.010 3rd String

[Jon Light (deceased)]

I'm stringing a client's guitar with an Ernie Ball set he brought me. This is the ZB Custom with the red plastic body that I was talking about in a recent thread.
These strings are just what he had on hand, picked up at a store, or whatever. It's not like "these are the strings that I use". He is a beginner and he will accept anything that I choose to do.

I buy all gauges in dozen packs so I've got single .011's and .012's.

I figure that EB has been in the business for a lot of years. What do they know that I don't? I have always believed that .010's are no part of nothing. But do I believe that I am smarter than somebody at Ernie's? I'm not that arrogant. They've got some sort of reason for using 10's, right?

So -- as I'm stringing this guitar and I'm at the 3rd string, what do I do? Do I chuck the 10 and sub an 11? My very cheap micrometer says that it was a 10 that I just took off but this meter is dodgy.
I have no concern about having to retune the pedal if I change to an 11. A nonissue.

Go with my personal preference or play the hand that Ernie is dealing me?

[Dave Mudgett]

I've tried 10 gauge strings on string 3 G# on E9 pedal steel. Nyet for me, thanks. Thin-sounding and I think easier to break.

On sound - within reason, heavier sounds better to me.

On breakability - yes, the tension is lower with a thinner string (at the same pitch), but so is the tensile strength. Technically, as long as you don't hit the nonlinear portion of the tension vs. gauge curve where tension goes up much faster than linearly, both tension increase and tensile strength increases come pretty close to offsetting each other. But I also think it's easier for a thin string to get compromised by a burr or other sharp spot on, for example, the saddle or nut. So for me, unless the gauge is just too high, I find less breakage with a bit heavier strings.

IMO, 10s and lighter are for people who like really slinky strings on a guitar. No place on a pedal steel, as far as I'm concerned. But maybe I'm not the right guy to judge light strings right now - I have 12-54 on my main Telecaster these days.

[Dave Hopping]

Although I haven't broken a 3rd in a very long time, my MSA Classic D-10 would sometimes do that. Since I had lots of .010s on hand I'd put one on and it'd work OK until I could swap it out.

I still wonder that .011s (which allegedly like being at B) can be tuned up a fifth plus another whole-step without flying into Earth orbit, but they seem able to take it.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

I just can't fathom a situation where a 10 is a good choice. I mean -- on an 18" scale lap steel or something? Maybe.

I use .012's myself and I put .011's on client guitars unless they specifically request 12's.

So why on earth is a mass producer of strings putting .10's in their E9 string sets? That's the only reason I'm stopping and giving it a thought. If it were a "Guitar Center branded custom deluxe pedal steel set" then I'd understand. ('They are idiots' would be the explanation). But I don't figure a company like Ernie to be a bunch of idiots.

Anyway, I'm putting an .011 on this guitar. End of story.

[Samuel Phillippe]

Having followed this forum for a couple of years, and still learning, I have switched to .012" for the g#,3rd string based on discussions. I LIKE the sound, on my BMI S10, better than with the .011".
Again this is based on you experts, I thank you.

Sam

[Lee Baucum]

Back in the early 1970s a local music store here stocked EB pedal steel guitar sets. That's what I used on my Sho~Bud Maverick. They had .010s way back then. As I recall, they had .018s for the 5th string and .038s for the 10th string. Most likely a wound 6th.

~Lee

[Jack Hanson]

If I remember correctly, back in the 1970s (feels like it was the 1870s) when I started on pedal steel, the packaged E9 sets from both Emmons & Sho-Bud featured .010 third strings.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

Back in the early 1970s a local music store here stocked EB pedal steel guitar sets. That's what I used on my Sho~Bud Maverick. They had .010s way back then. As I recall, they had .018s for the 5th string and .038s for the 10th string. Most likely a wound 6th.

~Lee

Spot on Lee. Wound .022 6th and .018 & .038 B strings.

....the packaged E9 sets from both Emmons & Sho-Bud featured .010 third strings

I wonder if there was some technological advancement that occurred, before which, .011's were not durable enough.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Yes Jack. I remember that well. Might even have an old set around. That was the case with some pedal steel string brands. It wasn't until later that the .011 became the standard ga. in sets.

I never used one though that I can remember and have no clue concerning the longevity.

Side note, Dale Wagner once came to our club and we invited him to sit in. He chose my Mullen guitar and near the end of the show the 3rd string broke.

He jokingly told me he'd replace it and asked what ga. I told him it was an .012 and he came unglued. He said too large and I should use a .010 like him an he would send me one. I told him thanks, but no thanks. This was all in jest of course.

Dale played a Derby which I'd witnessed him play many times. He always had a very nice tone, there was nothing thin or tinny about his high notes.

[Dave Mudgett]

I think Ernie Ball has always used .010 for string 3 on their E9 pedal steel sets. When I first started, I used them because my guitar shop (at the time, late 90s) sold a lot of EBs and I was ignorant. This part of the world is not exactly Pedal Steel Central, so what did I know? But I always replaced the .010 with a .011. It's not that I knew any better - I just thought it sounded weak in terms of volume and thin-sounding. So I swapped it out.

In general, I like Ernie Ball strings for guitar. My take is that most of modern electric guitar culture thinks in terms of pretty bloody light strings. I know that EB shows up to guitar shows sometimes with guitars and strings in tow. They sell strings by the box and I stock up. When they were at the Philly show last November, I asked why they didn't bring any of their heavier strings. They told me that the last time they did, they were slightly embarrassed that they had to ship them back to CA. I mean, they didn't have a single box of medium-gauge acoustic guitar strings, which are pretty much de rigueur for a lot of bluegrass flatpickers. Me included.

I must be weird. I use a .042 or .046 for my E9 string 10. .036 and .038 feel floppy to me.

[Bobby D. Jones]

In the early 1970's .010 seemed to be the standard 3rd string, and it broke often. I broke a lot of 3rd strings in the early 70's.
A .011 string has .0934 near 10 percent more area in its diameter. A .010 string takes less pull force to reach a higher note, But must be stretched a longer distance to reach the higher note.

[Dave Grafe]

Use the .010

[Craig A Davidson]

I use a .012.

[Tiny Olson]

Jack and Jerry are correct about the .010 being standard in Emmons and Sho-Bud sets of the early 70s. I used to get bunches of sets and singles from Emmons (remember the florescent lime-green packaging??) to take out on the 16 week long road trips back then. They all included
010s and so did the guitars when they left the factory. I quickly graduated to an .011 and then the .011.5 which is what I've been using for the last 25+ yrs.

In this situation Jon, I don't see an issue using the .010.

Hey Jerry, glad you mentioned Dale Wagoner. What a great guy and player he was. I remember him in the house band at Bobby Mackey's when we did shows there in the early 80s. At that time he was playing an LDG and had a great tone from top to bottom. It was always great to visit with and hear Dale..!!

[James Holland]

Doesnt a lighter string swing more thru the pickup field and produce more volume? I could be wrong. I keep a strat strung with .013-.056 nickels, and its much softer than strung with .010s 0r .011s. Its a whole lot more stable though, never goes out of tune.