TLDW? Everyone knows that heavy is best. It's called heavy metal, after all.
Lighter is better? String gauge video. AKA opening a can of worms thread
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Lol! I just finished finished watching that vid, enjoyed it but what they did doesn't fit the context of what I do. I doubt 8's would work well in drop A on a 27" baritone, but it could be a fun experiment!
Interesting. Of course, there is no better, it's all subjective.
To my ears the lighter strings were clearer and tighter, where the heavier strings were fuller at the cost of some clarity. Which one is right for you, is up to you.
To my ears the lighter strings were clearer and tighter, where the heavier strings were fuller at the cost of some clarity. Which one is right for you, is up to you.
I was going to post this but chose not to because of the aforementioned worms in a can.
Subjective as hell, just use what suits your picking strength and vibrato style. If you're a hard picker then heavy strings feel great to your picking hand, but you lose vibrato nuance in the fretting hand. I tend to find people who are like "herr derr I pick real strong so need stupidly fucking massive strings" either can't play for shit or they have zero personality in their playing. If you *need* anything thicker than 10's in standard tuning on a 25.5" instrument, I'm sorry but you need to finesse your goddam picking hand you ham-fisted lumox.
Conversely... Beato is a bitch-picker, no wonder 8's feel great to him. He says to that other guy that he needs to just play them normally and not soften his playing... I'm sorry but if I played 8's like I do 10's then not only would I smack them out of tune but my vibrato would be so wide it would sound ridiculous. You'd also hear more fret-buzz than you would actual sustained note.
So in reality, either myth of thicker = better, or thinner = better is bullshit. The bottom line is if you play strings that are right for you, you'll sound your best.
Subjective as hell, just use what suits your picking strength and vibrato style. If you're a hard picker then heavy strings feel great to your picking hand, but you lose vibrato nuance in the fretting hand. I tend to find people who are like "herr derr I pick real strong so need stupidly fucking massive strings" either can't play for shit or they have zero personality in their playing. If you *need* anything thicker than 10's in standard tuning on a 25.5" instrument, I'm sorry but you need to finesse your goddam picking hand you ham-fisted lumox.
Conversely... Beato is a bitch-picker, no wonder 8's feel great to him. He says to that other guy that he needs to just play them normally and not soften his playing... I'm sorry but if I played 8's like I do 10's then not only would I smack them out of tune but my vibrato would be so wide it would sound ridiculous. You'd also hear more fret-buzz than you would actual sustained note.
So in reality, either myth of thicker = better, or thinner = better is bullshit. The bottom line is if you play strings that are right for you, you'll sound your best.
Tuning and action are more important. Though once again, both are subjective to some degree.
Some people can sound good with low action, like everyone is saying there are too many factors at play to definitively attribute to any one thing. But I've bought and played a bunch of guitars where people have completely killed any sound the guitar might have had with their ridiculous low action.
I think a 52 or a 56 is the heaviest gauge string you should use...
...but I also think that, barring legit Scandinavian Death Metal, tuning below C# just sounds like shit.
I know quite a few people who don't get that "heavy gauge" is related to what tuning you are running, what tension the strings are at.
There have been times when I've told people I run the 52-11 EXL116 set and they've been like "FUCKING BITCH PICKER, I RUN A 78 AS MY LOW STRING".
Yeah, but I tune those DGCFAD, so that's a pretty "heavy guage" setup. You tune down to the same E as a bass, so you are actually running pretty light gauges.
I know loads of people who brag about the fucking heavy strings they are running and how they pick like Hulk Fucking Hogan and it's like, "Run the actual numbers for your tuning, you are actually running less tension than a 46-10 set in Eb".
Some people can sound good with low action, like everyone is saying there are too many factors at play to definitively attribute to any one thing. But I've bought and played a bunch of guitars where people have completely killed any sound the guitar might have had with their ridiculous low action.
I think a 52 or a 56 is the heaviest gauge string you should use...
...but I also think that, barring legit Scandinavian Death Metal, tuning below C# just sounds like shit.
I know quite a few people who don't get that "heavy gauge" is related to what tuning you are running, what tension the strings are at.
There have been times when I've told people I run the 52-11 EXL116 set and they've been like "FUCKING BITCH PICKER, I RUN A 78 AS MY LOW STRING".
