There's an Original Metal song at the end of the video for anyone who wants to hear it :)

@mcmstralex6431

4 жыл бұрын

Robert Baker awesome 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

@Jay-wk9xj

4 жыл бұрын

RAAAWWWKKK

@felipegomabrockmann2740

4 жыл бұрын

I could not recognize Robert style, what the f*ck

@manuelherrera948

4 жыл бұрын

Men that was awesome \m/ yeah !!!

@DarthBester

4 жыл бұрын

Has a Lamb of God vibe to it

Use what you like. I used 9's for years, switched to 10's, now use 8's. Some people like hoppy beers, others like whiskey. You be you.

@algorithm007ify

4 жыл бұрын

Well said

@Exterminate265

3 жыл бұрын

10's and whiskey!

@c.varela

3 жыл бұрын

Most of my life I used 9s (tried from 8s to 11s), but for the last 5 years I only use 10-46 gauges, coated most of the times. I kinda found a balance, cause I used to break strings much more often with 9s. So I'm into 10s, whisky + porter/stout beers and 25.5" scale. 😂

@MorganFreemanNIGGU

2 жыл бұрын

I went from 9s to 8s, and use string saver nut and saddles, never break a string with 8s, and there's alot less tension for bending. When I saw and read that jimmy paige use 8s, it sold me even more

Sometimes, I think the guitar wants to choose the string gauge.

@rangerdoc1029

4 жыл бұрын

Man..... Ain't that the truth!

@dbltap3332

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed. The problem is where does it stop? If heavier string are “better” then why not 9 over 8 10 over 9 11 over 10 12 or 11 13 over 12. But Robert does make a good point on aggressive picking hand does make a difference. I use 9 hybrid with thicker lower strings....but yeah I whole heartedly agree that guitars will “tell you” which strings they want. And Robert’s example is a little over exaggerated when he is striking with his Gibson but good points all the way around!

@jonathanjosept4316

4 жыл бұрын

I use 9 on strat and 10 on les paul

@thinkingmachine354

4 жыл бұрын

Dwaine Brosemer you should see me when I play an E power chord.

@jussit3909

4 жыл бұрын

@@dbltap3332 I suppose the next step would be to switch to a bass guitar :) I don't know about string gauges and how they contribute to the tone. People who favour heavier strings always say bring up Stevie Ray, who had amazing tone (for his style of music), but then there are a lot of players with a great guitar tone who use light strings. Just yesterday I learned that Rory Gallagher used 9-40 set and I've always loved his tone. They say that tone is in fingers and I'm beginning to think that it must be true ;)

I'm a heavy handed guitarist, so I did the opposite. About a year ago I went from 10s to 9s to force me to get my shit together, its actually really helped me improve my technique

@atistiltins6163

9 ай бұрын

totally agree - dealing at the source. It would be like having a hurt leg and instead of getting it checked out and doing exercises to return mobility, people would find elaborate ways to just to not step on it.

"Why work so hard?" - BB King to Billy Gibbons.

@dustymyles244

4 жыл бұрын

@mango tree A wise man once told every great guitar player finds the easy way for themself to play. And That’s why BB used light gauge and you don’t

@turhaapuuhaa5205

4 жыл бұрын

yes but bb king NEVER HIT the strings HARD his music was all over very SOFT get it?

@Jaycuubb

4 жыл бұрын

@@turhaapuuhaa5205 watch more bb king lol

@turhaapuuhaa5205

4 жыл бұрын

@@Jaycuubb why? i have my style whats your style?

@Neo13715

3 жыл бұрын

I am just a Flamenco guitarist trying to figure out what strings to choose for my electric guitar lol

For me, it's mostly down to right hand stability. I pick pretty aggressively, and I use a small pick. In that context, I prefer 11s because they don't give quite as much as 10s or 9s, and it seems like that actually helps with my picking; lighter gauges are too "squishy" for me to play quick alternate picking runs with precision. I would actually recommend 11s if you seem to have trouble with picking, or prefer to play aggressively.

