When you walk into a guitar store, you might hear a customer ask, “I’d like a set of ’10’s’ for electric guitar“. The customer is referring to the gauge of the first string. .010″ (Ten thousandths of an inch).
String gauge refers to the thickness or specifically the diameter of a guitar string. String diameters are defined in thousandths of an inch (0.001 in = 0.0254 mm)…for example: .010 would be ten thousandths of an inch. As you probably know, the high E string is the thinnest string on the guitar, and the low E string is the thickest. Therefore, the high E will have the smallest diameter and the low E will have the largest diameter. Typical gauges run from .008 to .0012
The larger the diameter, the heavier the string is. Heavier strings require more tension for the same pitch and are, as a consequence, harder to press down to the fingerboard. If a fretted instrument is restrung with different string gauges, it may be necessary to adjust the height of the string above the frets, called the “action,” in order to make the instrument easier to play or to avoid the strings buzzing against the frets. The action height of fretless instruments, on the other hand, may also be adjusted to suit the string gauge or material, as well as the intended playing style.
The best all-round beginner gauges are either 09s or 10s. but it’s not that simple, however, as there are many variables in guitar strings not just the thickness of the first string. Most major string brands have a range that allows you to match the top and bottom strings to suit your style… so if you like to easily bend your high strings when playing lead but pound the bottom strings when playing rhythm then you can chose a suitable combination.
As a rule, heavier strings give a fuller guitar sound, but are harder on the fingers for beginners and are more difficult to bend when playing lead. Lighter guitar strings are easier to fret, better for expressive bends, slides and vibrato effects.. but give a slightly thinner sound and break more easily! In my experience, beginners who use ‘eights’ often break their E string!
The effects that string gauge have on your instrument are tone, playability and its adjustments. A larger gauge of strings applies more tension to the guitar. This has the effect of giving you more volume and a more focused sound. Because of the greater tension, it will require more pressure to depress the strings. However, higher tension strings vibrate in a smaller arc allowing the strings to be adjusted closer to the fingerboard with less potential of buzzing. Lighter gauge strings cause the opposite changes. Most guitars come from the factory with “Lite” gauge strings .012-.054 for acoustic guitars and .009-.042 for electric guitars. If you change string gauge you may need to have your instrument adjusted to keep the action (distance that the strings are from the fret tops) the same. Less tension may cause the strings to lower and cause buzzing while higher tension may cause the strings to rise making it difficult to play. Electric guitars that have a tremolo system may also need it adjusted.
Many lead guitarists and jazz musicians tend to prefer thinner (lighter) gauge strings that are faster and easier to bend, while bluegrass guitarists tend towards medium gauge strings for more volume and greater tone for picking/strumming. Rhythm guitarists might prefer medium or heavy gauge strings for the “wow factor” they provide in sheer volume and full sound.
Different strings are made for electric guitar and acoustic guitar. The most popular electric guitar gauge is .009. Most acoustic guitar players use .010. Novice and intermediate level guitarists will want to stick with these common gauges.
More experienced guitarists may want to experiment with higher gauges (.011 or .012 and up) because they offer better sustain and tone. Higher gauged strings are harder to play. They feel “heavy” under your fingers and take some getting used to. They’ll also make your fingertips quite tender if you’re not used to them.
When a beginner first chooses guitar strings (for electric guitar), he/she should choose either 9’s (extra light) or 10’s (regular light). This is the most common size string gauge for playing rock, blues, pop, country. 9’s will be easier to bend. However, because beginners sometimes bend strings when they shouldn’t, they might want to avoid 9’s. I would recommend 10’s for every level of player. Intermediate to Advanced guitar players should experiment with both 9’s and 10’s.
The feeling you’ll get with 9’s or 10’s will also differ depending on what kind of guitar you use. You can bend strings much easier on guitars with a longer scale length, such as Gibson. So, you might want to choose a heavier string gauge (10’s or even 11’s). This way you obtain a fatter guitar tone (heavier strings will get you more mid and low frequencies than thinner strings). Fender guitars have shorter scale length, so you should start by choosing thinner strings.
