Les Paul string gauges, brands" preference and why?

[Jimi Mac]

That's far Too Many!

 

All I want is a knob which says 'Class'.

Is that really asking too much?

 

P.

 

Or maybe the last number to be "59"

[RobertAndersson]

I use Ernie Ball 10-46. On my acoustics, I use Elixir, so I tried their electric 10-46 but had to take them off, they were too stiff for my bluesy style of playing.

//Robert

[MississippiBlue]

Hello,

 

I use Roto Sound ~ Roto Purples 12 to 52 with a wound Third string on my 2014 Les Paul Traditional. I find this works for me as far a tuning stability and overall warm tone. I keep the guitar tuned to standard 440 pitch. On my Stratocasters I use 13's again with a wound third tuned a step down. I find a wound third gives me a more stable or even feel. A full professional set up also goes a very long way. I also prefer my action higher than normal. The Roto Sound strings last long as well. I also clean my strings after each playing session. Micro fibre cloths are GREAT for this. Ernie Ball Cobalt are also very good strings. For me, I LOVE the Roto Sounds. I hope this helps. Take care and all the best in your guitar adventures. Tone chasing never, never ends.

 

Kindest Regards,

MississippiBlue.

[Aymara]

I am a Thomastik-Infeld fan for over 30 years and play Plectrum strings on my 12-string acoustic and Jazz Swing on my Gretsch Panther.

 

But on Les Pauls I prefer Gibson Brite Wires, which sound similar to D'Addarrio XL, but last longer and feel much better.

 

I always choose .10 gauge, which in my opinion is the ideal compromise between playability and brilliance in sound.

[Jimi Mac]

I guess to this conversation I should add that; personally I've found 9's to be the most comfortable set for my playing style for bending etc.

 

As a Blues-Hound; I'm a devoted disciple of Buddy Guy, who will bend raw steel with his bare hands to make an emotional point...

 

Add to that my hero Danny Kirwan; his left hand vibrato technique is 2nd to none and a bending style of BB King for vibrato and bending technique developed trying to emulate the infinite notes achievable by slide players...

 

The Slinky feel of Ernie Ball Slinky's and the gauge of 9's I've found to be the pinnacle of perfection on a Les Paul for myself...

 

We're all different and you'll have to find what is best for you and your personal playing style and preference. It's all subjective...

 

We're now in-the-know about Billy Gibbons using the Dunlop developed 7's on his Les Pauls etc. We're also now in-the-know that it was BB King that got him started using those ultra light gauge strings where he first went to 8's...

 

These are what Billy now promotes and uses in 7's...

 

[gibsonjunkie]

Gibson Vintage Nickles - light gauge. I just keep going back to them no matter what I try - they wound good and last a long time.

[jaygl]

Dean Markley 10-46 guage. I was sponsored by them back in my touring days and they sent me some swag, an acoustic pick-up, and an amp. Great company. Strings have great feel and tone.

[BobF_]

I use D'addario 10-46 on my LP.

 

^^^

 

D'Addario EXL110, 10-46 on Gibson scale guitars.

 

EB Hybrid Slinky, 9 - 46 on longer scale lengths.

[batmanrb89]

Just put a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt 10-46 strings on the 2014 Traditional. Love it. I used these previously and can't remember why I went away from them.

[capmaster]

Hello all,

 

Been a drummer for 26 years and took up guitar in 2012. Love it. I'm deep into it now in terms of playing, knowing the instrument top to bottom and setups. I'm curious as to what string gauge/brands people out there tend to like most on their Les Paul's. I picked up a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Traditional recently and have been trying different strings for fun. It came with cleartone 9-46 strings on it which I loved, but I was used to the gauges of 10-52 Ernie Balls on my Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro and 11-54 Ernie Balls on my Fender Standard Stratocaster. Now I have a set of Ernie Ball Classic Rock N Roll 10-46 on it and I'm not fond of them yet I've played them previously and liked them on a friends Les Paul. Hope to get some interesting feedback on this. Interested in what others use and why. Thanks!

 

If it helps, my guitar influences are Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Slash. So you're familiar with the sound I go after.

These are three rather different stories in my opinion. Besides the fact that SRV preferred Strats, he used 013 - 058 gauge strings usually, tuned a half step flat, and with a fairly high action.

