Changing to Heavier Guitar String Gauges? Keep These Things in Mind.
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
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Many of us have at one point or another picked up a guitar that was set up for a super light gauge, and decided to string it up with something a little bit heavier. But there are a few key things you'll want to keep in mind when you do so, to ensure that your guitar stays playing, sounding, and performing its best.
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Thing 7: Strats and other guitars with fulcrum tremolos are profoundly affected by changing the string gauge. You will almost 100% certainly have to adjust the tremolo springs and possibly add or subtract springs when changing string gauge on a fulcrum tremolo.
Hey why not get a third camera and keep flicking to the back of his head as well.
Hahaha
I learned a lot from this video, and I've been changing the strings on my guitar for around 12 years. Lol
This is actually really cool. Coincidentally, I just recently moved to thicker gauges and bought a couple Stringjoy sets that were too thick to make it through my tuners (I unwound the strings to get it through the pegs, which is better than drilling)
One thing I usually change that you didn't mention (I think) is the string height if the string height was originally set pretty close to the fretboard with lighter strings. Heavier strings usually causes me to hit the string a little heavier, causing them to vibrate a little harder, causing in turn fret buzz... in my experience.
Thanks. Just what I needed to know.
Wow, job well done, young man. Very interesting. I thumbed and subscribed
I'm one of those whose a stickler for intonation tuning. Getting it right I found helps keep the guitar better in tune , increases sustain, and enhances the harmonics. I stumbled upon this because at one point I was playing without knowing anything about intonation tuning, but after learning about it and making those adjustments, everything about the guitar was enhanced. What is really sad is that I've played guitars for 25 years and did not know about intonation tuning. I only knew that one guitar would play really well and another didn't. I was a hobby player and so I wasn't trained or had lessons.
As for string gauge, on my current guitar, a cheapy, I'm not sure what gauge set came on it, but it feels like .009's. The intonation had to be set back really far, especially on the low E, to keep from going sharp. To the point that I wondered if they even installed the bridge properly. Being that the guitar bridge parts are made of cheap alloy, I now am going to have to replace the intonation screws, but with stainless steel after that struggle. A WIP for sure. I assume heavier gauge strings tuned at the same pitch would alleviate having to set the saddle so far back, including that fact that the strings won't be as slinky. I'll start out with balanced 9's to start with.
Just ordered a set of 13-58s from Stringjoy after reading some very positive reviews from their customers. I'm ooking forward to trying them out.
Thanks for the help based upon your video you are brilliant
*DON’T DRILL YOUR PEG HOLES!!!*
What I do to get large strings to work is unwind the strings above the nut (much better/lesser permanent alternative to drilling/damaging your guitar tuners). Just cut the string short enough to go through the peg hole, take some needle nose pliers, grab where the string winding starts, and start unwinding it, revealing the thin core wire of the string (that should fit through the hole easily and also wrap around the peg better)
it also breaks easily!
subbed. you smart buh. thank you
endorse me pls thx
HEADASS i love u B
I must have got lucky I normally play 10 through 52 but I wanted a really low tune guitar so I bought another guitar for standard I used my Ibanez Gio which was the first brand name my guitar I ever had 13 through 62 I use it for drop A and B standard love it
Also what specific amount of effort is required to deflect one gauge of string compared with another? And how much more durable are specific gauges of string? How likely is each one to break? And is there a difference in how long the different gauges last in terms of sound quality before they need changing? ETC. These are the significant things we need to know. Tone is irrelevant with electric guitar - you can change it into whatever you want!
My hand are massive and I’m mainly a bass player that plays bass like a guitar so I do a lot of bends, I have pretty strong hands as well so I might get 11s
Hi, I normally use ernie ball 11 - 48 rps (reinforced plain strings) on my ltd kh-202 which is always in standard tuning. We are playing alot of drop tuning stuff in my music course and due to having a floyd rose on my kh-202 i cant change the tuning. I just ordered a cheap guitar (Ibanez Gio GRG121DX) to get me through the course and to be able to play drop tuned stuff on. Im guessing it will come with either 9's or 10's on it, as most guitars do, and i want to put ernie ball's Beefy Slinky 11 - 54 nickel wound strings on it. Will doing this affect much and if so what shall i expect to be changed. I cant afford to go to a tech as i dont have a job atm.
the only thing I noticed when switching from 9 to 10 was my floating trem was sitting a bit higher on my strat. not a huge deal to me because after my strings get done stretching I'm gonna drop to Eb standard tuning anyway.
