Guitar bridges are crucial for a guitar’s functionality and sound. They are often used interchangeably, but they are distinct parts. Grounding your bridge is not necessary if your guitar is well shielded and doesn’t normally hum much.
A bridge saddle, also known as the bridge, is a thin and long piece of plastic or bone that the strings rest on. Saddles typically run around 70 to 75 mm long with a thickness of either 2.5 mm (3/32 inch) or 3.2 mm (1/8 inch). Saddle height can vary for each individual guitar, even from the same factory.
When congratulating a bride or bride-to-be, it’s advisable to exercise caution and opt for complementary hues to avoid unintentional matching. Prioritize communication, coordination, and respect for tradition when selecting your wedding attire to ensure a seamless and elegant experience.
Guitar bridges can be raised due to tight strings, such as a belly bulge or melted glue on the back edge of the bridge. To remove each pin, use a bridge pin puller or pliers, gently wiggle and lift them until they come loose. Apply heat (if necessary) to soften the adhesive.
Bridge pins affect the tone of a guitar by filtering certain frequencies and affecting the frequency spectrum of the overall sound output. Different bridge pins act differently when subjected to humidity and temperature changes, and don’t leave the heat on your guitar longer than necessary to avoid damage to the finish or wood.
📹 How to set up a guitar bridge | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 3 | Thomann
Setting up the bridge and the saddles is the third and last step of a great guitar setup. In this episode we’re talking about string …
How do I choose a guitar bridge?
What type of bridge is right for you? It depends on your style and preferences. A fixed bridge is simple and stable. A tremolo bridge lets you add expression and variation to your playing. If you play a lot and do extreme techniques, a Floyd Rose bridge may be best. Set up and maintain your bridge correctly. If your bridge is not set up right, it can cause problems with tuning, intonation, and playing. If you’re not sure how to set up your bridge, ask a professional. The guitar bridge affects the sound and playing experience of your guitar. Think about your playing style and what you like when choosing a bridge. Try different types until you find the right one for you. A good guitar bridge makes a big difference to your playing and music.
Can a song have two different bridges?
How many bridges are in a song? A song can have two or more bridges. It’s not usual. They’re usually in long, epic songs. Lady Gaga often has multiple bridges in her songs. They are complex and detailed with quirky elements. I’ll talk more about this later. To write your own bridge, follow these tips.
Try a new chord progression, from minor to major or vice versa. Try playing with the melody but using flats or sharps. Change the key. Slow it down or speed it up. Write some new lyrics in a different tone. End your bridge with an open chord, not a tonic chord. This makes the listener want to hear more, not less. A bridge is a way to lead into more of the song, not an ending.
Does guitar bridge affect sound?
Composition affects tone. Different materials make bridges and bridge saddles sound different, which affects the sound of your guitar.
Stamped steel (50s and 60s) and die-cast Mazac (70s) Strat bridge saddles sound different; brass, threaded steel, and notched steel Tele saddles sound different; chrome-plated steel and nickel-plated aluminum wrap-over bridges sound different; floating bridges made from rosewood and ebony sound different; and so on. Tonehounds will say which sounds better, but changing from one type to the other will change your tone slightly.
Can you put a different bridge on a guitar?
You can easily change an electric guitar bridge. Acoustic guitar bridges are glued to the body, so they need special tools and skill to remove and replace.
When to replace a guitar bridge?
Your guitar bridge may crack where the pins are. This affects sound quality and makes restringing difficult, so you need to replace it. This worked well for me. I didn’t have the right tools, but I made do. If your guitar is mass-produced, you can replace the bridge yourself. It’s easy for anyone to do if you’re patient. If your guitar was made by a luthier, take it to them. Otherwise, you probably don’t need this repair.
Does bridge affect tuning?
On the JM, the trem determines how well the guitar stays in tune. The bridge moves with it, so set the trem up so that it’s in equilibrium with the tension when the strings are tuned. The bridge doesn’t affect the guitar’s tuning. If you put a different bridge on that doesn’t float, the strings will be in a constant state of unequal tension. They may stay in tune for a while, but they will slip. The Mustang and Staytrem bridges are the same floating design as the JM bridge, so there should be no difference. A TOM or Mastery will be no worse, but could cause binding.
Do you repeat a bridge?
The verse and chorus structure is the basis of popular music. Some writers use a simple verse, hook, verse, hook, bridge method. Pop and rock songs have a verse and a chorus. The main difference is that the music of the verse usually has new lyrics, while the chorus usually has the same lyrics. Both are important, but the verse is usually played first. Each verse has the same melody, but different lyrics. The chorus is a repeated melody and lyrics. Pop songs may have an introduction and coda, but these aren’t essential to most songs. Pop songs often connect the verse and chorus with a pre-chorus and a bridge section after the second chorus. The verse and chorus are repeated throughout a song, while the intro, bridge, and coda (also called an outro) are only used once. Some pop songs have a solo section. In the solo section, one or more instruments play a melody. This may be the same melody as the singer’s or a different one. The verse and chorus are two parts of a song. Verse–chorus form has two main sections: a verse and chorus. These often contrast in different ways. Songs in verse–chorus form may also have other sections. The introduction is the first part of a piece. An introduction has just music. It makes the listener wait, so when the beat starts, it feels good. The intro sets the mood for the song. The rhythm section plays in the same style as the next song. A blues shuffle starts with a shuffle rhythm. In some songs, the intro is one or more bars of the tonic chord. The intro also gives the singer the key of the song. An intro usually ends with a cadence on the tonic or dominant chord, even if it includes chords other than the tonic.
Does guitar bridge placement matter?
Setup and intonation: This method sets up your guitar. If the guitar is not set up correctly or the bridge is in the wrong place, it will not play in tune.