Guitar Players and String Gauge :
Stevie Ray Vaughan used 13’s! Now, keep in mind that he tuned all of his strings down a 1/2 step (which reduces string tension and makes the strings feel more like 11’s or 12’s).
Jeff Beck uses 9’s
Buddy Guy uses 10’s
B.B. King uses 10’s or 11’s.
Albert Collins used 9’s
Tags: guitar strings
KEITH RICHARDS has revealed that he used to hate his name as it wasn’t cool enough.
The Rolling Stone’s guitarist said it was an embarrassment for him among his peers.
Speaking on a BBC4 documentary ‘Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing The Whites?, which will air tonight 9pm, he said: “It made me sick – my name’s Keith Richards.
“It hardly makes it against Howlin’ Wolf or Muddy Waters, does it?
“On my first guitar I had Boy Blue written – just pathetic. But that was as good as I got at the time.” (by: newsdesk)
I hope you are enjoying learning about all the chords in the world — and we’re going to cover them ALL before we’re done — you’ll know more about chords than 99% of the people in the world – believe it or not, it’s true.
Here is a chart that shows how chords are members of families, just like you and I. Most all of us have a family of some kind, and we have cousins, and we have neighbors, and we have visitors. If we’re like most people, we see our family a good deal more than we see our cousins. It’s like that in music, too. The “fam” chords — I, IV, and V — are used much more frequently in a song than a “cousin” chord — the ii, iii, and vi chords. But they are more common than the “neighbors”, and the neighbors in turn are more common than the “visitors.”
And here’s all the “fam” and the “cousins” in all 12 keys:
Do yourself a huge favor and memorize the “fam” chords and the “cousin” chords in whatever keys you like to play in. For example, if you play lots of songs in the Key of D, then learn what the primary (fam chords) and secondary (cousin chords) are in that key. You’ll make life a whole lot easier for yourself.
“The Blues are a simple music and I’m a simple man. But the Blues aren’t a science, the Blues can’t be broken down like mathematics. The Blues are a mystery, and mysteries are never as simple as they look!”
- BB King, interview by David Ritz
When you want to play a solo, you have to know which notes you can play. This set of notes is called a scale. It must fit to the song and the chords, not all notes on your fretboard would give a nice sound if played in one song. Looking into a music book you’ll find dozens of different scales and modes, major and natural/melodic/harmonic minor, dorian, lydian, mixolydian, aeolian or phrygian mode and even more. If you want to learn more about these, look at the lessons.
The classical music theory is not well suited to describe the Blues, but we don’t have a choice. From that point of view Blues is crazy and wrong - playing dominant major 7th chords all over minor pentatonic scales, using chromatic scale pieces for intros and turnarounds, using a 5 tone scale instead of the accustomed 7 tone scales, adding notes that don’t belong to any scale - and these stupid chord progressions… so it’s only an attempt to describe what we call the Blues. Why is it so weird? It’s because the black people in the USA back in the beginning of the 20th century tried to play their African music styles on western instruments - i.e. the guitar, the harp and the piano. Take the guitar: the frets are made for equal intonation, to play classical (western) music. To get the notes “between” you need special techniques like a string bend or a slide. The best way to describe the Blues scale with standard music theory is using a pentatonic scale and add some extras.
Blues Scale In E :
This is the complete position of blues scale in E. Start at fret 3 or G chord position :
Invest your time for this scale, because practice make perfect. when practice, listen carefully to the sound of the note until you can play it effortlessly on every area of the fretboard. Enjoy 
The great thing about Blues is you don’t need to know a lot before you can start playing. In fact, you can start playing Blues progressions with just three chords. Generally, most blues chord progressions are based on the 12 Bar Blues formula.
A typical 12 Bar Blues progression would look like the pattern/progression below. Notice all the chords are 7th chords, also known as dominant 7th chords. 7th chords could be referred to as “Blues Chords” as they have that bluesy sound and are the most commonly used chord in blues music.
