[Battousai]

i switched from a 9-42 to a mixed 10-52 set on my Horizon.. basically a higher guage for lower tunings.. but i dont know.. the top three (heavier) strings sound muffled and a bit whoomfy .. if you know what i mean ?

is this normal ? i was thinking maybe because it isnt fitting properly at the nut ...

your thoughts are welcome

[ZeroSignal]

What pickups are you using? I used 10-62 on my basswood RG1527 with dimarzio DS7 and Blaze neck and it sounded amazing.

[zimbloth]

Originally Posted by Battousai

i switched from a 9-42 to a mixed 10-52 set on my Horizon.. basically a higher guage for lower tunings.. but i dont know.. the top three (heavier) strings sound muffled and a bit whoomfy .. if you know what i mean ?

is this normal ? i was thinking maybe because it isnt fitting properly at the nut ...

your thoughts are welcome

Yes this is normal. The thicker gauge a string, the more round and mellow it will sound as well as less attack. Now, you can still get a good sound out of of thick strings, you just may have to try a brighter brand.

I've experienced what you're describing about 1000 times over the last decade. Sometimes even going down 0.002 can mean all the difference. That's why I use lighter strings. But again, you can get a good sound out of thicker ones, just some brands have very muddy/undefined thick strings. Also tube amps are a lot less forgiving than digitals.

What brand did you use? Try Elixir NanoWebs or DR Hi-Beams if you're still having trouble.

[Megadeth7684]

I don't think heavy strings sound muffled. Look at guys like Loomis who used an 80 gauge low B for DHIADW or the Soilwork guys who used a 70 gauge low B to record Natural Born Chaos. Thin strings sound sloppy and thin to me, plus I don't like the loose feel of them.

[zimbloth]

Loomis used a .070 not an .080, and personally I find his live low B string to be fairly woofy. Anyways man this isn't a debate on light vs heavy. What I said is just science, not really opinion. I'm just saying what he experienced is common. The lighter the gauge, the more attack and less mellow they will sound relative to your picking. As I said, you can get a great sound out of heavy gauges too you just have to find the right brand and the right pickups to handle it. I suggested Elixir NanoWebs and DR Hi-Beams as a good starting place.

If they sound thin and sloppy to you, it's probably because your technique is not conducive to lighter strings. That is fine, a lot of great players are that way, like many people on this forum such as Drew. They don't have to sound sloppy and thin though man. The legions of people who use light gauges like myself prove otherwise. It's all about what works for the individual.

Anyways, like I said buddy, what you're experience is normal, either try a different brand of the same gauge, or go back to lighter strings. Also be aware certain pickups will handle different gauges differently.

[noodles]

+1 to what Nick said about brands. I hated D'addario for years, I always though they were way to bright. When I started going up string gauges, though, I found the Dean Markleys I was using to be too muddy. I tried D'addario again, and found them to be just right.

Also, your amp has a presence knob, right?

[Drew]

I string with telephone cables, and even I'll admit that heavier strings are a bit darker and more compressed than lighter ones.

Still, strings are only part of the equation here so that's not a reason to not string heavy. You just need to keep that in mind when working with the rest of your rig - realize that they're darker, bassier, a little louder, and more compressed, and ease off the bass and gain a touch and possible nudge up the treble and presence, and you should still get awesome results.

[VicerExciser]

Originally Posted by zimbloth

Yes this is normal. The thicker gauge a string, the more round and mellow it will sound as well as less attack. Now, you can still get a good sound out of of thick strings, you just may have to try a brighter brand.

I've experienced what you're describing about 1000 times over the last decade. Sometimes even going down 0.002 can mean all the difference. That's why I use lighter strings. But again, you can get a good sound out of thicker ones, just some brands have very muddy/undefined thick strings. Also tube amps are a lot less forgiving than digitals.

What brand did you use? Try Elixir NanoWebs or DR Hi-Beams if you're still having trouble.

I find I just need to pick harder on palm mutes to get the same "attack" with thicker strings. Works for me
Problem is, on my "shitty" days of playing when I'm just not in the mood to play really heavy, it sounds "muffled" as you describe.

I still dig my thicker strings.

[shadowgenesis]

I wouldn't say that heavier strings DON'T sound darker, but i would say that having heavier strings doesn't equate to muddy or muffled lows at all. I think it's more about how everything else you have (pickups, guitar build, effects, amp) respond to the strings you use. Listen to Drew. he's smart
just out of curiosity, did you down-tune at all before you put the heavier strings on, or are you using the heavier strings to downtune for the first time?
Personally i like heavier strings in general, but for downtuning i feel like the notes are more articulate with a heavy gauge, because there's more tension and it's got more snap and resonance.
that could be totally in my head though

[Battousai]

well. its an ESP horizon nt-II... it has the standard duncan JB/59 set, and i have the DR Tite fit..

52 44 30 17 13 10.
thing is the top 3 soubd ok .. ...
what i was thinking they sound a bit whoomfy was because they dont sit nicely in the nut.. more like on top of the nut..... would that cause it to be muffled? or the strings i chose arent bright enough?