📹 You’re Probably Using The WRONG Guitar Strings
Does size (String Gauge) matter? In this episode we test whether guitar string gauges actually make a difference in your guitar …
I have been adjusting and setting up my own guitars pretty much since I started playing at 14 years old. My dad always did his own guitar work so it just ran in the family I guess? He pretty much made me figure things out myself with a little guidance from him, but not too much. Not to mention we lived in small town Oklahoma in the 70s so the closest guitar tech was in Muskogee Oklahoma about an hour away (yes, it’s the same Muskogee from the Merle Haggard song) so I couldn’t wait around for a trip to the music store in Muskogee just because I needed an adjustment on my strat. Really, really, glad my dad made it seem like that’s just part of being a guitarist. I’ve known so many through the years who couldn’t even change their own strings!?? Not to mention, no one cares for your guitar like you do!
Hi, I have the same type string action gauge as you have in the article but as I see there’s a 1.75 mm and a 2.00 mm measurements but I don’t see the measurements between them, for instance, you said that A string should be 1.9 but there isn’t marker on the gauge for 1.9 mm. I just want to know how you did it.
Hello, my new American standard Stratocaster 2015 with two pivot screws bridge seems to have the bridge no parallel to the body..the shop put 10 high E gauge string and before it was 9. Now the treble side seems to be lower and in fact the sound of e b g is not beautiful( I had also a little G buzz solved with loosing truss-rod and getting higher saddle). IM scared; till now my classic vibe 50 squier Stratocaster sounds and plays better with more sparkle in 2 e 4 positions, and here in Italy costs 400 euro instead of American standard is 1600 euro. The American strat has the fat hot 50 pickup and they are very hot and powerful and the fender specs of pick up height should be change for them( not 2.4 mm bass and 2mm treble..but it needs to definitely lower the height ).this being said, according to you, should I work on the 2 lateral pivot screws to put the bridge parallel and should I raise a bit the bridge screw or should I work with springs opening the back of the guitar? Thanks
if we have like gibson bridges adjusting action with just e and E strings easy and actually adjusting otomaticly other strings adjusting byself cuz you can’t adjust each string but if fe have tremolo bridges like fender guitar I really don’t know which string height what will be and all action gauges just giving 1. and 6. string info. what height must be others? I hope you understand me. Sorry if my english is not good.
Great vid as always 😉 As a Tinkerer I have love/hate relationship with Fender type of bridges, as I can tweak them to infinity, hahaha 😀 After last article, I take meassurements on all my guitars and found out, that while I set them to feel the same, I set them all quite different. For example my Dot have much higher action and bigger neck relief to my Les Paul. On LP I have almost straight neck and very low action. Just for fun I take meassures and seted up the LP to be the same as the Dot. Bad decision, it feels unplayable 😀 Now I have to found out, what it was like before. Endless science of a Tinkerer 😀 😀 😀
The problem I always have is that when I lower the action the grub screw heads protrude which is uncomfortable on the palm. There are several solutions. Fit a shim which is a fiddle, stick some tape over the heads but this is messy, or replace the grub screws with shorter screws. I have measured the screw thread diameter and it seems to be 2.5 mm but 3 mm appears to be the standard. Which is It? 🙁 Thanks.
Very good general rules. I love all of these bridges because I am a guitar pig. 😂 I actually like all of the bridges. I am putting together a custom strat now with a warmoth neck with stainless frets, 10 to 16 inch radius like a Jackson and with quartersawn maple and maple fretboard. ❤. Two EMG humbuckers because I hate being shocked and being the ground on passive pickups. I know it works if you plug into a good wall socket, but I domt want to have to be the ground no matter when I touch the strings and EMGs have great sustain and tone! ❤ Good article. Das ist gutt. Meine Duetch ist kaputt. 😂
I just recieved a HB guitar with a tune-o-matic bridge and I adjusted the bridge, since the action was extremley high. I forgot to reduce the tension of the strings (detuning) while I did that and I have read that it can cause serious damage to the guitar. How do I know something like this happened? I haven’t noticed any differnce yet (expect lower action ofc.)
well so many questions are not talked about. like my floyd is at it’s lowest and the action is to high so now what?? I have done everything that could be done. the neck is straight floyd is straight etc… I have shimmed the neck a lot. still to high. my question is can the floyd post be lower some how or do I just get rid of the guitar? can the hole floyd be brought down? it’s new on an 80’s or 90’s Charvel. I am at a lost. sorry for bad spelling, I’m french. ahh never mind I’m gonna sell it. I’m sick of it. what guitar have the more bridge lowering possible for low action?? that’s the guitar I want. because low action is keyyyy I know now because my old Kramer has low frets and super low action with zero fret buzz and the playing is so easy it’s crazy amazing. brings your playing next level. I want other guitars like that but not same brands.
I messed the radius preset on my les paul and I cannot seem to fix it now. My dumb ass was trying to increase action a little bit more and i have touched every single bolt and now my guitar sounds so bad apart from power chords everything sounds kind of off. Idk what to do and there are no proper guitar tech in my area either please help me. But on the positive side this is making me play my telecaster a lot more than i used to.😂
Seems to me that 1.5mm on the high E us much too high… I always go between 2mm to 1.5mm on low E down to 1mm or lower on the low E. My perfect set up in the telecaster I built is 1.5mm Low E and 0.5mm high E string. I built a compounded radius that goes from 14 to 16inch, and the high E can be bent three half steps without fretting out. I do lose a light bit of sustain when bent three half steps, but I usually don’t so I’m happy with that very low action. To get everything as low as possible, I adjusted the neck angle using shims I designed and printed, then adjusted the neck (some people like it with a lot of relief, I tend to go for a flat neck) and nut adjustment as low as it will go with around 0.1mm between the strings and the fret when a capo is at the 3rd fret.
