FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Ernie Ball Guitar String

Question:
What should I consider when selecting a type of guitar strings? I just started playing, and I had no idea there were so many different kinds. What is the significance of the guage? Do certain stringd sound better when playing rock? blues? jazz?

Answer:
Gauge is the thickness of the strings. 9's are .09 for the high e string, 10's are .010 for the high e string, etc. Of course there is a trade off in the strings or we'd only have one size. Basically, the lower numbers are easier to bend and the higher numbers provide a fuller sound. Here is my opinion as to what the different sizes do for me: 8's - I'm too hard on my strings to play 8's so I don't use them any more. They broke too quickly but they were super easy to bend. 9's - I use these on my PRS which I usually play leads with. They are great for bending and I don't have a problem with them breaking. I use Ernie Ball Super Slinky but I don't think there's much difference between manufacturers. I just started using them because they were cheap and I've always stuck with them. 10's - I use these on my strat and one of my acoustics. IMHO, these are the most versatile because I can bend them (although they are harder to bend than 9's) but they sound pretty good for chord work too. Please also note that I have the action set very low on my PRS and the action is higher on the strat. Maybe it's just me, but for me I have a problem with bending the strings too much on the strat when I use 9's. That's why I switched over to the 10's. I never had this problem with the PRS though and I attribute it to the action being set lower. I've used Earthwoods and D'Addario and I like them both. I'm sure there are others that are fine too. 11's - I use these on another acoustic I have. This particular guitar has a better sound than my other one and it's what I do most of my chord work with. I used to use 12's on it but I couldn't get any bending out of them at all so I switched to the 11's. I usually use the Ernie Ball Earthwoods on this one but have used D'Addario too. 12's - Used to use these as mentioned above. Still use them for slide playing but not for anything when I have to bend. I have never tried 13's although I plan to someday soon. My advice to you is try them all out. Buy 4 or 5 sets of each so you make sure you give them a good workout before discounting them. I have friends who swear by the 9's and I have friends who swear by 13's. The only word of caution here is to make sure you don't stray too far away from what you've got now without taking it in to a shop and having them adjust the action for you. Different string gauges have different tension repercussions and you don't want to screw up your guitar so take it to someone who knows what they are doing if you want to switch from 9's to 12's.