Yeah, but I tune those DGCFAD, so that's a pretty "heavy guage" setup. You tune down to the same E as a bass, so you are actually running pretty light gauges.
I know loads of people who brag about the fucking heavy strings they are running and how they pick like Hulk Fucking Hogan and it's like, "Run the actual numbers for your tuning, you are actually running less tension than a 46-10 set in Eb".
I actually do think super heavy gauges sound like shit, and I fucking loathe wound thirds.
But that's a problem you can solve by tuning to the realm guitars are meant to be played at. :lol: I run 52s for a low D on both 25.5" and 24.75" scales. 50 for the low Eb on 24.75"s, and anywhere from 46-50 for the low Eb on 25.5"s. My DGCFAD setups are what I would consider pretty heavy gauge style setups. Eb setups I do range from moderate tension to somewhat heavy.
I know a bunch of people who are running thicker strings...... but they aren't running heavier gauge. What is considered "heavy gauge" is relative to what tension the string is at.
"Heavy Gauge" and "Just running thick strings" are two separate things. There are loads of people who claim they are running heavy gauge real man strings and it's like, "Yeah, only if you tune up two whole steps".
But that's a problem you can solve by tuning to the realm guitars are meant to be played at. :lol: I run 52s for a low D on both 25.5" and 24.75" scales. 50 for the low Eb on 24.75"s, and anywhere from 46-50 for the low Eb on 25.5"s. My DGCFAD setups are what I would consider pretty heavy gauge style setups. Eb setups I do range from moderate tension to somewhat heavy.
I know a bunch of people who are running thicker strings...... but they aren't running heavier gauge. What is considered "heavy gauge" is relative to what tension the string is at.
"Heavy Gauge" and "Just running thick strings" are two separate things. There are loads of people who claim they are running heavy gauge real man strings and it's like, "Yeah, only if you tune up two whole steps".
SRV's influence is much to blame for the bullshit macho attitude about thick strings. Not him personally, but his influence.
I use different sets for different guitars and purposes. 9-42, 9-46, 10-46, 11-50.
I went away from 8-38, mostly for tinniness in the upper range and intonation problems in chording.
I use different sets for different guitars and purposes. 9-42, 9-46, 10-46, 11-50.
I went away from 8-38, mostly for tinniness in the upper range and intonation problems in chording.
TLDW, I still have a 60 for the low B on my 24.75" Les Paul which oomphs like a motherfucker, not gonna change that for ye olde cork sniffer youtuberace who enjoys dental floss on his fiddle.
Comes down to string tension for me. Back when I was tuning a 7 string to G standard I was playing on bridge cables. Now I’m playing a 7 at B standard and using 10s.
I've said as much before - too many people ignore their picking hand when they play metal and only focus on the fretting bit. Palm muting requires attitude to sound good, it's why bitchpickers always sound sterile, especially when they slow down. The Sad But True riff is a great example - a big part of the reason that sounds so massive is because Hetfield is absolutely laying into the bridge with the meat of his palm.
Light strings for shredding, IMO, don't matter as much. If it's easier for you to rip up the widdly widdly stuff on 9s or 8s or whatever, by all means. But heavier strings respond better to having the shit beat out of them by your picking hand, especially when playing rhythms. Bitchpicked palm mutes will always sound like elevator music, whereas a heavy set of strings muted with gusto by someone playing with attitude will sound better and cooler 100% of the time.
Light strings for shredding, IMO, don't matter as much. If it's easier for you to rip up the widdly widdly stuff on 9s or 8s or whatever, by all means. But heavier strings respond better to having the shit beat out of them by your picking hand, especially when playing rhythms. Bitchpicked palm mutes will always sound like elevator music, whereas a heavy set of strings muted with gusto by someone playing with attitude will sound better and cooler 100% of the time.
:denzel:TLDW, I still have a 60 for the low B on my 24.75" Les Paul which oomphs like a motherfucker, not gonna change that for ye olde cork sniffer youtuberace who enjoys dental floss on his fiddle.
"Oomphs" is the perfect term for it.
:agreed:I've said as much before - too many people ignore their picking hand when they play metal and only focus on the fretting bit. Palm muting requires attitude to sound good, it's why bitchpickers always sound sterile, especially when they slow down. The Sad But True riff is a great example - a big part of the reason that sounds so massive is because Hetfield is absolutely laying into the bridge with the meat of his palm.
