10's or 11's on Cobra?

[GASMAN]

What's the consensus on shorter scale guitars like the Cobra? I'm sure either works fine, but what do you guys use.............and why?
Thanks for any advice.

[mbrown3]

I prefer longer scale guitars, on which I use Elixir custom lights (9-46). The only short scale guitar I have is my Atom, and I tried it with 10s and it felt way too stiff to me, so I went back to the custom lights. Even with those, for some reason, the Atom doesn't feel any "looser" than my other guitars with longer scales. YMMV.

[mdrs]

I've always played 10's, and moved up to 11's when I'm playing a lot. And, I've followed that rule on long and short scale guitars. I play fairly hard, and like the strings to fight back a bit.

You can get away with heavier strings on a short scale guitar, as the string tension will be a bit less compared to long scale guitars.

So, if you are looking to try heavier strings, a short scale guitar is a good place to start.

Of late, I've started trying out some Earnie Ball sets that use 9's on the first three strings, and 10's on the last three, on my long scale guitars, and on my vintage guitars. The old guitars often have very low frets, making playing them challanging. And, of course, the long scale axes have greater string tension. The lighter strings on the top end makes string bends and leads easier on these.

[John Price]

9's for me!

[wreckfan]

Fast and fun Les Paul signature 09-46's here.

[Mister T]

9-46 on guitars in regular tuning. I have a couple guitars I tune down 1/2 step and they get 11-49 gauge strings...I find that 11-49 is more stable than 10-46 half a step down and 9-46 stirngs 1/2 step down are REALLY unstable.

[olectric]

10s on all my electrics (including my cobra). It's just comfortable--not too stiff and slinky enough to twang when needed.

[Harker1440]

DR Pure Blues 10's for me on all my guitars long scale or short scale

[Rupe]

10's on everything for me...and almost always DR Tite-Fits. I haven't found anything that comes close to the feel of those strings.

[strat56]

D'Addario 9's on all my guitars regardless of scale. I have 25" and 25.5" scale guitars and I can't feel any difference in them using the same string gauge on both.

[dannopelli]

10's on electrics. Tried to do the 11's on some, flatwounds on jazz box things. Was too weird. So now it is all 10's.

[SonicGator]

I've found my favorite strings in the...gasp...Zakk Wylde signature GHS strings (I think he's moved on to Dunlop, but many stores still have the GHS models). It's a hybrid set from .10 on the High-E to a .60 on the Low-E...fat, but very toneful. My fingers have adjusted to the added girth of the bottom strings and I find the tonal response rewarding.

[stevem7]

I like .011s also for short scalers. .010s on longer scales. But I have my 335 strung with D'Addario Chrome flats (.012s - ouch!) and love them since I mainly use that axe for jazz and they sound terrific on that guitar. But for rock and roll I like D'Addario XL Steels. I prefer Steels over Nickels any day, although they are a little noisier. Never cared for Elixir electric strings. I use them exclusively on acoustics though.

[LearnedHand]

I have a Cobra S and did try Elixir 11s. I did not notice any improvement in tone nor playability. So I went back to the Elixir 10s that came with it. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[GASMAN]

Thanks all.

I'll probably just stick with 10's................since that's what I'm used to.

Looking forward to my new Cobra Special with 3 P90s. Should arrive the middle of this week.