Guitar string gauges

Subject: Guitar string guages
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 08:03 AM

On my acoustic it seems, I have a 10-48 set which is as heavy as I would ever want to go - in fact I detune by a couple of semitones to make string bending less painful!!

However I've just ordered a set ranging from 007 to 028 from Strings Direct, which should help ease my now soft finger ends back into my 60s playing condition - they didn't call me "stickyfingers" for nothing!!! You have the option to choose the gauge for each string.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 08:55 AM

028! I always got the impression that some 60s guitarists used fuse wire rather than strings. Trouble is that, within limits, the lighter you go, the worse a guitar tends to sound.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 09:32 AM

So what guitar is this for? And electric or acoustic? Feedback on how it worked would be interesting, but I wouldn’t even go that low for a mandolin.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 09:40 AM

12-54 on my Brook OM and Lowden, 13-56 on my Martin HD-28V and D-18.
Anything smaller than those doesn’t move the top sufficiently. Your D-18 needs 13s Bonz, you’re starving it to death with 10s! ;-)

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 10:27 AM

It's for my Les Paul Junior - double cutaway of course! As to the sound, I've been there before, and it didn't make any difference at all, just much kinder to my fingers. I don't know if my Dupuytren's contracture has anything to do with it, but I think the little weed knew something about it!!!

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: gillymor
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 10:37 AM

Have you adjusted the string height? A lower action can make life easier for your fingers and hands and a little fret noise is not so noticeable on an electric.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 10:43 AM

I know you're all trying to be helpful, the action on my Gibson is very low at the moment and I'll probably need to raise it slightly with the very light strings so I can get my fingers under them for bending and wiggling. After a bit I'll take the gauges up a step.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: gillymor
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 11:25 AM

I had surgery on my fretting hand a few months ago for trigger finger and dropped the tuning on my mandolin a step and added a capo at the second fret when I reunited with my playing partners to get back up to standard. It relieved the pressure on my hand by shortening the scale and slightly lowering the action. I'm almost to the point where I can go back to uncapoed standard tuning.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: gillymor
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 11:28 AM

and mainly it backed off string tension.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 21 Jun 20 - 11:39 AM

Interesting to know.

Subject: RE: Guitar string guages
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 23 Jun 20 - 05:08 PM

Strings arrived today and they sound good!!

Subject: RE: Guitar string gauges
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 24 Jun 20 - 07:13 AM

Just played Les Paul Junior with 7-28 set through my Carvin X60 - sounds fabulous. There was a noisy builders delivery outside so I blasted them. turned up to 4 which believe me is loud - can't frighten our greyhound!!