12 Bar Blues in the Key of A
A7/D7/A7/A7
D7/D7/A7/A7
E7/D7/A7/E7
Understanding 7th Chords: Dominant 7th chords are major chords with an added note. The added note being the flattened 7th note of the scale of the chords root note. So if you want to play a A7 chord, you take an A chord and add G - G being the flattened 7th note of the A major scale.
Understanding 12 Blues progressions: The key is this “1-4-5″ formula”. The numbers represent chords based on notes of the Major scale. If we take the key of A, the A major scale, then our notes would be the root A, the 4th tone or degree D and the 5th tone E.
A Major: A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A
Thus, A, D and E are our 1-4-5 chords for 12 bar Blues in A . It’s Easy Right?
Enjoy
Hendrix chord, C7(#9), as it may be played on a guitar
Hendrix chord E7#9, as it may be played on a guitar in an open position
In this lesson I will teach you the Hendrix chord. This is a great sounding chord - really powerful, harsh and bluesy. Jimi used this chord in songs like “Purple Haze”, “Foxy Lady” and “Vodoo Child”. The chord is an augmented 9th chord. It is generally referred to as “7#9″ - seven sharp nine.
The chord fingering:
To play an E7#9 chord
- Place your 2nd finger at the 7th fret of the A string
- Then, your 1st finger at the 6th fret of the D string
- Then, your 3rd finger at the 7th fret of the G string
- Then your 4th finger at the 8th fret of the B string
- You can also play the E open strings because this is an E7#9
This chord shape is a movable shape. So you can move it up and down the fretboard. Just remember the root note is played on the 5th string with your 2nd finger. This chord works well in blues rock music. In 12 bar blues it is often used to replace IV7 and V7 chords.
Jimi Hendrix died September 18 , 1970. His music was way before it’s time, and his influence on the instrument is unparalleled. Almost every rock/blues guitarist knows a little Hendrix. I have always felt his playing was never about technique or style, but just pure emotional expression. Long live the music!
By Jason C Diggs
Over the years many guitar brands have come and gone, but there are some that certainly stand out over the rest. These are the brands that big named guitarists seek out because they enjoy the most and they are the ones that beginners look for because they know that they are reliable and offer the best performance in guitars. From Fender to Gibson and more, depending on what you are looking for in a guitar you can easily find it in many of the most popular and famous guitar brands.
Take Yamaha for instance. They are well known for their high quality and the fact that they such a wide variety of styles of both electric and acoustic guitars. They have a few original designs and they also have some copies of popular models that people really love. With a variety of classical style guitars they are one of the highest selling retailers of Spanish model guitars. Many of the most famous guitarists in the world will play nothing but Yamaha models and they are also one of the most common brands for beginners.
When it comes to popularity, not many can hold a candle to Gibson and Fender. Gibson dates back to the late 1890’s and is one of the longest lasting of the guitar brands. Gibson makes guitars for any different style of player such as acoustic, jazz model guitars, folk guitars and of course the famous Les Paul electric guitar is made from Gibson. Gibson has always been a name that is synonymous with quality and they continue to reinvent themselves as a famous guitar brand. Fender also has a long history. Although it was only founded in the early 1950’s by Leo Fender, this company has a famed history with guitars such as the Stratocaster and Telecaster. If you are the lucky owner of one of the early Stratocaster’s then you know you have a guitar worth huge amounts of money.
Ibanez may not be as popular with its name, but it is a guitar company that many people love because of their reasonably priced copies of popular electric guitars. With models inspired by the Les Paul and Stratocaster initially their main goal was to just make guitars that were affordable and looked great. Now however they are becoming more innovative and incorporating more unique elements into their designs. This includes radical new body shapes, flatter fingerboards, slimmer necks and bright colorful finishes, making this company very popular once again.
Finally you have the Jackson guitar brand. Although considerably newer than the rest, Jackson which was started in 1978 has become extremely popular with metal and hard rock music guitar players. The guitars that they build are decidedly more angled and have pointy headstocks along with very unique body designs. Initially Grover Jackson, the founder of Jackson guitars was also part owner in Charvel guitars but later merged the two companies, making quite a business for him self. With a more aggressive looking guitar they were an instant hit with the hard rock guitar scene.