Is It Just Me Or Do Others Have Problems With 9 Gauge Strings

[Rory27]

BB King uses 10-54

Jeff Beck uses 13's at the beginning of a tour, and usually switches to 12's near the end of a tour.

Not according to Jeff himself when he was interviewed.
I will see If I can find the vid, Not sure I remember where it is but I will look.
He said he used to use 13's but after talking to BB and BB told him he was using 8's, he went to 8's and was able to maintain his sound.

 

[Rory27]

Crap I can't find the interview / Video, yet but it was quit recent. I think it was on some gear review site & only a couple of minutes long.

In the interview they are talking about equipment and Jeff says he saw BB doing all of these bends effortlessly and went up and was talking to him and BB said he switched years ago to 8's, told Jeff to stop doing all the work for nothing. That he could get the same sounds out of the lighter strings so Jeff didn't believe him until he went in and played with the 8's. He said he was able to get the same tone and is not going back to heavier strings.

Don't shoot the messenger.

 

[River]

Crap I can't find the interview / Video, yet but it was quit recent. I think it was on some gear review site & only a couple of minutes long.

In the interview they are talking about equipment and Jeff says he saw BB doing all of these bends effortlessly and went up and was talking to him and BB said he switched years ago to 8's, told Jeff to stop doing all the work for nothing. That he could get the same sounds out of the lighter strings so Jeff didn't believe him until he went in and played with them. He said he was able to get the same tone and is not going back t heavier strings.

Don't shoot the messenger.

Just makes sense to me. I gave up conventional wisdom about string and pick gauges long ago.

 

[Hamtone]

either 12's or 11-49's and I never have that problem and i bend a lot and play faster and in some cases I dont play with a pick at all, strumming or pick'n.

I just dont like the sound of 9's

 

[MorePau1]

I play super slinkys (9s) and I usually break the high e when stringing, but never when playing. My local stores don't sell Ernie ball individuals, so I keep a few dadarios (spelling?) handy. They stay in tune for me just fine. If you are using the stock tuners, then theres your problem, the Klusens are complete garbage, although they do look cool. Tightening them up would keep you in tune a lot better, most likely. 10s make me feel like I'm playing a squire strat with floating frets.

 

[Byron999]

Obviously without knowing you and your skill level, my first impression is that with the lighter gauge strings, it takes less pressure to bend/push the string. The higher the string action the further the string must travel to reach the top of the fret (too high and will sharpen the note). So you have that distance plus any sideways action on the string, whether intentional or not. So for chords we are skilled to play , ie.. the ability to push the string straight down to the fret, without introducing unwanted sideways movement, will produce the truest pitch. For chords that that are still beyond our ability (dexterity in our fingers ), there is a tendon-cy(get it) to pull the string sideways and not straight down, and make the note sharp. I can play certian chords on my accustic that sound just fine, yet sound terrible on the electric cause I use 9's. The heavier strings on the acoustic are compensating for the sideways pull I'm introducing. I hope this makes sense, even if it does not apply to your situation.

 

[hipofutura]

Obviously without knowing you and your skill level, my first impression is that with the lighter gauge strings, it takes less pressure to bend/push the string. The higher the string action the further the string must travel to reach the top of the fret (too high and will sharpen the note). So you have that distance plus any sideways action on the string, whether intentional or not. So for chords we are skilled to play , ie.. the ability to push the string straight down to the fret, without introducing unwanted sideways movement, will produce the truest pitch. For chords that that are still beyond our ability (dexterity in our fingers ), there is a tendon-cy(get it) to pull the string sideways and not straight down, and make the note sharp. I can play certian chords on my accustic that sound just fine, yet sound terrible on the electric cause I use 9's. The heavier strings on the acoustic are compensating for the sideways pull I'm introducing. I hope this makes sense, even if it does not apply to your situation.

Byron, I do understand your point. The action on my LP is extremely low, as I like it. The "off pitch" happens when I push the string to hard behind the fret and it stretches just hair. If I'm extremely gently with my touch, all is well. However, as you said, I will apply too much pressure to some of the strings on the difficult cords (the ones where I have to really stretch).

 

[LesPauI+SG=Win]

I dont like them on my SG. Never used them on my LP. Their too light for my SG. The slightest amount of pressure you put on the neck, it goes out of tune(kinda like a tremolo) and i overbend. I use 10-52's on my SG and 10-60's on my LP

 

[dspelman]

I finally found the perfect strings for me -- the Zakk Wylde Dunlops 10 - 60. They're like 10.5's, handle lower tuning, stay in tune, and I rarely break a string. I'm a metal player and do a lot of downstroke chugging, so I need durable strings that are also full of crunching tone. Who doesn't?!

Tuning down is a whole 'nother issue, and I mostly fall into the "who doesn't" category, leastways on the LP type guitars.

 

[River]

I play super slinkys (9s) and I usually break the high e when stringing, but never when playing. My local stores don't sell Ernie ball individuals, so I keep a few dadarios (spelling?) handy. They stay in tune for me just fine. If you are using the stock tuners, then theres your problem, the Klusens are complete garbage, although they do look cool. Tightening them up would keep you in tune a lot better, most likely. 10s make me feel like I'm playing a squire strat with floating frets.

Kluson tuners are "complete garbage"? In what respects?

 

[lp_junkie]

"the Klusens are complete garbage, although they do look cool."

Are you sniffing paint thinner? Kluson tuners are more than adequate tuners when they are strung up properly, not only do they look the part they also are the part.

Tuners have nothing to do with string size issues, it's all about feel and what you as a player want to achieve.

 

[River]

"the Klusens are complete garbage, although they do look cool."

Are you sniffing paint thinner? Kluson tuners are more than adequate tuners when they are strung up properly, not only do they look the part they also are the part.

Tuners have nothing to do with string size issues, it's all about feel and what you as a player want to achieve.

Corks dipped in paint thinner, methinks. Or he sells Grovers for a living.

 

[AngryHatter]

My "Jumbo Medium" (Wtf is that? Like Jumbo Shrimp? Oxymoron) frets allow me to fret normally or if I really press down I can get a microtone higher than tuning.
Especially for the first five frets.

You can do it with any gauge strings depending on finger strength.
It's just easier with light strings.

 

[ces]

i'm no expert but a hard tail guitar like a Les Paul seems to be better suited to 10's.

9's, if you like them, seem more at home on a Fender Strat... to me.

 

[diceman]

I use 10's on my 25.5" and 24.75" scale guitars - 11's on my 24" and 22.5" scale guitars. I have one Tele that I am running 9's on, but only to deplete the stock of 9's that I currently have left from long ago.