# String gauge and tone



## Distortion (Sep 11, 2008)

Hello all,

I usually put a set of 009 - 052 on my 7 and 009 - 042 on my 6.

The question is, what does string gauge actually do to tone ? Does a higher gauge make the guitar sound clearer ? or is it simply a question of feel and preference ?

Thanks!


----------



## Drew (Sep 11, 2008)

HUGE question. The short answer based on MY experience is that lighter guages have a stronger attack and sound a little brighter largely because of this, while heavier gauges are more compressed, have a smoother attack, and sound a little darker and thicker. In terms of pure tone, neither is better and which would be better for you depends on your guitar and the rest of your rig. More to the point, though, there's enough other variables in play that you can tweak the rest of your rig to make it work, so buy what you like the feel of and dial in your setup to make it work. 

The long answer? Read the rest of this thread.


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 11, 2008)

If you have a light picking hand, thinner strings are probably better for you, they're easier to intonate, and have better attack (which is a good thing for me ). However, I have a heavy picking hand, and while I've never broken a string, I need to muscle my strings around for higher speed stuff, and thinner strings make my pick get caught in them. I'm moving down to a 10 gauge optimum tension set to see how that works out for me, but I generally use 11's on my 6 strings, and 11-70 or so on my 7's, although like I said, I'm trying to get out of that. My advice would be to go as thin as possible without fucking up your playing. If you're comfortable on 9's and can play good on them, I'd personally stick to that, although it can't hurt to put heavy strings on sometime and see if you like the tone better. It's all personal preference really


----------



## Drew (Sep 11, 2008)

That's the biggie for me - I'm an ex blues guy, so I hit pretty hard. Part of it is I think my phrasing is better when I have to fight a little, and part of it is I absolutely _annihilate_ my low B.


----------



## leonardo7 (Sep 11, 2008)

Doesnt what you tune to make a huge difference in relation to what gauge strings your using? I mean if Im tuning in drop A then I may want a 60 or 62 with a 46 or 48 on the E whereas if its standard B then probably a 58 will do. If Im using standard A tuning and a 58 on the A then I dont want thicker than a 48 on the D. Ive found string gauges in relation to the other strings and what tuning they are plays a huge role. I mean, for drop tuning do you want to change 2, 4 or 6 between the top two strings? Some people use 10-52 for standard tuning 6 strings but thats meant for drop D. If you had a 52 on your low E then you need at least a 64 on the Low A for drop A and maybe just a 62 if your 52 was tuned to D. The only tricky thing is, it really comes down to personal taste and the hard thing is that you have to setup a guitar everytime you change the strings to truly get a feel for it. Have three guitars all set up with different gauges in the same tuning and figure it out. Am I wrong in assuming that gauges have to work in conjunction with the string next to it and its tuning?


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 11, 2008)

Drew said:


> That's the biggie for me - I'm an ex blues guy, so I hit pretty hard. Part of it is I think my phrasing is better when I have to fight a little, and part of it is I absolutely _annihilate_ my low B.



I like thin strings for lead work, but on my 6 strings I have to use 11's because of the gallops for my tribute band. I can not get anywheres near fast enough if I'm just trying to play with a light picking hand. Sure, I get tired out, and it may be bad technique, but I can't do it any other way


----------



## leonardo7 (Sep 11, 2008)

Doesnt what you tune to make a huge difference in relation to what gauge strings your using? I mean if Im tuning in drop A then I may want a 60 or 62 with a 46 or 48 on the E whereas if its standard B then probably a 58 will do. If Im using standard A tuning and a 58 on the A then I dont want thicker than a 48 on the D. Ive found string gauges in relation to the other strings and what tuning they are plays a huge role. I mean, for drop tuning do you want to change 2, 4 or 6 between the top two strings? Some people use 10-52 for standard tuning 6 strings but thats meant for drop D. If you had a 52 on your low E then you need at least a 64 on the Low A for drop A and maybe just a 62 if your 52 was tuned to D. Im still figuring out the high strings but thats my take on the low end. The only tricky thing is, it really comes down to personal taste and the hard thing is that you have to setup a guitar everytime you change the strings to truly get a feel for it. Have three guitars all set up with different gauges in the same tuning and figure it out. Am I wrong in assuming that gauges have to work in conjunction with the string next to it and its tuning?