Unfortunately I’m much better at working on guitars then playing them. It saves me money and frustration, but doesn’t get me any girls:( The real problem is when you set the string height and it’s still buzzing, so I go up 1/4 turn at a time…adjust/tune/check for buzz. If we keep slowly adjusting up and get to the point where there’s no fret buzz and the strings are at or above 7/64, or about 2.8mm, that’s when the real problems need to be solved. Truss rod adjustment should’ve been made prior to adjusting steering height so the next steps…I think…are fret leveling, and check..if not then we go to neck angle adjustment. Hopefully you don’t have a set neck at this point! Also it’s good to sight your neck to try to figure out if it’s straight to the eye. I had two Tele’s in a row with crooked necks, what a pain in the neck! So ya, making a article showing the process of neck angle adjustment would be good!
Can anyone point me to a article that fixes me problem. Electric guitar. On the A,D,G,B strings. When I fret the 17th, it definitely hits the 18th. Only on those 4 strings and only on that one fret, everywhere else is.. good enough. I say good enough because I’ve never changed any settings, its a cheaper guitar (Epiphone SG, almost 20 years old now), and there is nothing noticeable about other strings/frets. My frets aren’t loose and don’t look to be higher than others(just eyeballin). Where to start with small adjustments is what I’d like. Thanks anyone that answers.
I concur with Rick’s impression of the lows tightening up with the ultra light .008 set, but there are a few other factors worth addressing. The difference of +10% total ferrous mass is present between a .009 and a .010 E-string, and that additional mass has a measurably greater effect when it’s creating signal by vibrating in the pickup’s magnetic field. As particular as many players are with their signal path, it’s a factor worth considering. Also, there is a correlation between a string’s length/diameter ratio and the balance between fundamentals and harmonics of the note produced. Assuming the consistent scale length of the guitar, the strings with greater diameter will have more harmonics added to the fundamental tones due to properties of the original “string physics”. This principle is why they make 9-foot grand pianos and they are generally better to record than a church basement spinet upright. Finally, strings with less tension have a greater tendency toward transient modulation, especially on the heavy strings, and laying into them hard with the right hand drives the note sharp before the tension equalizes along the string length. It’s easy to see with an old fashioned VU-meter guitar tuner. This upward pitch deviation can hit the ear in a way that makes the intonation sound iffy, and laying back with your right hand to compensate can sound like some of the intent of the player is muted. In fact, any increase in tension (like bending) is more audibly pronounced with lighter strings, so the common issue of first fret bass notes being slightly sharp compared to the open tuned string is generally more pronounced with lighter strings.
I played 11s for years then heard Gibbons say that he was using 7s of 7.5. So I figured what the hell and tried them, and found out I was a dumb ass. When playing 11s I would break strings all the time. Now when I use 8s I almost never break strings, my hand lasts longer, I got a raise, lowered my house payment, and my wife and kid respect me. Honestly though lighter is better.
I’ve played with .008s for decades on my Les Pauls, Teles and everything else. I find that you can compensate the tone electronically but the lighter strings give a livelier attack that can’t be dialed in with heavier strings. When your pick attacks the strings it causes a burst of harmonics that travel up the string. Thinner strings are more flexible so they contort more to allow those harmonics to happen. It’s like a splat on the attack that’s missing from heavier strings. You can adjust how much splat you get by how much or how little you flick your right wrist as you dig in with your pick. When I pick up a guitar with thicker strings, I wind up playing way too hard because I can’t flick my wrist enough to get that splat. It’s just not there.
From a sound perspective big strings make more sense on single coil guitars, especially with styles with more single note stuff. It’s fairly well known humbuckers can sound a bit bloated, especially with gain, so makes sense bigger strings don’t sit as well in a mix. Would like to see how the SRV effect works with different string gauges on a strat.
Personally I’ve always found the difference in how the gauges feel when you play them to be a much more significant factor than their tone when it comes to choosing which one’s best. The fact that light gauges take a tiny bit less effort to play makes a big difference if you’re playing technical lead stuff. They make your playing feel much more light and effortless. Similarly heavier strings feel far more sturdy for heavy riffing rather than lighter strings which will feel like rubber bands in lower tunings
Wow, what a difference ! I’m absolutely gonna change from 10 to 9. It’s what you said about when different string size were popular. I started playing in the 90s and 10 was the standard. Never thought much of it but I think that jumping from 10 to 8 would be a bit far for me. I’ll try the 9 and take it from there. Love your articles, big fan! Rock on!
I have a couple of guitars with 9s but all of the rest have 8s on them – personally I have always liked 8s because you can get a lot of nuance out of them especially with tapping. The looseness in the strings lets you do things while tapping like multi string bends and such that are difficult with heavier gauges
This was very interesting to me. After using Ernie Ball Heavy Bottoms/Skinny Top forever i recently experimented with changing guage & brand on one of my guitars which worked out well, i definitely noticed a difference so then i was on a quest to match the right strings to each of my 8 guitars for the best tone. Now i have something else to add, the guage. I would never have considered a 9 set but they sounded great here.
The tonal variation is there, but so slight that it shouldn’t be determining factor IMO. What is far more important is your playing style. If you’re shredder, and bender with a light touch and hi gain, 8’s are probably the way to go. If you’re a heavy hitter or do a lot of finger picking and slide work, 10’s or 11’s might work better. I wouldn’t base it on tone because lets face it, the tonal controls available today to the modern guitarist for compensation far surpass any of the nuanced tonal differences of the gauge . It should be based on what ‘feels’ best to your hands.
You know, I used to care about stuff like this. I used to analyze every little thing. String gauge, brands of tubes, picks, saddles, bone nut vs blah blah blah. My advice? Find a string that feels and sounds good to you. Find a pick that feels good between your fingers and has the right amount of give etc. Don’t overthink it! Use the time you’d be wasting on obsessing over the tiniest details on becoming a better player and a better songwriter. Honestly, nobody can tell the difference between your string size, they ONLY care if you are playing a song that they want to hear.
