Brighter strings.

[Dmoney]

Simple question.
I've started using 11's on a guitar to keep in D# standard. I've always used Ernie Ball 10's even when playing in D standard tuning but then I tended to switch between D, D# and E a lot back then. Now I like the tension on the 11's but I feel like they aren't as bright as the 10's. Anyone know if there are some easily available 11's that will be brighter than the ernie balls?

[James C]

I've always found that D'addario XL's are nice and bright (IMO) have a look at www.stringsdirect.co.uk

they should have most gauges available

[FELINEGUITARS]

LaBella Hard Rocking Steel (HRS) are pretty bright

[Plenum n Heather]

I have found that my 11s have a different resonance peak than 10s which may be part of the issue also. As noted above a steel string like DR Tite Fit, D'addario, or GHS should be brighter than EB or pure nickel strings.

[gwEm]

aren't steel strings meant to wear out your frets quickly though?

[dave_mc]

^ yeah i think so. the only guitar i've ever worn the frets on i was using stainless steel strings (before i realised they were the culprit, obviously).

[Dmoney]

What frets are we talking here? Stainless steel on stainless steel?

[gwEm]

i'm talking about steel strings on nickel-silver frets being dodgy (I believe most guitars have nickel-silver frets as stock)

[richard]

Would a pure nickel string be lighter on your frets than a nickel coated string ? Or no difference ?

[JDC]

pure steel strings definitely brighter but as said by others, chew up frets

DR Hi-beams are suppose to be brighter than their tite-fit strings

[Kiichi]

The brightest strings I have ever tried were Thomastik Power Brights. They look rather bronzen from the metal coating or whatever they have, or maybe it is a different alloy or something.
However they feel like normal strings, pretty great ones at that to my taste and when I put them on my Crawler axe they to me seemed much brighter than the nickel ones I had on there before. Really brought what the Crawler needed.

Can highly recommend you try them.

[Lew]

I'm using 11-48 in Dstd and I know what ya mean they do sound darker than 10s and 9s (which I'm cool with). Could be wrong but I don't think you're going to get that sizzle and sparkle back in exactly the same way that you do with lighter strings. If I'm in standard and Eb I just use 10-46 and raise the action a bit for Eb. I know a few Thrash players that use 10-46 in Dstd even. It's all about the set-up :)

[JJretroTONEGOD]

blue steel by dean markley! they are much brighter and also last a bit longer than most

[Dmoney]

I'm using 11-48 in Dstd and I know what ya mean they do sound darker than 10s and 9s (which I'm cool with). Could be wrong but I don't think you're going to get that sizzle and sparkle back in exactly the same way that you do with lighter strings. If I'm in standard and Eb I just use 10-46 and raise the action a bit for Eb. I know a few Thrash players that use 10-46 in Dstd even. It's all about the set-up :)

I tried using 10's in Eb but after using 10's for the feel on a longer scale guitar I found I was loosing some punch with the Ernie Ball 10's in Eb that I never noticed for the years I did that anyway. Which is why I went to 11's, but then it got a bit dark. I might try some D'addarios and then maybe some cobalt ernie balls and then work through this list. I've always used Ernie Balls unless I've had no other choice.

[Lew]

I tried 11-48 in Eb but it just felt a bit aquard with big bends but then I do like a typical metal/shredder set-up. In D they feel somewhere between 9s and 10s in E which is great. Guitars in standard tuning just sound so polite. I fancy an old school Yammy SG strung with heavy 12s in C to bash out Matt Pike riffs :D