I've got a set of 12 16 22w 32 44 56 that I want to replace with 13 17 24w 34 48 60. I play in D standard. Can I just put em on or do I need to adjust my guitar?
People are always talking about the high string but I wanna know about the lower strings
Thinking about going from 56(Medium LowB) to 65(ThightLowA)
How to I know if my guitarneck can handle it?
(27,5 inch)
Maybe I blanked out for a second, but I didn't notice any mention of the truss rod. I agree with Scott that the intonation is impacted by a string gauge change, and the optimal order to correct the action and intonation is 1) truss rod, 2) string action height, and 3) intonation. By adjusting all three I have learned that 11s can feel like 9s or 10s, and now I'm moving on to 12s to keep exploring the joy of strings.
he brought up the truss rod, but not very much.
I agree my dad went from 9:00 to 11:00 and when I put them strings on and he turned it his neck bows in
Hi man, is it needed to enlarge the saddle slots in the bridge? I have enlarged the slot just recently, but thinking about the previous issue, hence the question. First guitar with no doublefloting tremolo, so new stuff to me.
I changed from 11-54 to 12-62 for drop b - a# on my Les Paul Custom and the lowest string doesn't sit 100 percent on the nut. Would that mess with intonation if it's not sitting 💯? All the other strings I've been able to intonate without problems just that low string.
Will I need to have any different setup if I go from the factory 9’s on my affinity strat to Ernie 10’s? New to electric and hope to get some help.
Will changing from 10 to 12 require a lot of adjustments?
Thanks for the info, Scott! Quick question... Does a bump (upward) in string gauge effect the sustain in any way?
Thanks for watching! Typically heavier strings sustain a bit better.
@@Stringjoy Interesting... Much appreciated! =]
Looking to up mine from normal ernie ball 9s to normal ernie 11s for experimentation might need help
I put some heavier gauge strings on my friends Strat and his tremolo seems to be doing a wheelie in the back raising up maybe an eighth of an inch from the body of the guitar. Is it just a matter of tightening up springs inside the body of the guitar or do I need to add another spring?
Would have helped if the guitar was in view.
Sounds like if I go up on my Tele then The only way I could come back down is to change the nut, don’t know if I wanna do that. I was thinking 10 would be a little better than 9s 🤔
When you file the slots in the nut to accommodate heavier gauge strings, what happens if you put "normal" gauges back on later? Will they ever work properly after the slots have been filed wider? Thank you.
I wouldn't recommend doing that. If you put lighter gauge strings you will surely have issues after doing so. The truth is you probably don't have to file the slots unless you're putting on 13's or heavier depending on the type of guitar. Even using up to 12's you usually dont have to file slots but I would try the strings out before you file anything
Great video.
If I change from 10-46 to 11-49...
Do I need a set up?
Greetings from Switzerland
No
If changing from a set of 9’s to 10’s can you expect to have to set the action and truss rod again and widen the nut slots ? Or is it too small of a change to make much difference thanks
Iv notice a change from 9s to tens on a les paul so I imagine on the fender it will many make your action slightly higher if so you can lower with saddles all I did was do an 8th of a turn on each saddle from high e to low and wrote down how many I'd done incase I mest it up it worked well
I jumped from standard to mammoths without doing any of this a few months ago (still using mammoths rn, I'm on my third set) and I'm not sure if I did an oof by doing none of this
Edit: wait no I used slightly heavier strings before the switch
Great video like always.
My fear is to damage my guitar.
I'm going from 10-46 to 11-49 with Trem.
Do I really need to set up?
Greetings from Switzerland
Starky Rodriguez 10s to 11s shouldn’t be too dramatic for the guitar. You should be good to go, you’ll need to tighten up the truss rod at some point but it’s not a major concern.
