Strings

[u/WorldlySoup420]

hi, im a guitar player and i started to learn some leads and riffs from the album Still Life, are skinny top heavy bottom ideal for opeth? currently i have 11s but they are a bit stiff for some leads

[u/Maqqnus]

The only "ideal" strings are the ones you feel most comfortable with. I like 10-49s personally

[u/WorldlySoup420 → u/Maqqnus]

I'm experimenting with different styles of music and strings and i wanted to know what would be the best in general,i heard that Mikel used 10s,thanks for the reply

[u/DerConqueror3]

Considering Opeth spend most of their time in E standard tuning, particularly in that era, I don't know why you would need "heavy bottom" unless you particularly like extra tension on the bottom end. Generally speaking 11s are heavier than most people use for standard, on average, although of course there are people who do prefer that gauge (or heavier) for standard

[u/WorldlySoup420 → u/DerConqueror3]

i played alot in drop tunnings and now that i play more in E standard, 11s are pretty stiff, thanks for the reply!

[u/Playful_Ad_3694]

I’m sure Opeth have used many different string types but I believe Mikael once saying he uses 10-46.

[u/Yenaro]

I believe Fredrik uses light, 10/46

10,13,17, 26, 36, 46

[u/WorldlySoup420 → u/Yenaro]

so just regular slinky, i was thinking that becouse they have such heavy riffs they would use something more tense

[u/LeperMessiah117 → u/WorldlySoup420]

As somebody who used to slap some fat ol' strings on my guitars, I really don't think it makes much a difference. Serenity Painted Death still sounds nasty with 10/46 strings and it's much more comfortable to play.

[u/Mailemanuel77]

I use 9-46 on E standard, 10-52 on D standard, light top heavy bottom, the heavier strings help the right hand to have better attack while the top strings remain light enough to play leads easily.