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I'm a beginner, as everybody probably knows now..And I need some new strings for my electric guitar, what strings are quot;standardquot; size on an electric guitar, if there is such a thing as standard size? 009-042?

most production guitars come set up with 9-42 strings so your best bet would be to get 9-42

I would guess 10-46 is more standard than 9's...

all of my guitars i have ever bought have come with 9-42 and i'm pretty sure all fenders come with 9-42. maybe i'm wrong though

I would have said the same thing as The Golden Boy.

Alot of manufacturor sites will tell you what string size they use on which models. most either use 9-42 or 10-46.

Fender is mostly 9-42 and gibson is mostly 10-46 ... most quot;cheaperquot; guitar co's use 9's. If your worried about getting the same guage, bring them into your store, alot of guys can tell what guage they are by feeling them.

Well, there is no store here, so how can I figure out what gauge the strings are?

this is the model I have: from : localhost/www.bcrich.com/bcrich_guitars/bodyart2003_05.asp

That's a nice guitar, my friend got a BC Rich and it had 9's on it...hmm...Now it's hard to say, although I beleive it would be 9's, hopefully someone can help more.

Have you thought about contacting BC Rich and asking them?

www.bcrichguitars.com

Rather than worrying about what kind of strings came on the guitar, I'd figure out what gauge works best for me, and have the guitar set up for that.

I would estimate that about 90% of new 6-string guitars come from the factory with 9-42.

Sune, you should know that there is no quot;rightquot; or quot;wrongquot; string gauge for any guitar - it's all based on what you prefer in terms of feel and tone. It's good to try different gauges at first to find out what fits you the best. All my guitars are tuned to a drop-C tuning with 11-50 gauge strings, and I've only come to that perfect balance for me after a bunch of experimentation.

Since you're a beginner, lighter strings are probably going to be easier for you to play until you get your fretting hand built up with permanent callouses and finger strength. I would advise buying 9-42 gauge strings even if that's not what your guitar came with originally - if it had 10's on it from the factory, the 9's will feel slinkier and more forgiving on your hands.

Good luck, and stick with it! Playing guitar is one of the defining aspects of my life, and I've gotten years of pure enjoyment from it.

10-46 is the most standard string gauge out there. I hate 9's too.

While there is absolutely no reason to go with quot;standardquot; if that's not what you prefer for a given instrument, I think it's safe to say that 10s (usually 10-46) are standard, since nearly every string manufacturer that uses such descriptors for their electric sets refers to their 10s as quot;regular.quot; Ernie Ball Regular SLinky? 10-46. Fender Regular Whatevers? 10-46. D'addario Regular Light (note that there is no other, more REGULAR sounding name)? 10-46. Dean Markley Regular Blue Steels? 10-46...

DR calls their 10-46 quot;Mediumquot; but that's essentially the same thing as saying Regular.

Maybe it's time for you to start to think about what is comfortable for you to play. 10-46 is probably the most standard size used by players. Although, I'd put money on the fact that your Mockingbird came with 9s. Mine did, and they were the first things to go (very fast, but too floppy). While there is some merit to staying with 9-42 for familiarity's sake, making the move to a 10-46 set should be pretty easy to do while you're still learning.

My first electric (strat clone) was set up with 9s... They felt like they were cutting through my finger tips... and I broke them all the time. I moved to 11s

Since then, I discovered that flaws in the saddles were breaking the strings (changed to GraphTech saddles) - and I now have stronger finger tips. I think I'll move back down to 10s... I'm having troube with the nuts and tuning with the 11s (I think they are binding)

I'll give my 11s to my son (the drummer) - he's been using 13s because he was hitting the strings too hard (like a drummer) and breaking strings - changed the saddles on his SG and now he's having trouble with the nut... oh well

Bottom line - I think 10s are a good choice for me - but it's really personal taste and the style of music you play.

Rick

Well, I really haven't tried much, but many of you recommend the 10-46 set so I think I'll try those..I've heard many good things about quot;DRquot; Strings, can anyone recommend them? (I don't want the most expensive strings since it would be too expensive).

9s are standard but I prefer 10s by Ernie Ball, the heavy bottom/skinny tops.


Originally Posted by SuneWell, I really haven't tried much, but many of you recommend the 10-46 set so I think I'll try those..I've heard many good things about quot;DRquot; Strings, can anyone recommend them? (I don't want the most expensive strings since it would be too expensive).

I use D'Adarrio strings and like them a lot... but I've heard good things about DR's, but they are hard to find around here. I've also used Elixir with good results.

Rick

I've used D'Addarios forever. I've had a bunch of dud DR sets, both bass strings and guitar strings. Even at their best, I wouldn't rate the cost as that much better (if any) beyond D'Addarios or Ernie Balls. I also like the quot;vintage reissuequot; Gibson strings, but again, if I got them for the same price as D'Addarios or Ernie Balls I'd use them.