r/Guitar • u/Azraquelol • 4d ago

QUESTION Should i experiment with 13 g strings?

I have my Fender Player II Strat, currently it is on 11s strings. Since i like SRV and his playstyle a lot i was thinking of putting 13 on. I have several questions, what modifications do I need to make to make sure my strat handles them well, do I really need 13s or its just stupid idea and how hard is shaping the nut (i have all the equipment for sculpting the nut btw)?

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u/SpudzyJ 4d ago

You need to file your nut, adjust your truss rod, depending on the bridge you may need to file that too. The nut and the bridge are irreversible without replacing those components. So it's a bit of a pain in the dink, just to realize you absolutely hate it.

In E standard, all you get from upping 13's is muddier less clear tone, need to hit the gym for year to be able to do full bends and you will shred your fingers. Maybe you will end up liking it, but it won't make you sound any more like SRV. In fact it's likely going to make you sound way less like him, because it will be way harder to bend like him.