What's the heaviest set of strings you've ever put on a guitar?

You guys make some of the best 7 and 8 string sets I’ve ever used, from a gauge combination standpoint.

As always great video and advices. Thank you Stringsjoy's team and especially Kiki for her patience and kindness. Can't wait to try my 10-80 custom set.

5:20 you know he wanted to say “well no shit sherlock”

I'm loving the bass strings from these fine people.

as someone who lived in Nashville for years, I never knew about you guys at all. I ordered a pair of strings and I’m very surprised on the quality of them! Best strings I’ve played for sure. I will def be buying from you guys from now on

I play 11s on electric because I play electric like an acoustic and I like putting muscle into it without worry about flop. Also I've heard heavier strings break less often, and I'm a huge string breaker.

I recently went from 9s to a hybrid 11/10 set on my strat, because I've been working on more jazz and wanted better tuning stability. I realized that playing fast runs was actually easier and crisper than using 9s. I've changed my other guitars to use 10s now. I have no problem bending up a step which is all I need. I also like the fact that on guitars with jumbo frets I don't accidentally push something sharp. Everything said in this video is spot on!

Main reason to use heavy strings on standard tuning: you can chords hard and they don't sound sharp

Great video! Definitely enjoy the leveled approach to the string gauge question. Like everything, its always pros/cons to your gauge choice. I have all sorts of gauges on my guitars, each gives me something different.

love you videos mann...

Excellent video.

I think the point about fretting a note too sharp can be adjusted over time with lighter strings because your body adapts to whatever gauge you’re using. When I was using mediums and switched to 9s on electric, I was overbending and the strings felt too floppy. When I kept playing it, I switched back to my other guitar that had mediums and it felt too stiff and I was underbending. I now like lighter strings on electric for most playing. When I switched from medium to light strings on acoustic however, I noticed a HUGE drop in volume, which is huge turnoff. My recommendation is to play whatever helps you achieve your goals faster without sacrificing tone.

I always wait to watch his videos to get tons of info

Just wanted to say I got yalls extra heavy 6 string bass strings and they are amazing. Everything I wanted and more. Best strings I've ever used. Thank y'all so much. Very hard to find great heavy gauge 6 string bass strings at a fair price like these.

love your strings. i was use to a very low action on my tele then got a mustang and went through months trying to find the right gauge for me. went to 11s but the top strings felt to stiff. i was able to get a lower action though. i went to light top/ heavy bottoms. i thought i was satisfied with those until i tried the balanced light plus that you guys make. 50, 38, 28, 17, 135, 105. they feel amazing and the balanced light gauge feel so much better on my tele and strat than traditional 10s.

I ordered a custom set from you guys. The set is 11.5-15-20p-34-44-56 I plan on using for my Jackson Monarkh guitar and tune them to C# Standard. As in Black Sabbath and Behemoth.

So far, I only use light and medium flatwound strings, but I’ve been meaning to put a set of 13 gauge flatwound strings on my acoustic.

Nice stuff

Turns out your heavy set Broadway's are just the ultimate string for me. I have an archtop, dread, parlor, and a resonator. They now all have the same strings and sound and play better then they ever have. Whether I drop tune them, high tune them, fret, slide, or gently cradle them, they sound and feel better then any string I've ever played. Oh and lastly! They are pure nickel so they last a nice long long time. so after months of a seemingly endless string crusade that was rapidly leading me into insanity, I'm set. Long as you guys are in business and making heavy Broadway's, you'll be selling a shit load of them to me🤘

would heavy gauge strings have a deeper tone on an acoustic than lights?

Any recommendations on a standard 7 string gauges? Like normal tension on. 25.5 scale length

I really enjoy the lateral tension of 12s and 13s for jazz. Many of the voicings with stretches and odd fingerings easily go out of tune in lighter strings. I worry less about that on heavier strings. I try to find just the right combination of lateral tension and vertical tension, the latter being tweakable to a degree by action height.

I put 11s on everything. After getting a Les Paul I never understood all those complaints about tuning stability and that (supposedly) dang G string, never experienced anything like that. Then I realized it's gotta be the string gauge. Maybe the construction helps too, but I find it's even more stable than my S type with locking tuners (which I know only marginally affect stability... don't wanna go there :-P ).

