Re: 12/56s on a "Special"!
Posted: 22 Dec 2023, 17:20
The argument about light v. heavier strings really started back in the second half of the 1960s.
Until about 1966, moving into 1967, British guitarists, even those playing in beat or R&B groups, simply bought whatever they were offered by way of string sets. And that tended to be Gibson Sonomatic, Fender Mastersound, Black Diamond and the UK-made equivalents from Rotosound, Monopole, Cathedral and the various badge-engineering distributors (Vox, Hofner, Burns, etc). Looking at the 1965 / 1966 Bell Musical Instruments mail order catalogues (the perfect time capsule evidence as to what was available), there were no rock'n'roll gauge strings and even Fender and Gibson strings were available only in unspecified (medium*) gauges.
It was in 1967, with the rise of interest in players like Eric Clapton, Jeff beck, et al and the interest of the weekly Melody Maker "Any Questions?" column, which started the ball rolling on sets with plain thirds, though at first, these tended to consist of a medium gauge set displaced by one string position, with the low E thrown away and a banjo string substituted for the unavailable high E (sized at 0.010", though we didn't necessarily know the exact gauge of any strings at all at the time).
In summary, at that time, * medium strings were gauged 13-56 (wound third), while "light" strings were 11-50 or 11-52 (more usually the latter). Fender Rock'n'Roll strings (approx 09-40) were already available in the USA (as were Ernie Ball Super Slinkies) but unknown here until after the arrival of Jimi Hendrix. All of a sudden, all the UK string companies (Rotosound, General Music Strings and the companies who badge-engineered using supplies from those two) were moving across rapidly to the supply of 10-ish sets, though GMS, with their brand "Picato", at least gave the player the choice between a plain and a wrapped third. This was aimed at guitar models - such as the Strat - with pickups built to accommodate a wound (and therefore electrically quiet) G string.
There is so much history, and so little space to record it all...
Until about 1966, moving into 1967, British guitarists, even those playing in beat or R&B groups, simply bought whatever they were offered by way of string sets. And that tended to be Gibson Sonomatic, Fender Mastersound, Black Diamond and the UK-made equivalents from Rotosound, Monopole, Cathedral and the various badge-engineering distributors (Vox, Hofner, Burns, etc). Looking at the 1965 / 1966 Bell Musical Instruments mail order catalogues (the perfect time capsule evidence as to what was available), there were no rock'n'roll gauge strings and even Fender and Gibson strings were available only in unspecified (medium*) gauges.
It was in 1967, with the rise of interest in players like Eric Clapton, Jeff beck, et al and the interest of the weekly Melody Maker "Any Questions?" column, which started the ball rolling on sets with plain thirds, though at first, these tended to consist of a medium gauge set displaced by one string position, with the low E thrown away and a banjo string substituted for the unavailable high E (sized at 0.010", though we didn't necessarily know the exact gauge of any strings at all at the time).
In summary, at that time, * medium strings were gauged 13-56 (wound third), while "light" strings were 11-50 or 11-52 (more usually the latter). Fender Rock'n'Roll strings (approx 09-40) were already available in the USA (as were Ernie Ball Super Slinkies) but unknown here until after the arrival of Jimi Hendrix. All of a sudden, all the UK string companies (Rotosound, General Music Strings and the companies who badge-engineered using supplies from those two) were moving across rapidly to the supply of 10-ish sets, though GMS, with their brand "Picato", at least gave the player the choice between a plain and a wrapped third. This was aimed at guitar models - such as the Strat - with pickups built to accommodate a wound (and therefore electrically quiet) G string.
There is so much history, and so little space to record it all...