@martrinshyde

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, that was the exact answer I wanted.🤟🏼

@rickschneider3887

Жыл бұрын

Yes, your picking hand affects the right gauge of strings for you just as much as your fret hand. Example...Yngwie M. Shreds on 8's with very thick 2mm picks but his pick attack is very tight and light and he does it effortlessly. Whatever Gauge both your hands can play their best on is the right choice!!

@steveclark9934

9 ай бұрын

I Can confirm just tried 9s yesterday after hearing from Beto it would be easier on fingers and have the same tone as thick gauges "Not for me" after coming from 11s for two years you said exactly what I feel to be accurate for me felt mushy like walking in wet tundra or sand . Style of playing Standard E tuning. 80's speed picking attack and harmonics were negatively affected lost the clear tight low end. The slight comfort on finger tips is not worth the loss of playing control, accuracy, tone and clarity for me. In the end It was worth giving it a try for myself that's the only way to know what works for you.

I said it yesterday Robert...I want a BLACK SABBATH VIDEO!!!!

@RobertBakerGuitar

4 жыл бұрын

Oh its going down!

@gtRELIC

4 жыл бұрын

I second that ✊🤘🎸🔥. Can't beat some good ol' Sabbath

@koffieverslaafde627

4 жыл бұрын

Robert Baker YEEEESSSS

@cadamstech1658

4 жыл бұрын

@@RobertBakerGuitar Woohoooo!!!

@777hendrix

4 жыл бұрын

I request mick taylor live soloing

I was going to go all 'BB King told Billy Gibbons; why you tryin' so hard with heavy strings?' deal but there is a good point here. I went from 9's to 10's a few years ago and still can get a little sharp. I am a 'dig in' player. I had been a dyed in the wool 9's since the 80's, but 80's stuff wasn't very strummy so you didn't really notice. Now I'm playing much more 'openly' and boy do I notice even on the 10's. You may have convinced me to try 11's. Callouses, take the wheel................

@commentfreely5443

4 жыл бұрын

always had 10s for 30 years. but my gem has 9s and i'm liking blues bends with the 9s. ghs has 9 11 16 28 38 48s [gilmour has same for 6 5 4 3]

@GreenJeep26

4 жыл бұрын

@Jacques Bloques Agreed. It's relearning what you did for decades. Thing is, I was a shredder in the 80's and even now when I play the (now) oldies, it's all good. I grab my Jazz III and get to it on the old stuff, I'm all good. What I've learned is that it not my fretting hand but my picking hand. I barely bothered to do much subtle strumming stuff back then. So when I play some of the more open, jangly stuff now that I'm more interested in, I'm giving the strings a good whack. More than I should. Control is the issue but also, I do still tend to want to give it the beans, even when I'm strumming. That why I thought it might be worth heavier strings.

@bouzoukiman5000

3 жыл бұрын

@@coco37s heavy is a gimmick to get amateurs to consistently break high tension strings so they can quickly purchase more of the same. Good for string companies

With heavy gauge strings it's also a lot harder to accidentally fret a note out of tune by pressing too hard. I feel that with thick strings, I get more consistent notes and less fret buzz too because they "flop" much less as well. But bending is still a bit of a nightmare for me. Especially since I switched to flatwounds where the G is always wound. But for riffing and chords 11s are perfect, even on a 25.5" neck

@michael1

6 ай бұрын

Hmm, but pretty much every aspect of playing a musical instrument well is about using the minimum effort and being as relaxed as you can. If you watch any skilled musician on any instrument, guitar, piano, whatever they look relaxed and their playing looks effortless. That's because it is. If you put thicker gauge strings on and thump away at the guitar you'll just sound unmusical and bad anyway. This is especially notable when EVH is playing rhythm. The guy in this video plays like a robot there's no rhythm or dynamics to his rhythm playing and he's playing playing with too much tension and single high dynamic. Hitting the strings hard, holding the strings down tight will never get a good groove and rhythmical end result. Altering the picking hand to get dynamics is one important aspect of playing but if you play maximum attack all the time to the point where the guitar is going out of tune and you think you need thicker strings the end result won't sound good. It's like listening to a pianist that's always playing ff or a singer who is just shouting into the microphone as loud as he can. Maybe a couple of metal genres or punk rock bands did that. If you're heavy handed the fix is to practise and learn to play not to try and workaround it by changing the strings. If you ask someone like Tim Pierce - perhaps on more recordings of guitar than anyone else how he plays he has everything loud but plays gently - he's not thumping away at the guitar because that sounds crap.