You will almost certainly have to tighten the tremolo springs to bring the tremolo back to where it was before you increased the string gauge. Truss rod? Maybe. Some necks are more flexible than others...depends on the thickness and the material used. Stiffer necks don't need as much truss rod adjustment. Intonation sometimes needs adjusted, usually doesn't.
I didn’t know Jay Bauman played guitar
Awesome video!
My guitar is set for 11-52 strings for drop C. Can I put 10-48 strings to play in standard E? Will it affect my neck and guitar? I have a fixed bridge. And can I tune my guitar in standard E without breaking it or anything like that?
Should be no problem
how do you setup your guitar for drop C?
What about if you have .10-.46 roundwound on your fender stratocaster and want to try XL chrome flatwounds .10-.48? Would I still have to do an intonation? I'm still going to do a whole set up and intonation on it but I just thought I'd ask if that's a big jump since flatwounds are thicker.
You may have to adjust intonation, but the only way to know is to put them on and see
Hey! I'm actually waiting for my custom set to come in the mail but had a question, my guitar is extended range 26.5 scale 7 string and i had 10, 13, 17, 28, 38, 48 and 60 in standard tuning and i love the action. I wanted to tune all strings down one full step (A standard) and have similar tension so I went with 11, 14, 18p, 30, 40, 52 and 64. Will this balance things nicely In a way that would require little adjustments? Tbe original set up job was fantastic btw😉
Yep! You nailed it!
@@Stringjoy awesome😀
I'm planning on changing from normal 10 gauge strings (10 to 46) to light top heavy bottoms which go from 10 to 52 I have a strat and I'm a little concerned on how it will affect the intonation ,tremolo system etc should I be worried at all or am I just overthinking things?
U won't have a problem. I use heavy bottom and light top
Guys, My guitar has a low E string with gauge 46, if I want to replace it with gauge 42, will there be buzzing/fret buzzing????
I am only Chang from 10 to 10 11 on a fender styled guitar and was wondering if my trem arm will be ok?
It will
After widening the nut slots to fit some 11gauges, can you go back to use 10gauges on that same nut slot? For C tuning or drop C, you need 11gauges??
Generally speaking, yes
Thank you! Hey, my low E keeps blowing off the Strat side, lots of space between string and bevel, necks straight, the others don't do it, what can I do?
@@Daringo67The MIM Strat is fine, the Squire classic vibe has the mojo and sound, but that bass E will fly, it has enough space, it's the string tension, but my muscle memory is adjusting to it. There's a video on the tube that shows a guy who tries out of the box his 2000 buck Malsteen strat, both E's going over the side, it happens, I'm still looking for a way to eliminate this guitar neuro/pain. I have 9's on it, your fix might help, it makes sense.
I want to change my strings on my Ibanez RG7421 to a 0.13 set, can my guitar handle it? Or should I take it to a guitar centre to set my guitar for the heavier strings? I want to play down tuning, from A standard to G and F tuning. Thanks!
If you're down tuning, then that will alleviate the tension that heavier strings will put on it. Also, if you have a traditional strat with an adjustable trem, you may need additional or tighter springs on the claw and block to balance out the higher tension of the strings. Without knowing what you have, I recommend just buying a set of 5 springs and adjust as needed.
Any help for a guy using a 3 piece saddled Telecaster? I use Ernie Ball Not even Slinky .012 (sometimes .013)- .016 - .024p - .036 - .046 -.056 and tune to standard
Take your guitar to a tech to get it setup
Ibanez RG. Going from 9 to 10s, will I need to adjust anything?
Also will a higher gauge cause more fret buzz?
It shouldn't because I normally play with tens and I never had to just anything and I have already I guess it depends if you have a Floyd Rose or not but I switched one of my guitars from 10 to 13 and I surprisingly didn't really have to do anything I haven't noticed any fret buzz on mine so I think you should be good
Thx for the tips. If I use 12 g and want to tune to drop D would I intonate with the guitar in drop D or standard tuning? thx
You would intonation it in drop D. Always intonate it after you tune the guitar to your preferred tuning.
