2022 Gauge Poll - let's see if anything's changed?

[andy_tchp]

People who play .9's are monsters.

Ha, possibly true!

I put some .009s on my G&L ASAT Classic (the closest they produce to a 'traditional' Telecaster), and it definitely changed 'the thing' that guitar did both in sound, feel and response.

Not something I'd gravitate towards all the time but 'that thing' had enough difference to be useful.

Otherwise yeah, .011-.050 GHS Nickel Rockers on pretty much everything else regardless of scale length.

[epizootics]

Having spent my younger years busking with an acoustic guitar with med/heavy strings and an action of about 4mm at the 12th fret, I have to use 12s/13s on 25.5" guitars and 14s on short scales just to feel like I have something under my fingers.

I didn't know any better when I was in my twenties - I just accepted the fact that my fingers would bleed after two hours playing on the streets. Last time I went down to my parents', I dug up the guitar in question. A tweak to the truss rod and five minutes of sanding the bottom of the bridge nut brought down the action to a very reasonable 2.5mm. All that suffering in vain

[higgsblossom]

11s on 24“.

[øøøøøøø]

I use four different gauges on electrics depending what I’m after.

Solidbody Telecaster, electric sitar, and Floyd Rose-equipped guitars get .010s because they sound the best to me in those applications. I might actually prefer the sound of .009s on the Tele but they feel kinda strange to me.

.011s on Les Paul, Strats, Tele Thinlines, Thinline Gibson hollowbodies, and most other things.

.012s on jazzmaster.

.013s on full-depth electric archtop

[Norrin Radd]

hybrid light top (.010's), heavy bottom (.052). best of both worlds.

Yeah this is me as well on anything 25.5. Been using the Ernie Ball cobalt slinkies of these for years.

A side note - I’ve never played a shorter scale before, but I just ordered some parts for putting together a Jaguar. Is there any consensus on whether to go one gauge heavier or just stay with the same gauge?

[copacetic]

I use 9's on my 66 mustang, its the easiest playing guitar ever as a result, trem holds tune perfectly and I like to be as easy on the old original frets as i can. typically 10s are my go-to on a 24" scale though

[Axolotl]

I have used Elixir 11's on everything until a couple of years I gave to 10's on my telecasters and I loved the slinky feel and ease of play. I did try 10s on my Ranaldo JM and realized them I don't quite like them in offsets, they feel a bit floppy and the trem and feel seem to lose some tension that I like. So currently I use 11's on my offsets (including Jaguar and Mustang) and 10's on my strat, teles and duo sonics.

[øøøøøøø]

The reason I like lighter strings on a Tele and a few other things isn't the feel... I really just think lighter strings lets the Tele do what I really want it to do, sonically.

On a Tele I don't really want to make the body resonate so much. I want that snappy thing where the body might as well be made of concrete (in relation to the amount of energy the string can produce). To me, that's the charm of a Tele.

On an electric sitar, I think the buzz bridge works best when there's a little bit less tension; when the string can kind of "float" and bounce around on it a bit more.

On Floyd-Rose equipped guitars (I got my first, on an Ibanez, only a few years ago!) I really think the system is just designed for light strings, and light strings also just kinda sound right on them.

This is kind of the opposite of jazzmasters and jaguars, which I feel really work best with heavier strings (both sonically and mechanically)

[Lost In Autumn]

hybrid light top (.010's), heavy bottom (.052). best of both worlds.

Yeah this is me as well on anything 25.5. Been using the Ernie Ball cobalt slinkies of these for years.

A side note - I’ve never played a shorter scale before, but I just ordered some parts for putting together a Jaguar. Is there any consensus on whether to go one gauge heavier or just stay with the same gauge?

I used .011s on my Jaguar and short scale Jagmaster and they felt perfect, in terms of string feel. I couldn't grock the short scale, tho (I'm 6'8" tall), so I sold them.

[Steadyriot.]

I run:
12/60 on my Jaguars in Drop C,
11/56 on my Tele’s in Drop C
11/52 on my Tele’s in D# and E

Voted for 12’s on 24” because that’s what I mainly play.

[Norrin Radd]

hybrid light top (.010's), heavy bottom (.052). best of both worlds.

Yeah this is me as well on anything 25.5. Been using the Ernie Ball cobalt slinkies of these for years.

A side note - I’ve never played a shorter scale before, but I just ordered some parts for putting together a Jaguar. Is there any consensus on whether to go one gauge heavier or just stay with the same gauge?

I used .011s on my Jaguar and short scale Jagmaster and they felt perfect, in terms of string feel. I couldn't grock the short scale, tho (I'm 6'8" tall), so I sold them.

I totally get that! I did some digging and found a photo of you from your last gig playing a baritone and now I completely understand.

[garyfanclub]

Interesting to see that a lot of people use different strings on their offsets than on their other guitars...

JM/Jags - Flatwound 12s (ideally Thomastiks), they seem to suit the way I like these set up (almost no relief, really low action, big strings with high tension), gives them a sturdy "battle ready" feel but not prohibitively tight/stiff, like a Tele with really big strings. I don't find the flatwounds get in the way of me getting the tones/sounds I want out of these guitars, either. If anything they help smooth out the otherwise searing high end (even with the tone rolled back to 5-6)

Everything else? DR Pure Blues 11s. Been using these for 10+ years, not likely to change. I'll do D'addarios in a pinch, but it's a last ditch.