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11s on a 335

kevmoe

New member
Joined
Aug 15, 2006
Messages
236
Anyone using 11s on there 335s.thinking of goin from 10s too 11s ..will i need to set the guitar up differently goin from 10s to 11?? tks
 

Experience

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2006
Messages
74
Any time you change string gauge, you must re-intonate the guitar (or at least check intonation). You might check the neck to see if you have to adjust the truss rod, but adjustment may not be necessary. The neck might settle in for a day or so, so recheck it over a couple day period.
 

Gold Tone

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2002
Messages
6,825
Biggest thing to get set up right would be the nut slots...bigger gauge can often mean grabbing in the nut slot...obviously affecting tuning stability.

And yes, all the other things that were listed.
 

garywright

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Joined
Aug 17, 2002
Messages
15,583
11-50 for me ..with anything less I don't get the bending resistance that I now like.
 

mingus

Active member
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
4,243
I like 11s on Gibsons too. Bigger, fuller tone and good resistance to bending.
 

Rev.WillieVK

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Joined
Jul 26, 2002
Messages
9,268
IMO one of the signs of a great guitar is when it makes 11s feel like 10s. :salude
 

TomGuitar

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Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,700
I have to agree that I prefer 11s on my 335s. Not sure the tone is actually better, I have heard guys with much lighter strings make them sing. But for me, they feel so much better. I like working a little to bend strings and it enables a more controlled and variable vibrato. And they seem to allow me to use a much wider dynamic range with my right hand. I can go from really clean to really gritty just by varying my attack. Maybe some guys can do that with lighter strings, but I get more range out of the heavier ones.
 

j45

Active member
Joined
Jun 14, 2002
Messages
9,081
We're all different. I don't like the thicker sound of 10's or 11's. I much prefer they way the harmonics blend when playing chords while gaining up something like a plexi Marshall or AC30 with 9's. The big strings are too woofy for what I like when using overdrive. I do love big strings, especially 12's when playing flatwounds ala Wes or Benson style with super clean jazz tones. I also like 10's and 11's on Ric's or Jaguars/Jazzmasters for clean rhythms. I love that big clanking metallic sound that way for rhythm tracks when recording using half-round or groundwound strings. I just find the larger gauges won't give me as much clarity and note separation with gain. Can get really flubby in the low notes on a blackface Fender, too. 9's stay more clear and give more headroom IMO. I was surpsied to find how much tighter the lows on my BF Deluxe were at same volume when comparing 9's to 10's.
 

585960

Active member
Joined
Apr 5, 2002
Messages
1,987
me likey big wire.....11 -.60 on Gibbys and Fenders....no problemo...
 
Y

yeti

Guest
We're all different. I don't like the thicker sound of 10's or 11's. I much prefer they way the harmonics blend when playing chords while gaining up something like a plexi Marshall or AC30 with 9's. The big strings are too woofy for what I like when using overdrive. I do love big strings, especially 12's when playing flatwounds ala Wes or Benson style with super clean jazz tones. I also like 10's and 11's on Ric's or Jaguars/Jazzmasters for clean rhythms. I love that big clanking metallic sound that way for rhythm tracks when recording using half-round or groundwound strings. I just find the larger gauges won't give me as much clarity and note separation with gain. Can get really flubby in the low notes on a blackface Fender, too. 9's stay more clear and give more headroom IMO. I was surpsied to find how much tighter the lows on my BF Deluxe were at same volume when comparing 9's to 10's.

I really appreciate this post because I'm really tired of hearing the same old "bigger strings=bigger tone" comments. It's simply not true. I play 11's and 12's but it is all about the feel/ resistance of the strings and has nothing to do with better tone. Different maybe but not better in every application. Personally I just don't have the control to play 9's w/o applying too much force (damn adrenalin, I guess):salude
 

sharq attaq

New member
Joined
Mar 14, 2004
Messages
1,636
.10s on Gibsons, .09s on Fenders and my Axis.

No desire to go bigger. Years of muscle memory.
 

Elliot Easton

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Joined
Mar 5, 2003
Messages
3,478
We're all different. I don't like the thicker sound of 10's or 11's. I much prefer they way the harmonics blend when playing chords while gaining up something like a plexi Marshall or AC30 with 9's. The big strings are too woofy for what I like when using overdrive. I do love big strings, especially 12's when playing flatwounds ala Wes or Benson style with super clean jazz tones. I also like 10's and 11's on Ric's or Jaguars/Jazzmasters for clean rhythms. I love that big clanking metallic sound that way for rhythm tracks when recording using half-round or groundwound strings. I just find the larger gauges won't give me as much clarity and note separation with gain. Can get really flubby in the low notes on a blackface Fender, too. 9's stay more clear and give more headroom IMO. I was surpsied to find how much tighter the lows on my BF Deluxe were at same volume when comparing 9's to 10's.

Kerry, have you ever tried the .095 set that D'Addario make? Right between .009's and .010's, I can do pedal steel licks on a Telecaster and still get a pretty deep twang. I only use them on Fenders or other long scale solidbodies but I find them to be a nice happy medium. Of course you're probably perfectly happy with your .009 set but these are kind of fun so I just thought I'd mention it.
 

blewsbreaker

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Messages
1,113
We're all different. I don't like the thicker sound of 10's or 11's. I much prefer they way the harmonics blend when playing chords while gaining up something like a plexi Marshall or AC30 with 9's. The big strings are too woofy for what I like when using overdrive. I do love big strings, especially 12's when playing flatwounds ala Wes or Benson style with super clean jazz tones. I also like 10's and 11's on Ric's or Jaguars/Jazzmasters for clean rhythms. I love that big clanking metallic sound that way for rhythm tracks when recording using half-round or groundwound strings. I just find the larger gauges won't give me as much clarity and note separation with gain. Can get really flubby in the low notes on a blackface Fender, too. 9's stay more clear and give more headroom IMO. I was surpsied to find how much tighter the lows on my BF Deluxe were at same volume when comparing 9's to 10's.

I've had the same experience Kerry. I keep going back 2 the D'Addario .095 set that Elliot mentions. Seems to get the best of both worlds.
 

Danny

Les Paul Forum Member, Formerly Musicinmysoul
Joined
Jun 10, 2006
Messages
1,875
Now listen, we all know that manliness is directly correlated to the string size you use!
 

fender69

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2003
Messages
998
I'm in the process of putting 11's on a Epi Riv with the Frequensator tailpiece. The length of those things seem to make the guitar play softer so I hope the 11's will give a little more tension to the guitar. Two things though. 1. Some strings will not be long enough to use on a Frequensator :rofl
And D'Addario also makes a 10.5 set as well.
 

Gold Tone

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2002
Messages
6,825
I have been playing on 11's for many years (12's for a short time but was concerned about damage to guitar bridge etc over time).

Before that mostly 10's or 9's.

I do like the heavier strings for the same reasons mentioned, mainly the push back when I am bending or for vibrato...I want to be able to dig in and have the string push back.

However...I am VERY intrigued about 9's and going back to them...why? After playing a Page set up with 9's I quickly remembered how I had to be much more careful when chording to have even finger pressure across the chord or it would go out of tune (I tend to grip and fret hard...probably due to playing heavy strings for so many years).

WHat intrigued me about the light guage strings was just exactly what made them a little more difficult to keep in tune when chording...the natural chorus effect!! WOW!! It was so much fun playing that guitar because I could move the chord around when I fingered it to create a "warble" chorusish effect that was dead on Page type tone.

VERY cool!!

Now...which guitar will get the 9's :hmm
 
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