Change Your String Gauge For BETTER Tone? - Here's What I Recommend! 

Change string gauges based on feel, and playing style, not for tone - save that for your amp :) What is your favourite string gauge? What amp do you dream of owning?

Old -Darrell Braun Guitar. New - Darrell Braun Amplifier.

High E 9 Gauge String: Me: *prays before winding it up*

I’m 54, so my hearing is bad enough that I can’t, for the life of me, hear the difference between string gauges. I can definitely tell the difference in adjusting the eq on my Katana MKII. Great video!!!! Thanks!!!!

I just want to say thanks, for taking time out of your day to teach some really good pro tips that we intermediate/newbs need

String gauge is all about the feel for bends and runs. An often overlooked aspect is the pick impact and response. Definitely a must to explore what is going to work for you.

The scale-length and the string gauge are the most underrated topics. Sometimes it’s good to have a little thicker strings for rhythm and normal or little thinner for solos and bending.

I had a MIJ Strat and a cheap Gorilla amp when I was in high school in the mid 90's. I never really liked the sound. The music teacher at my school let my try my guitar through his Peavey Studio Pro and it sounded great. That was my lightbulb moment. My guitar was fine, I just needed a better amp.

For me string gauge has always been about tension and feel. The other week I was selling my Jackson DK2M, and a guy came over to try the guitar. Before even plugging it in, he got it in his hands, and just said, "oh no it feels too firm". I had 10.5 - 48 strings in standard E tuning, so I tried explaining that, but he just went "no this guitar doesn't feel good", and almost didn't buy it. But, I got an old used set of 9-42s that I hadn't thrown away yet, we swapped the strings, and then he played the guitar for like 20 seconds and said it's perfect, and bought it...

Great vid. I’ve been playing 10-52 forever and just recently tried putting some 9s on my PRS SE. Really enjoying the difference in feel of the strings and ease of bending. Def a great idea to try different gauges to find what’s right for you!

You have turned my thinking around on a couple guitar related subjects. This is another one. You open my eyes (ears). Thank you I enjoy your channel a lot. 👍🏻

You give the best value to time spent watching ration on guitar tech RU-vid channels ever, I've been following you from years, and i really appreciate the knowledge you shared with us, from building my own guitar with my favorite specs to getting the right guitar for my style to getting the right strings, man you got it all covered for me

I travelled that road last year. I'd used the same strings for many years and after learning what some other artists used I wanted to see if some change would "improve" sound/tone. I tried sveral brands and gauges, which was fun, and I could hear VERY subtle frequency changes but nothing blew me away to the extent of migrating to a new standard. What I did learn was that I was in fact very happy with where I'd already been. Confirming that was a worthy exercise. You hear about what your heros use and begin to think if you're not doing that, you're behind the curve. Nonsense. You MUST find your own comfort zone. You'll be miserable trying to mimic someone else's. I was glad to have that confirmed through this video.

Been using the standard ole 10-46 for years. They work for me and I like how they feel under my fingers. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. Great content Darrell!

Darrell I love your informative video's. You are such an upbeat person and very knowledgeable. I take your projects to heart in understanding the different guitars and accessories and how their built and your opinions of various subjects. So easy to follow.

Best channel. So glad to have discovered it. Massive back catalogue to get through!

My first guitar had 11-56 already on it. My next guitar had 9-42. I thought I liked the heavier strings until I played the 9's. Now I'm sticking with them. Super Slinky for me. Nice video!

After watching Rhett's and Rick's videos on string gauges, I started checking my guitars with a micrometer and found out I've been playing on 9s on my favorites. It is a feel thing, rather than a sound, that matters, I've realized. Thanks, Darrell.

You are by far my go to guitar channel these days. No bs, considerate well thought out opinions. Always friendly good mood and in a good mood :)

Another great video! You're the best Darrell. Thanks for keeping the language clean too.

As Mr. Natural said in the way back when, "Get the right tool for the job." Good vid.

