Blues usually means expressive bends, vibrato and a lot of dynamic range from the picking hand. Start from what you want the string to do, then pick the construction.
- Warmer and smoother: pure nickel. We describe our Power Groove as rolling off the hard edge of nickel-plated or stainless steel.
- Balanced and familiar: nickel-plated steel.
- Easier wide bends: lighter gauges, such as .009–.042 or .009–.046.
- More resistance under the fingers: heavier gauges, such as .011–.050.
Heavier strings don't guarantee a bigger tone. Pick attack, amp, pickups and setup shape the sound at least as much as gauge does. What a heavier set does change is feel: how hard you push to bend and how the string responds to a strong attack.
S.I.T. options for blues:
- PN1046 Light (.010–.046) and PN1150 Medium Light (.011–.050) in Power Groove Pure Nickel
- PN946 Rock N Roll (.009–.046) for a light top with more weight underneath
- S1150 Medium Light (.011–.050) in Power Wound Nickel, which ships with both a wound .020 and a plain .018 third string