It's awesome that such a great guitarist like Rachelf is promoting thinner strings! I started playing in the 1980's when balanced 8's were the norm and I have always stayed with 8's with my older guitars.
Excellent advice Rachel. I used 10s on my strat till I got terrible tendinitis - took months to get past it. Have been using 9s on my les paul style guitars. The shorter scale and lighter strings are much kinder to my hands and at least I can get back to practicing! Was just going to order 8s so I can get back on the strat, but might jump to 7s for the sake of my hands 🤟🎸
You can hear Rachel's smile in her voice. It's infectious. I went down to 8's from 11s on my strats, ended up going to 9 with a slightly heavier low e string and its my faavvv. Still like 10s for les pauls for some reason though!
I use 10-46 strings in standard tuning on all my guitars. I've used other sizes, heavier and lighter. These sizes just work for me. Granted, I'm really a bassist, and I'm used to using a 45-105 set. I used flatwounds on a guitar for a while. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll do it again.
Respect for getting along with such light strings. You really need some control to play them well. I play both guitar and bass and if I use very light strings on my guitars I tend to pull notes sharp, especially with the big frets on modern guitars (which I like). And I'm a heavy picker on the low strings. So I use 9-46 on guitars with strat scale, and on LP scale I figured out using kinda custom 10-49 is what I like. Yeah I have to buy individual strings for that...
I’d love to try 8’s or 7’s, but how do you feel them through your guitar calluses?! I can barely feel the treble strings with 9’s! 🤔 🤷🏼♀️ 😂 Btw, don’t forget to consider your nut slot widths. You don’t want to go more than a size up or down from the nut’s setup - check the stock size strings supplied with your guitar or get them measured if they were ever adjusted to accommodate other strings. If you move up/down more than one size, the strings can slip out of the nut or even off the bridge while strumming and bending. If you really decide to move a couple of sizes up or down, you may need the slots widened or narrowed (or a new nut entirely) accordingly.
They sound great. After struggling with strings for years I found out that a nice balanced set is what fit my playing especially for guitars with functioning tremolo bridges. The balanced tensions really help with my intonation and returning to equilibrium after a whammy trick. Another thing that really helped me is pure nickel strings. Stringjoy makes both and I haven't looked back since I found this magic sauce. I tried a lot of stuff like this before I found my perfect fit. I think there is a lot of merit to experimenting with as many different strategies as possible to better inform a person of what their secret sauce is. I mean what's good for me is not necessarily what is the be-all-end-all for someone else. I definitely recommend every player try light and heavy strings at some point, that way there's nothing you haven't tried. Who knows light strings might be for you but you won't know it until you've compared them. Great video, cool strings! :)
I use a 10s on my baritone 7 stand feels great, especially tuning a whole step down. Helps with my fretting hand. I used to use custom sets, now I just use the standard D'Addario 7 string sets and they work just fine.
It's fun to have 1 guitar with triple aught tow cable strings to play for muscle training, so when I go back to my "lite" strings it's fun and easy to play. Like wearing ankle weights so your feet feel light when you take them off. Great review video, thank you!
I have never tried anything less than 8, and usually use 8 or 9. I worry about strings breaking and sustain. You have encouraged me to experiment with them because you got a lot of raunchy sounds on your rig with those. Your videos are essential!
Why would you worry about breaking guitar strings? I mean.... The worse that could happen is one snaps and takes out an eyeball or deeply cuts your face! Of course.... This is a worst case scenario and you will probably just lose a tooth or two!
Thanks for making me smile on a rough night. Your demeanor, on the verge of bombastic laughter through the entire clip really made me laugh. I'm going to give those strings a shot too. 🔥😂
This reminds me of maybe a decade ago when Rob Chapman was doing demos on Anderton's, they tried some 7s and found that they were harder to break than thicker strings - their elasticity (that two step bend!) and they stress tuned them up to a few steps higher. - the thin E string got all the way up to A or B before it snapped, if I recall.