Light strings for shredding, IMO, don't matter as much. If it's easier for you to rip up the widdly widdly stuff on 9s or 8s or whatever, by all means. But heavier strings respond better to having the shit beat out of them by your picking hand, especially when playing rhythms. Bitchpicked palm mutes will always sound like elevator music, whereas a heavy set of strings muted with gusto by someone playing with attitude will sound better and cooler 100% of the time.
Which is why string tension is important. It needs to be sufficient to support your heaviest chugga chugga.
For a while, I played 46-10 in C Standard. I liked being able to do big-ass wild bends and the chugs felt fine. I also played 42-9 in Eb, and that's what made me go up in gauge. I'd bang on that low Eb and hear it fly WAY out of tune. I play 52-11 in C, that feels alright. I like them a bit thinner, I have issues getting around the big thick strings, I need a bit of give. They still hold up well to the big chugs, which is good, because I play thrash which lives and dies by the chug.
Also, don't forget about guys like Phil Collen who use .13-56 for E Standard. :2c:SRV's influence is much to blame for the bullshit macho attitude about thick strings. Not him personally, but his influence.
I use different sets for different guitars and purposes. 9-42, 9-46, 10-46, 11-50.
I went away from 8-38, mostly for tinniness in the upper range and intonation problems in chording.
Yeah 10’s in C Standard are way too light. I’d be pushing the strings out of tune constantly. But too large of a gauge tends to hinder me rather than help. It’s just so personalized to the player. Hand strength, hand size, picking style, etc. Gotta have enough tension to be able to really dig into the strings, but not too much where it hurts to do bends.
As matt says this is all very subjective. I have a 62 on as an a on a 25.4 scale guitar and it is the absolute lightest I'd go so the post above suggesting its heavy for that tuning is not accurate, for me.
I baseline the feel I prefer on 10-46 in e standard on a 25.5 scale. There is no rhyme or reason to it though because I thought I'd like 9s for B on my 2027xl due to the linger scale but I find them too light and again to quote Matt my vibrato is everywhere and my trem picking/fast palm mutes feel out of control because I'm chasing the strings around.
The only answer is play what feels and makes you sound the best
I baseline the feel I prefer on 10-46 in e standard on a 25.5 scale. There is no rhyme or reason to it though because I thought I'd like 9s for B on my 2027xl due to the linger scale but I find them too light and again to quote Matt my vibrato is everywhere and my trem picking/fast palm mutes feel out of control because I'm chasing the strings around.
The only answer is play what feels and makes you sound the best
GTFO, For Whom The Bell Tolls is the quintessential Metallica palm mute song. Metallica are pretty much the palm mute band, I don't know how anyone could learn about palm muting from anywhere else.The Sad But True riff is a great example - a big part of the reason that sounds so massive is because Hetfield is absolutely laying into the bridge with the meat of his palm.
I wouldn't cite anything off the black album though, for reasons like this (last paragraph),
Not to say James Hetfield isn't the best palm mute example, but the earlier ones don't have the intricate/immaculate production values of The Black Album. So the "It sounds like this purely because of good technique" thing is a clearer connection.
I know you love your diatribes, but nowhere in my post did I say that SBT is the best example, only that it's a damn good example - which it is.
Play that riff right now. Bitchpick it, then play it like you mean it. It's instantly noticeable. The bitchpicked version doesn't sound like the song, but as soon as you throw some gusto behind it - voila.
Play that riff right now. Bitchpick it, then play it like you mean it. It's instantly noticeable. The bitchpicked version doesn't sound like the song, but as soon as you throw some gusto behind it - voila.
Did you not read that? I mean, you said "why it sounds so massive when Hetfield plays it", so I'm assuming you mean the studio version.I know you love your diatribes, but nowhere in my post did I say that SBT is the best example, only that it's a damn good example - which it is.
Play that riff right now. Bitchpick it, then play it like you mean it. It's instantly noticeable. The bitchpicked version doesn't sound like the song, but as soon as you throw some gusto behind it - voila.
A big part of why it sounds so massive on the studio version is also because it's doubled on a baritone guitar and palm mutes had their own special overdub layer specifically to make them sound like that. :lol:
Ride the Lightning era stuff is just a regular rhythm track, so on that you can be like, "This sounds like that almost exclusively because of how he's playing it".
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