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Post by mward on Dec 22, 2006 9:02:50 GMT -7
I haven't broken anything since I went to .011 and larger. Usually when I break a string it's when I do a bend.
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 22, 2006 9:18:21 GMT -7
That was in an interview in Guitar Player many years ago. He talked about a blues guy he used to see that played huge stings like that so he thought he would too. You'd think it would turn those little SG Specials he was using then into pretzels! I think now PT uses .009s. About 10 days ago I put a set on my Lentz that goes .011, .014, .018 and then down to a .052 or .054. I don't remember for sure but it's a set of Dean Markley's. The Lentz has the titanium saddles that look like the old Fender Strat bent steel saddles. I broke the B this morning and that surprised me. I haven't gigged on that set but I have been playing the hell out of it to get my fingers and calluses built up. The .014 and the .018 are the hardest to deal with. I can't do the double string steel bends with them very well so I may drop back down to lighter strings. I'm also going to put a little of that Big Bends Nut Sauce on the saddles. That stuff is pretty good!
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Post by george998 on Dec 22, 2006 15:28:24 GMT -7
I agree with Ferguson pickup height is most crucial,you should keep the base side down on all three pickups. I got that from Eric Johnson. i have been playing Strats for 35 yearsand i use Daddario 9.5's they are a happy medium between 9's and 10's,thay also help with my arthritis
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 22, 2006 16:26:34 GMT -7
I always think bigger is better but DON'T hurt yourself. If you hurt go smaller no one will really know the strings are smaller but you anyway.
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 27, 2006 16:38:26 GMT -7
"If you hurt go smaller no one will really know the strings are smaller but you anyway."
EXACTLY right Billy. Been trying to say this all along. Hell, if you want to be a man, go 13-56! Heard a guy play on Xmas day, and he got this huge tone, and I asked what gauge he was sporting. He told me 9-42's, standard set, D'Addario's. Shouldn't happen maybe, but it did.
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 28, 2006 10:38:44 GMT -7
I think tone does start with the strings but how you play and what picks you use are also part of the equation that can make you sound the way you do. Skinny strings and a heavy right hand will sound like crap every time but use a light or medium pick and pick lightly and the big tone can be had, also not too low of action. I have a problem where many times my adrenaline gets so high that I just squeeze the hell out of the neck and bash away with the pick so hard that I have to use heavier strings. I recently put a special set of strings on my guitar; .0105, .012, .016, .028, .040, .050. They are great for bending two strings at once and maximum expression and nuance but if my adrenaline kicked in too much when playing they would feel like rubber bands so I took that set back off for my usual .010 thru .052, only changeing the .010 for a .011. If i could control my excitement I could use the skinnier strings but apparently I can't. This has actually been one of my biggest problems all my playing life but it just is what it is. I'm not nervous and I don't have any stage fright at all but I just get too wound up. I've thought about trying some meditation or self hypnosis but never checked into it.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 28, 2006 11:10:02 GMT -7
I'm definately heavy handed so big strings are a must. I'm trying to work on my dynamics but I also get really hyper and wound up sometimes so I dig in pretty hard.
If you REALLY want to work on energy control, try Chinese calligraphy. The slightest change in pressure or direction in a stroke can change the look of a character. It's a lot harder than it seems, but it's also very rewarding!
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 28, 2006 14:04:57 GMT -7
Mark Knopfler must have subscribed to the Chinese Caligraphy classes. What disiplined touch. My pleasure to see him play twice live, and both times, virtually no pressure on the strings it seemed. Very controlled. Very thunderous results when it came to the heavy stuff, same beautiful touch.
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 28, 2006 16:13:56 GMT -7
I couldn't do that Calligraphy. Sometimes I have the shakes and I don't know why, probably adrenalin again. Whatever it is it makes my handwriting look like an 80 year old when that's going on. I've always been that way but it's worse in the last 5 to 10 years.
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 28, 2006 19:03:32 GMT -7
Sorry to hear about those shakes, Billy. What does the Doc say?
I can't do that caligraphy stuff very well either, but I've put my deficiencies down to lack of skill!
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 28, 2006 20:22:07 GMT -7
It just comes and goes. Right now I'm super steady. I never thought to ask a DR since it's so intermittent. If it was anything like a nerve condition the cure would be worse than the problem. It's really not enough to even think about. I think it sounds worse than it is.
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 28, 2006 22:36:00 GMT -7
Well, I sure hope so. They're telling us now that once you're past 50, let the Doc know about anything like that. Preventive medicine, I guess! We have to take care of each other and ourselves.
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Post by kc on Dec 29, 2006 4:10:37 GMT -7
I read it was .050something to .022s on the top end! Actually he used .022s on both the high E and B strings. Rediculous! The article that had this info was apparently inaccurate - according to this page: thewho.net/whotabs/equipment/guitar/equip-strings.htmlPT used a 12 for the e and then a 16 for both the b and g strings from around 1968 - 80? kc
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Post by billyguitar on Dec 29, 2006 10:03:09 GMT -7
That's the interview I remember. I could never see how he could use a .022 high E etc. without ruining the guitar. That makes much more sense. Thanks for posting that. I knew I had read it but had no idea from what year.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 29, 2006 10:42:03 GMT -7
You guys are right--PT never used a .022 1st string. I looked up that site and found this:
PT: No, that’s the setup you get when you buy a regular gauge Sonomatic set, but I use a .056, .044, .032, .028, another .028 and a .022 [Whotabs: this is a typo — it was actually .056, .044, .032, .016, .016, .012.]
The mag I read it from had the typo. It also said Steve Howe used rediculously heavy strings. I may need to check that out too!
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