Were 10-46 strings standard on Les Pauls in the 1950s?

[zslane]

So my R8 is strung with 10s, which I'm assuming are factory issue. Since this is a VOS guitar, that woud suggest that 10s were part of the "original spec" back then. Is that true?

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I don't think so. All the interviews I've read from the old-timers indicate removing wound Gs, buying extra banjo strings, moving the B to the G and the E to the B. That seems to me like they were probably stock 13s.

 

[Barker]

I don't think so. All the interviews I've read from the old-timers indicate removing wound Gs, buying extra banjo strings, moving the B to the G and the E to the B. That seems to me like they were probably stock 13s.

Thump is on the right track. This is a quote from the BOTB...

"When the Sunburst Les Paul model was introduced, the regular setup was heavy flat wound strings. Heavy gauge strings from those days had considerably higher tension. Light gauge strings were introduced in the mid '60's...."

 

[GuitarMechanic]

Thump is on the right track. This is a quote from the BOTB...

"When the Sunburst Les Paul model was introduced, the regular setup was heavy flat wound strings. Heavy gauge strings from those days had considerably higher tension. Light gauge strings were introduced in the mid '60's...."

+1

We've all gone soft....

I can hear the old timers now... "back in my day they used spokes out of Harley Davidsons for strings and we liked it"

 

[Username1]

Great question I've been wondering this for a long long time. Another question of mine is what are the modern equivalent of the modified banjo string replacement gauge

 

[InfiniteeZ]

Great question I've been wondering this for a long long time. Another question of mine is what are the modern equivalent of the modified banjo string replacement gauge

I've heard its .08

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Either .08 or .09, yeah. I've heard both.

 

[sevenaitnine]

back in my day we got stuck in northern wyomong in the winter and we pulled the 52 desoto out of the ditch with the stock g string of my 59 ....

 

[goodwater]

based on what I've heard and read, everything was a lot heavier then...gravity and all.

 

[dazzypig]

I've wondered for a while what gauge/type of strings the blues revival kids like Clapton and Green would have been likely using... so, probably 8or9's then?

 

[nwobhm]

I've wondered for a while what gauge/type of strings the blues revival kids like Clapton and Green would have been likely using... so, probably 8or9's then?

Probably, except for Gary Moore, he said, even as a kid, older guys couldn't play his guitar because, he used such heavy strings and high action. Later, when he discovered the lite strings everyone else was using, he could bend twice as far, than everybody else.

 

[Username1]

Does anyone by chance know what gauge strings John Lennon used in The Beatles? That's the tone I'm after haha

 

[nwobhm]

Does anyone by chance know what gauge strings John Lennon used in The Beatles? That's the tone I'm after haha

Try the snakeoil brand strings website. I think, he has a whole section on the Beatles on there?

 

[Eigen]

I believe that up to 1959 they used .12, I remember reading it a while back, so the information might not be 100% accurate.

 

[dazzypig]

Probably, except for Gary Moore, he said, even as a kid, older guys couldn't play his guitar because, he used such heavy strings and high action. Later, when he discovered the lite strings everyone else was using, he could bend twice as far, than everybody else.

Wow, so the coveted burst tones we hear were probably all cut with .8's or /9's?

I'd like to get closer to the PG tone I hear in my head, does that mean going down a gauge or two then?

 

[Penny Dreadful]

I've wondered for a while what gauge/type of strings the blues revival kids like Clapton and Green would have been likely using... so, probably 8or9's then?

I hope they (Eric & Peter) never reveal the guage. Gibson will come out with a "Signature" series for $300 a set, 1K for a signed package.

 

[InfiniteeZ]

Wow, so the coveted burst tones we hear were probably all cut with .8's or /9's?

I'd like to get closer to the PG tone I hear in my head, does that mean going down a gauge or two then?

Hey, there ain't no harm in trying right?

 

[tom1965]

Wow, so the coveted burst tones we hear were probably all cut with .8's or /9's?

I'd like to get closer to the PG tone I hear in my head, does that mean going down a gauge or two then?

Read somewhere that Billy Gibbons uses very light gauge !

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I like 'em thicker. Shakes the wood more.

 

[nwobhm]

I like 'em thicker. Shakes the wood more.

You talkin about strings or butts?