Changing string gauge on a Strat

I bought a Strat Ultra earlier in the year and have thus far stuck to 9-42 gauge strings because that is what that is what Fender supply and it is what the guitar was set up to take (with the exception I’m using bullets whereas the guitar came with ball end). The past month I’ve been learning blues lucks involving 1st string bends and I’ve had to change the strings twice in three weeks because of a broken E string. I don’t get this problem with my Les Paul, fitted with Regular Slinky, so I was thinking of increasing the string gauge on the Fender to 10s. However I’ve heard that changing to heavier strings will affect the intonation and therefore requires the guitar to be serviced afterwards. Is this really the case with such a small increase as 9s to 10s? If so I’ll leave it until a more convenient time.

It depends on how the guitar is currently set up. 

If the bridge is floating with 9s, then you might need to adjust the springs in the vibrato cavity to keep it floating because 10s might pull it back, even decking it (flush with the body) & possibly necessitate re-intonation (adjust bridge saddles).

But if it's decked already then it might not even affect it.

This is definitely a question for the GT tech.

https://www.guitartricks.com/forum/c/30

Something doesn't sound right here. I run 9s on most of mine and play a lot of SRV. I am not breaking strings and like yourself like the Fender Bullet strings.

Maybe reach out to the tech guy Steve and discuss your guitar setup. He has his own forum.

Thanks for the advice Christopher and William. I will definitely check with GT Tech

I just re-read my reply & realized I got it backwards!  I think going up to 10s from 9s will pull the bridge up more & make a floating bridge float higher.

Also, I use 9s & regularly break the high E string much more frequently than the other strings.  I even like to say if I haven't broken an E string I haven't been practicing enough.  :)  Anyway, my solution is to just buy packs of 9s.  Then I just replace that string when I break one.  I typically go through 4 or 5 high E strings before I change the whole set in a week or two.

Hope that helps!