@@Eliseo_M_P ok,thank you
I switched from a standard string gage to a 12-56 what do I need to do for my guitar for them to fit and sound right ? Need serious help
Take it to a tech if you're concerned.
I’m contemplating going from Ernie Ball .9s to D’Addario .10s on my Fender Stratocaster because I want a little more tension in it, but all the shops and luthiers around me are closed due to COVID-19. I really want to change the strings, but I’m afraid of messing up the action and having to adjust the truss rod, the tremolo, and the intonation by myself. Does anyone have any tips or recommendations?
Gilberto Avalos just do it mate it’s not that hard to learn how to set it up again
What do you recommend for drop A six string. What gauge? I bought a 11-56 daddario. Is that enough to not wobble?
I would recommend atleast 12-60 for drop A
13-62 or 14-68
recently i went up from a 0.74 to a 0.85 on my low A on my eight string and had to have a very anxiety inducing time of drilling the hole in the tuner larger and praying it didn't weaken it. is there a better way? perhaps some brand of tuners that have extra big holes?
famitory you either move to bass tuners, or do what I do and unwind the strings above the nut (much better alternative to drilling/damaging your guitar)
Just cut the string short enough to go through the peg hole, take some needle nose pliers, grab where the string winding starts, and start unwinding it, revealing the thin core wire (that should fit through the hole easily and also wrap around the peg better)
Drilling peg holes is fine, but the other method of cutting and unwrapping works well too. Ultimately drilling the peg holes is the best solution, it's just best to have an experienced tech take care of it.
.10s action can never be equal to .9s or is it that I need to learn how to setup a .10s?
I'd like to tune one of my acoustics to standard D- one step down. What gauge would you recommend?
Shoot us an email to support@stringjoy.com and we'll get you set up!
what if i change the 42 gauge on a 6 string to a 136 gauge?
I went from 9s to 11s and the intonation went slightly sharp. Just a tip for people in the comments.
I am switching from 9-40(9, 12, 15, 22, 30, 40) to 9-42( 9, 11, 16, 24, 32, 42). So does my guitar need a setup? and if i switch to lower guages does it need any?
It may, you kind of have to string it up and see. But I definitely would go back to the .009 - .012 - .015 configuration, the 9-11-16 setup is a joke tension-wise.
What string guage should i use for zakk wylde songs such as lost prayer?
Rhys Whyte Zakk uses 10-60 gauge strings.
I'm changing from 9 Gauge Ernie's to 11 D'Addarios. Anything I should look out for on my Strat?
just get your nut filed, (lmao) and get the tremolo made parallel with the body. Basically get it reset up if you do bends, otherwise you will break strings. The string change won't damage the guitar, you just might need to adjust the truss rod.
@@mattbailey1015 lmao
changing from 10-48 to 11-52, should i expect to have to adjust truss rod or intonation?
Intonation maybe.
And with the truss rod, just look if the neck stays even, then you have nothing to do, if it looks more like a banana and its bending up adjust the tross rod.
There is not one right answer, you have to look, how your guitar reacts and believe me, you'll see and feel, when you neef to adjust the truss rod
Honestly, might just be a better idea to have a second guitar set up specifically for heavy strings. I may buy a second strat and keep it at Eb.
Would the Telecaster Nut slots need adjustment when going from 10-46 to 10-52's?
Doubt it
What will changing to a heavier gauge do to intonation? Flat or sharp?thanks
It would most likely make it sharp at the high frets, meaning you will have to move the bridge further away from the nut.
You can tell you don't get under the hood ;) It's always good to learn.. Take it to a Tech sounds like you drive a Mercedes.. Like LEARN TO DO YOURSELF. That way you learn, You have your own style. Yes you add it. But you just sound preppy. DIY or die. More straight edge man. I mean that is why youtube is here. To teach us how to change an engine or a bath tub. Guitars are easier said than done. Good video tho. Glad you covered things and taught people on what to look for. Thumbs up!
Is it true if you tune your 11s down to eb it will feel like 10s??? Pls need a answer
yes, you will have less tension on the strings.