After watching Rick Beato's vid on string gauge, my takeaway was that I didn't need to suffer with 10's or 11's to get good tone. It seemed to me that using lower gauge strings may give you slightly more string differentiation when using gain, but the tone itself didn't change that much. Darrell is just taking that a step further and pointing out what to do if you DO want to change your sound. I would have thought "pickups" first, but he's right...amps, along with their EQ settings, really control your sound. Just listen to any amp modeler to hear the differences. Pickup swaps can bring slight change, especially to dynamics, but bang for the buck tone change happens with the amp (or amp modeler). I've found I can even replicate single coils from my Schecter humbuckers by using the 7 band EQ on my Zoom G5n (which, since I only play at home thru headphones or into a DAW, is essentially functions as my amp).

Always so instructive!!!

Love this channel. Thank you for great content!

Thanks, as always, for the practical advice! String gauge is a comfort thing. If you're uncomfortable playing, your tone will suck no matter what strings you're playing.

One of the coolest guitar channels on RU-vid and the hair to match:)

Very insightful. Thanks Darrell!

Very good information Darrell. Thank You Sir!

Long time ago after I had been playing for a couple of years and was getting decent I started using 11s in order to get a better sound. I was quite into SRV at the time and was even considering going up to 12s. I just assumed that the sound was better but in hindsight it was probably psychoacoustics. I was doing OK with the heavy gauge and my hands became stronger but after several years I realized it just doesn't make that much of a difference. And when trying to play things involving fast runs or lots of bending it makes life a lot harder. Now I'm back down to 10s and I think they're just fine. I don't know if I could handle going down to 9s because I would overbend everything and I like the string to fight me a bit. I also quite like a louder acoustic tone for quiet practice and 10s help a little with that as well.

I don't know if this is a reaction to Rick Beato, but he captured the difference with microphones and it is audible.

Great info here, thanks Darrell!

Darrell, this was a great piece of advice on guitar tone. On a different note, I have been watching you online since you first started your youtube channel and I consider you to be one of the best online. Just giving us excellent advice and your knowledge of all the aspects of guitar playing that is taking it to another level ( i.e. , Berklee College of Music) Thank You!

On my experience it was a good change. I play a lot legato lines and was playing 09-42 all my life. But when I changed to 10- 46 was soo different. The tone, feel, sound are so powerfull...even on a no expensive guitar. I will try with 11.

I use 9's because my hands are 70 yrs. old and I've had Carpal Tunnel surgery on both hands and I find the 9's easier on the fingers and a little easier to bend. I think I do notice a slight difference in tone but if I were a younger fellow with better flexibility in my fingers I probably would be using 10's or 11's. Thanks for the Info Darrell. Kevin O'Rourke

I just bought my first cheap electric guitar last year. Switching from acoustic to electric gave me tons of questions and this guy is breaking all the myths said to me by people. For the whole day I was watching in his YT channel. I'm looking forward for more of your videos!

Sage advice. Thanks Darrell. 👍😎

Yes different strnig gauges sound different but the lightest gauge of strings really minimizes the tension & facilitates good technique.

There's one slight advantage of using a slightly heavier gauge string on guitars with medium jumbo or jumbo frets.... They help with intonation. With tall frets and light gauge string, it's easier to press too hard on the string and push the note or chord out of tune. Heavier gauge strings can help avoid this by their natural resistance to bending. Of course having tall fat jumbo frets also forces a player to develop a lighter touch

Glad this was clarified .thanks DB good vid

Excellent advice!

The timing of this video is very interesting haha. Almost as if it was a response to another popular video going around, though it doesn't seem to address the premise of the other video. Also, might have been nice to see some string gauge comparisons, or perhaps record a lick with one set of strings, and show that you can EQ a totally different set to sound the same.

experiment with everything in the chain: * new strings make most of the sound of a (clean) guitar tone. changing them does a whole lot of difference. * a guitar set up differently, can sound dramatically different. set it up the way you want to. * effects. a compressor dialed gently can change your sound completely, and still sound natural. most of the sounds you like are probably compressed by high quality studio grade gear. * an amp. yeah, most of the sound comes out of it. * try boosting the treble on the amp, and turn down the tone and see what it does. try lowering the volume knob on the guitar and cranking the amp. every one of the aspects interact with one another. but, in the end, try everything yourself. don't listen to anyone.

