Lighter sting gauge gives better sound

[DangerousR6]

Billy Gibbons used 8's for years, and switched to 7's, and Billy's got some monster tone... :dontknow:

I've been into guitar for 34 years and I have never seen 7s. Where would you even buy them?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6DrxfrbbF8[/youtube]

 

[musicispeace]

Billy Gibbons used 8's for years, and switched to 7's, and Billy's got some monster tone... :dontknow:

I've been into guitar for 34 years and I have never seen 7s. Where would you even buy them?

I believe Dunlop makes them in a Billy Gibbons signature series that is available in 7 ga. or on up to 10's. I've tried the 10 ga. set and like them but 7 would be pretty light for sure. I have been told Gibbons has supremely lightened his touch to work with light strings. Saw ZZ Top live in 2015 and he sure sounded great.

 

[DangerousR6]

Billy Gibbons used 8's for years, and switched to 7's, and Billy's got some monster tone... :dontknow:

I've been into guitar for 34 years and I have never seen 7s. Where would you even buy them?

I believe Dunlop makes them in a Billy Gibbons signature series that is available in 7 ga. or on up to 10's. I've tried the 10 ga. set and like them but 7 would be pretty light for sure. I have been told Gibbons has supremely lightened his touch to work with light strings. Saw ZZ Top live in 2015 and he sure sounded great.

He was once told by BB King, "Why yo working so hard" and that's what changed his views on string gauge. He's my favorite living guitarist..

 

[mullyman]

My only problem with that video, watched it the other day, was them using the term "better". Sound/Tone is subjective. What sounds better to one may not sound better to another. I personally use a hybrid .009 - .046. Light top/heavy bottom. You gotta find what sounds best to you.
MULLY

 

[rookosu]

The difference in sound between 11's and 8's is noticeable.

But not as big a difference as the difference in feel and your confidence in playing different gauges.

Play what feels good and gives you confidence.  Then tweak your sound.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

The difference in sound between 11's and 8's is noticeable.

But not as big a difference as the difference in feel and your confidence in playing different gauges.

Play what feels good and gives you confidence.  Then tweak your sound.

I think the subjective term "Better" is regarding filtering out some of the lows to give the guitar more focus & to allow that lower end to be occupied by other instruments like the kick drum & bass guitar, or even synth to work better in a band mix context.

 

[Seamas]

I'd say that 80% of my playing over the last 30 years has been on an acoustic (24.9" scale length) with 12s.
IMHO,going lighter on an acoustic is definitely a detriment to both tone and volume. You just aren't going to drive that top with light strings.
Early on I had tried lighter strings on an acoustic and found the tone tinny and it made the mids and highs all but disappear.
I'm OK with 10s on a Strat but am considering 11s as I prefer the feel and like heavier strings for slide.

 

[drewfx]

The difference in sound between 11's and 8's is noticeable.

But not as big a difference as the difference in feel and your confidence in playing different gauges.

Play what feels good and gives you confidence.  Then tweak your sound.

I think the subjective term "Better" is regarding filtering out some of the lows to give the guitar more focus & to allow that lower end to be occupied by other instruments like the kick drum & bass guitar, or even synth to work better in a band mix context.

That's a rationalization trying to make a preference something more. People do it all the time to try and make their opinions into "facts". I dislike the sound of lighter strings personally and can come up with all sorts of rationalizations why my preference is "right" too.

 

[aarontunes]

There wasn't anything in the video that I hadn't discovered on my own about twenty years ago. To me, the whole thing came across as product placement for Ernie Ball more than any kind of earth-shaking tone-secret reveal.


EBMM certainly got their money's worth, as the whole internet seems to be talking about it.

 

[spe111]

I don't think anything could be more subjective. First of all, there are two main aspects, how they feel and how they sound, both have pros and cons based on gauge. Each of those have sub-criteria that also have their own pros and cons. Then you put them in specific situations where different aspects may become more or less important. The reality is if one kind of string were better, they wouldn't make all of the other kinds.

As for my preferences, I have experimented with gauge a lot over the years. I have found that sound wise, there isn't that much difference (to me) with distortion. With clean strat or tele sounds straight into a clean Fender amp, to me thicker stings sound noticeably better (not that thin strings sound bad). As for playing feel, I definitely like the increased tension of heavier strings, they feel better to pluck with a pick and they feel better/more accurate for bends. All of that has been negated though by the arthritis in my knuckles, which demand I use 9's or less. I wish I could use 11's some times, but I'm overall pretty happy using 9's too.

The real problem for me is acoustic guitars, where I feel heavier gauge strings make a strong difference for the better. I end up having to use 10's, and that makes them both quieter and thinner sounding (to me) vs heavier strings. 

 

[BroccoliRob]

man if only all those killer jazz guyz from 70 years ago were playing 8's they mightve had good tone! (lol kidding)

 

[jay4321]

I more or less had my strings sorted out as a teenager, probably the same way Aaron and most other people did. I assume the next thing will be someone making a video about how I'm using the wrong picks too. [I'm sure it already exists, don't link me.] I've seen a couple of that guy's videos and he's okay, and I kind of wish I had all these resources when I was a kid learning, but then again I spent most of my free time actually playing. I probably had a dozen gigs played before I knew about aftermarket pickups--

--Incidentally, I learned some of my general gear knowledge early on from a snobby little gear dweeb who paraded around his LP Standard and Marshall at all of the school events and music classes. All the cool gear, lots of stories about his band when he lived in another state, but couldn't get in one at our school since he couldn't really play any actual "songs," (remember those pesky things that you need to learn, besides the intro or cool riff part?). I bet he's out there somewhere in the YouTube comments hot on this string subject right now--

Anyway, strings. My experience says you buy a bunch, play them a bunch, it will work itself out. They're cheap and disposable enough. I mostly default to 10-52 at Fender scale nowadays, they just feel right and let me hit them in a certain way that lighter strings don't, but I but have a multiple guitars set up certain ways I like. I will put a 56 low on in a couple recording scenarios for a thing I do. A nice shreddy Ibanez I have 9s on hand in Eb tuning for another example. A barely-touched Schecter drop tuned with 12-60 DDTs on it.

Acoustics are another case, I won't go lower than 11-52s, and 12s for recording anything. Maybe it's me, maybe my guitar, recording equipment or techniques, I don't know. But yes that matters.

 

[spe111]

That brings up a good point. I think what kind of pick you're using has a big impact on the sound too and that's related to string gauge.

 

[Rick]

Electrics: 10-48 or whatever is on sale or free.