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Strings and set-up
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Gojirosan



Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 20
Location: Liverpool, UK

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:35 am    Post subject: Strings and set-up Reply with quote

I suppose I could have mentioned this in the "gear" thread, but it's too late now!

What string gauges and actions do you all use?

I am kind of old-fashioned myself, I prefer a high action and heavy-ish strings. I am constantly amazed at people's lighter, easier tastes! I like to feel my strings fight back, as stiff as possible.

Also, guitars conspire against me, most 24 3/4" scale guitars are un-intonateable (surely not a real word! Laughing) with anything heavier than 11 - 48s at concert pitch*. This is essentially useless to me as the strings feel like moist string. Most of my Fender scale guitars have required bridge mods to get a 52 on th ebottom string too, to my conternation.

So, I use 12 - 52s on Fender scale guitars and (reluctantly) 11 - 48s on Gibson guitars - ideally they'd be at least 13 - 56. All with 2.5 - 3mm actions (top of 12th fret to string).

How about you? Or is this TOO guitar-geeky?

Laughing


* I reset the neck of my Columbus Les Paul (bolt-on, thankfully) five whole milllimetres back from it's original position and it still won't intonate a bottom E heavier than a 49!
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 1:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You sure are a stud, aren't you?Wink Sorry, but I'm a wimp!Razz Laughing

I use 10's (.010~.046) in standard tuning with fairly low action (about 1.5mm at the 17th fret from bottom of the string to the top of the fret). I like the Elixir strings because they last but also like these strings called Snake Oils that are like pure nickel strings and, thus, sound dark but last as long as the Elixirs. I like the neck relief at about .008~.010" at the 7th fret, so it's fairly straight.

I think Guthrie also uses 10's with medium to low action. I remembered his old battered PRS having medium to high action.
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Gojirosan



Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 20
Location: Liverpool, UK

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 1:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've played someone else's Strat (Trelloskilos' actually) with Elixirs on, I thought they sounded great, but couldn't get into the feel - too smooth and slick for me. I am concerned about their slide performance too.

I currently use La Bella Blues Heavy, having changed from Dean Markley 11-52s.

I do like the Canadian Firewire strings for "last longer than usual" types - beautiful tone - but they are a tad too expensive for me.

The "stud" comment made me laugh, I had no idea I was using an unusually "difficult" set-up until I joined the Intermusic forums a few years back, and discovered 9s and 10s were the strings of choice for most folks.

I can appreciate why people like lighter strings than me though, it's that I actually like being limited to a maximum tone and a half bend! Maybe one day I'll feel the need to bend more and put some lighter strings on one of my instruments!

Laughing

Oddly, I'm not a big SRV fan either! I just guess we share(d) the same taste in feel, even if he did tune down a semitone - the wimp! Wink

Laughing
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thing



Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 21
Location: Lincoln UK

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

!0's on Strat scale lengths and 11's on Gibson for me. Ilike Elixirs but I'm one of those lucky people who can make a set last for ages so I use D'Addarios, it would be false economy to get Elixirs for me. I do like 11's on Strats though, it's just that with playing all day they do start to wear away at your fingers!
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shredrulez
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

man, you guys make me feel like a total wuss! Mad i've been using 9's forever tuned down half-step! Sad but you know what? shawn lane used 8's! Laughing satch uses 9's. many great players do, i believe. i dunno... i don't think it's too important. i pick up someone else's guitar and i still sound thin and wimpy and all i get are fingers that hurt! Mad Laughing i keep my action fairly low as well. whatever works. to each his own i say. Very Happy
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frankus



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 1100
Location: Chelmsford/Arachnipus

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

11s on my Strat, 9s on my Ibanez Wink different worlds..

playing Cliffs of Dover on the Strat is proving a challenge, but I reckon it can be done.. eventually Wink

My Dad had an archtop with 14s on it, it was the only guitar he had that could be strung left handed.. (for I'm a southpaw) great fun Rolling Eyes
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trelloskilos



Joined: 11 Sep 2004
Posts: 35

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 5:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Based on Goji's suggestion that I stick something heavier than .10's on my strat, I looked into it, but wimped out at the last second. It wasn't necessarily just the coating on the Elixirs that made the guitar slick, but also a low action coupled with an obsessively waxed fretboard. It just suits my playing style best, and while a heavier gauge may offer some tone, make the guitar fight back etc., I just don't want to leave .10's.

