[JamesGrote]

Great discussion! I use light strings 9-54 which is relatively loose, yet pick fairly aggressively, as I like to really beat up the strings when I play. I love the sound of really hearing the strings get abused and bent around. With lighter and looser strings you have more control over intonation, which can help or hurt your tone. You have to be a bit more careful how hard to press down on the frets as a note can go sharp. Properly controlled, this can give your sound more character.

I'm somewhat from the old school of Van Halen style, but 7 string all the way. Eddie's trademark sound was in part using light strings tuned down (very loose and slinky) yet he picked very aggressively with his fan picking technique. Lots of attack and great intonation.

my two cents....

[TomAwesome]

You have seen the light, friend!

I generally use the thinnest strings I can that will still be powerful, present, and stable for whatever tuning I'm in. I hesitate to use anything thicker than .060". The next trick is learning to have a really light yet precise and fast picking hand. It takes getting used to, but when you get it down, it's great. Over time, I went from using huge strings and thick-ass picks to using thinner strings (usually 9s or 10s. I'm using a 10-59 set for drop Ab now) and .73-.80 picks. The way a .009-.052 set of DR Hi-Beams feels and sounds in standard tuning on a 25.5" scale 7 is just damn near perfect for me.

[Randy]

Originally Posted by ledzep4eva

The whole heavy strings thing is a bit like a penis-length competition thing on this site. I also think people buy heavier strings just because everyone else on here tells them to.

I love light strings. Better attack, and I feel more in control.

I think you might have put a little toooo fine a point on that one, but I do agree that in the guitar community in general, there's a little bit of "real men use fat strings, because light gauges are for sissies who can't handle the real thing." The same thing goes for gear, like "THE ONLY good *fill in blank with a piece of gear* are *fill in the blank with some 4 digit priced brand of gear* and everything else is shite."

But this particular doesn't really do much of that kinda thing, and most of the guys here are much more respectful of people's preferences unlike some OTHER site *ahem Harm. Cent.* You need to give us a little more credit than that. [/offtopic]

I'm still figuring out a good string size for my 7 string, because I'm new to owning 7's and I haven't had a guitar with a high string tuned to E or Eb in YEARS...

[lailer75]

i just like the fact i can buy a set of d`addario`s 9-56 0r 10-59 for 6 bucks.

[noodles]

Originally Posted by Drew

It's not better or worse, but rather "different."

At the end of the day, tone comes from your hands. SRV's early albums were cut with the less successful Marshall and Fender amps that everyone else avoided. Ty Tabor cut the first two King'x X albums by plugging into a solid state Gibson Lab series amp. The clean intro on "La Grange" was Billy Gibbons plugging a Strat straight into the board!

Play what is the most comfortable to you. I don't use heavy strings for thicker tone or some juvenile "penis length contest",like one poster suggested. I play them because they feel the most comfortable to me, which keeps me from thinking about my playing. When I'm not thinking, I'm better able to get out of my own way and just play the guitar.

[ohio_eric]

Originally Posted by noodles

At the end of the day, tone comes from your hands. SRV's early albums were cut with the less successful Marshall and Fender amps that everyone else avoided. Ty Tabor cut the first two King'x X albums by plugging into a solid state Gibson Lab series amp. The clean intro on "La Grange" was Billy Gibbons plugging a Strat straight into the board!

Play what is the most comfortable to you. I don't use heavy strings for thicker tone or some juvenile "penis length contest",like one poster suggested. I play them because they feel the most comfortable to me, which keeps me from thinking about my playing. When I'm not thinking, I'm better able to get out of my own way and just play the guitar.

For every law of tone I see posted or written somewhere I can always seem to find someone who has broken it successfully.

[JJ Rodriguez]

Originally Posted by ledzep4eva

The whole heavy strings thing is a bit like a penis-length competition thing on this site. I also think people buy heavier strings just because everyone else on here tells them to.

I love light strings. Better attack, and I feel more in control.

If someone wants to use thin strings I don't give a shit, and I kind of find your over generalization of this entire site as thick string elitists offensive. I use thick strings because that's what my picking hand likes, no because I came here and "saw the light". I get enough attack out of my thick ass strings, so I don't need thinner strings to get the attack I want, it's all personal preference. Lots of people here use thin strings, we're not ALL thick string people.

[Drew]

Originally Posted by ledzep4eva

The whole heavy strings thing is a bit like a penis-length competition thing on this site. I also think people buy heavier strings just because everyone else on here tells them to.

I love light strings. Better attack, and I feel more in control.

Actually, if anything, the reverse is true. The "thin strings, optimal tension set" crew here is the one pushing everyone to drink the kool-aid and string up.

[kmanick]

I think it depends more on the actual guitar and the player.
I had my Carvin set up with 9-42 + 56 for the first few months
that I had it and I decided to try a 9-46 +60, and the tension on
the low B is "better" and it sounds a little better.
My Loomis is longer scale and I've left the 10-56 set on there
that it came with and it feels fine as is.
I have a pretty light touch "most of the time" . I found when playing stuff like
Nevermores "Ambivalent" I find that the 60 on my Carvin lets me dig in a little
better, where on the Loomis the space between frets itself is a little bigger
and the 56 works just fine..............for me that is, you might find something
different works better for you.

[Desecrated]

I used to have 64, but the action is a bit high on that so I tried a 60, but that's just to light for me.