Hey, I've changed from .011 to .013 on my strat and my bridge got higher do I relaxed it, how can I fix it?
What tuning? Usually to solve this, you would have to screw out the back and tighten the trem claw until it sits flush down the body. Do that and add more springs on the back too
I have a set that goes from a 12 to a 62
Would bumping your gauge up from say a 11 to a 12 then a 42 to a 44 be harmful to your guitar without a setup? I was only going to change those 2 gauges on my guitar.
Nope! Thats such a subtle difference it wouldn't cause any big issue.
is the 12 an e and the 44 an a?
@@ThePassingVoid both are E strings. 12 E is the thinnest and 44 E is the thickest string
@@demospam2 44 is super thin for an E string on a 12 set
I changed from 9s to 10s on my start but I don't understand why the tuning stability has been kinda bad that is something I've been struggling with
Did you stretch the strings?
Mine have an action difference but not tuning
Hey guys Im planning on going from 9s to 10s, will I have to make adjustments to my guitar?
Most likely no. There will be a bit more tension on the neck, so the neck relief might change slightly, but if it's not noticeable in playing, don't worry about it.
unless your guitar had a trem system on it, not a lot honestly.
Hi ! I'm currently playing with 9-42 strings, and I'm about to buy some 10-52, If I do widen my nut, will I be able to change my 10-52 to 9-42 if i don't like 10-52 ? I mean is it permanent ?
Hey I'm actually responding maybe I can help you out a little bit I had an Ibanez that would originally set for 9 and I've been playing on 10 through 52 and I never had any issues in fact I switch my string gauge on my one guitar to 13 through 62
And I've had no issues going 9 to 10 you may not even have to adjust that
@@fallensoldiertragni5178yes since then I've actually changed my strings and I have no problem 😁
@@thomasthom7268 nice what brand guitar do you play
@@fallensoldiertragni5178 it's a low end Ibanez guitar, my only and first electric guitar
I'm changing from elixir 9-42 to elixir 10-52. Will I need to have a tech look at it instead?
It all depends on how your nut slot is cut. If everything seats nicely you're ok, if things aren't fitting in right then a tech would be of help.
Nope
No. And Stop using elixirs lmao
can fender squire strat do 10s?
Yep, well mine does
I switched back to .10 from .13 and my .10 buzzes.
That's a pretty drastic change. You probably have to adjust the truss rod.
I wish I had hair like that
Is changing from 10 to eleven a small change?
Yes
I changed from 9s to not even slikys from ernie Ball, now it feels like I'm playing on fancewire, it's brutal 😅
you are crazy hahaha
Will 10 to 12 be a big change?
Might need to tighten the truss rod after a day
a little bit of lubricant in the nut can also help if you increase string gauges, and it doesn't do permanent damage
Absolutely, it's always a good idea!
Also you can take it into a guitar shop and they should be able to set your guitar up for higher gauges by filing the nut to fit higher strings
Im going from 9's to 12's. Any tips
I'd definitely take it into a tech if you are able, as you may need some slot filing and possibly some truss rod adjustment
I changed my strings from a 10-46 to a 10-52 recently on my Ibanez AR420. Would I need to setup something?
That all depends, if you're intonation and string height are still spot on, then no.
I'm coming from my PRS SE which has a set of 9's so it kinda feels weird but then yeah the lower E is much higher from the fretboard than the higher E
I do have another pair of 10-46 but then these strings would just go to waste xD
Do I need to adjust something If I went from 10s to 11s? I'm using a strat
Nope
What issues, if any, have you encountered when changing to heavier string gauges on your guitar? Or have you never had any trouble?
I use 14-68 D'addario
I had 10s on my Jaguar and they had very little tension, so I had to setup up action high, but strings were still were jumping out of threaded saddles, and every time I bend 1 string my saddle were moving. So there were 2 choices. It was to put strings buzz stopper or get a 13 gauge strings. I bought 13 gauge string from Stringjoy I do not have problems with my guitar anymore thank you.
2 words: Floyd. Rose.
