I’m struggling a bit right now to find the right string gauges for my guitars. I put 11-54 on my Cort M520 (24,75″) in an attempt to tune it to drop C. Lowest string basically turned to spaghetti, and not very al dente at that… On my Ibanez S470 I’ve stayed with the factory 09-42, even though I don’t find it very chuggable. The Schecter Omen 7 has some standard set on, I don’t know the gauge. But the low B is too loose.
Right now I’m dithering between whether I just like thicker gauges or if I’m picking too hard. I think it’s both. But I actually really like the 11-54 set on the Cort, even tuned to standard E for rhythm. It’s a bit stiff for lead, so maybe I should get a hybrid set that is less top heavy…
For the Ibanez I thought I’d try something completely different, so I got a 12-60 set and I’m dropping it to C instead (since it’s 25,5″). Strings are changed, but the setup adjustment isn’t done (not looking forward so much to truss rod adjustment, if it comes to that). Also interested in seeing how the ZR bridge is going to work with drop tuning and heavy strings.
For the Schecter I got a baritone 13-62 set and added a 10 for the high E. I’m hoping that 62 will be enough to tune it to Drop A.
I think really the only way to find the right gauge is to try them all. But how do you find time to change strings all the time, and then add setup adjustment and intonation. Any feedback welcome in the comments!
