2017 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL JAZZMASTER/JAGUAR

[Dinghis]

Thanks! I got antsy and strung mine with 11's too, seems to be good so far. I might try 10's next time to see what I like best.

[Larsongs]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

[shoule79]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

That's where the tonz live.

Or, if you didn't shim the neck it helped keep the strings in the saddle and the bridge in the right place when using the trem system in the days before mastery and staytrem bridges.

[Dinghis]

Plus being short scale sometimes having the extra tension is nice.

[adamrobertt]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

Well for starters I've been using .11s for about ten years, so that's part of it. But also I think that .9s are horribly flimsy and buzzy and sound bad. I'm fine with .10s but I prefer .11s on most guitars, especially on offsets. Even on this newer model that doesn't really "require" them for stability like some vintage models do, it just feels right with the heavier strings. I used .12s for a brief period a few years ago but I realized I liked bending strings too much so I switched back.

[Larsongs]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

Well for starters I've been using .11s for about ten years, so that's part of it. But also I think that .9s are horribly flimsy and buzzy and sound bad. I'm fine with .10s but I prefer .11s on most guitars, especially on offsets. Even on this newer model that doesn't really "require" them for stability like some vintage models do, it just feels right with the heavier strings. I used .12s for a brief period a few years ago but I realized I liked bending strings too much so I switched back.

Just curious. I usually prefer .10's but like the .009's on my Tele.

There's a story about BB King & Billy Gibbons, "Why you wanna work so hard?" About String sizes. After Billy's encounter with BB he went all the way down to .007's & he plays all kinds of Guitars. His Tone doesn't sound flimsy, buzzy or bad. He gets great Tone IMO with all kinds of Guitars with super light Gauge strings.

Is there maybe a difference between Gibson, Gretsch & Fender Guitars when it comes to light gauge Strings re; the flimsy, buzzy & bad sound? BB & Billy use mostly Gibson & Gretsch Guitars without the issues you mention.

Lars

[Larry Mal]

Yeah, but there's a flip side to lighter strings, isn't there? I'm steadily moving up in gauge as I get older, and part of the reason is that I actually have more control over heavier strings in that the resistance gives me more and not less. If I move from one chord to another, with light strings I can jerk them out of place with too much pressure and they sound bad.

I basically realized one day that I'm more or less an acoustic guitarist and am kind of making my electrics play like those. I'm not BB King over here... big string bends isn't a part of what I do, no need to have super light strings to accommodate that.

[adamrobertt]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

Well for starters I've been using .11s for about ten years, so that's part of it. But also I think that .9s are horribly flimsy and buzzy and sound bad. I'm fine with .10s but I prefer .11s on most guitars, especially on offsets. Even on this newer model that doesn't really "require" them for stability like some vintage models do, it just feels right with the heavier strings. I used .12s for a brief period a few years ago but I realized I liked bending strings too much so I switched back.

Just curious. I usually prefer .10's but like the .009's on my Tele.

There's a story about BB King & Billy Gibbons, "Why you wanna work so hard?" About String sizes. After Billy's encounter with BB he went all the way down to .007's & he plays all kinds of Guitars. His Tone doesn't sound flimsy, buzzy or bad. He gets great Tone IMO with all kinds of Guitars with super light Gauge strings.

Is there maybe a difference between Gibson, Gretsch & Fender Guitars when it comes to light gauge Strings re; the flimsy, buzzy & bad sound? BB & Billy use mostly Gibson & Gretsch Guitars without the issues you mention.

Lars

I use .11s because I like them, not because some famous guitarist likes them. BB and Billy can use .7s if they want. They can have them. I sure don't want them.

[Larsongs]

That's reason enough but you don't have to get all testy! But it doesn't relate to sound or playability IMO. I mean this is a Gear Forum isn't it?

I'm curious what it is that makes guys want to use them? I use them on my Acoustic Guitars & like them. They work great in that capacity. But when I'm playing Electric Guitars I want them to sound & play like Electric Guitars. I just don't see any advantage? But, I have an open mind & am willing to learn something new...

Thanks,

Lars

[adamrobertt]

That's reason enough but you don't have to get all testy! But it doesn't relate to sound or playability IMO. I mean this is a Gear Forum isn't it?

I'm curious what it is that makes guys want to use them? I use them on my Acoustic Guitars & like them. They work great in that capacity. But when I'm playing Electric Guitars I want them to sound & play like Electric Guitars. I just don't see any advantage? But, I have an open mind & am willing to learn something new...