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 11, 2008)

leonardo7 said:


> Doesnt what you tune to make a huge difference in relation to what gauge strings your using? I mean if Im tuning in drop A then I may want a 60 or 62 with a 46 or 48 on the E whereas if its standard B then probably a 58 will do. If Im using standard A tuning and a 58 on the A then I dont want thicker than a 48 on the D. Ive found string gauges in relation to the other strings and what tuning they are plays a huge role. I mean, for drop tuning do you want to change 2, 4 or 6 between the top two strings? Some people use 10-52 for standard tuning 6 strings but thats meant for drop D. If you had a 52 on your low E then you need at least a 64 on the Low A for drop A and maybe just a 62 if your 52 was tuned to D. The only tricky thing is, it really comes down to personal taste and the hard thing is that you have to setup a guitar everytime you change the strings to truly get a feel for it. Have three guitars all set up with different gauges in the same tuning and figure it out. Am I wrong in assuming that gauges have to work in conjunction with the string next to it and its tuning?



Yeah, but he's just talking basic tone/gauge relation. If we want to get into down tuning then it's still the same concept. Thinner strings will give more attack, thicker strings warmer. I used 11-70 for tuning B standard on my 7's, and half a step down as well.


----------



## leonardo7 (Sep 11, 2008)

Sometimes light high strings dont ring out as well as heavy high strings when playing some kind of bar chord with full gain if the low strings are really heavy. Id think that thin high and thick bottom arent meant for five string chords but more for the string bending lead player. What I dont get is the Dean Markley signature Korn strings go from a 52 for D to 60 for A. The change has gone up at least 10 on the last three strings so why only the jump of 8 for the Low A? Makes no sense but maybe it sounds good. Hmmm.


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 11, 2008)

Because the guys from Korn probably couldn't get anything else, so they stuck a 60 on it, and maybe they liked it  I can't see a 60 being playable in A, that would be way too floppy for me


----------



## Salvation (Sep 11, 2008)

I use to be a light string gauge guy, but now I like em decently heavy.

Tension, and thickness aside, generally, using the same playing style, I found the lighter gauge strings to be brighter and crunchier, while the heavier gauge strings thicker and richer (with a decent amount of high-end roll off).

However, string gauge tone tends to not matter as much as what you do with them. When I play with a heavy and proper attack on my strings, with a powerful left hand, I find that I can get just as crunchy and bright as it was with lighter gauge strings. Similarly, if I play lightly on light strings, then I'll get more of the dark, rich tone that are reminiscent of heavy strings.

When it comes down to it, the differences in tone CAN be minimal if you have a controlled right and left hand. Yet, there are some quite important differences that must be accounted for: the necessary application of less subtle, more extreme technique for manipulation of thick strings; the less fret-wear of thinner strings; the large amount of hand control needed for light gauges etc.

So in the end, I would recommend trying a bunch out and seeing what you like best. Tonally, you can achieve the sounds of either with either, you just need to have, or develop the proper technique.


----------



## guitarbuilder93 (Sep 11, 2008)

Like every one else says, it all starts with your attack. Personally, my playing style is to pull a dimebag on my 7 and just fuckin' attack the thing. If that's the case, you can probably get a 42 to sound as full as a 52, you just gotta be a little hostile. For me, my guages are 9, 12, 16, 26, 38, 50, 62. Slink on top, crush on the bottom .


----------



## Distortion (Sep 12, 2008)

Cool thanks for the insightful information!

Like mentioned, I do have a light picking hand and same for the fretting hand -- very gentle and delicate lol so that's why I've always preferred the lighter string gauges for the almost effortless fretting and also for the bendability of the higher strings.

Though I am curious to try heavier gauges for the lower wound strings to see if I like that.

Also, wouldn't having heavier strings on a guitar allow you to go lower with the action without having the strings hitting the higher frets when you grind them real hard (especially on the low strings)?


----------



## mnemonic (Sep 12, 2008)

like most everyone else has said, i agree lighter strings seem to have more attack, easier to get a djenty sound out of (but they also tend to sound thinner in my experience)

where heavier strings will usually be a bit smoother, bassier, and compressed. if the strings are too thick, they can sound dull though. and kind of the same thing if strings are too light. i have a 60 in Bb on my seven, and it sounds pretty nice (i'm thinking of going back to a 65 next string change) but when i tune that 60 down to Ab it sounds dull and loose and flabby. 

and its not my tone, cos when i previously had a 65 on my seven, it sounded better down in Ab, though would probably sound better with a heavier string.