 

However, the 012 - 054 roundwounds on a Weimann Blues Bird of mine call for the lowest action of all my guitars.

 

On Les Paul guitars I use the same gauges as on all of my solidbodies: 011 - 050 roundwounds on hardtails, and 010 - 046 roundwounds on vibrato guitars, Floyd Rose systems in most cases including Les Paul models. Except for a Fender Mustang short scale bass, I use on all of my electric guitars and basses Chrome Strings of the rare German Optima (former Maxima) brand, famous for making the gold plated strings once used by Frank Zappa and Earl Slick, and still played by Brian May.

[capmaster]

Hey Pippy, you posted in another thread a while back about Rotosounds, so I picked up a few sets, and unfortunately I didn't have the same experience you have had. To me, they sounded a little flat and dull, almost like they were broken in or something. I tried them on 2 different guitars with the same results. I might look into the D'A's...

Sorry to read that you had a poor result, Bryan.

I don't want to dissuade you from trying them out but you might experience much the same thing with the D'A's.

 

It's probably the 'flat and dull' nature you describe which suits my own preference due to my unusual amp and guitar settings;

I always have my amp set at full-treble and with the bright rocker switched 'on' with both Mid and Bass at Zero and control the end-tone purely by using the LPs Vol & Tone circuitry.

Typically I use the neck p'up and have the guitar's tone rolled back to about 3. With the vol down at around 7.5 - 8 it's nice and clean for rhythm and gets a nice amount of grit as the vol is turned up.

 

This isn't a practice I've ever seen replicated by anyone else but it suits both the way I play in terms of 'touch' and the way I've set up my guitar circuits ('50s wiring).

 

It's because of this that I found most D'A sets far too bright - which is perfectly understandable when the whole shebang is taken into account. Play through a 'normally' configured amp with a guitar set like mine is and you have a recipe for Mud Pie!

 

But if you DO try the D'A's out and they are still 'flat and dull' then you could always try out my settings, too!

It works for me with my Music Man 2x12 (a Silverface Twin-Reverb style thing) but the same settings produce nothing like the same result with any other amp I've tried...

 

P.

Since a bandmate of mine is desperate over sweating strings to dead within a few minutes, we tried lots of brands and makes, with the sad result that the Elixir strings last longest by far but cause awful static pops and clicks.

 

But to the point here, we also tried several Rotosound string sets. We found out that compared to all the other brands they delivered the least midrange, through magnetic pickups (Fender TexMex on a Nashville Power Tele and Joe Barden twin rail SC size humbuckers on a Fender Strat) as well as through piezos (Fender/Fishman Tele Power Bridge). This was a surprise since the GHS Boomers my pal used before significantly lack midrange, too. We honestly didn't expect any strings to offer less.

 

Perhaps the lack of midrange is what you tend to call flat and dull?

 

When strings go dead and therefore lack treble, punch and sustain, scooped mids additionally accelerate tonal deterioration.

 

Anyway, we still don't know what to do. In fact, we hear our pal's guitars go out of tune due to string corrosion. On my guitars you may find tarnished nickel parts, but the strings are still the first ones after up to one and a half years and sound like new after dozens of playing hours. My pal kills strings of my preferred brand rather fast, too, within less than two hours. In this respect, I am really a lucky one. :)

[charlie brown]

Since a bandmate of mine is desperate over sweating strings to dead within a few minutes, we tried lots of brands and makes, with the sad result that the Elixir strings last longest by far but cause awful static pops and clicks.

 

But to the point here, we also tried several Rotosound string sets. We found out that compared to all the other brands they delivered the least midrange, through magnetic pickups (Fender TexMex on a Nashville Power Tele and Joe Barden twin rail SC size humbuckers on a Fender Strat) as well as through piezos (Fender/Fishman Tele Power Bridge). This was a surprise since the GHS Boomers my pal used before significantly lack midrange, too. We honestly didn't expect any strings to offer less.

 

Perhaps the lack of midrange is what you tend to call flat and dull?

 

When strings go dead and therefore lack treble, punch and sustain, scooped mids additionally accelerate tonal deterioration.

