My Sound Clinic

In my endless search for that perfect tone I came across another avenue of possibilities. There are so many factors to take into account when approaching tone, depending on how meticulous you are of course, right down to the size of your speakers and the grain of the wood that they are mounted in.

String tension is my newest venture and it’s one of great impact. The gauge of string that you use can vary your sound massively. Because the actual mechanical movement of the string varies with its width you can therefore control the range of tones coming from it. Generally it’s quite self explanatory, the thicker the gauge the bassier and rounder the sound.

I chase a tone that’s chuggy, percussive, responsive, yet clear with a slightly scooped mid. I tend to use very light strings at the treble end and thicker strings at the bass end (9 – 46 with a 50 for the B string on my 7 strings). I like the way they feel, you can bend with ease and if you have a lot of control then you can command a massive range of sounds through them. A lot of people don’t like light strings because of the slack tension which is another factor – tone vs playability. It’s all about finding the optimum medium. For example; fast alternate picking can become clumsy on lighter strings because the string doesn’t return to centre very quickly, which is why mine thicken up as the pitch gets lower to provide a much more even tension.

Lighter strings can be combated of course with a lighter attack with your pick, but a lot of people can’t find the control. At speed your picking tends to become more aggressive as the muscles in your arm contract, so people up the gauge. Opt for a gauge that’s really thick though and you lose all clarity all together. For some people this is the desired consequence (I know people who have a .52 for an E string, and a .65 for B!!) but it’s not for me.

Heavier strings, therefore, do not mean heavier sound. The key is to experiment and find your perfect match taking into account all the factors. I manage to get a massively chuggy and heavy sound out of my strings because of the way they vibrate in context to my picking attack. Try it out for yourself.

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