Light vs. Extra Light...What's the difference?

[tlburger]

Ok, so I am new to guitar (only been playing "officially for 7 months or so). The guitar I bought originally came with medium gauge strings and I was told to replace them with light gauge (which by the way is easier on my fingers). However, when I went to buy light gauge strings I saw they made extra light strings as well. So the question is what's the difference between the two? Why was I not told to buy them? Do they break easier, or what?

[camera_obscura]

extra light is a bit thinner

[Kabalan]

i suggest custom light.
light= 12
custom light= 11

[Doubleneck]

I been having issues with my older hands and just for kicks yesterday put some extra lights Elixirs PB nanos on my CA Legacy. Soundwise I was very surprised how good they sounded, even in the bass, not sure I was giving up much at all. I think the carbon helps here not sure they would power my wood guitars like this. Fingering certainly was looser with less tension, that was the biggest change, seemed almost too loose but I was coming off mediums. I will give it some time, but if the sound is there it may make some sense at this point in time with my hands. Since I have broken Elixir G's before I think I may be setting my self up for that with these thins. We will see.
Steve

[Michael T]

Stay with the mediums, you don't have to have a death grip on the neck to fret strings, mediums are fuller sounding to me. You'll adjust quickly if you haven't already, 7 months should have built some pads on your fingers by now. You may want to try a set of round "core" (not round wound) as they are more flexable than hex core strings.

[taylorcc]

Extra lights usually have a .010 high E string so they are often referred to as '10s'.

Lighter gauge = less volume, more bendy, less tension and easier to fret, in general. Some very fine players use 10s.

I'm not aware of breakage problems with lighter gauge strings. My 12 string guitars have .008 and .009 octave G strings. I whack them hard with a flat pick. No problem.

You were advised to try lights in place of mediums because that usually works for most new players. Since you have been playing for several months and your guitar maker recommends mediums, it may be time to try a set of mediums. Your fingertips should be ready for them now.

[ewalling]

Using D'Addario as a yardstick, their standard acoustic gauging for light strings is:
extra lights: 10-47
custom lights: 11-52
lights: 12-53
These distinctions also seem to be made by other companies, Elixir for one.

For the record, I used extra lights exclusively for a number of years on both my 000 guitar and my dread and really liked them.

[Bltprf502]

If your new the lights will work great. They are usually 12-53 (or 54) and custom lights are 11-52. I use the custom lights on my Guild M20 and they sound great. You've got a bunch of die hard "Med" users here. You don't have to use med's on a dread. Light sound great on most any guitar... Ask Ricky Skaggs.

[jgmaute]

I use D'Addario pb extra lights on my 00s and D55 and love the sound and feel. I moved to D'Addario pb lights on my GAD 30R because the high E was moving off the fingerboard on some chords, the switch solved that problem. You just need to try some different ones and see what works best for you and your guitar.

[woodruff]

Originally Posted by Bltprf502

If your new the lights will work great. They are usually 12-53 (or 54) and custom lights are 11-52. I use the custom lights on my Guild M20 and they sound great. You've got a bunch of die hard "Med" users here. You don't have to use med's on a dread. Light sound great on most any guitar... Ask Ricky Skaggs.

and, often I have found that mediums choke the soundboard. then I would try light gauge and instantly the dread resonated better. I have an old D25 Guild. I am considering dropping to custom lights from lights. I always figure .12s were lowest I would ever go on a dread. ah well. age....

[musicman1951]

You can hear the difference (or not) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sZb9YjL-N8

Generally speaking the lighter the strings the less power (if you're a pick hand pounder), less bass and less stress on the fingers. It's all very relative and you'll have to try a few different sets on your guitar to see what you like.

[Goat Mick]

And sometimes it goes in the other direction. I normally play Lights (12's) on all my guitars, but my Ibanez is built really light and tends to rattle and buzz if played aggressively. I put Mediums (13's) on it and completely eliminated that issue. It's always best to experiment.

[HodgdonExtreme]

Believe it or not, a few thousandths of an inch (one thousandth = .001") makes a huge difference in the required tension to achieve given pitch, as well as the playability of a guitar string.

Consider that all the kinetic energy of your vibrating string(s) causes the wood of your guitar to vibrate a little (the top, mostly...but all wood). As the top, back and sides vibrate, they suck/blow air in/out of the body of the guitar, creating the sound you hear.

Bigger, heavier, higher tension strings vibrate with more kinetic energy, thus your wooden soundbox will vibrate with more energy.

Generally speaking, heavier strings will have a deeper, fuller and more powerful tone as compared to lighter strings. Whether you like the tone is entirely up to you!

Another thing to consider is the size of the guitar. Smaller guitars generally don't require as much kinetic energy to work because the vibrating parts are smaller and lighter.

Lastly, it comes down to how playable the strings are for you. It doesn't matter how awesome the guitar sounds if you can't play it on account of not being able to fret/bend strings right.

The balance between playability and tone will depend on the guitar, your ability and your ear.

The short answer here, is to try multiple different brands/sizes of string and choose what you like.

Last point for real: The setup (truss rod, nut slot depths, saddle height, etc etc) will vary depending on brand and size string your choose. Not enough that you can't try out many different sets without setting up the guitar for each - but once you pick out what you like, have the guitar set up for THOSE strings, and you'll be a very happy guitarist!

[woodruff]

Originally Posted by musicman1951

You can hear the difference (or not) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sZb9YjL-N8

Generally speaking the lighter the strings the less power (if you're a pick hand pounder), less bass and less stress on the fingers. It's all very relative and you'll have to try a few different sets on your guitar to see what you like.

yeah Keith, I just have to give the custom lights a go. Worse that can happen is I return to light gauge. I like D'Addario 80/20s so their EJ 13 will be worth a go.

it is 12 lbs less tension. thanks for video too. I did not notice a whole lot of tone or volume diff between lights and custom lights. .12-.53 vs .11-.52.

[merlin666]

I thought this was a about beer, but the same principles apply. Some prefer light beer, but I like mine strong and dark.