especially if you really dig in. Was watching this earlier, a bit waffley but interesting
[youtube][/youtube]
(jump-to links in the description)
In the above video, there's some differences for sure, but nothing an EQ knob wouldn't readdress. I think so much of this stuff is about what feels right to you. That shit is gonna have an effect on your playing, which will have an instant effect on the whole shebang. We're nae robots, capn.
Quite interesting. I didn't know Billy Gibbons uses 7's
Thinking about it, I'm quite a delicate player, which is maybe why the strings don't go sharp for me.
Was going to mention Billy when you posted about 8s.
wow i really want to try 7s, i've noticed the lighter gauge strings the more i enjoy playing the guitar
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:29 am
by Fran
Seeing as two local guitar shops have just closed it looks like I'll be buying strings online in the future. Obviously bulk is the way to go so maybe gone are the days of spontaneously just trying some of these on this.
Do most folk on here buy strings in bulk online?
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:32 am
by Fran
dylanafghjkl wrote:
dezb1 wrote:
Fran wrote:
Quite interesting. I didn't know Billy Gibbons uses 7's
Thinking about it, I'm quite a delicate player, which is maybe why the strings don't go sharp for me.
Was going to mention Billy when you posted about 8s.
wow i really want to try 7s, i've noticed the lighter gauge strings the more i enjoy playing the guitar
I think they'd be hopeless for me; I would be constantly out of tune.
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 2:52 pm
by Fran
BearBoy wrote:I think they'd be hopeless for me; I would be constantly out of tune.
Do you play like these?
P.S. Just ordered a set.
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 3:15 pm
by BearBoy
It's more my fretting hand than my right hand that's a bit over enthusiastic. Maybe I'd be able to adapt but I'm just used to much heavier strings and so when I play anything strung with very light strings I find myself being too heavy handed and sending everything sharp.
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:38 am
by Doog
Fran wrote:Seeing as two local guitar shops have just closed it looks like I'll be buying strings online in the future. Obviously bulk is the way to go so maybe gone are the days of spontaneously just trying some of these on this.
Do most folk on here buy strings in bulk online?
Yeah, dem 3 or 5 set-in-a-pack of D'Addarios have always been my go-to for years. Although I've busted like 3 high E's in a row so have a load of 'Keith Richard' sets to look forward to..
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:58 am
by George
The only reliable 9 or 10 sets to work on my Bratomaster's Jazzmaster trem are Fender Bullets. Every other brand I've tried has unwound at the bottom of the high E string at some point. Sadly my local music shop doesn't sell them but they perform really well. No windings round the tailpiece means they look quite dapper, too.
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:21 am
by Johno
George wrote:The only reliable 9 or 10 sets to work on my Bratomaster's Jazzmaster trem are Fender Bullets. Every other brand I've tried has unwound at the bottom of the high E string at some point. Sadly my local music shop doesn't sell them but they perform really well. No windings round the tailpiece means they look quite dapper, too.
I had this problem when I used D'Addarios. I always tin the e & b strings with solder before I string up. It stops them unwinding.
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:31 am
by George
I had experimented with soldering the windings before switching to Bullets. I found it didn't really help, and there's an additional amount of work involved with soldering. If I didn't like the Bullet sound and feel, or they were very much more expensive than Ernie Ball or D'addarios (they're about the same price), I'd probably suck it up and solder them, though.
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:07 pm
by NickS
I must be several years since I last played with 7s, which were my standard for probably 20 - 25 years. I tend to use 9s these days.
Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2017 4:52 pm
by dezb1
Doog wrote:
Fran wrote:Seeing as two local guitar shops have just closed it looks like I'll be buying strings online in the future. Obviously bulk is the way to go so maybe gone are the days of spontaneously just trying some of these on this.
Do most folk on here buy strings in bulk online?
Yeah, dem 3 or 5 set-in-a-pack of D'Addarios have always been my go-to for years..
This^
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:58 am
by plaidbeer
9s on my Strat and Tele for no particular reason other than I've had carpal in both hands in the past and don't ever want that to become an issue again.
10s on my Jag and Epi LP Special (and I think my acoustic)
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:24 am
by Bacchus
Johno wrote:I had this problem when I used D'Addarios. I always tin the e & b strings with solder before I string up. It stops them unwinding.
I've used D'Addarios for years. Never tinned the windings, though. I'd be concerned that it would weaken things, rather than making it stronger. I've haven't problems with strings coming apart there, either.
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:43 am
by NickS
Behind-the-nut bends, a la Rory Gallagher, are a lot easier with lighter strings, though he used to use 10s.
