Strings on a Tele

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sscanlan

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Hi,

I'm picking up my first Tele guitar tomorrow and was wondering about string guages. I've read that you don't get the 'full Tele sound' with 9's and you need to go up to 11's. Has anyone any opinion on this? I don't have enough experience of Tele's (or guitars in general) to see how this would make much of a difference.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I'll swap it for some pics when I get back :wink:

Cheers
 
I'm using 10's (Ernie Ball Regular(?) Slinky) on my US '52 Reissue and definitely get the full Tele sound, especially on the bridge p/u. You might find that the composition and/or brand of strings helps has well; I tried a couple of sets of Stainless 10's a while back and they just didn't 'twang' the same as good old Nickel. In the end it's what feels/sounds good to you...
 
It's all a compromise really - the heavier the strings, the better the tone and volume, but the harder they can be to play, or at least to bend. I compromised on Ernie Ball 10 to 52 gauge ages ago, & I love them. 11s are just that bit too heavy for me to bend consistently, but a 46 on the bottom E flaps about too much.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to use the heaviest gauge you can reasonably cope with. It partly depends on how long you tend to play for, and how much string bending is part of your playing style.

The reason why it makes a difference is that there is a lot more metal vibrating above the pickup with heavy strings than with light strings.

Strats also sound weedy with 9s, better with 10s, and better still with 11s. Of course, if you like Stevie Ray, he used 13 to 56 gauge..... :-?

Mike
 
Play what your fingers can handle. Regardless of the tone, you can't jump from 9's to 11's without some major discomfort - like blisters underneath your hard earned callouses.

Listen, the thing about string guage and tone is that the more metal you have, the more signal your pickups grab. Just gradually increase string guage - you really don't need to go up to 12's or 13's. But remember that for a one level jump (9's to 10's for instance) is okay for your guitar neck but if you end up going from 9's to 11's, you'll probably need to adjust your trussrod a bit to compensate for the additional string tension.

With respect to tone, same goes for picks - if you play with the flimsy thin ones, there is less force generated thru the string on your pick stroke - as opposed to a 1mm or 1.14mm pick (Stevie Ray played 1.5mm pics and he used the thicker rounded corners instead of the pointy one)

More metal + more plastic = increased tonal output
 
There was a debate about string gauges on the Fender Forum ages ago, quite a few people on there had done permenant tendon damage by playing with heavy strings for years. It's not your finger ends you need worry about.

I agree, generally heavy strings sound better, I've moved up to 10-52's, but as I've got older i don't play as often, or as technically as I used to.

Just be careful, if your hand hurts you're not doing it any good, better that your tone suffers slightly than you do yourself some damage.
 
Cheers for the advice guys. I went for 10's and it sounds great. Pictures on their way.
 
You were using 9s before? If so, that seems like a sensible decision. Marcus & John both give good advice - don't over-do it just to get better tone. I was hoping that I could have moved up to 11s by now, so I could play slide as well without using a different guitar, but 11s are just too heavy for me, so I think I'll stick to 10-52s, after many years of using 9-46s.

Enjoy - a Tele can be a great guitar. I use a Tele as much as a Strat with the band I'm in now. Nothing compares to the bridge pickup on a Tele. 8)
 
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I tried taking some of my own pictures but with the flash on there was too much sparkle from the scratch plate, without it the body was too dark. Hope these from the shops website will do. Cheers again for the strings help.
Spence
 
That is one very nice tele - what model is it? Love the pearly guard.

I currently play 2 teles - Lite Ash and a Baja Classic Players. The lite ash wears 9s, which seem to suit the modern profile neck and jumbo frets. The baja is 10s which again suit the soft V. Neither seems to compromise the tele sound - which I believe has more to do with the bridge and p/ups. I have a natural preference for light strings, so have never felt the need to "go heavy"
 
It doesn't seem to have much of a model name. It's just a Koa Tele. It's a really nice guitar.
 

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