2022 Gauge Poll - let's see if anything's changed?

[JSett]

So, a lot of us here have been doing the offset thing for many many years, and many decades. That means most of us are pretty settled in gauges and knowing what we like and works best for the idiosyncrasies of our instruments.

I've been using 11's and 12's for as long as I can remember and I've seen many polls over the years confirming that this is about the usual spot for most of us. I've gone back and found the old polls and checked and it's been the same for the longest time. Most popular were definitely 11s - according to the results of all previous polls I could find - by a substantial margin.

But, this got me to thinking, what with the recent explosion in offset popularity outside of our little bubble (and now there's more options for bridges that allow lighter strings to be used without issues), have opinions shifted at all? Also, a lot of us are older now, and hands get tired and sore...that might shift things a little.

9's are likely the most popular string gauge in the industry as a whole but, in the most recent poll on here (started in 2009!) they only got 4% of the vote.

So, how's it looking these days?

[RumorsOFsurF]

25.5" Fender standard I use 10's.
24" Shortscale (Jag) and my Les Paul Special I use 11's.

I know Rhett Schull and those YouTube folks seem to think lighter sounds better, but I can't play with anything lighter than 10's.

[JSett]

25.5" Fender standard I use 10's.
24" Shortscale (Jag) and my Les Paul Special I use 11's.

I know Rhett Schull and those YouTube folks seem to think lighter sounds better, but I can't play with anything lighter than 10's.

I think if I played in E standard I'd probably be the same. 1/2 step down and heavy-handed though means 12's are perfect

[LVC]

10s on 25.5" and 11s on 24" for me as well, as a general rule.

The exception is my CIJ Jazzmaster. When I bought it 10 years ago the previous owner had upgraded the vibrato and the pickups, but had left the original bridge with threaded saddles. The guitar was strung with 11s though and perfectly set up, and exhibited none of the problems commonly associated with that type of bridge, so I thought "if it ain't broke..." and I have kept stringing it with 11s since. If I ever feel the need to go for a Staytrem, I'll probably switch to 10s though.

24,75" scale poses a little bit of a dilemma. It depends on the guitar I guess.

[jorri]

*a caveat is that i use 11-56 in drop C.
The lower strings are thus from a 13 set, but i wouldnt use 13s. I don't mind whats on top much, it could be 10-12 really but the bottom is important.

[adamrobertt]

I used 11s for the past 10 years probably on all my guitars, but recently switched to 12s. I just don't like floppy strings. It's nice to be able to bend anything you want with light strings, but I really don't like the "slinky" feeling of them. I need some tension under my fingers.

I also don't put heavier strings on shorter guitars, although almost all of my guitars are 25.5" to begin with - but I have a couple Gibson scale guitars and they get the same strings. I let the shorter scale change the feel of the guitar, kinda changes things up a bit.

[JSett]

I also don't put heavier strings on shorter guitars, although almost all of my guitars are 25.5" to begin with - but I have a couple Gibson scale guitars and they get the same strings. I let the shorter scale change the feel of the guitar, kinda changes things up a bit.

I run the same 12's on everything now, makes life easier

[solfege]

Recently switched to a 10.5 - 48 set on my Jag. Really, really like it. Had been using 10s. Still using them on 25.5" scale guitars.

[marqueemoon]

I’ve been using 11s on all electric guitars for decades. It started when I got my first JM.

I tend to pull notes sharp when using lighter strings and prefer the sound and feel of slightly heavier wound strings.

I’ve considered trying the light top/heavy bottom thing on my Tele, but I dunno.

I probably won’t go lighter until my creaky hands tell me I need to.

[Larry Mal]

I just use .11s on everything electric and keep it nice and simple.

I've worked up to medium gauge on whatever the instrument is... I use mediums on acoustic, mediums on electric.

I'm a medium kind of guy.

I used to use light gauge strings, then one day I realized I don't, like, bend a lot of notes or anything so the advantages of light gauge strings wasn't something I was taking advantage of, and the disadvantages of them were still present, though.

[Flurko]

I use 11s on my Jazzmaster, though this days it mostly lives in D standard, I should look up what kind standard tuned gauge this adds up to in terms of tension.
The other guitars are in 11 or 10, I don't seem to care much about it, though I really want to try more kind of strings styles, I have flatwounds on one guitar and love em, I tried tapewounds and they were great but I couldn't try them on other guitars as I trimmed them badly and they unraveled on me.

[Whiny Minotaur]

I play short scales exclusively . Whenever I go down from 11s for shits and giggles I immediately regret it and go back up again.

I feel that 11s offer a nice balance between slinkiness and girth - Going too light makes fingerpicking sound anemic, while going too heavy makes strumming sound dull in my experience.

If I had another 25.5" guitar I'd probably go with 10s though.

[2groggy]

30.25" scale, mostly six string, but one four string

[Fiddy]

10-46 for 24", 24.75", and 25.5" scales.

Bass 43-104 for a 30" scale

[tequila_in_teacups]

10–46 on everything.