You have to take gain into consideration when talking about string guage. What works for high gain rarely works as well for lower gain tones. And although SRV moved to lighter gauage strings later in his career, obtaining that Texas Flood tone is hard to do with lower guage strings. The other consideration is that the tonal differences from a post perspective are relatively uniderectional. I could easily make the 11s sound like the 8s. Making the 8s sound like 11s is much more challenging. However these are all similar enough that they could be EQ matched in the context of a mix. I’d much rather have track with a performance from a comfortably well known setup than a slightly comprised performance because the player isn’t used to the strings. If you move back and forth between acoustic and electric, I personally find it’s easier to keep my electric intonation in check if the string tenstion isn’t so slow that they are easy to pull out. I know, prectice more.
I hear in the first round, that especialy the powerchords are sharp and crisp with a “clear cut”, then the vibrations goes more and more into the next chord in the following rounds. That can sound great but can also feel kinda overloaded depending on what and how that got played. The most of the played styles sounds best on 10 and 9 for me. Nice to now have a practical test to the theoretical knowlegde.
what I heard was the texture become more defined with the thinner strings. to put a visual representation to it, the thicker strings sounded more like heavy hills with little variation from peaks and valleys. the thinner strings you can see that it wasnt just hills and valleys but the trees and creeks running through mountains and canyons. another visual representation is thick strings = 480×320 resolution thin strings get higher in resolution eventually hitting 1080P.
Just found this article again; remember it fondly, because I started reconsidering/changing string gauge since then and re-watching it I remembered that. ^^ Went from 10s to 9-hybrids back when this got released. Additional benefit with the lighter gauge is they play better, especially with bending etc.
Great conversation. In the 80s I read an article that Gary Moore always uses Dean Markley 10 – 52 light top heavy bottom. So that is what I used on my early 80s Fender Stratocaster with the big headstock and it definitely was the best sound ever very powerful. At the time I was playing through a solid state amp, but if I were playing that in a tube amp I am sure it would sound even more powerful. It was hard on the hands and I did try using heavier strings but I just couldn’t get used to the 3rd string being wound and it was too heavy. Later I just went to 9 because it was easier but I do always remember that tone of the bigger 10 through 52 Dean Markley. If you listen to Gary Moore playing, part of his really powerful sound is because of those thick strings
I was waiting for the test to extend to a less distorted tone. I’d also be interested in hearing such a test with a Strat as well. Still an interesting investigation though. Me. I’m an old bass player who likes to dabble on thin stringers. It would take a lot for me to loosen my grip. I bent 9s out of shape without feeling the strain. I landed on 10s as a gauge I could play, bend and not squeeze out of tune. I was looking to try 11s on one of my 24.75″ guitars, just to tighten them up a little. Typical of me to be going in the opposite direction 😜
I setup guitars all day almost every day, from guys using 7’s to my own ridiculously heavy custom sets. The pickups, the amp, the player, type of string, which strings are wound, what metal the frets are made of, coatings if applicable (elixir nano/poly), the material of pick or finger/nail technique, etc. it all comes into play. And to give a true idea of what strings do to tone you need to begin with a clean, non-clipped open sound.
Best show ever! I always wanted to hear the different gauge strings side-by-side. What wasn’t discussed was the playability differences. The lighter the gauge, the easier it is to bend th 15:38 e strings, so everything else equal, lighter is preferred – so it’s awesome that the lighter gauge strings also generally have a better, more, pronounced, sound!
Thank you guys for all that effort in carrying out this experiment! I noticed that the 11’s were fatter sounding but muddier. It seems the strumming was mostly done on the lower 4 strings though. It makes me wonder whether you could feel more of a difference between the diff. gauges if you did more runs on the E-B-G strings. Been using 10s for more than a decade now, but maybe it is time to switch back to .009’s. It would be much less strain on the fingers of this 66yr. old man😅Not much difference between these two gauges anyway👌.
I’ve found that it depends on the guitar/ pickups/ neck. I like thicker strings on a thicker neck for some reason. Thinner on a thinner neck. Tried 8’s on a pretty thick neck and was not a fan except for the east bends. Switched to 10-52’s and felt amazing. String quality is big for me too. Some brands feel better than other brands and some gauges per brand feel different per gauge and brand and so on.
I use 12’s with a wound G – not really for the tone, but for the feel and tuning stability. Fenders were originally designed for 12’s. Even a dead feeling guitar – think 70’s strat – you’d be surprised how bigger strings can make it feel resonant. If you have a dead poly guitar, try it. Admittedly, i like a string feel that matches acoustic ‘light’ strings. Just another view on it
This is such a great topic!! I’m in such awe to find out that the rock greats from the 70s were using 8 or below gauge strings. Now my appreciation for these exceptional players has changed to more of a less smoke and mirrors for tone and playability. This gives me hope as a player 😅 Everyone in my day in the 90s all said SRV had the highest gauges of string and still ripped it! Trial and error seems to be the only truth!
Minor point – the beefy slinky’s are actually a hybrid set with 11s on the top and 12s on the bottom. The other sets weren’t hybrid sets so the jump between 11 and 10 is probably more like 12 and 10. Either way point was well made – the thinner strings have greater clarity at the expense of warmth. Would be interested to see this same experiment when you adjust for tension. So use the 8s and 9s in standard, 10s in e flat and then the 11s in D (or even drop c if you’re using beefys). So is it really about thickness or is it about tension? That would be a really interesting vid. Lastly, the real winner in this vid is that cranked Marshall 😂 sounded absolutely glorious
Also, one of the reason I always used the same type, was because my Gotoh tremolo, was set for that particular type of tension. The only problem was that you could not buy ‘DRs’ by the detail, but it makes change all the strings at once, all the time. Still, they are my favourit strings (DR 10s-46s ‘Tit fit’). With my strandberg, I use ‘NYXL’s (10s-46s), because it was what the guitar came settled with, to beggin with. With my Ibanez 7 strings, I use 10s-56s.
Went to check out that Royer mic and the sticker on it is 3Gs…. the microphones I think are the weakest area of my studio in general, nice guitars, amps, drums, nice monitors, nice audio interface, but a good analog rack and nice microphones will be the next area I am looking to upgrade. I’d love to see a article on both of those subjects Rick, building your first analog rack and the best mics for all budgets. Thanks!