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 12, 2008)

Distortion said:


> Cool thanks for the insightful information!
> 
> Like mentioned, I do have a light picking hand and same for the fretting hand -- very gentle and delicate lol so that's why I've always preferred the lighter string gauges for the almost effortless fretting and also for the bendability of the higher strings.
> 
> ...




Hmm...I'm not too sure on the action part. While you need a decent amount of tension to avoid buzzing, I think thicker strings need a larger path to vibrate in, so that would lead me to believe that with light strings you could potentially get lower action, as long as you had enough tension and didn't pick like a mad man, or maybe it's the other way around


----------



## JoshuaLogan (Sep 12, 2008)

mnemonic said:


> like most everyone else has said, i agree lighter strings seem to have more attack, easier to get a djenty sound out of (but they also tend to sound thinner in my experience)
> 
> where heavier strings will usually be a bit smoother, bassier, and compressed. if the strings are too thick, they can sound dull though. and kind of the same thing if strings are too light. i have a 60 in Bb on my seven, and it sounds pretty nice (i'm thinking of going back to a 65 next string change) but when i tune that 60 down to Ab it sounds dull and loose and flabby.
> 
> and its not my tone, cos when i previously had a 65 on my seven, it sounded better down in Ab, though would probably sound better with a heavier string.



I use like 56 for the low Ab in Drop Ab... maybe 58 max. The top 6 strings in Eb are a regular 9 gauge set. it's fine. it's just preference and how you play. some guys on here use RIDICULOUS sizes.


----------



## JJ Rodriguez (Sep 12, 2008)

Ridiculous is a point of view  a 70 in B is pretty tight, but once you start down tuning, its not that much.


----------



## PlagueX1 (Sep 13, 2008)

Think of it like this, bass guitar strings have big strings, mainly because the bigger the bassier. I use 10-52+68 on my seven and the tension is absolutely perfect for A standard. That being said, It is very deep.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Sep 13, 2008)

On guitars I like may low strings to be pretty tight, cause I have really strong hands, and a strong pick attack when riffing. (I use a 65 bass string tuned to C)
But I like having thinner treble strings for bending and stuff.


----------



## JBroll (Sep 14, 2008)

I grew up on jazz. 14-70 for the sixes (B to C#), 11-52+70 for the 7 in A, Bb, or B and 14-70+90 for everything lower.

My hands look like they should be James Bond villains. Except they'd play Akercocke on his skull and there wouldn't be any more Bond movies.

Jeff


----------



## Daemoniac (Sep 14, 2008)

JJ Rodriguez said:


> Because the guys from Korn probably couldn't get anything else, so they stuck a 60 on it, and maybe they liked it  I can't see a 60 being playable in A, that would be way too floppy for me



I agree, i have a 70" on my 7 tuned to A, and a 70" on my 6 tuned to B... i like the tension to be really high, so i can dig into the strings and hear the slightly more straight up attack in the distortion, has more bite and more grind to it IMO.



JoshuaLogan said:


> I use like 56 for the low Ab in Drop Ab... maybe 58 max. The top 6 strings in Eb are a regular 9 gauge set. it's fine. it's just preference and how you play. some guys on here use RIDICULOUS sizes.



Oh yeah, i am one of those people


----------



## theduke (Oct 22, 2008)

Hey everyone-

I am a relatively new 7-String player (got a Schecter Loomis Sig) and found this thread very informative. I use 13-56 Dean Markley Blue Steels on my 6 string tuned to A which is definitely comfortable for me. Based on that, can anyone recommend some good strings to pick up that would be comparable in feel and possibly tone? I'm kinda heartbroken that I haven't been able to find any 7 string Blue Steels.


----------



## JBroll (Oct 22, 2008)

Just get that 13-56 set (I assume it has a wound 3rd) and find a 9 or 10 for the high string if you're comfortable there.

Jeff


----------



## theduke (Oct 22, 2008)

JBroll said:


> Just get that 13-56 set (I assume it has a wound 3rd) and find a 9 or 10 for the high string if you're comfortable there.
> 
> Jeff



That seems pretty easy, ha ha. How bad do you think it would mess with my intonation? I think Guitar Center threw 11's on it when I had them set it up.


