New tone for less than $10?

They're a very cheap, often overlooked, way to overhaul your tone. I'm talking about strings. I read tons of interviews with established players in Guitar Player and other magazines and they always discuss their gear and their setup when asked about their sound. Details about customized zillion dollar guitars, pedals, and amps abound, but very rarely does anyone say something like "my strings are a big part of my sound".

But doesn't it stand to reason that your strings make a big difference in the tone coming out of your favourite amp? I mean, I tried some Elixir super-duper coated strings a couple of months ago and they sounded crap. It was my second attempt at using coated strings (I tried Cleartone first) and in both cases I ripped the strings off the same day. So if I can hate the sound of certain strings, doesn't that alone mean they're important? Me thinks so.

Most of my life I used Dean Markley Vintage Electric Re-issue .09 gauge, since that's what Alex Lifeson uses (at least I think he does) and I have spent quite a few years trying to play like him. They sound good, last quite a while, and even when they're near dead they still sound decent. I used to go for up to 6 months without changing them.

A few months ago I read an article with much the same thesis as this post and decided to try something new (and not coated). I asked the owner of my favourite local music store (plug --> Harmony Music) what was good and he suggested GHS Boomers. At the time I was also listening to some Stevie Ray Vaughan and heard he used a heavier gauge string, so I tried some .10 gauge Boomers. The result was a very different sound, and much better suited to the blues I am currently into playing. Note that if you change the string gauge you use, you'll also need to adjust the intonation. I guess I'm wondering how much of the difference in tone is because of the brand change and how much is because of the heavier gauge? One day I'll have to do a bit of an objective test to try and figure that out. For now I'm going to go with 50/50, since it's safe for me to do so.

I plan to keep changing things up. Maybe I'll do a little analysis of my favourite players and put together a list of their strings brands and gauges. Then I'll try a few out and see what the results are. I'll make sure to post that when I do. For now, though, I just had a new set installed when I got Harmony to set up my new Strat, so I got about a month to go before I can start.

It'd be very cool if I could get some comments including what type of music people are playing, the type of strings and gauge they use.