Great article very interesting. I tried the 9-48 strings and they are brilliant, but overall I always settled on 9-42. I also found that using the heaviest strings 13’s seems to make the guitar a midrange between bass, rhythm and lead, kind of adds another layer, rather than being a replacement. So for a three guitar band, like Alice Cooper use now, it can work very nice.
When I was a teenager, I used whatever strings I could afford, which with my meager income, always meant that I went for Fender Dynamaxx sets which were the cheapest. But even back then I KNEW I had the wrong strings. – Because Dynamaxx strings lose their brightness very quickly – They would oxidize very quickly too, turning them black and tearing up my fingertips. And this being the mid nineties, no internet yet, I resorted to scouring guitar mags to read about what my heroes were using. I think it was Slash who talked about D’Addario XL sets and I was going, “if it’s good enough for him…” So I bought a set and they were a revelation, they felt so good, didn’t hurt my fingers and kept their sparkle. So then I started experimenting with gauges and I settled on 011 sets, since those felt the most natural to me. 9’s felt like rubber bands and 12’s were just a step too far. It has been 25 years since I first put a set of D’Addario 011’s on my guitar and I never changed, they are perfect for what I do and the sound I want to have.
Good thing at the end that you showed the steep comparison from 8-gauge to 11-gauge, because before that, it was only a progressive 1-increment thing (11 to 10, 10 to 9, and so on), so it didn’t really give the full difference back-to-back! New to your website Rick and I’m an instant subscriber! Will now watch your similar article on the acoustic strings!! Keep it up!
One big thing to consider when switching string gauge is the guitar setup! When a guitar comes from the factory with 12’s the nut has been carved for them, if you install 9’s the slots may be too wide and intonation may suffer. Going the other way could be worse: in narrow slots a bigger string will not set properly and will slowly sink while getting out of tune. A few calculations for fun: with a string length (nut to bridge) of 25.5-in, a .009 string has a volume of .00162 cu-in and a .012 string makes .00288 so there is 1.77 times more metal mass for the .012 string. Hence a big difference in harmonics and magnetic properties.
Loving this vid because as a teenager back in the 80’s I did this EXACT same very test with some cash I got for my birthday! So I could afford to splash out on 4 sets of strings. Back then all we had were interviews in the guitar magazines and some players said use lighter yet some said use heavier. But the guitar reviewers and journalists all said use MUCH heavier as they all swore blind that the lights were all tone killers. However, buy a brand new guitar back then and it usually (not always) came with a set of 010 -046’s as standard. So I admit I was confused. So, as I has some spare pennies, I simply tried my guitar with 008’s then my usual 009’s then 010’s then 011’s. Just to compound and complicate confusion further the brand new fashionable ‘rage’ back then were the new Hybrid 009 – 0046’s so I mixed and matched the 9’s and 10’s to get to try those too. Like Rick & Co I simply recorded the same riff on the same amp into my Tascam 4-Track (oh those were the days) but the conclusion was…. drum roll… exactly as these guys find here. Exact same. So because of the sound and feel I’ve personally used Ernie Ball 009 -042’s since that day. Cos I like them and they sound great. I’ve had numerous other players and guitar techs and other guys I’ve toured or jammed with say “Nah… you don’t want 9’s way too light” and I’ve always been “Soz but you’re wrong. 8’s or 9’s sound best but at the end of the day just choose the ones you prefer the feel of…. but…. I’ve tried them all back to back and the lighter are best.
It’s amazing, to me, to hear someone say that they didn’t think there would be that much of a difference. Most guitar players will tell you that they believe that the type of wood used in an electric guitar will “dramatically change the sound”. Some will even tell you that the type of finish (poly vs lacquer, for instance) will change the sound. These same people are shocked that the size of strings has a significant effect.
surprisingly the eights in my opinion had best sound for blending the quitar in band mixed sound, unless you play in dropped C or something; I know that the low bass can be filtered but it already affects the sound of the box so the sound won’t be the same and it has too much boom; it only surprised me that I did not like tens or nines as much as eights (which I have never used) for some reason
Very interesting. I started with heavy gauge strings in the 60s and even played flatwounds until I started learning what guys like Hendrix were doing. So, when I got back into playing more in the late 70s I started buying lighter gauge strings (0.009s—the 8s are like wet noodles for me and would not stay in tune LOL!). I do a lot of string bending in my solos which might account for that. The lighter gauge may also need more wraps around the tuning posts or locking tuners? 9 to 42 or 9 to 46 work best for me.
Thank you for keeping the riffs simple AND consistent! It still blows my mind how many “tone tests” or whatever are done by admittedly very talented musicians who seemingly refuse to not prove how amazing they are with every beat. There are plenty of opportunities for that, but an objective aural comparison is not one of them. Anywho, I’m down off my high horse. It’s just one more reminder of why I adore your website.
My whole thing was the feel. I started using 10s because someone said they were fuller sounding, but stuck with them because I could play harder without the strings being too slinky. Also it felt good to play strings others said were too heavy😂 Same reason I like a .45 instead of a 9mm. I guess I’m trying to compensate😂.
Back in the 60s a kid I knew in HS told me that the star guitarist from his neighborhood used Gibson banjo strings. This is back, as far as I know, before the Ernie Ball Super Slinky was available. My friend used the banjo strings with a telecaster and some Fender amps, I think, and it was a wonderfully round sound, which I would say now, accentuated the lower harmonics. I used them also for a brief while until the SS came out. They were my first low-gauge strings. Just some local ancient history here for those who care.
I never really liked the 10s in e standard on gibson style guitars, but i was told by some people to use them, so i thought they are needed standard for these guitars.. always found it a bit harder to bend to be honest. so about 2 months ago while i started doing full bends with vibrato on top of them, i decided to go down to 9s. with 9s this technique is for me now easy and fully achievable without any pain in my left hand. i dont wanna fight with guitar anymore.