Sweet! I will give these a go! Thank you!

What a significant piece of info for me right now as I just got my first baritone (28”) and i’m trying to figure out the best set for A standard/drop G. Thanks Darrell.

I've always laughed at the "tonewood" argument when it comes to solid-body electrics. Bodies have been made from pine and plexiglass, they work fine. I suspect if I took the same neck, same electrics, same everything, and put those components in a pine body, a swamp ash body, a plexiglass body, and a bedpan body, there won't be much difference. Well okay, the bedpan-body might have a little more twangy ring to it.

I have bad hand health and my ears never worked correctly. I've been playing light strings for years. My cat is my only audience and she doesn't seem to care what it sounds like.

Thank you for your advice, that was the best. And you are the only one I've been following.

You do such a good job. Never stop man.

Being able to bend the strings properly is much more important then any possible difference in tone one could get from thicker strings.

Really appreciate the advice man. I am an avid user of Ernie Balls and 13s for a long time now. Cheers for the information

As always you are an incredible source of no Myth information! Thank You

Oh my gosh thank you for doing this!!!!! You are the best

I’ve noticed LOTS of changes in tone when changing strings! ... Which all had to do with the fact that I put a fresh set of strings on there. Not the gauge. I really do agree with all you say here! So many things affect our tone, yet I so often see guitarists getting hung up on the details. We discuss tonewoods, string gauges and tubes to an almost comical degree, while I see just as many ignore their tone controls or speakers and cabs, which will have a much greater impact on the tone.

Well said bro! I've been playing for over 40 yrs. and played with just about every gauge string out there and my tone never changes... I always sound like me! Lol. Now if I change the eq settings on my amp, that tone changes, but still sounds like my fingers, my touch/attack is my tone.

Thank you for your information. I have always wondered about the strings gauges.

Great video!

“An” interesting divide in the guitar world?? The guitar world has the most chaotic divide EVER, obsessing about everything along the chain of tone on every link from fingers, picks, strings, fingerboard, necks, scale length, nut, bridge, pickups, “tone wood”, finish, electronics, pots, cable, pedals, amps, amp placement, speakers, cabs, tubes, effects, etc. etc. ect. endlessly all the way to your ears. I can’t think of ANY single tiny variable about electric guitar that is not feverishly debated. Name ONE! 😄

When I returned to plahing after years without touching a guitar i loved super thin strings. One month later I am tired of them. Too soft. Bends are easy and lovable but the picking hand feels no resistance and the steing wobbles too much. I will test now medium strings hoping to find a good balance of softness and resistance.

Thanks so much for pointing out the difference in application from acoustic to electric. Fantastic.

Strong presentation, cheers!

I've used Ernie Ball pretty much exclusively for my electric guitars. For decades, the 9-42 Super Slinky was my go-to set. Three or four years ago, though, I switched to the 9-46 Hybrid Slinky set for all my electrics and I've been quite happy with those.

Sticking to regular ol' daddario xl120s

I learned a lot in this channel Darrell is truly a legend sharing his knowledge to other people

Thank you, Darrell! I've had my first guitar for just over 2 weeks and I freakin love it! Been learning stuff and practicing every day since I got it. Thank you, brother! Without your channel, I'd never have even thought about buying a guitar and learning to play. 🤙👍👍 Thank you!

Damn! I knew I have to get a 5150

The string gauge does change the tone of the guitar. Rick Beato did a great video looking at and comparing 8s through to 11s, and there was a big difference in the low end. The myth was that thicker strings gave a beefier low end, but what they actually found was that thicker strings produced a more muddy sound, and thinner strings had a tighter bottom end, much better for rock and metal. They also fit in a mix better. While I understand what you’re saying, I think you’re missing the nuance of the changes that string gauge, and even string composition, makes. The guitar is a system of interconnected parts, and each one affects the tone, even if only a little bit. I say you should always experiment, and changing your string gauge is a lot cheaper than changing your amp or guitar.

thanks for your honesty and help with Guitar sounds..

