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Heavier strings on electric guitar
    #23052220 -

Just went to guitar center to replace a pick guard and one of my strings broke so I bought new strings.  I read that strats come standard with fender 9-42 Superbullets but I can get a better tone with 10-46 Superbullets.

The tech there told me if I went up on strings I need to be cautious of creating a bow in my neck due to the heavier strings and then he pitched a guitar center setup for 50 dollars.  He rattled off a few other precautions and I ended up just getting the string replaced.  He replaced it with a random Ernie Ball string. 

I bought the 10s anyways and figured I'd consult with you guys on if I need a setup to up my string weight or would I be fine without it...? :cheers:

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: cez]
    #23052267 -

you'll be fine.  but over time, you may need an adjustment.


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I fucking hate you... God damn, I love you...
But we both know if we stick together, we'll just tear ourselves apart
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey
You are my heroin, but there's an abscess... God damn, I miss the vein!

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: sanchothestoner] * 1
    #23052288 -

May cause bowing but that's over a long period of time. Not storing it properly can do the same thing


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: CosmicFool]
    #23052339 -

Yeah buddy.

Strings come extra light, light, medium, and heavy gauge.

The lighter the gauge, the easier they are on your fingers.  Great for beginners, or people who only play every now and then.

If you're a serious player, you might want to step up to a medium gauge string.

It will take a little practice and some getting used to, but they sound much better.

Also if you're a serious player, having your guitar set up or learning to set it up yourself will be important to you.

Not much use for heavy gauge strings unless you plan to play in an extremely low tuning.


Edited by Doxx (03/27/16 04:49 PM)

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Doxx] * 1
    #23052359 -

Heavy Guage strings sound worse in my opinion, unless you are tuning extra low.

They're hard as fuck to play and the tension is so high they really sound shitty IMO.

I prefer medium light strings or even lights depending on the guitsr/genre


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http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Shins]
    #23052489 -

10s up isnt to heavy..
when you go to a 12 high E shit might get real..


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: orison]
    #23052592 -

I'm at 11-49s
I don't really play much though and I wouldn't consider myself an expert or much of an intermediate player.


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: cez]
    #23052629 -

I prefer 12's on my sg but I usually play in c standard. 10's arn't too heavy and should sound great for most styles.


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Whitewater]
    #23052770 -

Heavier strings are the best IMO, I have a set of 9's on my strat but everything else including my acoustic is 11's and I much prefer it like that.

I guess it really depends on what you want to play but I feel the range is more balanced on heavier strings and I prefer how they respond to my fingers.


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Don't worry about me, I've got all that I need. And I'm singing my song to the sky

You know how it feels, With the breeze of the sun in your eyes. Not minding that time's passing by

I've got all and more, My smile, just as before. Is all that I carry with me

I talk to myself, I need nobody else. I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: cez]
    #23053575 -

10 sounds like you would be playing with rubber bands, but I haven't touched an electric in 8 years. Think I was playing with 11s before.

On steel-string, I prefer 13.
12 if doing a lot of bends, but that's never the case.

Nylon is nylon, for better or worse they don't change gauge.
Prefer hard tension.



Tone is mostly subjective, but if your strings are too light - it'll sound like you're rattling a tin can. You can mix the gauges, personally I like this idea for playing alternate tuning's... so you can tune higher or lower on different strings. For example, a thicker low E will help your tone when tuned down to D.

Bends are much easier on thin strings.
Slides (tool not tech) sound better on thick strings over high action (imo)
Regarding the neck, it shouldn't be a big deal.


All said and done, its a matter of personal preference.
You won't know your ideal until trying it all, so I recommend experimenting.

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: cez]
    #23053610 -

Yes, you will have to adjust your guitar if you go to heavier strings

Yes, they sound better.  Maybe not if you use a ton of distortion

They are more difficult to play if you do a lot of string bending.

Also, don't have Guitar Center replace a string.  It's easy to change strings.  Use the money to buy a string winder and it's even easier.  And it's not that difficult to setup your own guitar if you have half a brain.  There are plenty of video tutorials on both.

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Hippocampus]
    #23053621 -

Hippocampus said:
Also, don't have Guitar Center replace a string.  It's easy to change strings.  Use the money to buy a string winder and it's even easier.  And it's not that difficult to setup your own guitar if you have half a brain.  There are plenty of video tutorials on both.