Rach, I know what you mean. I used .008s on a 1971 Gibson "Byrdland" for a decade or so when I was an active professional guitarist. I had played a1968 SG with .009s exclusively for a few years before that, but wanted to make a change. The .008 set brought out something extra and so very fine in that "Byrdland". That already great instrument came alive in a way I had never heard from a guitar of that or any kind. The mids and upper-mids chimed so brightly but without any harshness or spikyness. It was a revelation. Of course, the feel of lighter strings must be experienced to understand how great they are.. I use.008 s now on just about everything, but with light gauge flatwounds low "E", "A" and "D" strings. Flats are amazing and have so much character. They also feel incredible. Give them a try, I think you'll be equally amazed and satisfied with them. BTW, I think that learning to play with a lighter touch in both hands is very good or developing more nuance, expression and overall musicality. Virtuoso violinists set up their violins to play very lightly so that they can move as fast and as accurately as possible from one note to the next without having to exert even the slightest extra bit of any extra energy when pressing the strings. I think that we guitarists should emulate this as much as possible for the same reason. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, too. Great gear, right? Cheers.
I changed to 8s after having hand issues after playing prof.for 45 years Coming from 11, and 12 i thought, i couldnt play these 8s, but, they sound fantastic. And you sound very nice with those strings !
I've found that I sometimes like to use 10-52's in B and the SIT Karl Sanders 10-70's in drop A. The light amount of tension feels really fluid, but the heavy bottom still lets you dig in for rhythm. Not all the time, but I do have a couple guitars set up this way. Then, I've started to move from 10's to 9's on my standard guitars, they just feel better to my fingers.
I got a good sound on my Acoustic Guitar w/ these 7s by cranking the angle of the headstock down to 90 degrees (like a lute) which puts the strings at a really steep angle over the nut.
I've actually never seen 7s before, considered trying 8s but never have done so far, but I'm actually a huge fan of hybrid strings, I like bending to be as easy as possible, but hate pitch drift when riffing, so my string set of choice is a 9-50 set for standard E.
It really does not make that much difference. I have tested on a floyd and a fixed bridge and if the gauge change is massive you may need a quarter turn on the truss rod but with both of my guitars the intonation stayed dead on regardless of the strings.
@@mattsloan32 it really depends on the player. If you're switching from 10s to 8s for example, there's quite a lot less tension, which means the neck will backbow. This depends on the neck also, but usually it's quite noticeable, if you're aware how your guitar is and should be setup. Usually people have way more neck relief than it's necessary, so it has more tolerance for the tension loss and it doesn't go backbow, but with a proper setup, it might easily start buzzing at 1-5 frets, because the neck has gone backbow. Intonation also depends a lot on the touch and how accurate you want it to be. It should be always adjusted with using exactly the same touch that you normally play and also the guitar in playing position. If it's spot on after switching string gauge, great. But usually it isn't. Even the same gauge strings, but different brand can have really big variation on intonation. But that's why i just recommended checking the intonation. Not necessary to adjust if it's dead on. Same with truss rod, but most people are not even aware of how it should be adjusted correctly.
@@AnonymousUser66649 Just stating my personal experience after testing 10's down to 7's. As I said a slight truss rod adjustment seems to be all it really takes (unless it is Floyd then you just have to level the trem) My intended point was that no one should feel they would have to perform or pay for a complete setup of the guitar. Intonation scares many people and I was actually amazed after seeing all the warnings that it was not needed after swapping gauges on both floating and fixed bridges. Have not dug into it but I think that even science says that intonation is mathematical. Meaning if the scale length and fret spacing does not change neither will intonation no matter what gauge stings you are using. Now if you make a major change and do not set the neck to the original relief that will change the scale length and throw out intonation. In a nutshell, if you keep all other factors the same (scale length, neck relief), string gauge will not impact intonation.
