[DslDwg]

Originally Posted by canuck brian

I've been using 8-38's since I started guitar. Sounds fine to me! I use a 52 or 54 on the B and it's just fine as well. I have a really light touch so playing anything heavier seems really weird!

I feel exactly the same - been playin' eight's for years - have a super light fretting hand and I stabilize my picking hand either at my palm or my small fingers. I never break strings either - but god help my guitars if someone else plays them I know I'm going to replace at least one string.

My seven has 9-58's on it because I was lazy to piece together a set. I have to admit I like the way the lower (thicker) strings ring as opposed to my six string thin strings.

[cadenhead]

I'd just like to throw my $.02 in here.

I use an 85 for my 7th string (tuned to G) for a few reasons:

a) I have a heavy picking hand

b) I love lots of tension on my strings

c) I think it sounds great

d) I use a brass pick

With the lighter strings, I was always breaking strings mainly because of (a) and (d).

Now, I haven't broken a string since I switched. I guess that also has to do with the brass pick wearing out the string. I have to change my strings often because I end up wearing the wrapped strings smooth and they start to sound dull.

But, like it's been said before, this is just my personal prefrence. I don't go door to door like a religous fanatic trying to get people to switch.

[mnemonic]

i used to use 10-68's, and i loved them, until i noticed my guitar sounded kinda boomy and dull compared to my firends guitar (he uses 9's) so i decided to try some 9's out, and i've been using 9-42 + a 56 low B on my seven ever since!

i just love the feel of 9's, they're so easy to play and bend on. 10's feel really stiff to me now, haha

[The Dark Wolf]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

You must be talking about Polywebs, not NanoWebs, because NanoWebs are amongst the brightest strings out there. What you're saying doesn't make any sense, impossible unless you played a totally fucked up set. I've used every brand/gauge out there 10x over and the Elixir NanoWebs are one of the (if not the) most articulate and punchiest strings available. The PolyWebs have a lot more coating and have a darker sound.

Totally, TOTALLY correct.

Nanowebs are amazingly bright. And! They maintain that brightness over an very extended period. There's no-fucking-way they sound like playing with a blanket over the amp. Period.


I get what you're saying on everything else, Nick, and agree completely.

[Splees]

I've got to say I use .10-.56 on a 25.5and have tuned down to Gb a few times. Usually I'm tuning to Ab though. Seems to be working fine. Not really mushy at all. Nice and bright sounding. Tension is kind of loose feeling but not floppy. I've thought about bumping up the lower strings a few gauges.

[Shooter]

I used to use pretty heavy strings, 11-60, but then my wrists started getting really fucked up. It was painful to play for more than an hour or two. So then I got some 9-54s and not only did my wrists stop hurting, but it was way easier for me to play leads. And they hardly sounded any different, at least to me. So yea, I'd have to say I'm a member of the Light-Ass Strings Brigade. They sound fine and prevent tendonitis!

[Prometheus]

Hey, 6 pages, sweet!

I used to pick like a mofo too, because otherwise the strings I had on wouldn't sound good. Now, with these lighter strings, I'm getting pretty much the same sound - better, actually - with much less effort. So, yeah, it's a win-win situation. Plus, it's forcing me to fix my technique, because I find I can be sloppier on heavy strings and still pull stuff off, whereas on the thinner strings I have to be more precise or it just sounds terrible. Plus, as Zimbloth pointed out, the guitar just sounds BETTER, everything is far more balanced. The lower string doesn't completely overpower the rest of them, whether playing chords or just running scales up and down the fretboard. It sounds FANTASTIC! I know it's subjective, but MAN, it sounds way, way better to me than what the thicker strings did.

That being said, I'm thinking I might want to beef up the gauge ever so slightly on the lower strings. Maybe a 58 instead of a 56. Meh. Either way, I'm digging the lighter gauges!

[dpm]

Originally Posted by noodles

However, my acoustic strings stay on forever, and I hate when I pull out my Martin for the first time in months and the srings are dull. I moved to the D'addario EXP strings for this very reason, but they really only make it about three months. How are the NanoWeb acoustic strings?

You're not going to find any string sounds particularly good after more than a couple of months as the materials seem to lose their elasticity over that kind of time period. They start sounding like shit and intonating strangely. Dudes who really benefit from coated strings (apart from those who prefer the feel, tone etc.) are those who tend to corrode a standard set in a matter of hours. Some guys consider a 1 week lifespan miraculous.

With regard to heavy vs. light.... it's totally personal preference. Myself, I like them heavy on the bass side, progressively lighter on the treble. I like to be able to attack the string on my own terms, from soft to very hard, and have the strings respond instantaneously at the correct pitch. I don't like how the pitch is affected by the attack with light strings, and I simply play faster and more accurately with heavy gauges. But that's just the way I play, and the wonderful thing about music is that everybody approaches things differently, there is no right or wrong.

I remember a certain Drew Peterson from a few years back running pussy strings on his seven

[Apophis]

Originally Posted by dpm

But that's just the way I play, and the wonderful thing about music is that everybody approaches things differently, there is no right or wrong.

Totally agreed

[Seedawakener]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

Totally, TOTALLY correct.

Nanowebs are amazingly bright. And! They maintain that brightness over an very extended period. There's no-fucking-way they sound like playing with a blanket over the amp. Period.


I get what you're saying on everything else, Nick, and agree completely.

I've been using the Elixir Nanoweb baritone set (12-68's plus a normal 9 and a wounded 26, cause the 22 is plain in the elixir set for som reason) for a long while now. I get a 20-30 percent discount depending on who is behind the counter in the store I usually go to.

Anyway... those 68's do not sound boomy, you have total control over it with your right hand, and they last forever. I have had the same strings on my Hellraiser since the summer now and everytime I pick it up every once in a while since I play my other two guitars more the strings feel new. Even though the coating has started to flake off I cant notice any difference in feel and sound. IMO elixirs are just superior. I'd recommend them to anyone thinking thick strings are bad. I have never had any problem with my hand or arm, except for whe I had played for lik1 year and tried to do gallops and my arm was kinda noobishly tense...

Elixir is the way to go!