 

Anyway, we still don't know what to do. In fact, we hear our pal's guitars go out of tune due to string corrosion. On my guitars you may find tarnished nickel parts, but the strings are still the first ones after up to one and a half years and sound like new after dozens of playing hours. My pal kills strings of my preferred brand rather fast, too, within less than two hours. In this respect, I am really a lucky one. :)

 

Check this out:

https://www.ionizers.org/acidosis.html

Might help your band mate?

 

CB

[capmaster]

Check this out:

https://www.ionizers.org/acidosis.html

Might help your band mate?

 

CB

Thank you for the link, CB.

 

My bandmate is in a both personally and professionally bad situation, but all the three string players in my creative quartet are, including me.

 

We suggested him to change shampoo, soaps, and cleaners, and wear gloves when cleaning, just to avoid any harmful influence to his skin and his skin's bacteria... OK, it may take weeks or months until there is a notable change. Yet not all hope is lost...

[charlie brown]

Thank you for the link, CB.

 

My bandmate is in a both personally and professionally bad situation, but all the three string players in my creative quartet are, including me.

 

We suggested him to change shampoo, soaps, and cleaners, and wear gloves when cleaning, just to avoid any harmful influence to his skin and his skin's bacteria... OK, it may take weeks or months until there is a notable change. Yet not all hope is lost...

 

You're most welcome! I hope some of that information will help, or lead to other

"remedies?" Diet does a LOT, to us...good and bad! I'm sure most of us could use

a little (or a lot of) help, that way?

 

CB

[capmaster]

You're most welcome! I hope some of that information will help, or lead to other

"remedies?" Diet does a LOT, to us...good and bad! I'm sure most of us could use

a little (or a lot of) help, that way?

 

CB

After nine years with high blood pressure, and eight years of therapy with all four groups of active ingredients available, I gave it up. As a side effect, therapy attempts caused me building up 23 kgs or approximately 50.7 lbs overweight. I just can't get rid of it, and it also exacerbates the hypertension problem.

 

They twice wanted to talk me into a heart transplantation in two different hospitals in 2005 and 2006, and in 2010 my former physician told me that according to statistics I should be dead since at least two years with my history of diagnoses.

 

So what? I am lucky to be still alive, I guess I would be long gone if I hadn't left hospitals twice on my own risk, in 2005 and 2006, and against medical advice in either case.

 

I never regretted that but also shouldn't have swallowed any of those pills. I could write books about side effects and paradoxic effects, and some of those I hardly survived. Beta blockers nearly choked me, and HCT which normally should dehydrate made me build up water which also would have asphyxiated me in the long run. Just two examples...

 

So I decided to stop taking any medicine last year, and my current physician said it is OK for her. She didn't have any warnings for me. B)

 

There's life in the old dog yet!

[Dg77]

10-46 gibson vintage reissue

 

Like the tone

[batmanrb89]

These are three rather different stories in my opinion. Besides the fact that SRV preferred Strats, he used 013 - 058 gauge strings usually, tuned a half step flat, and with a fairly high action.

 

However, the 012 - 054 roundwounds on a Weimann Blues Bird of mine call for the lowest action of all my guitars.

 

On Les Paul guitars I use the same gauges as on all of my solidbodies: 011 - 050 roundwounds on hardtails, and 010 - 046 roundwounds on vibrato guitars, Floyd Rose systems in most cases including Les Paul models. Except for a Fender Mustang short scale bass, I use on all of my electric guitars and basses Chrome Strings of the rare German Optima (former Maxima) brand, famous for making the gold plated strings once used by Frank Zappa and Earl Slick, and still played by Brian May.

 

I've been consistently using 11-54's on my Stratocaster for a few months now. Trying to work it up to 12's, then to 13's. Might be tough, but we'll see. I really only picked up the strat because of SRV, Hendrix and KWS. I'm a drummer at heart. But chasing the legends tone on guitar was first on my guitar agenda. Now I'm pretty much locked in on Les Paul/Marshall sound. It just works for my style. I never thought I'd be able to sit down and just play the blues, but I stuck to it and it's paying off.

 

Cheers!

[batmanrb89]

I'm enjoying all of the responses to the thread! Thank you for the input so far. Everybody is different, so it's fascinating to read the what's and why's from each member. Keep them coming!