Fascinating demo, Darrell, and watching the software change the tone was an eye-opener. I play both acoustic and electric guitar, and it's important to me that the strings feel consistent from instrument to instrument. I've settled on string sets with 11s as the high E. They're a little heavier 1st string on the electrics and just a touch lighter on the acoustics than usual, but they feel the same to my fingertips, which affects my playing of both kinds of guitar. I'd rather the electrics feel just like my acoustic. I'm still learning about amp EQ, but I accidentally followed your advice and bought a 2nd amp (Blues Junior III) when I was unhappy with the sound coming out of my 1st one (Fishman Loudbox Performer) with a couple (but not all) of my guitars. It's made a difference I can hear. I'd love to have your amp setup, but cant' justify the expense - I'm just a guitar hobbyist.

Use a different pick.

But Beato said we had to!

VERY helpful (as always with DBG video!).

Darrell you do a great job!

I don't think different string gauge on brand gives "better" tone, more like "different" tone. It's more personal preference on what sounds better or worse.

I fell for the Stevie Ray, telphone cable guage guitar string voodoo but I like the feel and sound, yes you heard me, sound of 8's and 9's. The thicker strings have a thuddy sound that I couldn't dial out, the smaller strings sound more open when amplified. Also, your wrists will thank you when you can take a gallon of milk out of the fridge without pain!!!

Very helpful, thanks

Thanks Darrell!

In regards to @3:00, there is another factor that we don't talk about enough in the guitar community. I used to play heavy gauge strings and had a very heavy touch. Well, almost 30 years later I now have nerve damage in my left hand's fingers (index is the worse). Perhaps just advising people with a heavy touch to go for the heavy strings, as a blanket statement, might not be the best idea. Learning a lighter touch might be in order for some people. For a while I was afraid I'd have to give up playing. I eventually learned what works for me. I had to change my touch. I had to change my guitars as I found neck shape helped quite a bit; Fender's Modern C and Ibanez's Wizard works for me btw. But perhaps most importantly, I found that string gauge made a huge difference! Today I run 9's at the heaviest. I recognize that the overall point of the video is on tone but I feel that that statement in the video could have been made a little better. And to my heavy handed playing friends... honestly guys, learn a lighter touch before its too late.

I have been watching your vids for a long time and this is the first time I have disagreed. Each string gauge has a different resonance and set of overtones. If you only have one string, you can eq as much as the amp’s limited eq will let you. But you have six strings. When you play more than one at a time, the combination will sound differently depending on the string gauges selected, and eq will not eliminate that with only a three band eq. How much different is a good question, but there will be a difference.

Darrell you ROCK! I've been having endless discussions about the tone issues with my friends: the tonewood, the fingerboard material: maple vs rosewood, the tube vs solid state vs modellers, fingerpicking vs thick plectrum, the speakers vs cabinet wood material, handwired pickups vs stock, custom shop vs stock amps... you name it. Well it all boils down to the EQ. So easy, so simple? Now all the shops, all the marketing guys will track where you live ;-). You've ruined their carefully cooked sales pitch. To make matters worse, the other day I found a film by Philip McKnight who compares a Squier built vs MIM vs Fender Custom Shop .. .and guess what: the Squier and the Custom Shop shared the same components (ok, that was in a specific line of products, so just very few models, but still). And now you're adding to it. I expect some heated debate ;-). Right on!

If you are comfortable you will play comfortable. I use to have 9’s on my Tele but changed to 10’s because I’m a bit heavy handed and when it comes to bends they feel better to my style of playing. Didn’t Hendrix and Gibbons use 8’s? Their tone is huge!!! God bless!!!

It's more important which strings work best for you. Tone comes from the fingers, so I think finding the right type of strings for you can make a difference. I used to play 9s, but always thought they felt wimpy and made it hard to estimate how much pressure I was using. I switched to 10s and haven't considered going back to 9s. I think I tried 11s and thought they were too tthick. 10s are just perfect.

DB...my tone totally sucks but at least now I know it’s not my strings!!!...thanks for always being the voice of reason...rock on my brother!!!

