Semis and string guages?

boycey

Hi guys,
a question for the hollowbody / semi-hollow electric players on here.

I have a much loved Gibson ES333. I had it set up with 11's for a few years and then went back to 10's. The 10's dont cut the mustard though and sound thin compared to how the 11's sounded. Just wondering what the rest of ye use- and specifically does anyone use 12's? The thing I'd worry about is not being able to bend the strings nicely at standard tuning tension.

The medium term plan is to drop it into Derek Nelson (I'm hoping he can work his magic on the age old problem of Gibson fret end nibs causing the high E to snag sometimes) and while Im at it ask him to set it up with heavier guage strings.
Any recomendations/thoughts would be appreciated.

Sergio

I use 'Elixirs' brand polyweb 11,s gauge strings on my guild acoustic and ahavent looked back since.the tone from these strings is unbelievable in my opinion.
Dont buy them in irish music stores though as they are very expensive.hit ebay for theses strings.
the 11,s are perfect for bending and are not too thin sounding.

Dord

boycey wrote: »

Hi guys,
a question for the hollowbody / semi-hollow electric players on here.

I have a much loved Gibson ES333. I had it set up with 11's for a few years and then went back to 10's. The 10's dont cut the mustard though and sound thin compared to how the 11's sounded. Just wondering what the rest of ye use- and specifically does anyone use 12's? The thing I'd worry about is not being able to bend the strings nicely at standard tuning tension.

The medium term plan is to drop it into Derek Nelson (I'm hoping he can work his magic on the age old problem of Gibson fret end nibs causing the high E to snag sometimes) and while Im at it ask him to set it up with heavier guage strings.
Any recomendations/thoughts would be appreciated.

It's not a semi, but on my Junior I found that 10's weren't enough yet 11's were too heavy on the low side. The compromise I found were Ernie Ball Power Slinky's. They've got heavier high strings but the low strings are the same as a set of 10's. I find them easy enough to bend.

Doctor J

11s all the way. It's harder to bend but there's more meat on every note which justifies the extra effort. I used to play with 12s in E but I can't stand wound G strings.

leninbenjamin

you get used to heavier gauge strings. bending doesn't become a problem on them after a few weeks or so, and it's worth that initial pain for the tone.

punchdrunk

i use dean markley blue steels on my ES-135 and my epi sorrento
they're 10-52 so reasonably light on top,plenty of meat on the lower strings,great bassy notes on the E and A strings
i'd say check this arrangement out

Quattroste

Elixir's also do a heavy bottom set as per Dean Markley above. I use these on my 335 but I know you no likey Elixirs Boycey.

stephenshields2

I used to play 13-56 on a Jackson! The G string was .27 and it was not wound! But hell were they tough to play, even in Eb standard.

fish-head

I use 12s on my Gretsch. I don't have a problem bending strings (I play alot of Chuck Berry.. I'd be out of a job if I couldn't bend strings!).

The biggest plus is major tuning stability and the huge tone.

boycey

Thanks for the input lads. I think I'll follow your lead Fish-head and try out some 12's, the 11's sounded great so i'd say the 12's should sound huge alright. I have 11's on my Les Paul & Tele already so hopefully it wont be all pain and no gain!! I'll give the set up a lash myself before i send it elsewhere. Thanks lads.

Alanstrainor

stephenshields2 wrote: »

I used to play 13-56 on a Jackson! The G string was .27 and it was not wound! But hell were they tough to play, even in Eb standard.

I played similar on my strat, stuck with them for about 6-7 months before going back to 11's. 11's are the best compromise between tone and bendability. My fingers were shreds with the 13's! Damn Stevie Ray Vaughan and his gargantuan hands!

Seziertisch

Depends on the guitar. Some guitars you can get away with a number of different gauges, all giving a different sound but all sounding pretty good in their own way.

Others just require heavier strings and only really resonate to their full potential with heavier strings. A change of gauge can almost seem like you have a different instrument in your hands.

As for 12s being too heavy just get yourself a set with an unwound g and you should be able to manage it.