Guitar players: witch picks and strings do you use?

[-J-]

gray dunlop nylons, 0.68 (sometimes I'll go up or down a shade of gray/thickness to mix it up a bit). but i love the grips on 'em.

9's on my strat-style
10s on my les paul (er, agile copy that is)

almost always d'addarios. but i'm down with dean markleys, SIT (is that right?), and most major brands.

i stay clear of hungarian hand wound by villagers under a full moon type brands.

 

[Deus.exe]

can you order a set like that from GHS or do you mean by "custom" you buy different sets make your own set out of it?

'Cause for another band I'm in we play in standard C tuning and I tried the GHS GHSZW set (010 013 017 036 052 060) but the first 3 are way to sloppy for my taste and the GHSZWLO set with the 070 052 aren't working for me either.

I buy 10 sets of each string from my local music store but as far as I know you can order custom sets from GHS.

 

[JeffTD]

Tortex Jazz III's (reeeeally want to try the Ultex Jazz's!)
Juststrings.com bulk sets: 11,15,19,32,42,52 tuned to D, 10,13,17,26,36,46,60 for 7's tuned to B.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Dunlop 88mm, the plain-jane ones. Nice for recording, doesn't have an obnoxious attack.

Strings: GHS TNT 10-52, CGCFAD

However, I tried a set of the DR handmade strings, the Dimebag 10-52 set, and I must say, they were amazing. Wonderfully easy to do pinch harmonics. Only problem is, I live in a town full of shitty music retailers & they rarely stock them.

 

[MrLee]

Dunlop 88mm, the plain-jane ones. Nice for recording, doesn't have an obnoxious attack.

Strings: GHS TNT 10-52, CGCFAD

However, I tried a set of the DR handmade strings, the Dimebag 10-52 set, and I must say, they were amazing. Wonderfully easy to do pinch harmonics. Only problem is, I live in a town full of shitty music retailers & they rarely stock them.

The Dimebag set also in CGCFAD? (thats drop c right?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

There might be several gauge variations on the Dimebag set: I'm not sure. However, the ones I bought were 10-52. Yes, some people call CGCFAD "Drop C." Whatever works for you, man!

-0z-

 

[Jaymz]

Ive got the 9-42 DR Dime's, they are very tasty!

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

at the moment i play with d'adario .011-.049 in E standard

i've been thinking about detuning half a step so i'm gonna try a set of beefy slinky's .011-0.54 in D# this weekend since i don't wanna loose too much tension on the strings (i like em pretty tight, probably 'cause i'm actually a bass player)

picks: dunlop 1mm nylon

 

[J the TyranT]

My strings are typically either Thomastik-Infeld's or Pyramids... 10-50 or up.

I use Dunlop Gel XHs

 

[Downtime]

Dunlop 1mm picks and Ernie Ball "Skinny Top Heavey Bottom" 10 to 52 strings on a drop-c tuning, the 12 to 56 on drop-b.

 

[Keessi]

I use a normal 11-49 plus a 070 on the lowest string. I just throw away the 011. Tuning is Drop A and I usually use Jazz III XL picks. and yeah, I like 'em thick and tight

 

[poidaobi]

Dunlop 2.0mm (Purple with Turtle)
Daddario 9-42 E Standard
Daddario 13-62 B Standard

 

[JBroll]

Thought I had already posted on this one, I guess not.

I use GHS strings - custom sets, generally, that are matched for tension at a given tuning (I aim for about 25-30 pounds of tension - compare that to about 15 pounds of tension for a 42 E on a Strat ,or try tuning that same E up to an A) and would definitely recommend matching your own strings instead of buying the standard string packs - whoever made those fifty years ago was clearly not trying to make sense. I could get you in the ballpark if you want a tension-matched set, and I can't recommend that one enough - generally the low E string on most string sets will be about two to three pounds below the other two wound strings, and if you're playing a 7 string set you're about five to six pounds lighter on the B than on the A.

