toneblind Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) I just finished assembling a solid body guitar for my son. He designed the body, I made it from Poplar and we used a bolt on neck from a basket case Washburn Mavrick series. (I know, Poplar was not the best wood but this is my first ever instrument build, it was available, it's a painted project and the guitar will most likely spend eternity simply hanging on a bedroom wall). My son also wanted to incorporate a tremolo so I found a version of a Floyd Rose style tremolo. I need to re-string the guitar and adjust the tremolo...what gauge strings should I look into? I put a Bigsby on a hollow-body not to long ago and was advised to get heavy (.013-.056) strings. Do I need to go that heavy on a Floyd Rose equipped guitar? BTW, this is the initial CAD drawing of my son's vision. Once I get it tuned and prettied up, I'll post a few pics. Here's the body after paint, but with no cler coat. We were experimenting with vinyl pinstrip tape... Edited January 11, 2012 by toneblind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted January 11, 2012 Report Share Posted January 11, 2012 Poplar gets a bad rap. It's a good choice for a painted solid body. Strings are going to be a matter or preference and style. You have to adjust the setup based on the string gauge, but a FR can handle anything you're likely to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I used to use 9's on my strat and never had a problem with the trem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 13, 2012 Report Share Posted January 13, 2012 I also use 9s on all my floyd's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I personally prefer 10's on my guitars no matter what bridge, but it is personal preference. The thicker the gauge the higher the tension will be to acheive the same pitch, meaning bending notes will take more strength and will hurt finger tips more until he builds up caluses. 9's are great to start out on and he can move up from there is he likes. But plenty of guys stick with 9's after years of playing anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I personally prefer 10's on my guitars no matter what bridge, but it is personal preference. The thicker the gauge the higher the tension will be to acheive the same pitch, meaning bending notes will take more strength and will hurt finger tips more until he builds up caluses. 9's are great to start out on and he can move up from there is he likes. But plenty of guys stick with 9's after years of playing anyway. I'm the same way with 11's. It's the perfect amount of tension for me, and anything else messes me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toneblind Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I personally prefer 10's on my guitars no matter what bridge, but it is personal preference. The thicker the gauge the higher the tension will be to acheive the same pitch, meaning bending notes will take more strength and will hurt finger tips more until he builds up caluses. 9's are great to start out on and he can move up from there is he likes. But plenty of guys stick with 9's after years of playing anyway. I'm the same way with 11's. It's the perfect amount of tension for me, and anything else messes me up. Thanks for the input. I'll be starting him off on a set of 10's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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