I find that with heavier strings they produce a different style of playing from me. I'm usually a 10 or 9.5 because I like to bend, but I want to get heavier gauges because I find that being there is a higher tension, the strings tend to stay in one spot and not move around so much like with lighter gauges- with this I can say the frets become like buttons and there's more consistency in finding and pressing the fretted note.

I have 13s on mine and can bend notes on the first and second fret on my acoustic is that good ?

Seriously the only brand of strings I play these days. Your 11-56 drop tune and 10-64 7 string sets are in pretty much in every single one of my guitars I just ordered a 10.5-80 set to try on an 8 string tho! My first time going as low as F and using an 80

Banjo player here, and in the banjo playing world, heavier gauges are associated with warmer tone. Does that apply to guitar as well?

Hey Just found your channel about a week about and commented on another video. I have a shortscale guitar and the strings are just to loose for my liking. I really like the guitar though. So i'm going to put a heavier set on, but i was thinking on the crazy heavy side for some drop tuning ( not super drop tuned ). Anyways my question is i was looking on the stringjoy site and found some strings I would like to try. Do you guys have any online retailers in Canada? There are no music stores near my town. Closest one is a couple hours away.

What set of strings are considered as extra light or light gauge strings.

Great video, I learn a little something about the concept of guitar strings. I knew nothing about strings, I am the type who goes into guitar center and ask the sales rep's advice, not knowing what the heck they were talking about. I try to explain the sound I want which is a full lush sounds that doesn't sound overly bright or brassy. My low E string always sounds dull and thumpy and buzzy. I have the guitar professionally set up and still get that sound. I have a a Seagull SWS Maritime CW SG QI as my primary acoustic guitar. i think I am using Elixir 11's on it now. I have a fender strat which I think I have 10's on. I had the factory's strings changed out because they were too thin and my fingers kept slipping off I think they were 9's. I am still learning about tone and amp settings so I am sure what sound I want on the electric because right now I am all over the place figuring out things. One of the things that did make sense that you said in the video was how a heavier string keeps it's turning better. That was useful info for me. i am going check out your videos to see if you have that explains the difference between strings that bronze, have coating ect..... on them.

As a novice guitar player I use heavy strings as a way to build up my finger muscles. Is this a good idea?

I play 10s right now. One if my favorite tunings is GABDEG. Will higher gauge strings break easier when tuning the low e up to G?

Do you think it’s possible to get lower action on an acoustic with heavy gauge strings?

so personally if im making a set i like going for 11 15 18 32 42 54. i like to ramp it up like that because i like bending alot but the feel on the heavy stuff for the bass side is everything because i like that fonky chonky. however i will do much heavier sets with a wound g that go 60 but i do tend to keep the e between 13 and 11 and b between 14 and 17. wound g is very cool on electric.

I’m sold 💯

Any recommendations on what gauge for b flat standard on a baritone scale 7 string? I play grind, so I’m just mashing power chords. No leads or shredding. I just ordered a 64 set, and a 70 gauge set. I also choke the neck pretty heavy. Any info I would dig. I’m looking forward to trying your strings

Here's an idea..make a string so when you top wrap your Les Paul you don't have to use the ball end to stop the whind of the string on the end pc.

Hi, I heared thick strings more causing fret wear down. What do you think about? Is it true?

I have a top quality, 1980s 17-inch jazz box with laminate maple back and sides, spruce top, and a KA floating pick-up. I currently use flat-wound 11s and am thinking of trying a set of 12s or even 13s. I understand that every guitar has its own sound signature; however, having said that, is there any generalization you can make about how a guitar like this might respond if I change to heavier gauge strings? Seems to me that the increased tension from a heavier gauge string would get a better vibration response from a stiffer, laminate top but I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.

I love Charlie Robbins' amazing playing. For much of his repertoire ( I don;t think all of it) he uses D'Addarios 11-56, which say on the package they are ideal for "drop-D" tuning. Charlie tunes to drop-C. I wonder what lower priced guitar I might get that would do well with this string array, and not go out of tune. Charlie plays Kiesel guitars (formerly Carvin), which hold the tuning perfectly, without a locking nut, but they're expensive.