I wish you had done a test with some single note lead playing across the entire range of the fretboard. This is where the heavier gauges can be beneficial, like if you want to really low and thundering single notes that sound more in the realm of a bass/baritone than a regular guitar. A great example is Dick Dale, the surf guitar great. He used 14s and even 16s – you simply cannot match the sound of the lower register with the common lighter gauges. When you play chords, the low notes may sound better on lower gauge strings due to the overall interaction between all frequencies, but it can be a completely different story with individual notes. It’s really just a matter of works best overall for your intended sound, and also what you are more comfortable playing (as mentioned in the article).
Very illuminatingf! I can understand how a signal rich in harmonic content would benefit from a thinner-sounding source. A conparison using clean tone would be interesting for the non-headbanger contingent. I’m guessing the fatter strings and the resulting tone would be preferable for clean warm tone, but that’s just a guess.
There can be a sweet spot in how much neck tension is ideal for making the wood of any guitar vibrate. We know this for acoustic guitars but is it also true for electric guitars. One additional test can be to play and compare your electric guitar unplugged with different gauge strings, to see which gauge “feels” the best and communicates back to you the player. There are no right or wrong answers; it will depend on the type of guitar and your playing style. But you should notice interesting differences in the playability or feel when unplugged, which can affect your sound, because you can feel more connected to your guitar. This vibrational resonance a player can feel, especially when playing rhythm guitar parts. I found that 8’s worked and sounded fine, but my guitars did not resonate as much, so some of the feel was missing. I now use .09′-.46 hybrids which give me good feel and balance between slinky highs and low end thump. Keep in mind that I am a solo player who also likes acoustic guitar and wants my guitars to feel similar, so I like the heavier low end strings. If you play in a band, you may prefer less thump in your mix and wish to use a standard set of strings. Wonderful article…. and helped me appreciate guitars with locking tuners. They made the string changes much faster! Way to go Rick and friends!
I would love to see what is your guys take on yngwei malmsteens 8 gauge fender strings They are light on bottom and heavy on top kinda like hybrids also have bullet ends and i feel like they have more sustain you can feel it even with the guitar unplugged, again love all your content, love your interviews and your way of guiding the interviews and asking the right questions, blessings to your and your family!
Makes sense! I’m a drop d guy, tried 10s but it did kill the mids… I now use hybrid 9 set for many years to get the best of all worlds and also for the feel in the hand… I say unless you tune really low like c standard and lower, you’re not gonna need heavier than 9s..but then again it’s all about the feel in your hand
I have only ever used 10s. I once considered dropping to 9s but was advised against it by a guy who was setting my guitar up. After hearing the direct comparison at the end I’m going to give 8s a try. I think they sound brighter. I didn’t like the 11s at all and to me they sounded a bit muddy, for want of a better word.
Also on country guitars like télécaster ect.. i tend to use 10-11 cause i want the string to offer some resistance to the pick attack. At this point it might be a question of personal taste and/or technique. When you go high on the neck you want to keep some sound too. That’s where the smaller gauge can bring some trouble if some frequencies dont go throught in the band mix because the signal of the smaller string.
This is a nit pick, I suppose, but, thinking about the physics of it, I don’t think it’s accurate to say that the lighter strings have less bass. It would be better to say that the heavier strings have less treble. Your ear hears the relative proportions, so it’s effectively the same thing, but I think it’s useful to actually think why it’s happening, to avoid just passing on “wisdom” which doesn’t pan out. Heavier strings have more inertia, meaning it’s more difficult for them to vibrate at high frequencies (so you lose some high-end), but they have more energy overall (so you get longer sustain). It’s the same reason you want as light a membrane as possible on a speaker – to be able to accurately reproduce the highs, and while staying responsive. Exact same physics going on <3
I find it easier to control what I am NOT playing when I use 11’s. It seems as though I’m more likely to accidentally fret a note or cause harmonics instead of muting strings when playing anything smaller. Fast palm-muting like in Metallica’s One outro also feel easier with heftier strings under my picking hand.
This was really enlightening. I had no idea lighter gauge strings could “clean up” the sound that much. I used to use 9s, but I found I would break too many strings that way, so I moved to 10s out of necessity and I’ve grown to really like how they sound. This is making me think I should consider 9s again, or even 8s. It’s a pretty dramatic difference!
This was very cool… I didn’t expect to hear such a difference! I actually preferred the sound of the 11’s, but I understand how the lighter gauges might sit better within a mix (with less EQ anyway). I use 11’s on my Gretsch and have been told that the higher gauge/tension can bring out a better tone of a hollowbody guitar. I’m not sure how true that is, but I like them, and the tuning stability and diminished risk of string breakage is a nice bonus. I use 13’s on my acoustic archtop as it seems to bring out the best tone. All subjective though!
I’ve used tens since I bought my first guitar 15 years ago. I just never considered using anything else. I took this to heart and put some 09-40s on my strat. Gotta say, both the clean and dirty tones are amazing. The mids are more focused, my playing sounds way more articulate on the lower strings, it’s not as muddy, and they don’t cause my overdrive pedals to produce that muddy low midrange bump that I hate. Great vid, thanks for the content!
I have used 11s all my life because they said “medium” and I thought that was the normal gauge. Buuut I watched a article from Jared Dines and tried switching to 9s and it’s a game changer. Not just for the tone, but for playability. Now my knuckles don’t hurt anymore because bending and even fretting is so much easier. The tone is just a bonus. I can see why SRV needed to switch, because playing those heavy ones starts getting to you. I wish I would have known this like 20 years ago. Why do so many companies call 11s medium when they are almost the heaviest?
I was very glad to hear Rick Beato do this article on string gauges because back in 1994 I started to write a monthly column in Vintage Guitar magazine on “the history of string making and design” where the introduction to the column used a comparison between Trevor Rabin using 8-38 sets vs. SRV using 13s—The question I posed was who of the two players had the biggest tone and I stated it was Trevor Rabin. Just listen to Yes’ record “90125” and check out the massive tone he got on that! Heavier strings cannot sustain as long as lighter gauge sets simply due to difference in mass, thus being able to vibrate and have a ton more “zing!” I know for sure that I was the first guy to bring this up in this column. I’d love to send Rick and friends some samples of my latest string creations for them to test out. I just came out with some very unique designs that really kick major sonic ass.