I love the combination of the 10-52’s. I tend to be heavy on low side and lighter on high side and it makes hammer ons and pull offs easier for me also.

@jimmy66448

Жыл бұрын

Me too

@caiusmadison2996

Жыл бұрын

Hybrid sets you bet are the best. Never will I go back to original 10's.

@kinniecas9004

Жыл бұрын

in E i use hybrid 9-46 though it would be cool if 9-48 existed

@mkv2718

10 ай бұрын

i’ve seen some 10-50s from companies like Stringjoy that i might have to try out. as much as i like the standard hybrid sets, the mixed sizes can be kind of annoying with bar chords as i get older

@mkv2718

10 ай бұрын

@@kinniecas9004no idea why youtube keeps erasing this simple reply… anyhow lookup String Joy. they have exactly what you are looking for. hopefully youtube wont erase this for no reason this time…

You have to find the right strings for your playing. Hendrix, Kim Thayil, and Tony Iommi are all really light touch players so they use thinner gauge strings. Angus Young and David Gilmour are more medium gauge players. SRV and Malcolm Young are heavy handed and play unusually heavy strings. Personally I'm a touch heavier handed on the bass strings and regular on the treble strings, so I play a lite top heavy bottom set. It does change the relative output of the various strings though, with the heavier ones being louder than they normally would. A word of caution: heavier strings when tuning down can produce a lot of excess low end that your amp or the engineer may not react well to. I use an EQ or something with a hi-pass filter to lop off that extra bottom before it hits the amp.

@andjustjizzforall

4 жыл бұрын

@Jacob Molyneux Really? That's interesting, cause I read that Angus Young plays 9-42 gauge, so that's quite a difference between the two of them

@timpenfield5

4 жыл бұрын

I don't know how you can say Hendrix has a light touch.When I watch Jimi, I think a man could lose a hand if it got between jims pic and jims strings,

@danielrynn7118

4 жыл бұрын

Tim Penfield Jimi was the master of dynamics whether he picked lightly, heavily, close to the bridge, over the pickups... it all has an impact on your sound and he constantly would switch these up even within one song which is why he is by far better than any “technical” player with no dynamics

I’m glad you brought up straight facts rather than saying something that’s more opinionated and can change depending on the persons ears

I am more blues based and have long preferred using 12s and 13s. Usually 12 in standard and 13 when tuned down a half step but can vary. They sound thicker to my ears but what I really like is the "push back" I feel when playing and bending. I get a more of emotional connection especially in the blues styles of music I enjoy.

@joshuavaughn7016

Жыл бұрын

Couldn’t agree more.

Bryans Adams said most of this back in the 90ś about why him and the other guitarist in his band used 12ś. They just kept breaking strings and went up gauges until they stopped breaking them.

@bouzoukiman5000

3 жыл бұрын

Heavy gauges are breakers. Light are not...much less tension. Bryan Adam's guys were thinking backwards

A set of eleven gauge strings on a Gibson ES or Les Paul is equivalent to having a set of ten gauge strings on a Fender Strat or Tele. This is due to the shorter scale length (24.75) on Gibson guitars.

@ayoutubeaccount864

4 жыл бұрын

I have 10-52s on a Jim Root Tele I care so much about tradition lol

@rangerdoc1029

4 жыл бұрын

Ha, I play 09s on a 24" scale. Gotta have a gentle & precise left hand, but it gave me some Angus level vibrato

@orbithesun1

4 жыл бұрын

Heph333 I like my strings like I like my women, light firm top, with a heavy tight bottom. Lol

@joshayton8805

4 жыл бұрын

I own a gibson les paul with 11's and two strats. One with 10's in standard. And one with 12's in e flat. What you are saying isnt true. It isnt even nearly true. The strings on my gibson are much noticeably thicker and harder to play than on my fender stratocaster with 10's.