As for picks, I'll use Tortex Sharpies - the white 1.5mm ones - for metal and Jazztone 205 and 208 for jazz and some metal leads.

Jeff

 

[JBroll]

Thought I had already posted on this one, I guess not.

I use GHS strings - custom sets, generally, that are matched for tension at a given tuning (I aim for about 25-30 pounds of tension - compare that to about 15 pounds of tension for a 42 E on a Strat ,or try tuning that same E up to an A) and would definitely recommend matching your own strings instead of buying the standard string packs - whoever made those fifty years ago was clearly not trying to make sense. I could get you in the ballpark if you want a tension-matched set, and I can't recommend that one enough - generally the low E string on most string sets will be about two to three pounds below the other two wound strings, and if you're playing a 7 string set you're about five to six pounds lighter on the B than on the A.

As for picks, I'll use Tortex Sharpies - the white 1.5mm ones - for metal and Jazztone 205 and 208 for jazz and some metal leads.

Jeff

 

[Jaymz]

I find a 56 isnt tight enough when tuned to B myself. I might try a 70 like Loomis sometime.

 

[JBroll]

I would recommend that very strongly. Hell, my Eb is a 52 (Loomis uses a similar size if I'm not mistaken) and that seems a little loose as it is. You won't regret trying a 70 - I use that one all the way up to C# and won't go back to anything else.

Jeff

 

[deanbailey]

70 on C#? ouch, doesn't your neck warp?

I'm running "ernie ball" 56 and it starts warping just higher C# which is why i'm going back to 52

 

[MrLee]

70 on C#? ouch, doesn't your neck warp?

I'm running "ernie ball" 56 and it starts warping just higher C# which is why i'm going back to 52

whats "warp"?

 

[MrLee]

Thought I had already posted on this one, I guess not.

I use GHS strings - custom sets, generally, that are matched for tension at a given tuning (I aim for about 25-30 pounds of tension - compare that to about 15 pounds of tension for a 42 E on a Strat ,or try tuning that same E up to an A) and would definitely recommend matching your own strings instead of buying the standard string packs - whoever made those fifty years ago was clearly not trying to make sense. I could get you in the ballpark if you want a tension-matched set, and I can't recommend that one enough - generally the low E string on most string sets will be about two to three pounds below the other two wound strings, and if you're playing a 7 string set you're about five to six pounds lighter on the B than on the A.

As for picks, I'll use Tortex Sharpies - the white 1.5mm ones - for metal and Jazztone 205 and 208 for jazz and some metal leads.

Jeff

Interesting! Witch tensions would you have prefered i standard D tuning? and how fat strings?

 

[JBroll]

70 on C#? ouch, doesn't your neck warp?

I'm running "ernie ball" 56 and it starts warping just higher C# which is why i'm going back to 52

I'd check the neck, then. My neck doesn't warp. No decent guitar should warp, for that matter, so get it looked at.

Interesting! Witch tensions would you have prefered i standard D tuning? and how fat strings?

Same tension for any tuning, if I can pull it off, and for D standard (the scale length in question here is 24 3/4, for the record, so you may be moving yours down a tad) I'd aim for about 14 - 19 - 24 (26 if available) - 34 - 46 - 60 or somewhere in the ballpark of that - that's strictly back-of-the-envelope, so don't take that without checking it out. Plain strings wind up being a little looser and I like a nice tight low string that keeps a good tension when put in a dropped-D type tuning. First thing I'd do, though, is try the largest GHS Santana signature set - large-core strings will wind up having more tension and might get close to the tension in question, but I doubt I'd get anything lower than Eb out of those until they sell something larger than that.

For the question above, 'warp' in a neck means that the neck isn't able to handle the tension and thus starts getting too stressed to hold steady, resulting in anything from curvature to a snapped truss rod to an ex-neck. It is generally to be avoided. Obviously, I'd feel more comfortable stringing a Les Paul or Schecter nice and tight than an Ibanez with a tiny neck like the ones that get shoved around now, but check with a tech and your manufacturer's support and see how far you can reasonably expect to take it.

Jeff