However, knowing the discerning guitarist that Goji is, (plus his frankness if he doesn't like something), I'm chuffed that my strat was worthy of mention. Cool

Like Frankus, I have .09's on my Ibanez. Not for any other reason other than the fact that the guitar was initially set up with them, and as anyone with a Floyd Rose trem will know, gauges are a nightmare to even consider, and even with a properly set up Floyd Rose trem on a heavier gauge, bending strings can lead to all sorts of horrible sounding consequences.
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Donnie B.



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 101
Location: Chula Vista, CA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

.009s with zero neck relief and the action as low as I can get it. I also use a Jazz III pick held between my fingers so that just the smallest possible part of the point is exposed. Having spent the last 10 months on a major Shawn Lane kick I've realized that a lot of being able to pull off stuff quickly comes down to economy of motion (Guthrie talks about this in his first book as does Rusty Cooley is some of his columns). Use only as much finger and pick motion as needed to play a passage. Paying attention to that as well as remembering to breath evenly and relax has immensely helped my chops.
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Carlo



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 408

PostPosted: Thu Sep 16, 2004 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

9s on my Ibanez and 10s on my Tele and Strat. I also use JazzIIIs. But I use a larger and lighter pick when I'm on acoustic.
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Fink Floyd



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 25
Location: A small town in North Wales you've probably never heard of

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

9s on everything. I am comfortable with my wimpiness.
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Donnie B.



Joined: 13 Sep 2004
Posts: 101
Location: Chula Vista, CA

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We all know what they say about men who buy big trucks, own large guns, or use thick strings.......... simply a means of compensation for being, uhm...... "short changed" in a part of their anatomy Laughing Laughing
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Duncan M



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 27
Location: Highcation; it's all the same really...

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For my Strat, I'm a D'Addario XLs fan, 10's. My action is medium to low, but I think I'm gonna raise it and just maybe chuck some 11's on it. Sadly the guitar doesn't hold its intonation worth sh*t.

My Les Paul is a different kettle of fish; it's open to experimentation. I've tried Elixir, DR, Dean Markley, Gibson, Washburn Slicks, Ernie Ball slinkys and pretty much everything else you could name - in gauges between 8s and 12s, with much action tweaking to boot. I actually kinda like the whole Skinny Top/Heavy Bottom thing, I wish D'Addario made a set of 'em. My action is fairly low, but again I'd like to raise it a little in the near future.

And picks? Well, it depends on how I feel and what I'm playing. Isn't that terrible? I should be able to do everything with one pick! Wuss! If I'm doing a lot of rapid picking I like a pick with very little 'give' - a Dunlop 2.0mm or recently, I've grown to be rather fond of Stagg 2.0mm picks - they look a little like Stubbys. I've tried Jazz IIIs and I do like them but I wish they made them a little bigger - they're too fiddly and wee for me. For some reason, I'm certain the red ones are better than the black ones!! Confused

If I'm playing some nice clean chords, I like something a with a bit of give in a plectrum. I still haven't found the right one. And whenever I fondle picks in a music shop with a view to buying, I find that:

a) I feel like a fetishist
b) I seem to think "None of these feel any good"

It is because of this that I am seldom allowed out without the cuffs.
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Noise Epidemic



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 65
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use DR tite fit strings, 9s on my Ibanez JS100 and my PRS Standard 24. I tried 10s for a while but I ended up going back to the 9s. I love how they feel. My action is about medium height, I don't really have any tools to measure just how high it is. I'd like to get it considerably lower, but I don't really know how to do it without getting excess buzz. Crying or Very sad
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Gojirosan



Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 20
Location: Liverpool, UK

PostPosted: Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Donnie B. wrote:
We all know what they say about men who buy big trucks, own large guns, or use thick strings.......... simply a means of compensation for being, uhm...... "short changed" in a part of their anatomy Laughing Laughing


Oh, how I wish I could dispute that!

Crying or Very sad

Laughing Laughing Laughing
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ARUjeff



Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Tue Nov 02, 2004 4:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i have always alternated between 10s and 9s both daddario, but lately ive been using 9s because they are easier to play with the dunlop ultex 1.14 mm pick i use.
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