Do you use 9s or 10s on your electric?
 

I'm a relatively new returner to the electric world, and. recently, I've taken a stab at learning some classic solos - Stairway, Smoke on the Water. I have 10-46s on my two solid electrics, but I'm realizing that these guys must have been using 9s or even 8s to get some of the huge bends they pull off. I still have enough of a foot in the acoustic world that 10-46s already seem pretty light, but I'm seriously considering going down a step to ease some of those bends.

What gauge do you use on your electric?

I remember reading somewhere that Stevie Ray Vaughn used very heavy strings on his strat. In my (failing) memory, I thought he used a .014 or heavier as his E string.

I just did a quick search and found this article from Premier Guitar Magazine that might relate to your question.

For me, I am primarily an acoustic guitarist and wanna-be jazz guitarist...not much of a true rocker when it comes to electric. Having said that, I have the following gauge strings on my G&L ASAT (telecaster): .013, .017, .020 (plain), .028, .038, .049

String bends don't seem that difficult, but again, I'm not a true rocker so for sure YMMV.

I usually buy 10s in bulk for my electrics. A lot depends on the guitar in question. I run a full floating trem on my Strat, so the action feels softer as a result. The shorter scale Gibsons and Epiphone are next softest, followed by my Tele. 1 1/2 step bends are doable, but getting that last half step is a fight sometimes. If I didn't also play acoustic, I'd likely move down to 9s.

Honestly, though, it's not a contest. If you want to go lighter, go for it. Billy Gibbons runs super light strings. I would ask a professional tech to look over your setup first, however. I'm sensitive to the action on my guitars, and having it just right makes playing a pleasure.

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Interesting reference. As I suspected, Page used very light strings. I think I'd heard that before, along with that of Jeff Beck using them too. Certainly, it seems that if we want to get into big-bend playing, 9s are the way to go. Trouble is, I also like doing Chet-style picking and shuffle-type riffs and runs. Maybe the answer is to put 9s on one guitar and leave 10s on the other. Actually, I also have a Godin Multiac Spectrum, a hybrid that produce acoustic and electric sounds. Perhaps I should reserve that one for a more vigorous attack. It currently has 11-49s on it.

Lightest gauge I've ever used is 11's, and that only very recently; started out as a kid playing an old Harmony archtop strung with New Brunswick (NJ) Black Diamond strings - either 14-60 or 15-62 TMK - so left-hand strength was never really a problem (BTW my acoustic archtops always got 14's, always will). Still use flatwound 12's on most of my electrics, 13's on my jazzboxes and Rick 360, wound G in all cases - I find it provides a lot of natural acoustic resonance and amplified power (particularly with the Rick) that would otherwise be lost, simply as a matter of the additional vibrating mass driving both the body and the pickups; bear in mind that the "classic" electric guitar designs of the '50s/60s (Tele/Strat/Jazzmaster/Jaguar, SG/LP/ES/thinlines, Gretsch/Guild hollowbodies, etc.) were equipped with comparable-gauge strings from the factory, and IME still sound/play their best when those parameters are followed - and just think of the money you'll save on the hotter pickups you might have bought when you weren't getting enough tone or power from your guitar. As Clint suggests, you'll definitely want a first-class professional setup if you decide to go this route (BTW this was the secret weapon of all those bop-era jazzers and rockabilly cats) - get it done right and you'll never miss the skinny strings...

Steve's tag line would also apply to those .14 to .62 Black Diamond strings: "They wouldn't bend, they wouldn't bow (except Jimmy Page maybe...) and they wouldn't burn (toss them anyway...)

Used to use .010 on most electrics. Bent all over the fretboard with any finger.

I got old. Got arthritis. Now use .009 on most electrics. .010 on my Jaguar always (tried .011, couldn't hack it). .011 or .012 on my archtops. I used to keep .011s on one Tele for heavier attack stuff. I have one or two Gibson scale instruments with .010s on them.

For me I just have to remember to go a bit easier with the pick some times so as not to overdrive the strings unless I want that strangled sound on purpose for lead lines, and to not use too much pick force/dig in on rhythm picking.

Biggest factor in bends, in my experience, is action and setup, not gauge - at least within reasonable limits. If the action is too low, you can't get a good push on the string, and the next string fights your finger.

The downsides of super-slinky strings are, they don't make as much volume, you can't pick them as hard before they go wildly non-linear with a frequency chirp, and they go out of tune if you press too hard on the fretboard. So it's tradeoffs.

I use 10's, actually 10-52 light/heavy, but with the action dialed on the strings individually so I can bend a couple half-steps on the unwound strings if I want to.

I use .009s on all my electrics. I don't suggest that to anyone else - it is just what I've spent the last forty-six years on. I've tried heavier gauges but I find it impossible to pull off the level of pitch articulation that I like without working on .009s. That includes bending notes to be true within a chord and applying vibrato to only one or two strings within a chord as well as pre-bending and multi-string bending.

Your needs may be different and many people's are. Seek your comfort level within the techniques you are working on.

Bob

Some interesting replies! I was looking on the Strings and Beyond site last night, and I found that D'Addario does a set with 9, 11 and 16 on the three top strings, and 26, 36, 46 on the three bass, which makes the set half and half. I might try a set of those, although I find that a 17 on the third is fine as it is. Perhaps I'll buy a single string to avoid using the 16.

But having worked on Stairway last weekend and again this one, my fingers certainly feel as though they've had a workout pushing the first two strings sometimes a whole tone.

I use 9's. I love super slinkys

I use 11's (w/ an unwound 3rd) on both my Taylor T5 and my Gibson ES345... I'll go with 13's or 14's on my Gibson ES175...

I started out playing an acoustic guitar, decades ago... although I have played electric guitars quite a bit, more so in bands, I always feel like the acoustic guitar is "home" for me. In an effort to have my electrics "feel" a bit more like my acoustics, I began using 11's, and I feel it is a great way to add a bit more substance to the string feel, yet it's "loose enough' to bend the G string a whole note when I want... just makes bending strings something I REALLY have to intend, rather than an "oops!"...

It is all a matter of personal preference, certainly. I use the stouter strings on my 175 because I use it for old jazz standards, and I want that particular tone... also why I use flatwound strings on the 175, as they have very little sustain and get that nice "doinky' tone like Jim Hall and many other old-time guitarists... the action on my 175 is SO low that it can take having the thicker strings without producing a whole lot more effort to fret notes...

I have 9s on my Stratocaster and 10s on my Telecaster to compensate for the Bigsby.

Tried 11s once but they weren't me.

I use .009 through .046 on all my electrics except for my Stratocaster which uses .010 through .046.

On the shorter Gibson scale I like 11-49 for E and 12-52 for Eb.
On the Tele its regular 10-46s.
12-68 on the Baritone (27" scale) and 10-46 with a 68 B-string on the seven (26,5") , makes for nice chugging :D

If you want easier bends but still nice tight bass strings, try a 9-46 set, alot of people swear by them.

Have a look at this page, it includes a couple of videos where Billy Gibbons talks about guitars, pickups and strings. he uses 007´s!
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/rev-willys-strings