I used 12's on my Martin 00 and 000 sized acoustics. I'm thinking you probably don't make strings for classical guitars, but in that world, String gauge is not really talked about much, but rather whether or not the strings are low, medium, or high tesion. using high tension strings can actually restrict the tops ability to vibrate, of course depending upon the wood and the construction. Thanks for the video!

I think I'm going to go back up after watching this. I'm still searching however

Could heavy strings damage my acoustic guitar? The guitar sounds great, but it's a cheap brand, so I'm not sure whether the bridge, neck, top, etc can take the extra tension. What do you think?

Bass player here. I play 110- 55 in metal and it helps a whole lot to keep the string from bouncing cause I'm a hard hitter. Don't be afraid to experiment but everyone is different if you have a softer touch you'll like a lighter gauge better

The heaviest strings I’ve ever used were flatwound 12-54s on my Gretsch jazzbox. On a Les Paul style the heaviest were a 12-48 set. The lightest strings I’ve ever used were 8-38. Yeah, I like to experiment…

I use heavy gauge 12 or 13 on my acoustic. Reason for that is that was what I learned to play on 60 years ago. Cheap Guitars were poorly set up back then and unless someone told you so you didn't know the action could be adjusted on them the strings on that old Silvertone acoustic stood so far off the fretboard you had mash down till your fingers bleed. Doing that over and over again kills the feeling in the tips of your fingers eventually. Today if I don't have heavy gage stings I can't tell if I have hold of them or not. You put a skinny little 8 or 9 on me I don't know if I'm even pressing down on the fretboard to achieve a sound or not. It doesn't have anything to do with showing off it's necessity!

E, Eb, D, DADGad & open G 10-52 on electric, C# & C longer scale 12-54, then Baritone 12-60, 7 string 11-64 & Acoustic 12-53

I’ve just gone to 10/38 and love them.

Because I've always used both near standard and heavily dropped tunings, I've done a lot of experimenting with gauges.Whatever the calculator says, you can use light strings on low tunings, just to a different feel and sound.Same goes for slide, where heavier strings are a very diff ball game from 10's, (technique wise) - which you see commonly recommended. Action and scale length are all considerations, as well as the nut slots.I like a little more height at the nut ,which facilitates action height with some set ups; many things are possible IF you're willing to do some tweaking here and there; knowing how to adjust the truss rod is critical.Experiment on less expensive instruments until you're comfortable, and have acquired some skills . It's really not that complicated. Those who like to say that the instrument itself lacks flexibility ,or is incapable of new directions, are the same people who've never even tried anything different.

Granted, this is a cool video on heavy strings, and I certainly learned some stuff, but my bigger question is: Did no one else notice that Scott just used "explicate" correctly in a sentence? Way to take the conversation up a notch, my string nerd compadre!

I'm considering a change on my acoustic from EXP16 (12-53 PB, coated) to ECG26 (13-56 steel flatwound) which have 11% more tension overall. I'm infatuated with the feel of my ECG24's on my semi-hollow body and find they deliver a nice acoustic tone on that guitar... hoping they will deliver on the acoustic guitar also... will the extra tension compensate for the electric design intention of the ECG26s? will the steel wrapwire sound like a tin can on an solid spruce flattop acoustic? will flatwound strings on a flattop acoustic break the universe?? please advise me.

How about an “Even Tension Gauge” custom set?

11s - I went to 12s for a while but couldn't be bothered. Although right now these 11s feel super light.

How does string gauge effect the clarity of the notes? I know this is very much a thing, but how exactly does it work?

What string gauge do you recommend for a strat tuned E standard and Eb? I play blues and rockabilly.

Overall, this is a good video. However, there's one point to stress out that's highly individual. The gauge of the strings that ones uses should be in full compatibility with the pressure, the attack, and the overall touch when picking with a pick (or not). Personally, I used to have 10-48 as regular feature on all of my guitars. However, only when I have moved to a custom set of 8.5-40/9-40 I was able to achieve a more relaxed & flexible picking hand position yielding finer control and faster picking overall. The downside of lighter gauge may indeed be the lower output, or going sharp with the jumbo-sized frets, but that is also subject to the heavy/light touch. If you are on a lighter side (for example, I am), that's becomes virtually a non-issue. Either way, go Stringjoy!

