MacDaddy Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I'm a bassist, but I'm playing guitar in a band - [url="http://www.junkyarddogslondon.co.uk"]www.junkyarddogslondon.co.uk[/url] if you're interested - point is, when I was just a guitarist, the strings I used were 10's and I remember thinking they were [b]thick[/b]. Having been a bassist I now use 11's. I'd use 12's but I often bend the G string and haven't found a pack that doesn't have a wound G. 10's feel so sloppy, and 9's are just unplayable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I'm currently using D'Addario 10-52s. Nice and chunky at the bottom and still bendable at the top. TBH I'd consider going heavier at the bottom (54/56) including a wound G (20) if it didn't mean making up really expensive custom sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Not much of a guitarist at all myself but I'd recommend using a thinner pick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 I prefer 10s in standard sizing for tonal reasons - heavier strings seem to lack the snap and cut of lighter gauges to me. I did try a set of light top-heavy bottom a while back, and they just seemed all unbalanced. Guess I'm still a guitarist who dabbles with bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 It's the feel under the fretting hand that's all wrong. I play a 12 string for writing songs, pairs of strings feel much more comfortable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 [quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1335902562' post='1637876'] It's the feel under the fretting hand that's all wrong. I play a 12 string for writing songs, pairs of strings feel much more comfortable to me. [/quote] Ditto that :¬) A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoker Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Got 10's on my electric and 11's or 12's on my acoustic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iiipopes Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 The problem is that for a 12's set, a plain G would have to be something like a 20, which has absolutely no flexibility and just goes "clunk." I even tried one as the octave E string for my Rick 12 to try to see if it would intonate with the wound low E, but it was a mess tonally. D'addario makes their 11-49 set with either an 18 plain or a 21 wound, the EXL115 or EXL115W, and as a bassist I have found this to be the most versatile set for general electric guitar work without having to worry about "feel" switching back and forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 i've been using power slinkys, but I've just ordered some Rotosound roto reds. Will probably try the D'addario's next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) D'Addarios are my favourite guitar strings. Don't like their bass strings much though. If you do find you like them you can get triple packs of their string sets for only slightly more than 2 single sets. Edited May 2, 2012 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 My son has got a set of flatwound D'Addario Chromes 13-56 on his Epiphone Casino. It's almost like playing bass. The tone is nearly as thick as his strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 [quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1335923335' post='1638202'] The problem is that for a 12's set, a plain G would have to be something like a 20, which has absolutely no flexibility and just goes "clunk." I even tried one as the octave E string for my Rick 12 to try to see if it would intonate with the wound low E, but it was a mess tonally. [/quote] +1. You'll have to trust me on this. Plain strings above 0.02" just do not sound good at all. They don't play well either. I think you may just have to get used to playing a G string that is wound, unless you want to go for thin top heavy bottom type strings. I can bend a pretty heavy G with not much problem though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 11s for me. Make my Strat sound nice and beefy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 D'addario was my weapon of choice for around 15 years, but shifting to DR was the best move I've ever made with strings. A good friend thought I'd had my '62 Strat rewound first time he played it after the change, until I assured him all I'd done was switch strings. The switch has even allowed me to go from 11's to 10's without any lose of performance. As an aside, best strings you can put on your acoustic, Infeld Spectrum. Initially, you might not think these are as bright as other makes, such as Martin or Markley, but the tone live and recorded is fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Do those of us who play both guitar and bass find that string choices on one instrument affect those on another? I'm a massive fan of D'Addarios on my electric guitars and was massively disappointed when I tried their bass strings. Also I've never got around to trying Elixier strings on any of my basses after encountering them on a guitar owned by a member of a band I used be in - I found the feel disgusting to the extent that I need to wash my hands after playing the guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 (edited) Maybe they're better now than 10 years ago (are they?), but I hated Elixirs on both guitar and bass when I tried them. I got a couple of free sets from their stand at a guitar festival when they were a new thing. The coating went all raggedy after a few weeks and started peeling, it was like playing strings with eczema! I've settled on D'Addario 11-49 (0.018" plain G) for electric guitar as I find it would take some work to develop a light enough touch for 9s or 10s. Any heavier and it doesn't sound like I want a solidbody electric to sound, any lighter and I tend to overplay them. I do have honking great 13-56s on my archtop, but that's because it takes heavy strings to get the best acoustic sound from that guitar, not to try and make it feel bass-like. Edited May 5, 2012 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I used D'Addario for a long time too on guitar, but switched about 10-12 years ago when I was having a lot of breakages. I also found that they'd go dead in a month, and have intonation issues about 2 weeks after that. Tried Snake Oil Brand strings and DR side by side for alternatives after reading rave reviews. The SOBs were a little better, but a lot of hassle to buy since they were made & sold through 1 US based outlet only. DRs have (mostly) been excellent, with a set lasting a year if played just a little, and many months if played a lot. Re elixir - not very good on acoustic - tonally compromised and didn't last any longer than DRs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I was always a "9s on the electric & 11s on the acoustic". I hardly play electric nowadays & just restrung the acoustic with 13s & quite like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CS2 Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I think it's what one is used to. I played bass and acoustic guitar for many years, 40-100 on the bass and 13's on the acoustic. When I started playing electric in the late 90's I used 10's. After a few years I changed the acoustic to 11's I now use 10's and 11's depending on the guitar ( I have too many). I made the swap to guitar more or less exclusively in 2004. A couple of years ago I bought an Ashbory and this year have been borrowing a Precision for a gig lined up. The 40-100's on the P seem really thick. After the first 4 hour rehearsal my hands were red. After the second one they were ok. Now it's like I never stopped playing. The guitar strings seem skinny again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonM Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Ever tried a set of Baritone Guitar Strings, I use them on my modded up telecaster, these seem to fit between bass and guitar quite nicely. The band I'm currently with means playing EUB on some numbers, bass guitar on others, but when I need to rock the tele gives me a good depth for bass and rythmm guitar combined Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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