• Registered: 2009-12-12
  • Posts: 57

Topic: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

hey joe:

given that you tour so much, do you ever switch down to 10s?  i've found these outstanding lp style 25.5" scale guitars that i string w/ 11s.  the tone is incredible.  i'm finding that the more hours i play per week, the harder it is to play and it ends up changing/influencing what i play as my hand gets tired.  now for me, there is a positive tone change from 10s to 11s, at least for me.  if you ever have to move down, do you have any tips for tweaking the tone to compensate for the difference?

when i go to 10s, i loose some of the big round quality of my current tone, some girth, and the response/dynamics change.  the girlfriend can tell a difference at all, though.  the 10s have a lot more bit to them, too.  the wound strings react in a much different way, too.  the thinner strings also change how i play.  this is coming out kind of randomly.  i've also noticed that since i tend to pick uding not just my pick and also some of the meat of by fingers, w/ thicker strings it sounds the way i want, but w/ thinner strings that technique translates into a bunch of artificial harmonics even though i running a pretty low to medium gain rig.  the only positive is that the 10s feel a bit more fun to play because they're easier to play.

anyway, if you have time and can speak to any of this, that'd be great.  thanks in advance and get well soon (saw you've come down w/ a cold on facebook)!

  • From: West Sussex
  • Registered: 2011-05-17
  • Posts: 307

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

I don't know about Joe but some players find their fingers become stronger when touring - I believe SRV sometimes started a tour on lighter strings before moving up to the 13s!

  • From: Southampton, UK
  • Registered: 2011-09-06
  • Posts: 231

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

Thought I'd chip in.  For me, consistency of feel is everything and since I have started playing 10's on my new LP I'm now going to need to review my Strat string sets too.  For years I've played 9's on my Strat, but now I'm comfortable with 10's on the LP (and want to keep that gauge), I prefer not to switch gauges wherever possible across guitars.  The only exception might be my Ibanez jazzer where I would go to a thicker set.

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  • Registered: 2009-12-12
  • Posts: 57

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

thanks for the replies.  my issues isn't w/ gauge ans strength.  i can play 11s fine.  my issue is the fatigue that builds up after a stretch of gigs.

  • From: over yonder....in PA
  • Registered: 2009-02-09
  • Posts: 240

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

You'll get stronger over time. Your fingers (although hard to believe) still work like the rest of the muscles in your body. You can't just go bench 300lbs 25 times in a row your very first time! The more you play, the higher your endurance will be. I've actually started setting up my hardcore practices a bit like my body workouts. Some days are endurance where I'll do nothing but alternate/hybrid pick everything and every note...but then I'll have days where I just bend the crap out of the strings to build up bending strength etc.

Most of all, you need REST. The common theory is that playing 6 hours a day will make you a phenomenal guitar player, but that's only half true. Your fingers and hands and forearms (I'll save the technical muscles names tongue) absolutely need recovery time, otherwise you'll start entering whats called "reversibility of training"

"The way I like to look at it is....if that's the last time I ever got to play, I'd better give it everything I've got." -SRV
  • From: over yonder....in PA
  • Registered: 2009-02-09
  • Posts: 240

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

which is basically when you over train your muscles and ligaments so much that you start working backwards and losing all of that ability in a sense.

So my advice? Try to stretch out your gigs a little bit more. Instead of having a few in a row, try to put a few days between them...and if you are continually practicing during this time, try to space a day in between your practices. Maybe just play chords on the off days. I know this was wordy, but I think this is a very overlooked subject when it comes to guitar playing.

"The way I like to look at it is....if that's the last time I ever got to play, I'd better give it everything I've got." -SRV
  • RickB
  • RickB
  • BONAMEGAMETAL
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  • From: San Diego
  • Registered: 2009-10-30
  • Posts: 12,198

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

One more thing for practice time. Kind of off, but relevant. I've seen Joe break strings during a song, smoothly shift to alternate string play and never miss a note. If you weren't close, you'd never realize it happened. Try playing with a missing string.
Rick

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  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: quick question for joe re: gauge and fatigue

There's a saying I hold with my Harley buddies... "comfort over coolness"

I like how 11's sound, but I use 10's because they're more comfy... Although tuning down 1/2 step is a good alternative to sticking with 11's and have a tiny bit more "slack"  big_smile

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
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