On my Floyd Rose, the saddles slots are too small. My .74 string wouldn’t fit in it, so I had to do some convoluted tinkering and flipped the string around to use the tapered/thin end of the string to sit in the saddle right.
I’ve had issues getting strings .74 and larger fitting through the pegs, but to get around it, I just pre-cut them and unwound the winding and they fit fine.
My bridge is rising up from using new 12s
Tighten the springs at the backplate
There are screws under the back plate that you can tighten to fix that, but since this comment is from 9 months ago, this is more of a service for others with the same issue
Don’t be afraid of the truss rod.
as a stupid-heavy gauge player myself, the problems with finding heavy strings actually lead em to discover stringjoy in the first place. i dont own a guitar without drilled tuners or reinforced necks. i discovered a nut-file trick, file the nut with a triangle file and if you can remove the nut, widen the slit in the back and slightly down. it lets the strings glide smoother to the angle and if you get it right, regular and heavy strings will sit on the same slot at the right height, because the thinner strings will fall deeper into the V and nothing sticks. also i'm a huge fan of your 145-45 bass string set that i custom made. playing in low A, even with a slightly long scale gets really floppy with regular strings and you get zero clarity without that tension. also nice that your guitar strings are on the long side so they fit fine in my baritones without any fuss. most brands end up needing soldered and that just craps out your string life. speaking of string-life. fun fact: i have never broken a stringjoy bass string...and ive been playing for like 2 years now with exclusively stringjoy strings. and even the worn out sets that do eventually lose their brightness, sound better than about half the brands out of the package, so i have a system of rotating down my packs to the less serious instruments when they go dead. its nice to have a ton of used strings for experimental tuning. i currently have a bass with your strings that runs from 115 to a solid 16 i believe (its a guitar string) and they still sound usable after like 6 months. not "fresh" after that long but even my former favorite martins after 6 months sounded straight DEAD and Slinky's always broke on me after like 3 months. so pretty impressive. got 5 basses, 2 barritones, 2 guitars, and a bunch of experiemental stuff with all string joy strings with the exception of the Popsicle-stick Ukulele that required silver wrapped nylon. sorry, needed that classic Uke tone there. just a die-hard Stringjoy fan giving a shout out to a company that made odd-gauge playing way easier on me...and cheaper...and less stressful.
This comment made me so happy :-)
Lengthen by 3 hundreds ish or shorten dude what's up.
i have the problem that my bridge is standing up
Do U play
Yes Elfie, I play
I went from 10-46 to 11-58
I have experienced buzz to the first frets. I relieved the neck incrementally two times and have set the intonation but it still buzzed. Any solutions ?
Do the strings fit the nut well? I had issues with buzzing one of my guitars when I went too high on the gauge. As he said, you can sand them a bit to get the string to fit.
In my case the string couldn’t even fully sit in the nut, which caused the buzzing
Who prefers higher action lol
you must be joking. Mangle the nut slots?
Not mangle, file!
I use a fine grit nail file,works fine.
I'm sure you're"supposed to use Jewelers rouge" or something equally elitist and stupid.
sand paper .... face palm
What?
YOUR GLASSES ARE DIRTY BRO
Ok this video is for a person who recognises the technical terms. There's no explanation on what those terms mean. Like what's is intonation, what is pick up height etc..
As usual people talk about every useless thing except the only thing that matters. How does it physically affect how you play? Obviously bends will require more effort with stiffer strings, but how else does it affect them? Do you have to learn a whole new bunch of bend distances with the new strings for every single bend you do, or does the amount of string deflection stay the same? And are the slightly thicker strings more solidly fixed or do they still very easily slide around?
String gauges matters less than the tuning they get. Drop tuning make heavy strings feel like light ones. Really light gauges are hard to keep tuned, with some limp fingered idiots, even playing on .008's.Their guitars sound crappy, with those gauges, and their playing is not better.
looks so annoying how his Tongue and Lips are moving to his speaking...
If you don't want to set your intonation properly each time you change your strings, just stop playing guitar... it means you're deaf!
Lol
You talk too much bro. This video should have lasted 2 min less