Does anyone play mediums?

3

357mag

New member
I usually play a string guage 10-46. Works pretty well. I think that's usually called light or sometimes regular. Been thinking about trying a slightly heavier guage like these Hendrix strings put out by Dean Markley:

.011
.013
.018
.030
.042
.052

I was thinking since I play a scalloped neck which facilitates bending anyway I might not have any trouble using a heavier guage. What guage do you use? Anyone use something like these mediums?
 
I play tens and really like the tone I get from 'em, so I can only imagine 11's would be a bit better tonewise--as long as your fingers can do all they need to do with the added girth. That was the challenge for me, since I cut my teeth on 8's (yep--8's) and still keep my action ultra low on my guitars.
 
I play 11-50's tuned standard (or sometimes Drop-D). I used to play 10's but the moment I strung my guitars up with 11's it just seemed to really make them sing. EVERYTHING sounded better. I got a new guitar a while back and just to check if I wasn't imagining this I played it with 10's first, then the 11's and it had the same effect.

Ultra-low action (like with 9's or 10's) isn't really as possible with the 11's so it was a bit of an adjustment to get used to the heavier strings, especially speed-wise but IMHO it was worth it. I wouldn't advise anyone who hasn't built up the necessary strength in their hands to just jump up to 11's. I don't think I'll ever go back.

But hey, 11's are nothing compared to SRV's 13's. :eek:
 
I have 12s on the Heritage (24.65" scale length) and 11s on the G&L (25.5"). Since I play alot of acoustic guitar these gauges seem light to me. The wound "G" on the 12s takes some getting used to but I prefer it now.

Just My Two Cents
 
I use Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottoms. Normal sets are 10-42 (I think), but these are .10-.52. The lows sound a lot beefier to me with the thicker bass strings.
 
The older I get, the more I like heavier strings :D

But generally use 10s (used 9s when I was younger). I've got one with 12s, and I really like the way it plays.
 
I switched from 10's to 11's on my Strat and I have never gone back. Try it, you might like it.
 
solaris1982 said:
I use Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottoms. Normal sets are 10-42 (I think), but these are .10-.52. The lows sound a lot beefier to me with the thicker bass strings.
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Same here. Otherwise I really miss the dynamics and clean tone that opens up on the heaver bottom strings. That it's also a little closer to the feel switching between acoustic and electric helps in that transition too -which fits as my playing style on either meets somewhere in between.
I'd just as soon see the set go '11 - 13 rather than '10.
 
KillerV said:
Ultra-low action (like with 9's or 10's) isn't really as possible with the 11's so it was a bit of an adjustment to get used to the heavier strings, especially speed-wise but IMHO it was worth it.
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I would think that the heavier the gauge the lower you can set the action, since higher tension strings don't swing as far.
 
Could be back to the pickin'? -as weight/tension goes up so does attack?

to add.. more likely the 'tension went up because our expectation changes out of what we want out of 'tone' in the first place.

Watch out next thing you know you'll be flat pickin'. ;)
 
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i've played 11's for as long as I can remember..

maybe next time i'll get some 10's too if i notice the difference.
 
12's match my 70's hollow-body Ibanez (Gibson 175 knock-off) real nicely. And the same strings make my cheapo solid-body less annoyingly twangy and shrill.

I think it's worth it to try real heavy and then back down if you don't like it. This way you'll get an idea of range of sounds/feels from your guitar. Much cheaper, of course, if you can adjust your truss rod and your intonation for the experiment.
 
I ordered some Power Slinky's. Guages are 11-48. That seemed like a good overall balance. Some of these other string sets keep one or two individual strings the same guage as a previous set. That doesn't make much sense to me. If I'm gonna go to a heavier guage I want all six strings to change not just four of them.
 
I went all the way up to 13's, and settled on 11's for most guitars, and 10's on a couple that liked 'em better. Strings are cheap, give them a ride. If they sound better, man up and learn to play them. :D
 
I play 10-46 in standard, with a .68 low B on my Universe, and 11-48's on my Strat. I had 11's on the UV for a little while, but ended up whimping out after a while because it was tough to do full-step bends on the first couple frets. the Strat, well, I know it's the same scale length, but the strings seem to feel "lighter" - probably because I'm used to my "thickest" string being a lot thicker than the low E on a set of 10's, lol.

For me, it's less about "tone" (because really it goes both ways - heavier strings are darker and more compressed while lighter strings are brighter and snappier - neither is better, it's just some work better in given situations than others) than it is the fact I have a pretty heavy picking hand, especially on the lower strings, and I have intonation problems with lighter strings (if I really dig in on the low B, I can briefly push it up almost to C before the sustain lowers it back to pitch).
 
I've played 11's for a long time. started out on ernie ball regular slinkys, and then moved on to powerslinkeys a year later. since then ive changed to the same size elixers, because the strings last for ever and the low e is bout .01 heavier like .49 as opposed to .48 with the slinks. i actually noticed a difference, and to me these are the ultimate strings. good luck
 
also, when u say hendrix, are they supposed to be jimmy hendrix? cuz i always read that he actually used really thin strings that he got from banjo's for his high e.
 
I keep reading that on the net, but I've also read Jeff Beck talking about Hendrix convincing him to go up to heavier strings, inferring that the 10's he was then playing were not as heavy as Jimi was thinking.
 
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