Excellent presentation. In my experience I rarely see strings as remarkable as the “Plectrum” series imported from Austria. I first used them on my carbon composite Enya guitar. I quickly ordered more for my ebony guitar/uke. They’re just magic low tension steel wound silk w/ silver coating. $26 to $28… i hate to say you get what paid but- much more.
I use 9-46 on my Strats and 10-46 on my les Pauls, if I didn’t play a lot of drop d I would move to a 9-42 on the Strat. 9.5s on a Strat are actually closer to 10s on a Gibson. There is less difference in scale length than people assume, but I played 10s for a while on my Strats and they were too heavy for bends for me, I did like the tension when playing chords. I think picks, strap height, and string gauges are so personal that everyone should experiment, there are no right or wrong answers. Remember Eddie Van Halen, Joe Perry, Brian May, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mark Knopfler, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai are all famous for using 8s and 9s, so don’t believe the internet experts.
To me what the guitar likes…and how i like the feel is really important to. I’ll use different gauges for different guitars. My jag I love 11-49…my les paul 10–46…different les paul 10-52 Strat I’ll do a 15 instead of a 17 on the g sometimes… My custom lp had 9s when I got it and I didn’t like the feel for the guitar…switch it and it felt great. Fun test….I liked the 11s and 8s in this test
My guitar teacher always told me it’s 9s that have the best tone I’ve apart from acoustic guitars never played anything else that said If I where to jump to E flat then I’ll consider 10s because floppy strings and I don’t go along very well, and when mixing it’s very easy for it to pop when I had to balance my friends guitar with 11s I had to do more cleaning up to sit it in the mix.
It’s a pretty tonal difference. I once did this myself. 12 to 9. I prefer heavier strings myself. I grew up playing 13g on a 1960 Harmony acoustic.Fat baeball bat neck. I dont think the strings were changed on it until I did it myself. Haha. Switching to electric in my teens, I found lighter gadges lacked that warm, full sound I was used to. Still play 13g. Tuned to B.
I use the 11’s on all three of my guitar’s, I’ve got a Les Paul studio 1984, a Mexican strat 1994 and a 2003 highway model strat, I installed a set of Texas special pickups into the Mexican strat and that’s all I’ve done to that guitar the other two are stock nothing else done to them I like the way they sound
I tune to d standard and I use 11s. Ernie ball beefy slinky. What does this mean for me? I sing and play at the same time. However, I also produce and clarity of sound is very important to me. If everyone in the room (and me) agrees that 8s are optimal for standard tuning. What does this mean for different tuners. I know there’s no right or wrong answer but damn Rick, you’re out here dispelling myths and you got me thinking about my life choices. Love your content
I remember in the 80’s some of the guitar magazines writing that some guitarists actually mixed strings from different sets to get a specific sound, ie. 11’s for the 5&6, 8’s for the 1&2 and something in the middle for the middle strings. I used to use 11’s for practicing to get my finger strength up, then move to 8’s to make bends easier.
They keep talking about 8’s, 9’s, 10’s when the main difference is with the lower strings (I know they are refering to the sets). We all know that thicker strings are going to give you a thicker sound, so if you like the feel of thicker strings and you want a tighter low end you just adjust your amp’s eq accordingly. Even if you want a tighter low end using thinner strings you could use a 10 to 38 set, or 11 to 42 and your higher strings will have more body and your low end will be tighter.
This is an eye opener for sure! In my hearing the .008’s, it sounded thin and this could be corrected with gear. But I wish we could have heard the difference between a maple neck as well. I use 11’s and I adjust my lows, mids and highs on the amp cause it is(and y’all are right) muddier! You me thinking…?!
That is sooo interesting. I think I would snap those 8s 😂 I quite often break my top e string using 9s, so I use 9s on the bottom 4 and 10s on the top 2. But quite often just 9s. One thing you don’t really touch on, is what a big difference it is on the fingers to physically work those higher gauge strings. If you are not playing all the time, it’s pretty hard to solo using 10s and yeah to use 11s plus you’ve got to have very strong fingers. No wonder Stevie suffered from tendon problems later in his life. So what I guess I’m saying is, regardless of tone, you use strings you feel physically comfortable with.
I did the whole 11,12 tuned down 1/2 step thing for awhile, and then went down to 10’s and finally after moving to Nashville and having to learn some pedal steel licks, bending the “G” string towards the floor with your first finger while holding two other notes on the D and A string and it was incredibly difficult to bend in tune, and when your emulating pedal steel Licks the intonation has to be PERFECT, I changed to 9’s and been at 9’s since, long story short, your tone comes from your hands, and how you individually play your grip, touch etc and the difference in tone is so SUBTLE the ONLY people that would notice POSSIBLY is guitar geeks, which is another issue for many players is YOUR NOT PLAYING FOR GUITAR GEEKS, 99% of people can’t even tell if your in tune, or if your playing the bass or a guitar so it really doesn’t matter, pick a set of strings that feel good to you and provide you with what you need, whatever that may be stay in tune, longevity, price etc…
I play with a heavy bottom 10, I notice the difference with the balance and equality of chords like an acoustic with playing heavier strings. listening to this article made me more of a believer for the string gauge I use. I thought the kids and bottom end became less present and the highs sounded looser and un refined. it was more sharp with the thinner gauge.
Interesting. When I first started playing, 8’s were the norm, then later on 9’s. Then you kept hearing that 10’s were supposed to sound “so much better”. So, I switched, but to be honest, I never thought there was much of a difference in my sound. As I’ve gotten older, I moved back to 9’s just because it was easier on my fingers. I’m happy.
