11s hell yeah

[polara]

I useta play 11s and then for some reason put 10s and have stuck with that. You just have to play more gently with 10s, but I don't feel like one or the other is better for me. Just different feel. 9s feel kind of weird to me, like I just woke up with gorilla hands.

[DBraz]

I tend to use 10's on anything that is 24.75 scale and 9's on 25.5.

10's definitely sound meatier. 11's are currently on my Newport and sound awesome so I am reluctant to change them and the set-up.

[diablo175]

I think I can sum up my 9's rationale quite easily: I allocate enough focus on just trying to hit the right note at the right time that I can ill-afford to be focusing on added energy needed to push the strings. Sure, if I had been playing bass or 10's and 11's all my life, this wouldn't be an issue. But I've always been a 9 player. I can do what (little) I can do because of the 9's. That includes my trem work which benefits greatly from the 9's.

[Teh]

Playing acoustics with .13's all the time make electrics with .09's unplayable for me.

I like '11's just fine but, to paraphrase Mark Knopfler, I'm "Strictly rhythm - I don't want to make it cry or sing"...

[mathman]

I've switched many times. I now play mostly 9's to be easier on my fingers.

[zenmindbeginner]

I bend a LOT so I need a gauge that will allow me to routinely and effortlessly bend 1.5-2.5 step bends depending on where I am on the neck. As an EVH fanboi... one simply cannot Erupt with heavy gauge strings.

I have dry skin and can split my callouses easier than the moist skin folks so if I don't wanna be sidelined, I have to keep it at .010 for 25.5".

Actually... .010 on my strat is frigging painful and I gotta adjust my claw a bit (I keep forgetting). I played my strat for a few hours a week ago and my knuckles hurt like a mutherf**ker the next day and for days... there is still some residual pain there. My .010 on my tele is just fine.

.010 on my HSS w/floyd needs to be tuned down to Eb and have the baseplate leaning back a bit like a cholo so I can get just the right "feel" to my bends.

[it's me HHB]

Yeah its what's right for you as a player and for the style. In the last couple years most of my gigs have been non lead guitar. I do most of my gigs these days at the state theater of NC playing everything from banjo to lap steel and lots of bass and nearly 100% acoustic when assigned a guitar role. I kept thinking that the 9s would make up a little for the lack of actual lead guitar playing but it made it worse, put on 11s and it felt easier, w 9s I was chasing the strings w my right hand