Hey all you heavy gauge string users...

If you add enough distortion, everything sounds the same.

Oh, and Billy Gibbons played 11s up until the 80s. You can definitely hear the difference in his early vs later tone.
 
I love 9s for E on 24.75" instruments. But to do B on my baritone I’m using 12s, and I make switch to 13s.
 
I don't think there's a "wrong" gauge, but heavier gauges definitely sound darker/muddier to my ears. feel is equally important though, and that definitely changes too. All of which is why I think multiscales are so great - more tension with lower gauge strings on the low tuned strings (where heavier gauge strings get muddy/dull) and more standard "feel" on the higher tuned strings.
 
I use 9’s on Strats, 10’s on LP humbucker type guitars, and have a set of 8’s on a guitar with a Floyd. I like 10’s on my acoustics too.
 
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It’s all about the feel and practicality for me. Never gave the tonality much thought on electric instruments. On acoustic of course, it’s a big deal, much more pronounced effect.
Myself I play a lot of acoustic so the lighter the elec string the harder it is for me to get used to.
9s or lighter and I’m outta tune as hell until I can adapt my technique pretty drastically. I’ve always preferred 10s . About as light as I can go without issues. I go up to 11-49s on 24.75 guitars w Bigsbys, cause they seem to just work better than 10s. My Falcon is 25.5 scale w Bigs and I found a 10.5 set that seems a good fit.
 
I’ve been playing around with some Devin Townsend stuff and have tuned a guitar to open C with 10s. I really like the way it plays. Don’t think I could go to B with them though.
jp_nyc said:
I love 9s for E on 24.75" instruments. But to do B on my baritone I’m using 12s, and I make switch to 13s.
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I've played 8s, 9s, 10s, 11s, and 12s over the years. 10s feel the best to me and is what I currently play. It has never been about tone for me, always feel. I tried 9s again a few months ago and they just felt to slinky, but keep in mind, all of my guitars are 24.75" or 24" scale. If I were to play something with a 25.5" scale, I'd probably go back to 9s. If I were to play in Eb or D, I'd go back up to 11s. I only used 12s when I had a 24.75" scale guitar and we tuned to Eb or drop C#.
 
I feel like 10s hold tune a little better than 9s, so that’s what I use. I’ll use 11s on hard tails since I’ll change tunings on them. But that’s it. There’s no tonal reasoning behind it.
 
Interesting indeed. I used 9s my entire life on everything except my Eb tuned electrics. A couple of years ago I switched up to 10s because I felt they were a bit more stable in terms of tuning and because I have a heavy hand. I've been fine with them and didn't really notice a big change in tone except on really clean Strat stuff. In that instance, the 10s sound punchier to me. But alas, my arthritis ridden, surgically repaired hands definitely struggle more with heavier strings and I miss being able to bend notes easier.

The Showmaster I bought from @micwalt doesn't like the 10s I put on it at all, so I am going to pop some 9s back on it and see how it responds. I might end up switching back entirely.
 
When I switched to 10s years ago, I didn't have as much control, and my bending sucked.
9s are just right for my girly hands.
 
Just watched the video. When Rick played, I could hear the difference when he went from 11s to 10s. When he went to 9s or 8s, there wasn't enough difference to make me change. I actually think he sounded best with the 11s it sounded boomy and full he seemed to get fizzy as he went down. Dave sounded the same all the way through and Rhett sounded better with the 8s or 9s. I think how you play makes more of a difference than the actual gauge. If I played 8s, I would be all out of tune because I have a tendency to slam the strings.
 
10-46 feels and sounds best to me for electrics, both 25.5 and 24.75 scale. I have pretty strong hands and 9's don't offer enough resistance.

12-53 on my acoustics sounds right as well.
 
In the video they talk about lighter strings having a "tighter" bottom end, but that's not the way I do it. I run a Studio EQ with High Pass and Low Pass filters, so I slice out the flab and ice-pick while getting the midrange that feels lacking to me with 9's or lighter. Really sits nice in a mix.
 
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