[capmaster]

Heavier gauges provide more tone, tighter intonation and more dynamic range but make bending uneasier and less effective, in particular of a wound G3rd.

 

On the other hand, much of the overall sound depends on the picks. Especially flatpick materials and gauges contribute significantly to the tonal spectrum created through attack. On principal, their gauges behave similarly to string gauges, with heavier picks delivering a fatter tone. The material affects the top end in first order, the harder, the more treble edge will be produced.

 

Trying different picks can be very enlightening. It may also take much less time and expense compared to experimenting with string makes and gauges. Therefore it can be lots more fun, too...

[NHTom]

I use GHS Boomers CL (custom light) which are 9-46 on every guitar I own. Messed around years ago and tried every string in the store I worked at and liked these the best.......have not played anything else in decades.

 

NHTom

[Aymara]

On the other hand, much of the overall sound depends on the picks.

 

Correct, good hint. Besides the thickness the material plays a major role ... horn is fantastic!

[Sgt.]

Hello all,

 

Been a drummer for 26 years and took up guitar in 2012. Love it. I'm deep into it now in terms of playing, knowing the instrument top to bottom and setups. I'm curious as to what string gauge/brands people out there tend to like most on their Les Paul's. I picked up a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Traditional recently and have been trying different strings for fun. It came with cleartone 9-46 strings on it which I loved, but I was used to the gauges of 10-52 Ernie Balls on my Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro and 11-54 Ernie Balls on my Fender Standard Stratocaster. Now I have a set of Ernie Ball Classic Rock N Roll 10-46 on it and I'm not fond of them yet I've played them previously and liked them on a friends Les Paul. Hope to get some interesting feedback on this. Interested in what others use and why. Thanks!

 

If it helps, my guitar influences are Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Slash. So you're familiar with the sound I go after.

 

Strings on LP Studio: I'm using med. pure nickel Fender Bullets because the bullet end doesn't pick on top wrapped strings. The .11 high e doesn't break as often as lighter guages and it's not too heavy that I can't bend a full tone, also the lighter guages were buzzing on the lower frets. The bullets can get a 'rusty' feel to the unwound strings, but a little string cleaner usually helps. They last and sound good. But downside ... there's a little phenomenon to talking up a good brand ... whenever I mention I like such and such a brand, the price of these strings mysterious goes up a couple bucks! I was paying about six bucks cdn and lately they've been eight or nine bucks. The appeal of the Bullets was partly price. There's plenty of other 'great' options in what I'm looking for, but the Bullets have a good string guage range in the medium sets, .011, .014, .018, .028, .038, .049. Contrast a similar med. set of D'Addario pure nickel: .011, .014, .018, .027, .037, .048.

[pippy]

...we also tried several Rotosound string sets. We found out that compared to all the other brands they delivered the least midrange, through magnetic pickups (Fender TexMex on a Nashville Power Tele and Joe Barden twin rail SC size humbuckers on a Fender Strat) as well as through piezos (Fender/Fishman Tele Power Bridge). This was a surprise since the GHS Boomers my pal used before significantly lack midrange, too. We honestly didn't expect any strings to offer less.

 

Perhaps the lack of midrange is what you tend to call flat and dull?

Those are rather interesting observations, cap.

 

My preference for strings with what you describe as having a lack in the midrange can perhaps also go a little way to explain why I'm not a great fan of T-Tops.

AFAIK - and from what I've read - the T-Tops have a pronounced ability to promote the mids - especially with high-gain amps. Is that correct, do you know?

 

P.

[Serge7707]

I'm new to this Forum. I'm actually getting my first Les Paul this morning. I thought Id check this Thread out to see what guys are using. It's a good question originally posted bit I think something is getting missed in this topic. Musical preference, what you like to play, may it be country, classic Rock, metal or Jazz and lead/rythmn or both. I think to understand better what strings and why, one needs to look at these factors. I'm a full out rocker, in a band with drums bass and Keyboard. I like to use 9-42 cobalt EBs. I play a combo of rythmn and lead, I like their brilliant highs and chunky lows. This is on a Fender Tele however.

 

I think with this Gibson I will try out the Boomers or the Gibson Brand strings and see how I like them.

[Serge7707]

Obviously Honson is a typo supposed to read Gibson*