----------



## cyril v (Oct 22, 2008)

theduke said:


> That seems pretty easy, ha ha. How bad do you think it would mess with my intonation? I think Guitar Center threw 11's on it when I had them set it up.



I'm not totally sure if it's the same as the Loomis, but I'm pretty sure thats what my Hellraiser came with "stock". 10-56. Probably shouldn't be too bad.


----------



## sevenstringj (Oct 23, 2008)

The lighter the gauge, the more overtones you'll get (i.e., complexity, richness), but the looser the tone under thick distortion/overdrive. Conversely, the heavier the gauge, the less overtones, but the tighter the tone under thick distortion/overdrive.

I used to use 9's, but found them too loose for technical metal stylings. Then I went to 10's, and then 11's. I think 10's offer a happy medium.

This is why a lot of people like baritone guitars for tuning down. You can use lighter strings for their richer overtones, but maintain good tension for tight riffs.


----------



## theduke (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks all for your feedback. I am having a difficult time getting accustomed to this guitar. I can't pull any artificial harmonics like I can on my 6 string, my tremolo picking sounds "mushy" because for some reason a string of notes all sound the same. I just thought the loomis should sound better out of the gate, but my shitty Ibanez 6'er sounds a lot better. I know I need to get used to it, but I am getting discouraged after throwing down such a chunk of change for a nice guitar like this. The tone sounds really thin, and I like a lot of chunk since I play death metal.


----------



## vansinn (Oct 24, 2008)

guitarbuilder93 said:


> Like every one else says, it all starts with your attack. Personally, my playing style is to pull a dimebag on my 7 and just fuckin' attack the thing. If that's the case, you can probably get a 42 to sound as full as a 52, you just gotta be a little hostile. For me, my guages are 9, 12, 16, 26, 38, 50, 62. Slink on top, crush on the bottom .



Mmnn.. don't you feel that 16 is way softer than the others?
It's a bit akin to my 6 string use: 9½, 12, 17, 24, 34, 46 -almost uniform tension.


----------



## Wi77iam (Oct 24, 2008)

Hey guys,
what gauged strings should i use if i want to change between standard tuning
and also drop a whole tone down?
I have an RG7621 by the way
thanks


----------



## cyril v (Oct 24, 2008)

theduke said:


> Thanks all for your feedback. I am having a difficult time getting accustomed to this guitar. I can't pull any artificial harmonics like I can on my 6 string, my tremolo picking sounds "mushy" because for some reason a string of notes all sound the same. I just thought the loomis should sound better out of the gate, but my shitty Ibanez 6'er sounds a lot better. I know I need to get used to it, but I am getting discouraged after throwing down such a chunk of change for a nice guitar like this. The tone sounds really thin, and I like a lot of chunk since I play death metal.



Have you tried popping in a new 9v battery? that doesn't sound like a problem with new strings or anything at all, as EMG's are amazingly clear and pinch harmonics basically jump off of the guitar.


----------



## Scali (Oct 24, 2008)

I don't think I agree that thicker things always sound warmer.
I think it depends on the guitar you use them on. I have a poplar guitar which sounded very mid-heavy and nasal with .010 strings. I prefer .009 strings on it, it balances out the bass, mids and highs better on that particular guitar. In essence it sounded warmer and smoother.

Perhaps thicker strings just amplify the characteristic frequencies of the wood... so a dark/warm sounding guitar sounds darker and warmer, while a nasal guitar gets more nasal?


----------



## caughtinamosh (Oct 24, 2008)

I like the Skinny Top Heavy Bottom packs (the innuendo isn't intentional) cause I find 11s too tight on the higher strings but I can't do without the heavy ones on the bottom. Means I can bend on the higher strings but really pummel the lower ones.


----------



## djpharoah (Oct 24, 2008)

My favorite set of strings were a custom set I made up from Just Strings a while back. 9-60. Perfect high up and great low end.

I think lighter strings sound great but for the heavier stuff you do need to amp it up a bit - however there is a line at like 60/62 where the tone just drops into bass land (imo). Having 10-72 on my RG7620 sounded beyond beastly but the low string was just to hard to play with anything as its tone was full of bass where as the other strings had mids.