Yet another awesome video Darrell. I love all of your videos. Straight to the point and great to follow. Very informative and enteraining. I really like your explanation and demo of EQ. I am thinking of using 9-42 for tuning down to standard C. I have currently got really thick down tune strings on now but they are too thick for my guitar nut. I am having tuning issues for the E and A strings. I also find that the 9-42's are a lot better for bending and harmonics. What do you think? My dream amps are an ENKL Powerball, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and EVH 5150.

I like dem 9.5's.. Stable and don't feel to stiff.. just right :)

I agree Darell, I’ve been using a 10-38 gauge for 45 years on all my electrics, Strat, Tele or my 59 RI and I use these for the feel and ease of playing. Amps matter! Thanks for another great informative video.

11-52 playing in Eb tuning....thanks for all the great videos.

Thanks for the video. I feel like topics like these are underrated

Beato made that video recently and they came to the conclusion that lighter strings had tighter bass or something. The difference was noticeable but pretty subtle, and all I could think of is that you should be able to get the same result by tweaking the EQ on the amp or pedal or whatever. But if playing lighter strings makes somebody feel better about their sound, that's exactly what they should do.

Ernie Ball .10s and a Fender Champ 40 with my 2019 Fender Player Strat SSS.

I have a friend and he can make anything sound good just by tweaking some eq dials. I’m glad you mentioned it’s so different for an acoustic guitar. Another great honest, grounded video Thanks

What an awesome video.

I have always used 10s or 11s, partly as I fell for the myth that thicker strings meant more tone, but two things are making me think I'll try 9s. One is I've always been a heavy player, in that I wear my frets out quickly and often break strings, but I've been consciously making an effort to apply less pressure when I play, and not hit the strings so hard. Also, I'm guessing, you saw the Rick Beato video about string gauge, and according to their "test", the thinner set had more definition when played with dirt, and I'm curious to try to see if I agree or not.

When i watched Rick Beato's video I thought the same thing, it doesn't really matter. It does change tone, yeah, but you shouldn't sacrifice the right string gauge for your playing, just to have that slight change...

I've been playing since 1968, and have been through every string gauge imaginable. Years ago, I settled on a hybrid gauge, based on a set of .009s, but with a .0095 High E, and .0115 B string on, all of my guitars. On my ES-175, I use flatwounds .011-.050.

This is waaaaaay better than the Rick Biato's video about string gauges. You nailed it!

I thoroughly enjoy Darrell’s videos but I disagree with him on this one. After watching Beatos video I decided to switch from 10’s to 9’s and I can definitely here a difference in tone, most notably clarity on the mid range. Actually Brad the Guitologist called Darrell out when he touched on this topic on his 15 guitar myths busting vid. Maybe these results won’t be the same for everyone, but it absolutely did for me, and all my guitars are now switched to 9’s. Give it a shot.. See for yourself...

The eq on most amps is nowhere near precise enough for what you need imho. This is why people have been using tube screamers, treble boosts and the like. I think the best tool is an eq. And if you are to use it in the way relevant to this video, eg removing too much bass caused by heavy strings, then it needs to be before the preamp. You cant do it post. It's too late then.

Thanks for this one Darrell, a good rational approach. How about cabs? I recently watched a vid (forget who it was, unfortunately) where he demonstrated, very well I think, that your speaker cabinet is even more fundamental to your tone. Would love to have your considerations on this.

Truth! I was so happy to see you do this subject. I found it so ridiculous that many are recommending to change to a lighter string gauge to clean up your tone. Thank You Darrell! ....for addressing the real issue here. It took me a while to figure out what string gauge I felt most comfortable playing on. I can tail up so many different tones using both my guitars controls... and the amp's tone controls (if it has them) I can get any sound that I want. OK.... I can't really get the "semi-hollow" tone out of my solid bodies, but I do know of a way to get close. LOL! I could also buy one of those guitars if I really need that tone.

Has anyone mentioned that Rick Beato just showed unequivocally that string gauge ABSOLUTELY affects the tonal characteristics of the guitar? It was fairly scientific, too.