lp strings and memory

im still a trial memer and so far am liking this site. this open forum idea is great.i have a few more questions for all the experts though.

i love playing metal, mostly classic metal like randy rhoades preblack album metallica and megadeth, but i also love my les paul (70 something ivar johnson copy with gibson pickups made out of all maple) the problem i have is there is always too much play in my strings (due to the les paul 24 3/4 scale neck). right now i think i have d'radario half gauge lights, but i have tried many different strings types and sizes and cant find whats right. any lp guys out there have any ideas i was thinging about something along the lines of a light top heavy bottom style string.

how can i improve my memory when it come to scales, modes, chords, and even parts or whole songs. when i was a teenager i used to only play when i was smoking weed now that i stopped (about 4 years ago) i cant seem to remember anything. i can read a tab and pick out the notes but then i try to play along with the cd i cant remember it.

please help in anyway you can

Heavier gauge strings should solve your problem. I play a LP also and use Ernie Ball Power Slinkys. The Heavy Top Skinny Bottoms would be a good choice also.....

You'll probably have to re-learn the scales and stuff....or start smoking weed again :D . I read a long time ago that if you learn something while high, you'll have a much better chance of remembering it when your high again.

You can try using hybrid strings (light top, heavy bottom etc..), but unless you buy the generally available consumer packs you'll end up paying a mint for individual strings. I'm not totally sure on this but the hybrids I've seen are usually 9, 11, 16, 26, 36, 46 so I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.

As far as memory goes... the only thing you can do is practice over and over again until your subconscious memory starts to take over and you don't have to think about it anymore.
Then once you learn something you have to practice it on a regular basis or you just forget it again.

One thing I always suggest is get an application that will allow you to play midi files and a General Midi sound module. You can get tons of midi files off the net to practice to. Another good tool is something like Band-In-A-Box.
The songs are slightly cheezy but if you just want to practice scales it's great.

Ernie Ball's Skinny Top Heavy bottom goes 10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 52. I could be wrong with the 26-36, but I nkow it goes from 10-52.