@joshayton8805

4 жыл бұрын

That's not the part that isnt true. It doesn't make 11 gauge strings on a gibson the same as 10s on a fender. Anyone with experience using both instruments will confirm that.

11’s transformed my Les Paul , after years of strats on 10’s it felt like home again

I have been playing for years and years and I've never realized this about strings. Thanks!!!

Great point! Thanks for sharing brother, Be Well Robert!

I used to use 8 or 9 gauge strings. Made the switch to 10s and it was a massive improvement when I came to my picking hand. On my Les Paul Standard and my Les Paul Jr. I have 11s.

had a set of jazz lights 10’s with a wound 3rd i ended up putting on my Airline Tuxedo hollowbody because it’s what i had and they needed to be changed. why the hell not right? TOTALLY amazing! full sound and no bending problems.

I run heavy gauge strings on my electrics to keep a little continuity in feel switching between electric and acoustic all the time.

Wow...I never realized this. I'm very heavy handed both right and left hands and so I have to be really careful to not put myself out of tune while playing...just switching from 9's to 10's really helped! I wish I'd have known about this 30 years ago...

Infornative video and great point about the sharp low e string with lighter gauges

Awesome video and jam!

As my arthritis gets worse, I go lighter & lighter. It's really improved my technique. It's so easy to just bang away on heavy strings. I went back to 9s, then 8s & I let my amp do the work now. But if I get really excited and into it, yeah... I'll throw it sharp. Just gotta reel it back in. It's a lot easier as you get old and don't want guitar to be work anymore.

thanks...it helped a lot to clear my doubts....

I've got a heavy right hand too so I've used mixed gauge sets or Matt Bellamy's trick of using a set of 10s with a 52 low E/drop D for years. I tried 9s for a while, but actually found my left hand was more fatigued after 3hr gigs because they were too light for me 🤷‍♂️

@christopher4443

2 жыл бұрын

Fatigue from lighter strings does exist huh

I've been using 11-49's on my Telecaster for a while now and am addicted. I love a bit of pushback and fingerpain to push even harder and really put that feel into it

I use 9-46 in E flat. love the effortlessness of light gauge strings, makes me play with much more confidence. Heaviest i can do is 10, heavy is just not for me.

@experimentalgroup9473

2 жыл бұрын

That’s the gauge Malmsteen plays.

@caiusmadison2996

Жыл бұрын

10 is good for 25.5 guitars, so that makes sense. Most huge string users weren't on Fender guitars by that time, it's because the Les Paul and shoter 24.75 scales and smaller like Mustang by Fender, are the reason I think all those people though thick was the only way.

same experience, 11s feel relieving to my right hand and give a wider range of dynamics like a piano. thanks for the video 😎

Loving this. I’m really heavy handed and have moved to 10s last year, might try some 11s, cheers!

Thanks Rob. That’s totally answered my question and my path to 11’s is well clear. 🤟🏼

Thanks for the advice; makes much sense, and, being heavy-right-handed, I have noticed that, too. And, btw, your hair is PERFECT!

Dig your channel. Keep up the good work!

I just put 11s on my Les Paul and I’m digging it. I think I have a heavy right hand. That metal stuff at the end rules, I’ve been getting into heavier stuff myself lately.

Tony Iommi uses 8's because he has artificial fingertips on his fretting hand! I am 9's user but then I am a tickler not a basher! Lol

Light top heavy bottom That's it

@Ssargent888

4 жыл бұрын

Fa Gyu on everything but a les Paul. I had them on mine and it felt... fat? Idk seemed weird tho.