Yeah, changing strings is like tying your shoes.

Action is a bit trickier, most of the time people just fuck with the truss-rod but you really shouldn't unless absolutely necessary. On an acoustic you're stuck working with the nut and bridge, that can be tricky, especially when you're still on the fence about what kind of set-up you want.

Its not exactly a sin to fuck with the truss-rod, on a cheap guitar ($300 or less) I would say go ahead, but on a nice Martin, no way. Not unless you absolutely have to, and know what you're doing.

Good reason to start on a cheap instrument, so you can experiment with difference setups and use the truss to change the action. When you know how you like it, upgrade to a permanent guitar and change the action by modifying superficial parts like the nut and bridge.



*note I made no comment on electric setup, don't know don't care

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: cez]
    #23053752 -

Hey cez,

Just wanted to chime in and say, I prefer 9's on my strat. I use Ernie ball super slinky (pink pack). My sweet pickups, and amp and effect tone controls make up for the .whatever mm difference between 9's and 10's in tone. I enjoy the soft buttery feel of those, it complements the strat I think.

On my telecaster and semi hollow, I use 10's, Ernie ball regular slinky (yellow pack). For a lil heavier playing and thicker tone to compliment the style.

On acoustics is where I enjoy a thicker string probably 12's or 13's because light strings make an acoustic sound cheap and hollow in my opinion. Most of the resonance is coming from that! thicker strings here give me a clear crisp sound, and some balanced oomph from the low end.

For electric, there's not a huge difference between 9s and 10s. I would recommend to try out the 9s and 10s and pick whichever feels best and sounds best TO YOU. Then when you settle on your preference, I'd probably get a setup so that future string changes will be seamless in terms of intonation, and string height (action).

Also, like some of the other homies said, change your own strings! And check out some guitar setup videos on YouTube by a guy named Galeano Frudua. He has some that are strat specific. If you fudge it, you can always take it to the store and pay 50 bones.

I wouldn't mess with an acoustic without plenty of practice, as the main adjustments may require sanding the saddle and or nut, and here you need a lot more experience because you can't go backwards by turning screws.

:peace::heart:

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: sanchothestoner]
    #23053937 -

sanchothestoner said:
you'll be fine.  but over time, you may need an adjustment.


I disagree when you change to the thicker strings your geetar will need to be intonated. It's best a luthier does this. Your nut may not accommodate these new strings? There's a few things that can and usually does go wrong.

After you go to a new gauge and get your instrument intonated you continue to buy only those strings from now on. It's going to save you money and headaches down the road, trust me on this.


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Citizen X]
    #23053951 -

Pretty much what Universal said..


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Citizen X]
    #23053989 -

I use mediums on everything for the most part.  I used to have light gauge strings on my PRS solidbody and it sounded nice and was super easy to play but they would break if you looked at them the wrong way.  Heavy gauge strings will definitely warp or bow your guitar's neck if you aren't careful with how high you tune it.  I paid like $600 to a certified Martin tech to fix that very problem on a D-35 that I acquired fairly cheaply from a guy who stored it with heavy gauge strings which bent the neck enough to royally fuck the action and intonation.  After the repair, it sounds gorgeous and worth every dime.  It was a lot more involved than a truss rod adjustment, I think he had to remove and steam set the neck to remove the pronounced curve.

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: idiotek]
    #23054091 -

Its sad the way beautiful instruments often fall into neglect like this.

At least this story had a happy ending

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Repertoire89] * 1
    #23054167 -

High tension ( heavier guage) strings produce less volume and sustain.  They are also hard on your fingers.  In my opinion tone is significantly worse too.  Unless you are down tuning I don't see the point.  Seems to me heavy Guage is a nu-metal trend.


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http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: Shins]
    #23054176 -

It's a blues trend originally actually, cause the tone is way thicker and badass :awesome:


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Re: Heavier strings on electric guitar [Re: twighead]
    #23054186 -

It's really not.

If you go into the physics of it, high tension strings have less volume and sustain.

The strings also have less amplitude which actually creates a thinner sound.

Thick strings do not equal thick tone unless string tension is reduced to normal levels.


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http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

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