Really basic string question.......

[Greg_L]

.....borderline dumb, but thats just me.

Everyone talks about "9's" or "10's" when talking about strings, but what exactly does that mean? I mean, I figure its gauge terminology, but damn thats pretty basic. I always look at the actual string gauges to determine which strings I want. If the pack just said '10's', I'd be freaking lost.

 

[2lim]

Umm I am not a guitarist but it is the gauge of the high E string. I don't know what the standards are but the last pack of strings I bought were 10's. That is basically a medium gauge set..... you want lighter, you buy 9's, you want heavier you buy 11's and so on.

I just dug out the package from the strings apparently a set of 10's goes as follows


10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46

Hope that helps.


Simon

 

[Greg_L]

Thanks for the reply. Thats what I figured, but many sets are light-top/heavy-bottom etc. A .009 high-E in one set might have a .050 low-E and a .046 in another. That's where my confusion sets in. String sets aren't uniform, so I don't see how this terminology is valid or useful.

 

[Sirnothingness]

Yeah, it's the gauge for the first string.

 

[amra]

Yea a slightly these days I find myself being more specific and saying 10-53's when talking to other guitarists, meaning the strings go from .010-.053

 

[donkeystyle]

I think it's still valid.....if you're like me or amra and prefer a custom gauge, you say you play 10-52 or 10-53's, or 10-54's(which is what I prefer but they are hard to find localls, so I go with 10-52's)

all manufacturers are pretty damn close guage wise when you purchase a non-custom/standard pack of 10's.

to sum it up.....I think when people say 10's, they mean standard 10's, otherwise they will elaborate.

 

[Light]

If someone tells me to put on tens, I'm going to assume he means a set of standard light gauge strings, which measure .010-.046. Most of the sets which are different from a standard set will have a representative name, such as the GHS TNT set (Thick `n Thin), or the Ernie Ball Slinky Top Heavy Bottom.

The same goes for elevens, nines, or any other simple number - it means (at least to me) a standard gauge set (i.e., tens are .010-.046-lights, elevens are .011-.049-mediums, nines are .009-.042-extra lights, etc.) If you want something other than a standard gauge set, you are going to have to be more specific.

Oh, and by the way, unless you are into standard tunings, stick to standard gauge sets unless you have a good reason not to. They will tend to intonate better, and on some guitars (PRS's with their fixed bridge, for instance), you can't get unusual sets to intonate.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Greg_L]

Okay thanks for the info everyone.

 

[Big Kenny]

Light's right but don't be afraid to experiment. My Gretsch sounds very rich with heavy bottom strings and thiose same strings sound stupid on my Tele.