@fagyu7502

4 жыл бұрын

@@Ssargent888 my guitar is a Les Paul style guitar as well and it's absolute amazing has good tension in the lower strings and it didn't get any harder to play leads on the higher strings than with standard 10s I just had to adjust the action

@guitarandgames1386

4 жыл бұрын

I use tens on distortion because it doesn't go out of tune and fine tuning isn't as important. But cleans I use 13s or heavy bottoms

@miskatonicuniversityavclub202

4 жыл бұрын

12/60 thats better

@chriscoughs5774

3 жыл бұрын

I personally hated those because it it made tuning a fucking nightmare. I'm kind of the type to switch between all tunings anywhere from a quarter step above standard to drop A# and I don't have enough guitars to just have multiple guitars for different tunings and switching tunings was a fucking nightmare.

That jam at the end was f***ing SICK ❤❤

Hey Robert, listen back to your playing when you are comparing the 335 to the LP - You have more pick noise with the 335, it almost sounded like a metronome at first lol. You can hear a little of it on the LP but the 335 is louder. I remembered a video Scott Grove put out a few years ago about properly tuning your guitar and I got to thinking about that while listening to you talking about the strings sounding out of tune when you strike them. According to Scott, and it makes sense when you think about it, when you are tuning your guitar how are you picking it? I noticed at that time that I was just picking as if I was only tuning and not playing. What I mean is when I play I strike harder and quicker, I think most of us do this, but when I'm tuning I strike each string lighter. According to Scott just strike the string like you would when you are playing along with a song or just noodling around and that will be a more accurate way to tune. I for some unknown reason bought a ten pack of light top/heavy bottom (10-52) and when I was finished refinishing a Les Paul I bought from Austin I put a set of those on and I absolutely HATED them! ALL of the strings felt like I was using heavy cables instead of strings lol. I could barely bend any of them, even the supposedly lighter ones. I did have to do all the setting up of the neck and string heights and all that jazz but even once I did that I just could not get comfortable with them and since I wanted to change the nut to a bone nut I just replaced those with a regular set of 10's and now it's fine. I'am going to give the hybrid set another chance but on a different guitar to see if that matters.I have an Ibanez Iceman I think they might be a good fit for. On my Gretsch 5420T, a big ol jazz body style, I may use the hybrid on that one because I want that fatter tone for my bottom but the set on there right now I believe are 11's and they are too stiff.

I would be interested to hear a discussion about how string size may affect a persons playing style and if there is a correlation to hand size or hand strength. I have very large hands and find 8's to be so sensitive to touch and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Do the 8's teach me to have more finesse, or should I run heavier strings to get more finesse? Is there such a thing as too sensitive? Do heavy handed players just need heavier strings?

I have 12s on a floyd rose is standard tuning. I just tried it one time and it clicked with me. I did it on purpose to force myself to learn my floyd rose. I love the feel and sound. I play a little bit of everything, plectrum and/or fingerpicking.

You should put out an album that is a solid 60 minutes of that at 4:20

I agree with you, I play heavy and will try your advice, also have to reset the intonation. thanks.

For drop b I use daddario XL 11-56. I've used this set for drop c as well. For years I used 12-54 but now I can bend.

I tried once going back to 9's, damn near bent the strings off of the fingerboard. Heavy for me I guess whether I like it or not.

I think it just comes down to style and personal preference. I grew up playing heavy strings... 11's/12's. I liked heavy metal and figured they would just sound better. Now I play 9's. I personally like them so much more. Much easier to bend and play all around. They feel so much more comfortable to me. With heavy strings I feel like I have to fight the guitar strings to get them to do what I want. When I play my guitars with 9's then pick up an old guitar of mine with 11's/12's the difference is night and day to me. I imagine the difference really stands out if you do a lot of bending.

Killer tone Robert what amp are you using? I hear your name pop up all the time on Pete’s and RJ’s KZread channel so I thought I would follow you too.