I love the feel of light strings and am fully convinced they’re both better sounding and easier to play. And as a crazy anecdote I knew a guy who went through multiple different pickups all aimed at that classic PAF sound, and a few of them sounded more similar than when we just changed to a lighter string gauge and used different picks. Not saying it’s a drastic difference, but you can feel and hear it (and it’s not that weird that different pickups attempting to recreate the same thing would sound pretty much identical anyway).
For years I’ve used 9-42 on Fenders and 10-46 on Gibsons. I tried 9s on my Les Paul a couple of times and they just didn’t feel right. Then I tried EB Hybrid 9-46 and they did work for me either but recently I tried EB Primo 9.5-44 on my Les Paul and bingo, for me they are the perfect balance of feel and tone.
I’ve been using 9.5’s for 20 years on my PRS Custom 24 and various Gibsons (Les Paul, Explorer, Flying V). They are fantastic! I still like playing 9’s on my Strats, with the longer scale length being the difference. If you’re unsure about going with 9’s or 10’s, do yourself a favor and give the 9.5’s a try. I strongly recommend D’Addario. I think you’ll love them!
Cool article, you know everything comes into play what tunings do you play in, type of guitar, a Floyd rose guitar, you have to use 10 to 48s a little heavier on the bottom to keep that Floyd in tune. Les Paul 10 to 46 and those eights sounded really good less mud on the bottom end you know that’s all good for the classic rock music you guys play, but when you’re playing that metal core genre, those tunings are down low baritone most of the time dropA that’s a whole different ball game, so it comes down to genre in my opinion and amps and speakers speaker cabinets type of guitar. It’s never ending the search for the perfect tone. I’ve been doing it for 30 years when you think you have your sound, you’re excited what happens the next day you’re searching again, and I’ll keep searching for another 30 years. I love it.
i had 10s forever, then tried a few hybrid sets when those started coming out, i finally tried 8s and honestly love them! been that way for years now. my wheelhouse is Greatful Dead/Jerry Garcia Band stuff and it’s so nice to effortlessly be able to play. something about these light strings, for me i can get more subtle sounds from chords, pick style, whatever. now if i can get my hands on a real mu-tron ill be a happy camper.
The physics of stringed instruments would say that a heavier string (mass) would vibrate longer than a string of lower mass. Aside from the gauge of strings you also have the materials used to construct the string whether is solid or wrapped core both of which affect the harmonics of the vibration and alter the sound but given like for like materials with only variation of gauge with like materials only the sustain should be impacted, and since we are only talking about a few percent of gauge change it would only equate to similarly tiny changes of sustain that would only be detectible with scientific instrumentation. In short the composition of the string and the nature of the instrument have much more to do with the sound than the string gauge choice by far.
I’ve been using the Zakk Wykde GHS Boomers. I believe they are 10-60, and I’ve absolutely loved them. I don’t know they affect the tone, but the heavier gauge definitely helps hold the guitar in tune. I tend to play in C standard (sometimes drop B), so it’s down tuned quite a bit. The boomers sound amazing in this setup.
I had no idea the difference was that pronounced! Great article. But 008 is just insanely too slinky for me. I even struggle with 009s now. I used 009s for almost 40 years, then moved up to 010s about 5 years ago when I started to revamp and improve my picking technique, the stiffer strings made sweep and economy picking in particular easier for me, I was focusing a lot on shred. My left hand (fingering hand) is now stronger for it, and with active pickups or single coil passives, the 10s aren’t muddy… but I’d sort of like to go back to 009s. Unfortunately my picking hand is still too heavy handed. Plus at my age, I’m just asking for tendonitis or something. Not to mention right hand tapping ala EVH or Govan is definitely more difficult on .010s than 009s, that’s a struggle, so.. I’ll try going back to 009s, I’ll just have to exercise more finesse and control with my picking. Oh, and I didn’t know Holdsworth used ultra light strings!! Actually, that explains a lot about his style. Interestingly, Guthrie Govan uses Rotosound 010s.
Would love to see this same experiment continued with other variables. Does this effect come out the same for all guitar makes (Strats? Prs? etc)? How about with different playing styles? This vid focused on rhythm crunch playing with a heavy pick; how about light pick action in the right? Or how about lead/solo playing? How does the gauge affect the guitar coming out of the amp clean? I know you could do this all day but specifically, a lot of comments are saying the cleans will sound thinner and now I’m curious. And I’ve always assumed you want a heavier gauge string for leads for better sustain; how does that really sound in a shot by shot comparison? For a fair experiment, I think there are a few more variables worth exploring.
Wow! That’s an eye opener, although from a bassist’s perspective this is sort of obvious. When you play a powercord on bass it’s usually done on the A string or higher because on the E string or lower it’s simply too muddy. That said, I think the riff the guy in the white shirt is playing is great with the 11’s, so I would say it depends on the kind of vibe you want to create too.
This was interesting! I’ve always considered string gauge more of a feel thing from the stand point of play-ability, not tone. I’m wondering how much of the difference in tone has to do with how string gauge impacts the way you pick the strings (heavier strings= digging in more to get through them)? Also wondering how much this would be noticed without distortion/overdrive. Thanks for putting this out.
Aside from the difference in the timbre, varying string gauge will have the following effects… 1) Heavier gauges will go up in pitch more for a given amount of deflection. Try to bend 1.5 steps on .008’s and you’ll be pushing almost all the way across the fretboard. 2) It’s less effort to bend lighter gauge strings a certain amount (except for the fact that you’re going to also be pushing on more strings because of the increased deflection) 3) Heavier strings can’t be bent as much before breaking (since a .011 E string is no different from the .011 B in a .009 set… except it’s already under five more half-steps of tension) 4) Heavier strings should have more sustain (the mass goes up with the square of the diameter, while air resistance goes up linearly with diameter. Inductive damping from the magnets in the pickups does go up with the square of diameter, but that’s only on a small linear section of the string). 5) (Subjective) Lighter gauge strings sound much more rubber-bandy, like the guitar has been tuned way down.