I should have done this years ago. Strat strings

👍

I recently bought some 8’s to keep me playing.

It is funny to me how things have changed from the prove-your-manhood obsession with heavy strings in the post SRV era.

Lighter strings are harder to play to me. Getting the strength for heavier strings doesn't take much time (physical limitations aside) but being able to lighten up your touch for good intonation and tone with a lighter gauge requires a lot more concentration and practice. It doesn't do much good putting 8s or 9s on a guitar if you're just going to wallop it like it has 11s all the time. I think that was a big part of the appeal of heavier strings to begin with: people were just playing too hard. I see this in my client base all the time - people might complain about a guitar playing hard, but it doesn't actually cause problems for them. I've seen people really struggle with having a delicate enough touch for lighter strings.

I'm glad to hear the lighter strings are working out for you!

Using a light touch is something I have developed over the last few years. The guitars just sound better when letting the amp do the work and not beating the strings as if I were chopping wood. When playing complex string-crossing patterns the picking is sometimes impossible to execute when playing hard. At least for me. The 008's are a little lighter than I am used to but I'm willing to try and compensate for that. It could help with my other guitars with heavier strings if I lighten my touch some more.

Abso-tootin-lutely.

"Why do you use those skinny things? Ruins yer tone! Get some manly strings on there!"

What I said: "Ha ha! Yeah, I know!"
What I wanted to say: "Dude, your 'tone' sucks 'cause you play so bad with those darn boat ropes on there!"

I'd be curious if those who play light gauge strings tend to play acoustic guitar less than players who use heavier strings.

I play loads of acoustic guitar. I generally use 11s or 12s but I quite often tune down a whole step.

For years I've switched between 9's and 10's (but always 9's on my Les Paul).
...but recently I've discovered EB 9.5's! I haven't tried them yet, but I bet they will be sweet!

That certainly applies to me.  I should play acoustic more.  I put some Martin FX Silk and Phosphor strings on my Guild D40 and it plays a lot easier than it did with conventional 010 gauge strings on it.  I can actually play it without having to practice whatever I want to play on it.

I’m 62 and still play 10s on all my electrics. I also float my trem on my strats so they have more give during bends. This so far is working out. I also play acoustic quite a bit and presently have my D18 set up for blue grass with 13s and D35 with 12s . So far so good.

Because I was playing a lot of acoustic guitar I changed to .010-.052s on my Tele and Strat. However my Ibanez AS 53 and Epi Casino still sport .009-.046s. That is. still the most comfortable for me.

Most of my arthritis is at the base of my left thumb, the result of the death grip I used while playing heavy strings on my basses.

I saw someone (well known prolific guitar player we all know) ... as I sit here right now I don't recall who it was.

This person was talking about strings and I was shocked to hear he used strings starting with an 8 on the high "E".

Now it will drive me crazy until I remember who the heck it was.

That's it! Thank You leftee

Jimmy Page has used 8’s for decades.

Billy Gibbons uses 7’s !!!! (I didn’t even know that they existed), and I don’t hear anyone complaining about *his* “tone” ;-)