@@mattsloan32 The intonation is more about the touch than the gauge, assuming we are talking about the same string brand. With lighter gauge strings, especially if playing with quite heavy touch, it's way easier to push the lighter gauge string out of tune than with a heavier gauge. It's about adjusting the technique for the lighter gauge string or then adjusting the intonation again to your own touch with the lighter strings. Speaking from personal experience, testing pretty much every string brand out there and changing strings every 2 weeks, for example D'addario and Dunlop strings intonate different. Same with DR strings, as they have a round core, compared to the usual hex core. I've been going back and forth with different brands and trust me, the strings intonate differently and now i'm talking about the wound strings. Just something to keep in mind and the reason why you should always check the intonation. Complete guitar setup is unnecessary, but just checking the relief and intonation is the first thing i would do after changing string gauges, especially after as big step as from 10s to 7s. People shouldn't be afraid of setting up the instrument and they should really get into it more, rather than paying for a luthier to set it up for them. Getting the instrument adjusted by yourself to your personal preference makes a big difference compared to bringing it to a luthier as he can't set it up to your personal touch and intonation. But it's true that some people don't care if the action is a little high, neck has a bit more relief than necessary or the intonation is a tad off. Nothing wrong about that, if you're having fun. But also some people base their opinion on different guitars just based on their setup, so it's a double edged sword.
I have 7’s on 3 guitars right now, 1 Flying V, 2 Evh’s. Haven’t broken a string yet, they have the same sets for a little over a year now. The V is in E standard, 1 EVH in 1/2 step down and the other in D standard, no issues for me in any of these tunings or scale lengths. My Kramer has 8’s and will be going to 7’s on the next string change. Great playing btw!
When you are used to bass strings a 10-52 set feels stupid light but I did have a set of eights I needed to go ahead and use on a guitar and the one they ended up on is so nice to play it's the one I pick more often.
I've been from 12/52 at these 7 on some of my guitars as I got older (64). The difference in sound is not very noticeable ( i even find them very precise in overdrive ) , you can compensate with bass and low mids on the amp. When properly mounted and stretched, they really stay in tune. The only problem is that you have to get used to playing lighter otherwise you get easily out of tune playing chords with bad fingering. Advantage: you can play hours and hours without any pain. Won't mount them on all my guitars, but on solid bodies it's perfectly usable , they even train your ear to play in tune . You're all right about it ! 👏🏻
Congrats on discovering 7s! 7s will definitely teach you finger control, plus you can get a full 2 step bend that's definitely not happening on bridge cable gauge strings. My daughter has an issue with muscle weakness so I keep her Tele loaded with Ernie Ball 8s and it's helped her a LOT. She also has autism so there are sensory issues to deal with, too and 7s feel a bit too weird for her, and are a bit too easy to accidently bend out of tune as she learns. My preferred gauge is EB's 9s, but I grab Kiddo's Tele often and it's a blast, especially when the songs get really bendy. I'll probably set up one of my S-types with 8s next string change Great video !
@@XirriousThanks. She's on the higher end of the spectrum, so we're grateful she gets to enjoy things in ways many can't, but it makes things "interesting" sometimes to say the least. She is thrilled that the 8s let her play comfortably and even use her bent pinkies.🙂
I've seen players use heavy strings on E A & D and lights on G B & E, so they can do easy lead, bends and vibrato on the high strings but still get loads of chunk on low power chords.
Yeah, that is a great option! I used to use hybrid 9s in the past with heavier lower strings. It would be cool if they made hybrid sets with 7s as the high string, but right now I think you'd have to combine string sets yourself.
Changes strings on a floating bridge the other day, the high e string snapped 2 times in a row 😳 I read a tip, that just a tiny thing as a hard dust paticle on the saddle will make it break, so I made sure that it was totally cleaned. It was horror to tune the string on the third attempt 😆 I use 10 gauge D’Addario 🤘
I love these strings. I’ve been using them for about s year. My hands feel a LOT better! Thanks for trying different stuff. I really appreciate your videos and attitude. Oh, also, I got a pointier pick. It gives great attack with lighter picking.
Billy Gibbons is the king of those light guage strings. I'm an old fart stuck on 10's. I used 9's when I was young and gigging. That Ibanez sounds killer with those on there. The bending must be fun. Sounds freakin awesome. I like that green finish too. Glad I watched this. You're a great picker/thrasher/shredder. God bless you and yours.🎸❤🙏☺💯👍
I love light strings! They are fun! The only issue I run into is my right hand picking. If I'm trying to get dynamic with my right hand it's difficult on lighter strings. I usually stick to the E 1st string being a #9.
Try a .50 Dunlop Fins pick with those light gauges! I like the Triangle and Fins .50's, you can really dig in! I play allll types, thrash, metal, old school rock and pop. Like everything and I just find light strings and picks so much fun to play!