----------



## Distortion (Oct 24, 2008)

cyril v said:


> Have you tried popping in a new 9v battery? that doesn't sound like a problem with new strings or anything at all, as EMG's are amazingly clear and pinch harmonics basically jump off of the guitar.




Funny thing as I have found that it is in fact harder to get pinch harmonics out with EMGs compared to my "shitty Ibanez" 6 string that has SD Passives in it.

Gonna change the EMGs out for SD Blackouts when some cash comes by...


----------



## sevenstringj (Oct 24, 2008)

Distortion said:


> Funny thing as I have found that it is in fact harder to get pinch harmonics out with EMGs compared to my "shitty Ibanez" 6 string that has SD Passives in it.
> 
> Gonna change the EMGs out for SD Blackouts when some cash comes by...



Are they close enough to the strings? EMG's are supposed to be adjusted as close to the strings as possible, unlike passive pickups.

It could also be loose parts. Pluck strings unplugged and listen for any extraneous rattling, even small ones. Check everything on the bridge and rear cavities. All screws, posts, fine tuners, knobs, jacks, etc.

I mean, I'm not a big fan of EMG (though I think their SA pickup is amazing), but the problem you're describing is really unusual.

If the above checks don't help, I'd contact EMG if I were you. You don't want to run out and drop $175 on Duncan actives only be frustrated by the same issues.


----------



## bulletbass man (Oct 24, 2008)

I use a .63 or so on the low b and then use a regular old 10s set for the other strings. Sure there is a noticible difference in tension between low b and the rest but that doesn't bother me for riffing and I rarely do lead work on the 7th string as most of my patterns are 5 or 6 string sweeps and on scale runs (the only time i use the 7) the thickness doesn't bother me.


----------



## cyril v (Oct 24, 2008)

Distortion said:


> Funny thing as I have found that it is in fact harder to get pinch harmonics out with EMGs compared to my "shitty Ibanez" 6 string that has SD Passives in it.
> 
> Gonna change the EMGs out for SD Blackouts when some cash comes by...



It's gotta be some kind of wiring problem that you and the other guy are having, either that or maybe a bad cable/loose connections? I have essentially the same guitar (hellraiser) and the only two times I had a problem where it sounded muddy and i couldn't get any decent sound was when I needed to change the battery (left cable in  ) and when the cable jack was only 90% in but still tight and snug for some reason.


----------



## leonardo7 (Oct 24, 2008)

For those who arent familiar. Schecter C-7 guitars come tuned to A standard with 10-46 + 58. 9's on 26.5" scale length such as the Loomis or C-7 Hellraiser feel as tight as 10's on a standard 25.5" and 10's on a 26.5" feel as tight as 11's on 25.5". So when Schecter puts 10-58 on their guitars it feels almost like 11's with a 60 because of the longer scale resulting in tighter string tension. Remember though, in the case of Schecter 7 strings we are talking about standard A tuning, not B. Longer scale guitars allow one to use thinner strings but maintain the same tension. Id say if you have an extended scale guitar use a size thinner from what you would use on your standard scale guitar for the same tuning. If you are dropping further then use thicker strings yet. Tuning a Schecter C-7 up to B E A D G B E then your 10's on your Schecter will feel like 11's. Thats my experience.


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Oct 25, 2008)

I use a tight lows and looser tops, progressive tension custom set set. I pick really hard on my lower strings, and get slightly gentler on the higher straings/when I do lead work. I love my low strings to be as tight as I can get, while still letting my massive pick attack through. I used to play bass as well, which I play VERY aggresively, so I have to used bigger strings on the lower side of a guitar or else I knock notes out of tune, I will not use anything smaller than 48 for E, but I perfer a 50 or 52, for B 58 is my minimum, but I like 62-65. MY current tunning is straight fifths (low-to-high) FCGDAE, the guages are 100/105* 65 42 26 14 9.


*I currently have a 110 on there and it doesn't sound good because it's _*TOOlol*_ big. I first tried a 70, then a 75, an 85 and a 95, none of them were big enough and I was getting pissed off, so I said "  FUCK IT!! I'm putting a 110 on there!! ", admittedly the 95 was just under what I was going for. Soon I will but both a 105 and a 100 and see which one works better.


----------