Great video! I'm currently experimenting with down tuning a 25.5" scale length guitar. In E standard I play a regular .010-.046 set. I just put a .012-.054 set on last night and while it will still need a bit more set up work, it is feeling floppy in C# standard. Do you have any recommendation for a string gauge set that might have similiar tension/feel to my E standard .010-.046's when I'm down in the dungeon tuned to B or C standard?

What gauge strings would you recommend on a 3/4 Size Duo Sonic? It’s a 22.5 inch scale and I’d like it to play more like my Les Paul or 335 that has 10 gauge strings.

Dam right love heavy gauges mines are 59 to 9/10 drop A

In the early 70s, Townshend went on about the greatness of heavy strings. Those later Who albums showed him fighting those heavy strings while recording. The guitars sound harsh and tense to the point of brittleness, while his string bending either sounds strained or he overdoes it.

heaviest strings ive used on a guitar...25.75 scale fender strat, not a bass...your stringjoy 145 set. tuned down to drop d in the bass octave for some 20 ft ninja songs. in retrospect maybe should have just did what i do now and play with a damn bass, but whatever. lol

how to differ the gauges?

What about finger pain with 12s on an acustic, you will practice less with heavy strings because of the pain

I settled on 11, 15, 19, 28, 39, 54. I have fingers like hammers so i need the resistance.

1st string tension is the golden zone for individual players . depending on how they play & what gauge pic - is huge difference. not so much the strings. if they are light than pic a thinner pic & you will get less bass with not so saw feel on fingers. Control it . Amp gets more tight due to less bass in it.compare. if heavy string from that golden zone. Than thicker pic. & forget about control. Go out of it & smash it to have more output . thus more gains on chug. It’s all about that. It’s a tool to experiment... that’s what i find.

As a heavy gauge user, I don't have to bend too far to get to the pitch I'm bending to. And, yes,I'm an over-bender.

For electrics, I think you stop getting a significantly better clean tone after 9.5s or 10s (E standard, 25.5" scale).

13-56 on a strat and 12-62 on a tele in E flat is the way to go.

Bb king used 8 gauge he said if use heavy gauge strings your working to hard

Downside . Neck resets after time. All that tension does a job on a set neck.

Surprisingly a lot of the greatest guitarist play 8

Oh gosh I just had a thought: has anyone ever done a set that's gone 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60? Yes it sounds ridiculous but I'm genuinely curious if that has ever been a thing for someone

I personally use 16s on my acoustic

How about sustainable?

I prefer heavy gauge at the bottom

guys before watching video please check thyeb description

How about the whole reason I run heavy strings, bc I break them too Often lol

Coated ? U should make

uhh arent you the guy from crash course?

he always have informations that i dont even know

Heavier strings provide better tone, but I can’t play fast on them...

his description saved my lot of time bruhhh

I would buy or try your strings but your strings are not cheap and I buy in bulk and not just for 6 ????

17 🙈... that's news to me! Shew...

It's a very personal preference, just like ppl like different foods.

Heavier strings on a quality acoustic are most definitely not louder. The tension dampens the top vibrations. You also lose a lot of overtones. I know this from a lot of experience with many, many guitars.

Your finger’s ligaments would disagree.

its all relative.... even this

It's probably worth mentioning that using heavy strings can absolutely destroy a guitar if you're not careful, particularly an acoustic, so keep an eye on those truss rods, and watch out for the bridge pulling up on acoustic. Definitely do not leave a heavy set on a guitar tuned to open E and leave it in the case for an extended period.

i play with 13s so most people cant play my guitar nah just because it sounds good to me

Edward Snowden plays guitar too???

I use 11-56 but tonight changing to 12-60, love it, powerful and precise, and good work out for your soft wet-noodle / banana fingers you vanilla boys, hahahah jk

are you challenging Rick Beato now? lol

All gauges are different

Bad fingers so going lighter

You are so pretty actually

Lol 0.7- .038 Why you wanna work so hard

Blabbermouth captain obvious rides again