I recently watched your video on getting the 8s and thought why not try a lighter string myself went from 11 to 9 and I feel my play just feels so much better
I'm honestly not even sure what string gauge is on my LTD... I tend to play Acoustic 90% of the time, so anytime I plug in the electric, It's like a holiday for my fingers. Not sure I can handle the bliss from 8s or 7s... Also - Thanks for flipping us off in your vid thumbnail. =P
I worked my way up to 11s, then back down to 10s, as they were the limit of comfortable bends. I have 10s on a strat mini, tuned to standard pitch, it has the same effect as 07s on a standard scale, it is great for expressive blues playing.
I never tried 7s. But I really need to. I switched to 8s some years ago and it has been a blast. It just feels like I have more control over my instrument and over my tone. And they are so versatile, as long as you don't need to tune down. Drop D is possible, but only... just. 😅 I love them. But now I want to try these extra light bois. 🤣
8's are awesome! I do also tune down to D standard with 8's, but they are quite slinky 😅. Totally worth trying out the 7s as well when you get the chance, especially if you are a fellow 8's fan :)
@@RachelfGuitar They are so slinky, but goddamn, bends with three halftones are just so amazing and easy to archive with them, and it really makes your guitar sing. I will absolutely try those 7s as soon as I get to it. 🤩
Wow. 7's, Rachel? I think Billy Gibbons uses 7's, but wasn't aware of anyone else using that light of a gauge. I used to use 8's (Ernie Ball), and every once in a while I would break the high E string. Got tired of changing that string, so I switched to 9s and also 10s.
Yes these strings are made in collaboration with Billy Gibbons :). I've actually never broken an 8 so far after a year and a half, so hoping it will be the same for 7's for me!
Do you break 8's on more than one guitar? Hope you don't mind this tip, but take a look at where the string rubs on the bridge and nut to be sure they're smooth and lubed up. Friction at those points can cause strings to break as they rub across those friction points on the guitar. Since SRV used to break strings, his guitar tech would lube the string friction points with "graphite grease". Don't know if you're familiar with Tab Benoit, the killer swamp blues guitarist out of Louisiana. Since he's an aggressive player and often breaks strings, he uses a "dot" of home brew 50-50 mix of Slick 50 and 90 Weight Gear Oil lube at the friction points on the saddle and nut of his Fender Thinline Tele guitar. He jokingly calls it "swamp grease", but says it really helps prevent string breaks. Anyway, probably way more than you wanted to know, but I hope it helps you out. 🎸🎸🎸
@@audiophileman7047 Good question. It's been so long I can't remember if it was on more than one guitar. I only had 2 electric guitars for a long time, so I honestly can't remember if this was happening on one guitar or two. Perhaps I will circle back to 8's for a couple of guitars and see what happens. I might be pleasantly surprised at this point.
@@guitarplayerz4893 Sounds good, but don't forget the lube on the friction points of the saddle and the nut. I actually like 9's for a less bright tone; it's the sweet spot for me.
Great channel! These 7's are perfect for new players with weak little hands. I had a great guitar teacher when I started out who had me re-string with a banjo string on the 1st position high "E" and drop the rest so the original "A" string became the new low "E on the 6th". Now you don't have to....just buy 7's. It really helped me starting out! I love Ernie Ball "Extra Super Slinky 8's" and I see they also make Zippy 7's for a dollar less than the Dunlop's. (Nothing against Dunlop, love their speed metal picks) So fun to vibrate sustain forever with the eBow using 8's, can't wait to try 7's....Thanks! I hope somebody decides to makes "Cobalt" -7's.
I’ve tried 11s to 9s on my Fender Lead 1. This neck being longer scale I’ve wanted to try 8s to get the easier feel of playing a shorter scale neck like a Les Paul. Have heard 8s bring out the mids more which I dig. Waiting for my 8s to arrive soon!
