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String gauge
- Thread starter woody357
- Start date
In my experience (with flatwounds, mostly), the answer would be YES.
To me, bigger gauges (of the very same string) sound "beefier", for a lack of a better way to explain it.
On the other hand, bigger strings are tenser and stiffer than their lighter-gauge counterparts, and that affects playability: touch, attack, dynamics, etc. I think this also has an impact on tone.
To a certain degree, yes. However, in my experience, gauges affect playability more than tone.
My simple rule of thumb: Select the brand and type of string for the TONE I want, and select the gauges for the FEEL I want.
Between the same make and model of string, the difference between, say, a 40-100 set and a 45-105 set is negligible, with possibly the slightest more top end in the lighter set when new. One place I did notice a difference was with La Bella, between their LTF's 42-100 and their 760FL 43-104. Because of the differences in their recipes, I noticed the LTF's were to my ears lighter in tone as well as feel.
Basically b strings and e strings to a lesser extent seem to be the most sensitive to gauge difference. I've yet to find a.135 b string that sounds clear enough while I know that a 120 or 115 b string would sound very clanky and depending on your tuning and the e string does this too. So it does matter for tone but like was said for feel it definitely makes a difference.
IME thicker strings are a little punchier, and may have a more zing in the top end. It's a tighter sound. They may even have some slightly weird harmonics when brand new. The low end sounds a bit quicker. Conversely, really light strings can feel a bit slower after the initial attack, and slightly weak. It's why I don't like extremely light strings, although there are plenty of players who sound huge on them.
It's most noticeable at the extremes, for example .95 and .110 E strings. You can tell the difference between .100 and .105, but it's not significant unless you're A/B-ing. I tend to go for the lightest strings that stay put under my fingers at a gig. That's usually around .105 for Dunlop rounds or DR round-cores, and .100 for most flats or hex-cores.
It's most noticeable at the extremes, for example .95 and .110 E strings. You can tell the difference between .100 and .105, but it's not significant unless you're A/B-ing. I tend to go for the lightest strings that stay put under my fingers at a gig. That's usually around .105 for Dunlop rounds or DR round-cores, and .100 for most flats or hex-cores.
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Tone or intensity? A minor delta in winding between a .100 and a .110 will feel different, obviously, but the mass affects the amplitude.
Yes, I do hear a difference. I used to play 40-100. The G string sounded great when slapping, but the E string didn't have enough low end. Then I tried the 50-110 set, the E sounded beefy, but the G was missing the snap I had with the 40. So I settled on 45-105. It has the best feel too.