I'm going to try this great video. Do you think 13 gauge strings is a big part of stevie ray vaughans sound

Great video! I discovered another advantage with going to heavier strings. I also tend to have a really heavy pick hand (I play mostly rhythm guitar 90% of the time). I used extremely light 8-38 strings for years, and always had issues with really noticeable string buzz on the frets, especially with the low E and A string. I set all my guitars with higher than normal action to try and compensate for it, but it never really fixed the issue. About a year and a half ago, I switched up a size (because I was tired of breaking high E strings), and I noticed the buzz on the lower strings wasn't as bad. It was still there, but more subtle. So just to experiment, I went up another size and lowered the action a bit more reasonable, and haven't gone back since. I currently run 10-46 on my 25 1/2 inch scale guitars, and 11-48 on my 24 3/4 inch scale guitars. They just feel better and sound better to me, and I couldn't be happier.

as malcom young said, "don't tickle them, hit the buggers"

@juanmendoza2993

3 жыл бұрын

@Mike Limas Malcolm used 12's Angus 9's

Makes sense I'll have to try it

“Heavy top skinny bottom” my new go to set of strings, super comfortable. But I’ve always wondered how far you could push it? Like how heavy vs light

...and there's a Metal section 🤘 Nice bro!!

I recently started using the EB Hybrid Slinky strings over the Super Slinky set for this exact reason. I like the lighter top strings for the shredy bits but if I played in drop D or C# I was getting that nasty "WOW' on the low E. Solved everything for me! Great video!

Currently playing heavy bottom Ernie ball’s which are 11’s on the bottom and 10’s on the higher 3. I love hitting the low E and chords that won’t go sharp while still being able to bend easily

Thank u Robert

Hi Robert . Thank you

Really enjoyed the heavy track at the end! 🤘😆🤘

I’m playing an acoustic electric thin body and am tossing some D’Addario heavy bottom, medium top nickel wound electric strings on it to see how it performs with the sound hole plugged, through just a tube screamer pedal and that’s it. I think it’ll work for my style. Thanks for this vid.

When I switched to a 9 gauge it was quite hard at first to pick aggressively because of how flimsy the strings are but I managed to get rid of most of it by lowering the action as much as I can, I actually prefer lighter gauges now because the more aggressive I pick the smoother the picking seems to be, which was opposite on 10s. Vibrato and bending are a lot easier now, I get that some people say it doesn't matter because you're supposed to develop strength for that, but my vibrato is extremely wide and I try to have a very light left hand anyways like most shredders so it wouldln't matter Edit: this might work for me because I use jazz III picks and can afford to use a lot of edge picking, almost 45 degrees. If I do the same with a flatter pick it slides a lot and just doesn't work. Without edge picking, light, flimsy strings would definitely be harder to go across.

The song at the end was great!! 👍🏾👍🏾

Thank you.

Man you sound Great. Fantastic

Do you have to file the nut if you go up a gauge? And can you go back afterwards?

I am light on the picking hand (right) but heavy on the playing hand (left) what strings should i use u think? right now i am on 10. Greeting from Germany.

Eddie used 9-40 in Eb and he had heavy hand but used 0.60mm nylon pick, crazy! 🙂I have problem with string gauge. I have heavy hand and I like thick picks, but i like 9s too because sounds bright and with tight low end, but it's hard to play in tune. As for feeling I prefer 10, better tuning stability, easier picking, but 10s compared to 9s sounds duller and has floppy low end. I need 10 od 11 which sound bright and tight, what can you recommend me, what are the brightest strings you've tried?

Hello Robert, which set 011 do you acutallly use here? So what are string sizes on the bass side of your 011 set?

my experience with heavy gauge strings came to an end with thumb pain. I joined a cover band and was playing a lot for a month learning material and ran into thumb pain. been playin for 20 plus years and never had problems. I get your point being a heavy handed player but in the grand scheme of things I switched to 9.00 and the pain finally went away.

I have a heavy picking hand, and i mostly play a lot of heavy death metal riffs. In my opinion they have always sounded more full and definitely stayed in tune more. I recently pinched a nerve in my shoulder and arm so i had to drop down a few gauges. I was using 13-56 for D standard and now I am using the Ernie Ball hybrid slinky, good enough for heavy riffs and slinky enough to do all the solo's.