Thanks,

Lars

I mean, are you suggesting that heavy strings make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar? I don't understand what you're getting at here. I like .11s because I like how they feel, I like how they sound (more mass, more vibration = more sound, better tone). I like the extra tension. They last longer. They don't flop around like light strings. You can hammer the strings pretty hard without them bending out of tune. They make the offset vibrato feel better and work better, too (due to tension... high tension = springier vibrato and more useable range) etc.

[andy_tchp]

But it doesn't relate to sound or playability IMO.

Surely you jest? It's a fairly important factor in how a guitar sounds and pretty much THE determining factor WRT playability. I just threw a set of .009" Boomers on my ASAT as I wanted that lighter, thinner/treblier response and the ability to do exaggerated bends with ease. It sounds different to the pure nickel rollerwound .011" and .012" sets I used to use on everything and the feel is completely different.

Speaking only for myself, I couldn't care less what strings Billy Gibbons (or anyone else) uses. I doubt I'd even recognise one of his songs, as ZZ Top aren't really a 'thing' here... *Shrug*

[BoringPostcards]

[quote=adamrobertt]high tension = springier vibrato and more useable range[/quote]

This is the #1 reason for me when it comes to Jazzmaster/Jaguar vibrato equipped guitars.
I run 09s on my SG, .11s on my Mustang and Jazzmaster and .10s on my Tele.
In my experience different guitar platforms have different optimal gauges.
The optimal gauges for a Jazzmaster, if you want to use the vibrato a lot and for it to be stable are .11 and .12. 10 gauge sets are workable if they're hybrid sets (ernie ball skinny top, heavy bottom are an example)
Jaguars however aren't optimal with .10s, but are with .11s and .12s. Some guys even use .13 on Jags (and mustangs).
That's just my experience though.
A lof of this is subjective, however the part about the vibrato being more dynamic with heavier gauges is pretty much undeniable.
YMMV and all that jazz.

[crankheart]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

I feel most at home on .10s, but often use different string gauges on different guitars because they sound completely different. The strat I used to own sounded and played best with .09s, my main Jazzmaster has .10s and the other two are strung with .11s for a slightly weightier sound I can't get on the one stung with .10s.

I played a Mustang strung with .14s in Eb lately that was the best sounding/playing Mustang I've touched. (apparently Theresa Wayman from Warpaint has a similar setup).

Different gauges of strings change the tonal character of a guitar and importantly also the way you play it. There's a bunch of things that different combinations of strings and guitars can achieve.

[Jaguar018]

Why the .11's & .12's?

What are they supposed to achieve or do that .09's or .10's can't? Curious?

Lars

I feel most at home on .10s, but often use different string gauges on different guitars because they sound completely different. The strat I used to own sounded and played best with .09s, my main Jazzmaster has .10s and the other two are strung with .11s for a slightly weightier sound I can't get on the one stung with .10s.

I played a Mustang strung with .14s in Eb lately that was the best sounding/playing Mustang I've touched. (apparently Theresa Wayman from Warpaint has a similar setup).

Different gauges of strings change the tonal character of a guitar and importantly also the way you play it. There's a bunch of things that different combinations of strings and guitars can achieve.

Agreed. It's pretty obvious, to me at least, that heavier strings bring a different feel and sound. Whether or not you like it is subjective. The reason there are so many different sizes and materials is so that we can each find our optimal set up. Do we really need to argue that our particular preferences should be the universally applied standard? I love my medium heavy strings on my Jag (.11-.52). I like stainless steel core. Does that mean anyone else needs to like my strings? Not really. The thing they 'achieve' is: they sound and feel the best to my tastes.

[Larsongs]

Thanks for the feedback. Tone & Sound is purely subjective for sure.

I have tried heavier Gauge Strings on my Electrics before &, for me, I didn't see any advantage. Particularly for recording.

The heavier gauge Strings with Bassier Sound, IMO, tend to compete with the Bass both Live & Recorded. Except maybe for Lead. I prefer the separation of EQ's between Guitars & Bass.

I don't have a problem with my .10's on either my AV65 Jag or AV65 JM with Strings popping out of Bridge or Tuning issues after having proper Set ups. I do have a Mustang Bridge on my Jag & the Factory Bridge on my JM. I question needing the Mustang Bridge on my Jag after not having problems with my Factory JM Bridge.

Again it's purely Subjective. I was just curious.

Lars