The Pro's & Con's, the What & Why of string size?

Seek Enlightenment;
Please I would appreciate some discourse on string size.
The W-5.
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
Who?
Light, Medium etc., I don't fully understand.

Generally.... The thicker the strings, the more 'body' you get from your sound.
It's hard to describe in words but the sound is 'meatier' and more full.

The drawback with thick strings is they're hard to bend. So if you do a lot of string bending you may have trouble.

Thinner strings are easier to play but require a little more finesse. You can't press down too hard or they'll go out of tune. And you have to play softer as well.
The major advantage is that you can bend the heck out of them and if you're proficient at playing, get a lot more expression out of your lead lines.

For things like tapping, they'll make it much easier to achieve.


For a compromise you can use a hybrid set of strings that has a heavier bottom end and a light top end (ie, Dean Markley Special Lights)
Those are the ones I usually use because I tend to play rather heavy on the lower strings, but want the flexibility to do tapping and flowing leads when I need to as well.

Great reply Kevin, very informative.

Playing style is definitely a big factor in selecting your string gauge, but there are a couple of other things to consider as well.

1- The type of guitar you play and its action. Some accoustics as an example have a lovely sound, but are near impossible to play using regular gauge strings (especially if you like to use bar chords). In a case like this (short of taking it to the shop) a good solution would be to put lighter strings on.

2- Type of instruments you gig with. I switch between accoustic and electric quite a bit, and it takes a bit of time to get used to the difference in action.
I found that buy using regular gauge (E=10) on my electrics, this transition is less noticable. And as a Kevin mentioned, the bonus of using heavier strings is that you get a fuller sound, and the guitar not as noisy.

Keep on pickin'

Izzy

I also think it doesn't hurt to say that what you play can affect the strings you use. I have been a diehard Di'Addario XL .09's for as long as I can remember playing. That remains on all guitars but my Gibson semi hollow. I do .10's on that. It gives it a fuller sound like Kevin said. Since I tend to like that guitar for more mellow playing, I like the robustness of .10's with the hollow body sound. They also seem to make the clean, neck pick up type of playing very articulate.

Yes, strings...hard to describe.

Yes JeffS65, strings are hard to describe or explain for that matter, yet they play such a big part in the instrument's sound. Guess you could call them the unsung heroes of the guitar.

Like sneakers and jeans, one find's a kind that fits the occasion well.

Keep on pickin'

Izzy

Just wanted to add that there are hybrid guitar string sets out there, that combine features of different sets. Heavy lower strings for fullness of sound, and smaller higher strings for ease of bending as one example. You can even make your own custom sets by combining strings from different sets.

I'm a lead player, and when I know I'll be doing an acoustic blues jam, I sometimes replace my acoustic G-string with an electric unwound one. This makes it way easier to bend them bluesy notes. And you don't have sore fingers for a week lol.

Itchin' to play,

Izzy

Nice, informative vampire thread. :D

I have read, but not experienced, that some acoustic guitars do not do well with heavier, i.e., medium, strings. In some cases the tension is too much for the neck and soundboard.

At least some manufactures specify medium or light, etc., for their guitars.