You play so well! Amazing! I will have to try the lighter strings sometime. I'm still using 9s and 10s on my electrics. I recently purchased a little bit lighter 11-52 for my acoustics but I haven't tried them yet. LOL
Experimentation is king! A lot of players spend way too much time watching videos about the best strings, when they should just get a few packs of strings and try them out. I have never gone that far down, will try that out the next time I order new strings :) I play a lot of different styles and went out of my way to buy guitars that feel dissimilar to each other, so there's really no one-size-fits-all solution, IMO. On a Telecaster or Strat with a regular headstock, I would want heavier strings on the bottom (e.g. 10-52). On super strats with a reverse headstock, thin strings rule. My Les Paul gets abused with aggressive strumming, so it gets heavier strings.
I find impact on right hand (picking hand) feel can be accommodated somewhat by changing picks. I guess my right hand "wants" to feel a certain tension or resistance. So the lighter the strings, the heavier the pick. Worth a try! A couple of other things to watch out for - you may need to loosen the truss rod a bit and raise the action a bit, and you will almost assuredly need to re-intonate when changing string gauges (or even brands).
Also....think about taking your guitar to a luthier and having a Fender roller nut put in. INCREDIBLE difference in staying in tune and sustain. Roller saddles help a lot too if you have that kind of bridge. Just make sure they set it up so your first fret is 1/2 step as close as they can get it. I do my own work and had to move the nut in about .10 to get it to dial in but it will make all of your lower frets stay WAY closer to tune. You probably have noticed that most guitars go sharp in the first 5 frets. You can't always hear it but you will see it on your tuner. I've sold some very nice guitars because of this that I wish I had kept and fixed.
I need to try this! The past 3ish years, I've been using 9 gauge tuned half a step down. Really easy to play. And in my opinion, sounds better than standard. A compression pedal is the best way to get a fat sound!
Since I've heard that great players like BB King, Jimmy Page, and Billy F. Gibbons favor(ed) lighter gauge strings, I've explored whether or not lighter gauge strings make a difference in terms of playability and tone. They definitely affect both, but there's a debate within the debate. What gauge strings are best? There's no doubt that playing effort decreases as the string gauge decreases, so BB is absolutely right about that. What's the best for tone? Jimmy Page had 8's on his Les Paul's back in Zeppelin's heyday, and they sound great. I listened to a back to back sound comparison of guitars strung with strings from 8's to 11's. As the strings get smaller, they get brighter. I like 9's in terms of feel and tone. PRS strings my PRS electric guitar with 9's from the factory, so lucky me. Where lighter strings really help is with acoustic guitars with their higher string tension. I use Martin & Co. Extra Light M170 strings; they're 10's. I really like the brightness of those strings. Since lighter gauge strings are smaller, they do have a higher probability of breaking, especially if you really bend those strings. Another thing you need to check when replacing heavier gauge strings with lighter gauge strings is the curvature of the guitar's neck. When I put Martin M170's on two acoustic guitars, I had to adjust the truss rod to straighten the neck on both guitars. By the way, if you're getting pain in your fingers I recommend buying an exercise kit for your hands and doing stretching exercises to condition your hands and fingers. To develop finger pressure strength I recommend the Myideal MFX5 finger exerciser I use. "Keep on rockin' in the free world" with your lighter gauge strings! 🎸🎸🎸
I have been using 7, 8's since the late 60's. I had friends that said you got a better tone from the 10's or bigger. I didn't say any thing to them because it would be the same with wood type, weight, and Fret board they had their opinion. Your one smart lady. Oh the pickups are the only along with the amp that changes tone.
Here's something to consider: Billy Gibbons' #1 guitar the 59 Les Paul "Pearly Gates" has her original frets and the guitar is still playable. Bottom line is that if your technique allows you to play 7's, you won't ever need new frets.
Curious if you might try lighter strings on your acoustic also? I battle lots of fingers pain with acoustic guitars. You have amazing skills… tempted to dust off my Strat, as I have been using my acoustic for a few years now. Love your videos!!
I've been using 10 gauge strings, tuned down half a step. I'm able to bend a whole step, and if I really want to, 3 semi tones. ON AN ACOUSTIC! I've been using 10s at half a step tuned down for probably 3 years now and I NEVER get blisters. That being said, I was only palying acoustic for the majority of the past 2 years now. So my fingers are quite use to it. But it is WAY less painful than 11 gauge in standard. I've tried up to 13s before. Never again!
