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String Gauge on Sunburst


Sugartune

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What string gauge do you use on a sustainblock Sunburst? 

I use 10s on my Studio Custom, but 10s seem to have a little more tension then I like on the Sunburst. Even at a half step down, which is where I would keep this guitar at. 

9s seem like the logical step, but I normally would use a heavier guage for a half step lower tuning. I’m curious if you folks use 9s, 10s or whatever else you might use and why, if it’s different than what you use for other Hamers.

Thanks :) 

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                                                                  I always used 9's,EB "REGULAR SLINKYS" on my 2 1979 Hamer Sunbursts as they played easy and sounded great with those......................on a nice Sunburst like that one you have either a 9 or 10 with your string maker preference....................it IS going to sound great!

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1 minute ago, ARM OF HAMER said:

                                                                  I always used 9's,EB "REGULAR SLINKYS" on my 2 1979 Hamer Sunbursts as they played easy and sounded great with those......................on a nice Sunburst like that one you have either a 9 or 10 with your string maker preference....................it IS going to sound great!

Nice! Thank you :) 

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I've always used D'Addarios of a couple of different formulations, but almost always 9-42's.  The warranty cards on the earlier Hamers always mentioned using 9's.  I don't know when (or if) that changed, but it's what has been the most comfortable and responsive for me.

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6 minutes ago, tomteriffic said:

I've always used D'Addarios of a couple of different formulations, but almost always 9-42's.  The warranty cards on the earlier Hamers always mentioned using 9's.  I don't know when (or if) that changed, but it's what has been the most comfortable and responsive for me.

Sweet! Thank you. That's kind of what I was wondering...what the factory spec or warranty card suggested. 

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I'm a big fan of Ernie Balls, fwiw.  Grew up playing 9-42, switched to 10-46 for a few years in my mid-late 30s (I'm now 48), but developed some wrist problems (not from the 10s) and have been using Hybrid Slinky 9-46s on all my electrics (Fender and Gibson scale lengths) for many years now.  Tried some other brands & gauges here and there over the years, but I always end up back at EB Hybrids.  They're cheap, they feel great, and those gauges seem to work well for my hands.

That said, I have a Studio but not a Sunburst, so I don't know what the differences might be.  But my Mirage is 25.5" scale and my Studio is 24.75", but I've found that they both like the same gauges at the same tuning, and I set them up to feel pretty similar in terms of tension & action.  Fwiw, and ymmv, of course.

 

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Years ago I used 10’s on my 25.5” scale guitars and 11’s on my 24.75”. Most were tuned to standard with maybe 1 or 2 that were tuned half a step down. 

Now that I’m left with only 25.5” scale guitars, I use 10-52 tuned half a step down on all of them...

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Actually, I’m running .09s on the Talladega.  Sustainblock too. If that helps.

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9 hours ago, Travis said:

Years ago I used 10’s on my 25.5” scale guitars and 11’s on my 24.75”. Most were tuned to standard with maybe 1 or 2 that were tuned half a step down. 

Now that I’m left with only 25.5” scale guitars, I use 10-52 tuned half a step down on all of them...

+1000

.010-.052 tuned a half step down is my favorite string+tuning combination on any guitar.

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I use 010-046 on every guitar I have. Daddario or SIT. 

I used to buy Pyramid 451 Pure Nickel Classics Regular 010/046 when I played more at home than out with the band. But I've found it's pearls for swines to pay extra for all nickel strings. I can't hear the differnce at all in a band situation. For recording though, I think I will try them on our next album. They do sound a little sweeter.

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Since I began playing guitar again, I'm using Ernie Ball 'Primo Slinky' which are sort of half-way between a '9' and a '10' set.   The string gauges are 9.5, 12, 16, 24, 34, 44.  Many years ago when used live close to a city in England, the music shops all had large selections of separate strings of varying brands in a corner of the shop and I used to put my own sets together which consisted basically of the bottom 4 strings from a '9' set with a '10' for top E and a '12' for the B.   I've always used Ernie Ball strings on an electric and D'Adarrio Phosphor Bronze '12' set on acoustic.  I always found the bottom strings on a 10 set a bit too heavy and the top 2 strings on a 9 set slightly too light.  Now I live a long way from any cities and any decent shops I have to buy my strings (and pretty much anything else except food) from an online place and the individual strings are stupidly priced, like £2 each when a full set costs just over £5.  The Primo Slinkys are a decent compromise and work fine on either neck scale for me.  I remember Stevie Ray Vaughan used a '12' set and put superglue on his fingertips to toughen them for gigs whereas I was very surprised to see that Billy Gibbons uses '7' and '8' sets so I guess it's all down to the individual and the gear you use to get the sound you want. 

 

 

Primo.jpg

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I went with 9's. I'm good with the strings. I don't know if I like the guitar :( It sounds sweet, but I don't seem to like the neck. Not really sure why. It needs a lot more playing to be real sure :). I'm not giving up on this girl quite yet

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Gtrdaddy's right. Go for what feels best. After several attempts to "try on" 10 gauge sets over the last 30+ years, I have reconciled with myself that my ears like 10s, but my hands and fingers prefer 9s. As such, I have 9.5 sets on three guitars right now as a final trial to achieve the perfect balance. 

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21 hours ago, Mr. Dave said:

Since I began playing guitar again, I'm using Ernie Ball 'Primo Slinky' which are sort of half-way between a '9' and a '10' set.   The string gauges are 9.5, 12, 16, 24, 34, 44.  Many years ago when used live close to a city in England, the music shops all had large selections of separate strings of varying brands in a corner of the shop and I used to put my own sets together which consisted basically of the bottom 4 strings from a '9' set with a '10' for top E and a '12' for the B.   I've always used Ernie Ball strings on an electric and D'Adarrio Phosphor Bronze '12' set on acoustic.  I always found the bottom strings on a 10 set a bit too heavy and the top 2 strings on a 9 set slightly too light.  Now I live a long way from any cities and any decent shops I have to buy my strings (and pretty much anything else except food) from an online place and the individual strings are stupidly priced, like £2 each when a full set costs just over £5.  The Primo Slinkys are a decent compromise and work fine on either neck scale for me.  I remember Stevie Ray Vaughan used a '12' set and put superglue on his fingertips to toughen them for gigs whereas I was very surprised to see that Billy Gibbons uses '7' and '8' sets so I guess it's all down to the individual and the gear you use to get the sound you want. 

 

 

Primo.jpg

It's nice to know I'm not alone in this. I switched to 9.5-44 on all my guitars (except one) about a year ago...

Not much selection, brand-wise, but love the feel. 9s were too loose(always),  10s too tight( typically, but not always). I Love the way they feel

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On 11/4/2019 at 10:11 PM, RobB said:

Can I get an amen? Geezus...how hard can it be?

I’ll give you an amen cuz it’s easy. Goddammit, play what feels good. 

Btw, what feels good to me also feels good to @zenmindbeginner so I’m gonna go ahead and accept the win with this right now. Cuz that MF’er knows his shIt. Best endorsement I ever got...

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