Nice track at the end there- some great little moments \m/

I definitely find a noticeable tonal different between 10s and 11s on my les paul. 11s are more bassy, but there's more clarity when playing chords on high gain settings. I prefer 10s when soloing, not because of ease of bending, but I find it cuts through the mix better. Hard to decide as I agree that strings go sharp more easily with lighters gauge strings, as I like playing heavy handed.

Sick video all the way! And sick metal track!

I usually go 10’s or 11’s on my Gretsch 6120/6122. Going a size up helps keep the Bigsby in tune. I also like the feel and control personally.

Nice vid as always! I have a very light right hand. While SRV is my primary influence, I use Billy Gibbons 8’s, and have never looked back. I crave the slinkiness that 8’s give me. I would still play if 10’s and 11’s were my only option, but it would take a lot of joy out of playing for me.

If i were to move to heavier strings would i need a bigger pick? I use 10s on a lp with a dunlop tortex .88mm and i was thinking of moving to 11s

I definitely notice my low e go sharp from time to time when Im gettin hot and heavy on the axe (with 10's). But at times I really like it.. It just sounds like some STANKey attitude to me that I like. I can be heavy handed at times for sure, but I don't play very aggressively a lot, I have always wanted to try elevens on my sg's but I don't know if the nut can handle it on either of them. If I were to file them, and switch, I don't know if I'd want to go back or not and I may need a new nut. I don't know, I do the vast majority of all my own maintenance, work, and set ups. I'll probably end up giving it a shot at some point.

Totally agree with you on what you are saying. However the one drawback to using 11gauge strings is they will eat up your frets. When I played 11's I had to get a fret job about every 6 months. Can get expensive. That's the main reason I went back to 10's.

I've been playing/learning a lot of SRV lately and have been hitting my current set of 9's with a hard right hand. Good video man, I've been thinking of going up a set but my fretting hand isnt too strong 😁

Would you recommend heavier gauges for softer genres too or for mainly rock and distorted sound?

I use tens on the high E, B, and G strings. Are use 11s on the low E, A, and D. Our flight a strap and through a fender Deluxe tube amp. I have been very happy with the tones. I can get a killer SRV tone with my tube screamer or even straight clean.

Well, great video, so many variables involved here, viz. the RESONANCE and OVER TONES of the strings, the SUSTAIN of the strings, and last but not least, the player's DYNAMIC CONTROL over the strings. In my 25 years of playing, I've found that the "Regular Slinkys" 10-46 or "Power Slinkys" 11-48 by Ernie Ball have the best of those 3 things, i.e. the RESONANCE and OVER TONES (harmonic vibrational blending of the strings) are amazing when playing chords (especially when open strings are involved in a chord). Moreover, the SUSTAIN is much better than 8-9 gauge strings due to the extra metal and tension of the strings, and the DYNAMIC CONTROL is much more pronounced than the thinner competitors (meaning, it's very easy to go from very soft quiet playing to very loud playing with great control with heavier gauge strings, especially when using a clean tone). The heavier guage strings have a generally "bigger" sound and, especially, more PUNCH as well when you're playing at higher volumes. Lastly, in my experience, 8-9 gauge strings feel like "rubber bands" under my fingers (both right and left hand) making note "intonation" more difficult, whereas 10-11 gauge strings give a firm foundation, allowing perfect intonation of fretted notes. On the flip side, 12-13 or higher gauge strings are simply too heavy in terms of tension for my medium sized hands (even at Eb tuning, which I prefer), and are also a bit muddy, dark, and thick sounding for my tastes (i.e. they lack the sparkly brightness of 10-11 gauge). Whereas, in my opinion, 10/11 gauge strings are the perfect balance of TONE, TENSION, RESONANCE, OVER TONES, SUSTAIN, DYNAMIC CONTROL, and PUNCH. Heavier guage strings truly "sing" under my fingers. And if you can handle the 11-48 "Power Slinkys", you'll have one less thing to worry about when playing live: They never ever break...never. You can bang them, slap them, pull and snap them, thrash them, play them with your teeth, etc. and they always hold fast! I have been playing purple "Power Slinkys" for years, both at home and live, and I've never broken one single string ever. 😎 However, 8-9 guage strings snap like dental floss for me....so annoying! Haha! However, "your mileage may vary." LOL! For, as the Master once said, "Do what thou wilt..." 😉 Anyways, that's my two cents kids. 👊 ✌

Btw, dig the metal track, would like to hear more of your heavier stuff.

