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I think if your technique is really good, you can use 8's.
I use 11's.
[EDIT] So I looked up and Brian 'used' to use that gauge:
..... Pete [guitar tech] does bring up the earlier gauge being .008 and states that they were breaking a lot of strings and more to the fact that Brian of course uses a sixpence as a plectrum which will only heighten the probability of breakages.
It seems that they've settled on the incredible Optima Gold Strings .009 - .042 and really put their full trust into the strings night after night.I find my playing gets very very sloppy with light (er) strings - I over bend, even tho I dont consider my self "heavy handed" Ive found this even more so since getting the LP - I keep catching the top E on the fret/nib.
I guess its from playing the same style on acoustic as on electric ?
10.5s on short scales, 10s on Fenders, 12s on acoustic, tho my knuckles, slight trigger finger (index) and onset dupuytren's may well change this in the near future
just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
I've used those guages on electrics forever, but I used to use 12s on acoustics and am getting heavier as I get older (sadly in ways other than string guage, too)...
https://edmorgan.info
After seeing this thread the other day I thought I'd try a set of 9s I had kicking around (mostly I've played 10s, but have since settled on 9.5s). This is on the back of popular YouTubers suggesting I'm playing the wrong strings, i.e., 10s and above (these being "pointlessly" heavy); the stigma attached to playing thinner gauge; and the B.B. King argument "Why work so hard?". But I was also curious as to whether I could play 9s and actually like them ...
Strung them yesterday; took them off today. Obviously they're easier to fret and bend, but they generally just feel weird and mess with the way I play. Tonally they don't sound right to me either, especially the top E. I know it's only half a gauge more, but to me the 9.5s have the right amount of sponginess and tension. That said, I might go back up to 10s. One thing that heavier strings do do is prevent me from trying to play too fast, which isn't a bad thing.
I say all this. I could be playing 8s when I'm 60.
I'm changing to 10's now, my strat is 11's standard tuning. 10's feel super bendy with hardly any tension. I'm getting used to them and like them, but I couldn't deal with any less. I'll stick to 10.5's or 11's on my Gibson.
I do wonder how people feel 10's are in any way heavy, assume it's for things thumb behing the neck legato, but even then they feel pretty slick. I can see how 11's or 12 put strain on the joints but not 10's.
Also, acoustics I like 12's or 13's. Especially on a dreadnought. Anything less and the top doesn't seem to work enough.
I have 8’s on my Ibanez Ergodyne & I find them too light. Will probably change them to 8.5 or 9 at the next string change.
On bass, of course .
For guitar I used to use 11s on everything - I liked the big vibrant sound of them, and the tighter feel when bashing chords - but now I’m 56 and not playing guitar as much as I used to, I’ve gone down to 10s on electric, just to save a bit of finger strain on bends. I still use 11s on my acoustics.
I did borrow a friend’s Ibanez RG for a few months and he had 9s on that, and if I was going to own one I would also… it just felt right like that.
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