[Mattayus]

yeah i know what you mean, but like someone else said up there ^^ it's all about the way ure set up.

My "sloppy" strings are part of my sound, they make a nice ropey slap if i pick hard enough, but i've got damn tight pick control if i dont mind saying so myself, ive managed to develop a feather light attack even at speed so thin gauges work for me. Plus i just love an over-the-top vibrato.

a .54 at A does intonate fine. If u hit it hard enough as an open note though it does distort the tone, but i don't particularly see this as a bad thing, because it sounds evil and demonic, and it only happens if u want it to. Just depends on your attack.

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by soldierkahn

BTW - Using light gauge strings is what gives you that Uber Djent that you hear in the intro for Linchpin and uhhhh Digimortal. Thats what i like my tone to sound like the majority of the time.

I was thinking about it, and maybe thats why i dont really like the light string sound at all. the 'djent' thing works well for the bulb & meshuggah type sounds, but i dont really like that tone for myself at all. the fact that the bigger string does sound more 'round' (more full, i think) is why i like it so much.

Originally Posted by TomAwesome

That may work very well depending on what you're going for, but to me it starts to take on too may characteristics of a bass and lose too many of the characteristics that make a guitar sound like a guitar.

I dunno. i dont find that, even using a bass string. For one, the scale is almost 10" shorter. You're also tuning the string way lower than it is on a bass. I use whats essentially the high G string on a bass, but i tune it a m6 below. That + the 8.5" shorter scale allow it to retain guitar characteristics. Using the bigger string to me, allows my low B to maintain the feel and playability that the low E has. Going from a Low E with a tension of 16-18 lbs then playing a low B with a tension thats maybe 3/4 of that, or less, it just feels really weird to me.


It sounds like what you guys look for in your low B's is entirely different than what I look for.

[Pablo]

I too have experienced that my tone suffers when using heavy strings for my low B... I do like the tighter feel of heavy strings - but it just doesn't sound right. To me, strings heavier than 60 for the low B sound dull and lifeless. I have mixed and matched strings like the rest of you guys and have found a combo that works really well for me: I use Hybrid Slinkies 9-46 and add a stainless steel 56 for the B. Stainless steel strings are brighter and slightly more taut than nickel strings, and to me that stainless steel B-string gives me a nice even sound across the strings. For drop A, I'd suggest using a stainless steel 58.

Cheers

Eske

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

I was thinking about it, and maybe thats why i dont really like the light string sound at all. the 'djent' thing works well for the bulb & meshuggah type sounds, but i dont really like that tone for myself at all. the fact that the bigger string does sound more 'round' (more full, i think) is why i like it so much.

No no no, light strings have nothing to do with djent. Djent comes from picking in a scrape-y way, closer to the neck. My pick attack and palm mutes are nothing like Bulb or Meshuggah. I get brutal and thick tone from light gauges, part of the sound is from the thick (2mm) picks I use too, thats a HUGE factor in tone.

[soldierkahn]

Yeah, another HUGE factor in my tone is my picks. I use the Jazz IIIs, both the black and red models. The black one is hella stiffer and gives me a more bassier tone (i use it for like Drop D where i want a thick tone and i dont speed pick as much), and the Red one has SLIGHT flex in it and gives me a brighter tone (I use it on my 7 for Fear Factory esque picking and on Drop C for Chimaira and KSE esque pickin.)

[Metal Ken]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

No no no, light strings have nothing to do with djent. Djent comes from picking in a scrape-y way, closer to the neck. My pick attack and palm mutes are nothing like Bulb or Meshuggah. I get brutal and thick tone from light gauges, part of the sound is from the thick (2mm) picks I use too, thats a HUGE factor in tone.

i've been using 3mm picks for years. the attack from lighter strings i've experienced isn't really 'brutal' at all.

[Jongpil Yun]

Originally Posted by Metal Ken

i've been using 3mm picks for years. the attack from lighter strings i've experienced isn't really 'brutal' at all.

Same here. The thicker the picks, the thicker the riffs

I use a Jazz III or 2.0mm stubbies for leads quite often but for rhythm, it's the 3mm big stubbies all the way.