Do Heavier Strings Give you Better Tone? - 8's VS 9's Vs 10's

In this video we do a comparison demo between different string gauges. Do lighter strings lose tone? Do heavier Strings Give you better Tone?
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[shawnmcmillan]

Billy Gibbons Quote, “I was about 22 and just starting out with ZZ Top, ” he says. “I was in the dressing room and BB King said to me, ‘Can I play your guitar?’ I said, ‘Sure man.’ He strummed it a few times and handed it back to me. He looked at me rather quizzically and said, ‘Why you working so hard?’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Those strings. You got real heavy, heavy strings.’ I said, ‘Well, isn’t that how to get the heavy, heavy sound?’ He said, ‘No! Don’t be working so hard!’

[RichardSheehan]

I was having pain in my left elbow after playing, so I changed from 10s gradually down to 7s (Ernie Ball) and the pain has pretty much gone away. And the tone still sounds cool.

[jaygooch]

For 30+ years I've tried them all from 12s to 7s and I always go back to 9-42, it just works for me

[chrislane]

I used 10s for years, then went down to 9s for many more years. Now I play 8s, and go for a super heavy sound, and I get it. Plenty of sustain too, so I’m led to believe that light gauge strings sound just as good as any heavier gauge strings that I’ve ever played.

[frAgileCS]

a while ago i switched to daddario 11s, i don't know how much the tone of the strings changed but the way i play did, i felt more comfortable hitting the strings harder and really digging in, and that *did* change the tone quite drastically, and I really enjoy how it sounds

[scoots]

Nice video. Rick Beato did a very in-depth video on this subject.

[marsmediapro]

Hey Dylan, another interesting video! I really like your approach to this, and I was thinking, "but I prefer heavier gages", and the idea of sort of forcing myself to try another gage is refreshing; in fact I have a guitar that needs new strings, so, I shall report back... Thanks for enlightening me again!😄

[EthanMunter]

When I watched the video the first time, I guessed the strings went 8s, 10s, 9s. It shocked me how much I loved the sounds of the 8s! Within a year or two of learning guitar I had worked my way up to 11s, but that was mostly because I was heavy handed and playing punk/thrash metal. After a while I dropped to 10s and realized how much my sound opened up and my hands felt a ton better! I'm fixing to drop down to 9s on my main guitar, and now I'm contemplating picking up a set of 8s to try out!

[marce]

Excellent video! i used 10-46 for almost 15 years and recently i tried 9-42 and i really love it. But like you said, at the beginning i needed to understand how to pick and control the effort and dynamic in my hand. Right now i put a strings set of DADDARIO NYXL 9-42 and they sound phenomenal!

[jameswold]

Ok, not braggin’ but I correctly guessed the string gauges as they were tested. The takeaway from really listening and trusting my 1 good ear was that the intonation on the 10 gauge set was dead-on while 8-9 was close. Always Appreciate your amazing brain and it was good to be reminded of why I generally stick with 10s. One man’s 7s is another mans piano wire. 🖖🏽

[nalukeko]

Stringjoy's tension calculator was invaluable to help me realize that 9.5 sets on 25.5" scale lengths is what I was looking for to match my 10s for 24.75" scale lengths which is the feel of tension I knew I liked.
9s on Strats were always a little too flabby for me. Usually D'Addario 9.5s or sometimes EB with the lighter wound strings (44 or 43), but got some Stringjoy 9.5s to test on the PRS with the 46 low E.

[gerardoromano]

Dylan I think this is the best video you´ve done to this day. Cheers

[ricklodewell]

My PRS came with 9s on it. I had been playing 10s. Suddenly, everything I played was out of tune until i adjusted to the 9's and stopped pulling the strings sideways ever so slightly. Likely, this was just because I'm fairly incompetent, but there was an adjustment period. However, I now love the 9s and 10s feel like I'm playing a chain link fence.

[DrBsGuitars]

We have been having this exact discussion on my channel. Lots of famous players play lighter gauge strings. It helps to have heavier strings if you are playing drop tunings, but in standard tuning I play 8s. Thanks for addressing this topic. I also use StringJoy because I prefer gauges that don’t come in packages.

[proletar-ian]

I have a jazzmaster and it completely transformed when I went from 9s to 12s. It was harder to bend notes, but the picking response sounded incredible, very similar to surf tones. Attempting to bend under higher tension sounds interesting. It’s more subtle but still sounds cool. I contemplating putting 12s on my other 25” scale length guitars and maybe 11s on my Gibson scale lengths.

[TheMountainLynx]

Everything you've mentioned in your conclusion is how I settled on 9s as my sweet spot gauge. I have them on my Gretsch hollow-body, and both of my SGs. When I get a new guitar, I'll play the stock strings (almost always heavier) until they start to go dead, then shift down to my preferred gauge. I find that the extra work from the heavier strings helps my hands get used to feeling out the new instrument a little faster.

[thseed]

I play 9's on both my Strats & Teles and 10's on both my Les Pauls. Less influenced by sound of string, more about feel (tension/bends) across scale lengths.

[joeyskar]

The fact Elixir doesn't make 8s drives me bonkers.. I love their strings for longevity as I live in Florida with higher humidity and I have a lot of guitars so they're my go to but I LOVE playing 8s when I can. I even went crazy mixing a lot of gauges on and SG and came to love 8-52.
52-40-26-16-11-8
There's something really nice about having that E and A feeling so tight and having that looseness on the higher strings.

[allkindsofthings]

I've been using a thinner pick (.71 mm) when playing with 9s. That way I can keep playing freely without needing to hold back. Even when hitting the strings hard they don't get overwhelmed and this probably gives longer string life too. Alternatively I sometimes play with a thicker pick and keep it loosely in my hand (I can still hit hard with my right hand but the loose grip counteracts it). I was surprised how much dynamic range 9s have when playing like this.

[markb]

I notice pick material (nylon vs celluloid) affecting tone more than string gauge