Strat tuning, strings and other questions…

[Rickey]

hey everyone,
I am a new strat owner (Deluxe Players Strat) and have a couple of questions that I hope someone can help me with:

1) What are the best strings (brand/gauge) for a strat to play blues/rock?
It came with 9s but I see a lot of people that have 10s. The 9s are really easy to bend though

2) If I don’t use the tremolo bar, should my bridge be flat for better tuning stability?

3) Mine seems to go out of tune quite a bit after just a couple riffs/licks. It is brand new…any thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

Mike

[Rickey]

I’m real new to guitar and I just bought my second set of guitar strings. The guitar shop put the first set on and I’m going to do this set myself, or try to 🙂 I done a little reading up on strings and based on what I was able to read and digest in a couple days I decided to try a set of number 10’s from DR. Seems like string size matters when it comes to bending and wear on the fingers, but that vintage blues tone comes mostly from using PURE NICKEL, instead of steel or nickel wound steel. It has something to do with the nickel. I downloaded the tech manual for my guitar last night from the manufacturer’s website and read in it that my frets were nickel/silver(which I suspect is probably fairly common since I don’t have a real expensive guitar).

P.S. Ernie Ball, Fender, D’Addario, DR, and Rotosound all make pure nickel variety blues type strings in 9’s, 10’s, and 11’s.

[Rickey]

Well, here’s my 2 cents on strings. I am sure that over time you will, and should , try different types. Maybe you could record a sampling of the different strings you try. Play them back, compare them, and see which one grabs you. I think you get a better idea of the sound that way cause you’re not distracted by all those things you do while you play, your just listening! Also , like the guitar itself ,the feel has to be right. I, right now am very pleased with DR PURE BLUES 10’s. But, when it comes to the the sound of strings ,there are many variables. Those Dr’s on my guitar ( a Les Paul Special ll) are going to sound different on your.guitar, different woods, fret material, tuners, picks, amps,pedals .settings,not to mention your attack. Sorry , no experience with the tremolo question.As for going out of tune, could be a tuner problem or perhaps a professional set up might fix it.. However if those are the same strings it came with ,a new set may also solve that. It’s always a good rule of thumb to change the strings on a newly purchased guitar as soon as possible. Good Luck, Peace, Josh.

[Rickey]

Thanks guys. I am going to take it in and get it professional tuned and restrung. I think I may try the EB Pure Nickel Slinky or the Regular Slinky

[MikeG60]

@mflorant wrote:

hey everyone,
I am a new strat owner (Deluxe Players Strat) and have a couple of questions that I hope someone can help me with:

1) What are the best strings (brand/gauge) for a strat to play blues/rock?
It came with 9s but I see a lot of people that have 10s. The 9s are really easy to bend though

2) If I don’t use the tremolo bar, should my bridge be flat for better tuning stability?

3) Mine seems to go out of tune quite a bit after just a couple riffs/licks. It is brand new…any thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

Mike

Hi,
First of all, NICE GUITAR 🙂 I have two Strats with Tremolo’s – my ‘baby’ an ’86 with a Flyod Rose Locking Trem, and my newest Strat a Squire Classic Vibe 50’s with a Synchronized Tremolo like on your Strat (but not Gold)

Now as to your questions here’s my $.02
1) Strings — Tough to answer as it gets into personal choice and what’s good to/for you. 10’s may be too hard to bend for you so 9’s would be better to start with. And any Major Brand is okay. I personally like D’Addario’s, but many like Ernie Ball.

2) Tremolo — Your ‘Vintage Synchronized Tremolo’ would likely be set flat from the factory, only allowing for slight down bends. YOU would have to adjust the 3 trem springs to get it ‘Floating’ for bending up (plus ‘readjusting’ the bridge’s 6 screws). If you don’t use the Tremolo at all – leave it as is, flat to the body. [you can carefully check that the six screws are ‘tight”]

3) Tuning issues — Odds are this is due to the new strings not being stretched (Factory doesn’t do this) and they will keep going out of tune until they are stretched. Using the Tremolo Bar should not affect tuning on stretched strings. [on cheaper guitars it could be ‘loose’ tuning machines, NOT an issue on your Strat]

My Classic Vibe Strat’s Bridge is flat to the body. I messed around with having it Floating but put it back flat to the body – in both cases no tuning problems. And the Flyod Rose Trem is a floating type and that stays in tune – forever, and I use the ‘whammy bar’ on it. Both Strats had the strings stretched when they were put on new. The place I bought the CV Strat does that for you when you buy. They basically do a free setup. They also did it on my Fender Blacktop Jag HH.

So if your taking your Strat in for new strings and a setup, make sure they stretch them as part of the installation.

Hope this helps.
Happy Playing :coolsmile:

[Rickey]

Thanks for all the help. I took it back and got a pro tune up and new strings. They flattened the bridge and filed the frets. It plays awesome. I went in there planning on getting the EB Slinkys but ended up getting D’Addario XL 9.5s

They bend easier than 10s and not as much as 9s so I am happy. I am going to get the EBs on my daughter’s Squier Strat so I can compare. So far I like them. The tone is definitely different than before but I would say there is definitely some clarity in these strings.

Thanks again. Has anyone mastered the Robert Cray solo lesson yet? Brian went a little fast in it I think so I need to study the tabs closely…

Keep Jammin
Mike

[sunburst]

This here is a save for us deluxe strat players http://youtu.be/1dEZxBykRto cheers

[GnLguy]

String choice is a very subjective topic. Guitarist are always on the quest for their tone and strings are the cheapest way to experiment with new tone. Brands will have special nuances that you will pick up on as you play, pure nickel vs nickel wrap vs stainless will all have their own characteristics

Gauge is very important. 9’s are easier to bend and are good starting but the more mass in the strings that is vibrating above the pickups, the more signal that pickup has to work with.
By contrast, compare 9’s to the special set that SRV used. Stevie was adamant that his use of 013’s and 014’s was a very integral part of his tone.
I once owned a Washburn arch top hollowbody guitar.and using flat wound strings were 10s, it sounds pretty good. I bumped it up to 11s and noticed an improvement. When I put 12s on it, it came alive like I had never heard. It was louder and sweeter in its tone. The basic theory is that the greater mass of string could vibrate the arch top of the guitar more plus feed a greater amount of signal into the pickup, thus the improvement in sound. It took a while to be strong enough to use the 12s but it was worth it.

I have since decided to use 11s on my semi hollow guitars and 10s on solid body’s. I’ll probably switch to all 11s at some point

So the long and short of it is that you will change brand of strings several times as you progress and as your hand strengthens, you may want increase the gauge. Watch for sales and buy different brands as cheap as you can just to try something different

Its all part of our never ending quest for tone

[Author]

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