@apoplexiamusic

3 жыл бұрын

same!

That was amazing

I got this problem when first using an 8-string, trying to get a single set of strings that worked across the high and low extremes was the hardest part of the change. Have tyou tried any fanned fret guitars? Several copanies now make 6-string fanned fret guitars!

So im relatively new to guitars but when i try and quickly pick the same string up, then down, then up, then down, i feel like the steing hasnt reset to its baseline area of where I first hit it so i cant twiddle the same string fast. Is that an amateur problem or is the string too low of a gauge, ya think? Thanks

Robert, exactly what gauge strings are you using now?

I use Daddario medium gauge for the feel mostly but I'm pretty heavy handed too. Now I know why my notes are always sharp!

Love the outro!

I have a guitar with jumbo frets that was going out of tune when chording because of different pressure when gripping. Heavier strings helped with that too.

You are exactly right. Especially if you are heavy handed you got to run heavy strings on the low side but keep them a tad bit lighter on the high strings so you can still bend. Being heavy handed you will go sharp if the strings ain't tight enough.

*It’s true* .Once you play enough getting from 9’s, 9 1/2’s, 10’s, and then 11’s is pretty quick. When I was touring year round in the 90’s my fingers got so strong that I had to beef up my strings. My axes stayed in tune a lot longer under the hot stage lights and my tone was juicer as well. I read about SRV doing that and it worked. 😎 🎸👍🏼. Anytime I played a guitar that wasn’t mine the strings (9’s) were like over cooked spaghetti. My left hand turned green with the power of the Hulk. 🤣 My health declined and I had to stop playing live. Eventually my hands got weaker and I ended up back with 9’s. So you have to keep playing a lot to keep that strength. 💪🏼😎🎸

I’m quite heavy handed, what strings would you recommend to play nirvana on, I have a strat, thank you

So true. I’m very heavy on my pick and even my fretting. 13s were the way to go for me. My poor Strat has so much tension I had to add all 5 springs to the trem. Feels great and stays in tune when trying to solo blues or rock.

Tuning/intonation is a huge part of good tone

Thank you Robert 🎸🤟😎 I’d like to see a video on the highest and lowest gauge strings you can possibly use on an Electric and an Acoustic Guitar in Standard Tuning ☮️

yeah I have that problem too with my 9 gauge strings, thanks for the advice

I use a custom gauge I came up with on most guitars including my old PRS CE24... 9, 12, 16, 26, 38, 48. Curt Mangan will customize any set for u no matter how many u buy. But I do like StringJoy and Elixer for certain guitars, and thankfully they are selling more individual strings and hybrid sets these days.

I have a vice grip. With jumbo Frets I tend to squeeze open chords Sharp. Heavier strings help that. Open D chords are almost impossible with jumbo Frets for me anyway. So I am up to 11s now. Not that big of a problem on my fenders. More tension on the strings. 8s are ridiculous. LOL

One thing I’ve noticed using 16s on my baratone is that you can grip onto the neck for grim death and you won’t go sharp. I’ve played baratone for about 6 years and I’ve realised when I play my old standard tuning crafter everything I play sounds sharp, this may be just a me problem but something worth noting.

Hello, I have a Stratocaster with 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo, Stamped Steel Saddles bridge Gonna make the jump from 10 gauge strings to 12 gauge. I know I will need a set up. Do I need larger saddles? Or should my current saddles be able to handle any guitar gauge increase or decrease?

@joemom1012

Жыл бұрын

are you drop tuning drop e drop d drop b many variations drop c drop f many your neck size and radius and gauge and strings all together make difference if dropping in some tunings