Preferred string guage for blues and slide?

For slide guitar the heavier gauge will probably give you a stronger tone with more sustain (some may disagree with me here.) Also the resistance is different with heavier gauge strings so you should experience less fret noise as you move the slide up and down the neck.

So heavier strings are tighter on the guitar, light strings being slacker, thus easier on the fingers yes?

So heavier strings are tighter on the guitar, light strings being slacker, thus easier on the fingers yes?

That's how I understand it. Heavier strings will take drop-tunings better than light ones. With .012s I can tune down to C standard or CGCEGC & still slide and fret without strings flopping around uselessly/fretting out. D'Addario refers to my preferred .012 sets as "lite," FWIW.

So heavier strings are tighter on the guitar, light strings being slacker, thus easier on the fingers yes?

That's how I understand it. Heavier strings will take drop-tunings better than light ones. With .012s I can tune down to C standard or CGCEGC & still slide and fret without strings flopping around uselessly/fretting out. D'Addario refers to my preferred .012 sets as "lite," FWIW.
Cool gotcha! Dropped C, now that's low, gotta try that!

So heavier strings are tighter on the guitar, light strings being slacker, thus easier on the fingers yes?

I guess you could say tighter, but I think it's more accurate to say there is more give on lighter stings so the heavier gauge will sort of feel tighter. Lighter strings are definitely easier on the fingers, especially if you're playing music which has a great deal of bends.

All that said, check this article out, I found it really interesting.
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2010/Jul/String_Myths_Part_1.aspx

If it is true that SRV used 13's, well more credit to him. I do wonder if it depends on the individual player, guitar etc.

Another consideration Ive come across.is the slots in the nut. A lightly strung guitar may have trouble accommodating heavier strings, especially the low E. And a guitar bought with heavy strings may feel loose when light strings are fitted. I never thought of that till someone pointed it out!

Different strokes for different folks. I like light strings on my guitars - D'Addario 9's - and I've never had a problem playing slide, even with a heavy slide - though I prefer a light plexiglass slide. Like any genre of guitar playing, it's all about muscle memory. I usually play in open G (which involves tuning three strings down by two semitones each) or standard EADGBE.

The main reason I like the lightest strings I can get away with? Less extraneous noise....buzzing, squeaking, sliding noises - I want a nice clean-ish tone for slide. I want a plain G string, rather than a wound G string, for the same reason....and when I'm picking on slide, I use the same technique - thumb to play the bottom three (bass) strings, one finger for each of the top three (treble) strings.

The only way to decide what YOU like is to experiment - start with the same gauge strings as you'd normally use, then maybe try the next set up - thicker, ie 11's as opposed to your usual 10's.

And for what it's worth, I'd think of Crow's preferred 12's as hawsers, or cables, but NOT strings....like I said, different strokes for different folks!

:D :D :D

Vic

I want a plain G string, rather than a wound G string, for the same reason.

Vic
Interesting, I thought ALL G strings were wound!

I go for 12s or 13s for electric slide.

I have a Busker MM Blues acoustic reso that has 16-59s on it though. Sounds huge, but works your singers hard.