It's what tone ya want....that's all. use what the pros use...see what Matt prefers. www.mattoree.com thick heavy sound....then ya gotta reset your pickups, etc...if you change the sting thickness. Different metals, nickel, some more or less brass, etc used in the winding of the strings effect the toneality. Surely this has been spelled out many times in any guitar manual, books, lessons. http://www.shopatron.com/index/513.0.5908.16037.0.0.0

If you're looking for a new sound, you could always change the tubes on your amplifier, too.

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With this post I'm mostly asking about different people's experiences with strings...? and what do you use and why?

I have a Fender Strat Blonde (Birds eye maple over white Ash)

Now Question on strings..

If you Gig a lot and get very sweaty Ernie Balls die on the first gig -- they cant take it -- they are good if (like me) you are a studio player. Dull as dishwater.

For gigging my Music Shop owner recommends Fender Super Bullets. Fender Super 250 Nickel Plated The nickel plated steel wrap wire gives brighter tone and more volume than pure nickel. Standard ball ends.er wrap - lightly rolled to reduce finger noise. These take the heat and sweat a bit better too and start at a light 9.

Gibson Bright Wires are worth a try but they take a few more $$'s out of your wallet.

There is nothing wrong with the D'Addario Chromes and it depends very much on the player and how you like the setup.

I use Dean Markley starting at 10's -- I get a lot more of that Strat "Quack" on the neck pickup - dont forget a heavier set up requires another spring for the Trem bar.

Personally, I never noticed that much string difference until I replaced the ferrous "ashtray" on my Tele with one that didn't act like an antenna. Now, I love Fender bullets.

The musican's i know use GHS on his Strat. Better tone, etc.

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Thanks!

Next time I change strings, I'll get the Fender Bullets. They sound pretty exciting.

They're good if you have a guitar with the traditional Stratocaster type of whammy bar/tremelo arm. They seem to stay in tune a bit better after using the arm.

A lot of string brand preference depends on the sound you're trying to get. D'Addario strings tend to be pure stainless steel, which is a little brighter and has a little bit more output. Nickel wound steel strings are a nice balance between pure nickel strings (great for blues and jazz, or "60's sounding" guitar) and the pure steel ones.

I'm rather fond of DR strings, which use more metal at a slightly lower tension (which does cause them to break more often if you're a fanatic string bender). Great for that SRV-type sound without actually having to put a set of 13s on your guitar. (I play with 10s on my Fender-scale types, and 11s on my Gibson scale types. Fender necks are 25 1/2 inches to Gibson's 24 3/4 inches, which is why it's easier to bend notes on a Les Paul. PRS, Danelectro, and Carvin split the difference at 25.)

Stevie Ray Vaughn used .011s, but ripped the fingertips off his fingers. (A little Super Glue fixed that and the gig carried on). The tone is to die for, but the torture is unbearable for most that do lots of bends.

I suppose that's a reason that jazzers do so few bends.

Dave

I break strings like mad, so 11s are the smallest I can use. A bottle of that spray stuff -- Fingerease -- worked wonders for me. Kept the strings clean and fast, and seemed to keep them from breaking, too.