After years of playing acoustic I'm fairly happy that I buy phosphor bronze in 12gauge (not particularly brand loyal). But I'm playing a bit more electric now and don't know where to start with so many choices.
Any advice on what to put on a tele thinline for a mainly rhythm player coming from an acoustic background. It's currently got 10s (or some description) but I'm wondering about 11s for a more acoustic feel? Brands to look for/avoid? Nickel wound or pure nickel? etc
I don't play the electrics all that often so it's not uncommon to go 6months-year without changing strings, so the idea of trying a few to find out what I like would be a very slow process!!!
Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
Comments
Good to experiment, if they feel too heavy/light then go up/down a gauge.
I mainly use Ernie Ball on all electrics but there's other good brands out there you might like too.
Nickel wound is by a large distance the most popular and ditto for Ernie Ball or D'addario - No definitive answer on either gauge or make, so I'd go down the 11-49 for now and keep the packet in the case so you can recall which you had - If you like them then stick with them or adjust accordingly
You might need to adjust the truss rod, action a touch if you go to 11's - and maybe the top nut slots
I've useed 11s on Teles and they are great for rhythm but become tricky for bendy solos. They might work for you depending on what you play.
I found Ernie Balls tune up almost instantly but are knackered after 1 gig. They're good if you string up every day for a gig in the evening and are writing them down against tax.
Whereas Dean Markleys take a few hours playing-in time before they hold their tune, and will last all week for personal practice plus a band practice and then a gig.
I suspect that if you don't play for a long time every day, especially if you don't do a lot of sweaty stuff, then either d'Addarios or Dean Markleys will suit your usage patterns best.
Gauges. I'm primarily an electric player, started on 9s, now on 10s, and use 11s for acoustics and jazzboxes. As you're coming down from the heavier end of acoustic playing you will probably find that even 10s are a bit on the light side, but they're meant to be, so that you can bend them. I advise not to worry about that: playing electric IS different to playing acoustic and just because you might tune the guitars the same way, and play the same chord shapes or scale and arpeggio patterns doesn't mean the instruments behave the same way. Similarly, piano and organ are not interchangeable despite having similar keyboard layout.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
In terms of brands I've tried most and get good results for not much money using Pyramid nickle wound. I don't use them on all my guitars though, I find I experiment with gauges and brands until I discover what suits the guitar and me before settling on that choice.
But the Pyramids seem to be a good catch all and feature on over hald my electric guitars by default.
Although on paper it looks like they would be far too heavy they actually feel very natural to me and I can still easily bend notes on my les paul.