The lightest gauge of acoustic 6 string I've ever found are 9's. Feels like playing any guitar with 9 gauge strings on it. A properly set up guitar with any gauge strings is easy to play. All a heavy string gauge really determines is how low you can tune down without the strings being floppy. Light gauge strings make bending easier. Personally I use 11.5's for acoustic 6 string 10's for the acoustic 12 string and 8's on my electric 12 string. Been using 10's for 20 plus years now on the electric 6 strings. Skinny top heavy bottom 10 to 62 on the electric 7 string. The bass has 45's on it tune them all to 440 A. Don't have a clue what gauge the concert ukulele has on it only really have to change the nylon strings if one breaks they don't rust or collect oil and dead skin.
Still addicted to that crazy ocean esk blue guitar. Those strings do remind me of the plastic strings you find on kids guitars but I do love the feel the most. Its fantastically comfortable but I do have to be careful if I try to bend the will of the strings like I'm reaching for another dimension they break. I struggle too, skipping strings on variations in up and down picking. I won't use a pick with these. Holy cow do these ease carpal tunnel and arthritis, however. You can still get killer sound. It's just sometimes I need to throw on some rebar and dig for the 9th dimension of hell b.d.
with light strings your string hit sharp when you first hit them and then migrate to flat , so tuning is fun, especially riffing chords when you r really digging in( @ 6:00 you can hear it ) I have found 9,s are as low for tuning stability and i usually ask the attendant can I swap my 42 for a 46 so my E string is always critically in tune.
Great video! Rick Beato did a full rundown on string gauge, and debunked the theory of heavier strings sounding "heavier". There is really no affect. Play strings that feel good to you. For me, its 9's - they provide the right amount of resistance for me.
I changed my acoustic guitar from 10 to 8 and can now play much better, longer and less painfully. But no pain no gain :-) You have almost only blue guitars? I also like them best, have a PRS and Hagström SuperViking
Ah, glad I’m not the only person who gets jumpy taking the top e string up to pitch! My go to comfortable guitar is a duo sonic with 9s. Almost plays itself. Def will try 8s though.
I normally play D'addario 9s, actually. I've been thinking of swapping to 8s for a while, but knowing they make 7s, I may move to those. I have extreme nerve damage that's limited my ability to do much of anything with playing for the past several years (outside of basic chords and strumming), so the lighter gauges have helped me get back to it (I used to play 11s, I'm a bassist primarily, so moving from bass to guitar I used to break a lot of strings doing bends).
You got me with a smiley eyes the whole video hehe. Your vibe is so catchy! I’m a .9 guy but I’m considering changing to .9,5 But I’ll go for .7 at least just for one day for fun 😅 greeting from Mexico :)
I think it was Rick Beato that did the test with a bunch of guys playing different strings and then listening back to them. They all thought the light strings were the heavy strings when it was played back to them. They were all surprised to find the light strings sounded better.
In my younger days I used to play .008s, but somewhere along the line I just surrendered to .009s being the default. I do think about switching back though. I’m a pretty big guy so the effort required to play .009s isn’t really a big deal, I just like bright tones. *historical footnote* Judas Priest’s K.K. Downing used to play .007s, now that he’s switched to playing with the Floyd Rose Speedloader set up I think he might have had to switch to a more common string gauge. But not having a speedloader equipped guitar I guess I’ve never really looked at what is available for them.
I have been a long time advocate of the Rev's. The key is a light fret hand & a thick pointy pick...I suggest a jazzIII XL max grip. You will be flying in no time.
I like Daddario because they have half-guages. For example you could have: 8.5s for E standard guitars 9s for D# standard guitars 9.5s for D standard guitars 10s for C# standard guitars 10.5s for C standard guitars Makes each tuning feel very similar
I used to go as heavy as I thought I needed for strings. But now I've learned to use strings that have just enough tension for my taste tone wise but also light enough tension where they sound and feel very expressive. Which is something I found heavier strings start to lack once you go heavier. The tone gets less defined and duller, they feel less expressive, and you have to fight the strings more. My hands in the long term will appreciate lighter strings.
And they dont sound thin either. I had a 007. Set on a old sears and roebuck I rescued. They sound like zz top too. And yes within the month I broke the E tuning
