Changing from 9’s to 10’s will change the feel of your guitar. Tweaking the set up is no problem, unless you are having to pay someone else to do it for you. But the guitar won’t play it’s best unless you adjust the neck relief, adjust the claw on the trem, and adjust the action/intonation. See if there are any ST members near you that can help. If you were here I’d help you. There are plenty of YT videos that will show you how to adjust the set up. basically you are looking at a 1/4 to 1/2 turn of the truss rod. A turn or two on each of the trem claw screws and a slight adjustment on the string lengths.
You will notice a difference between 9's and 10's You may need a setup if you switch. PS - love the NYXL's on my Strats
Changing from 9’s to 10’s will change the feel of your guitar. Tweaking the set up is no problem, unless you are having to pay someone else to do it for you. But the guitar won’t play it’s best unless you adjust the neck relief, adjust the claw on the trem, and adjust the action/intonation. See if there are any ST members near you that can help. If you were here I’d help you. There are plenty of YT videos that will show you how to adjust the set up. basically you are looking at a 1/4 to 1/2 turn of the truss rod. A turn or two on each of the trem claw screws and a slight adjustment on the string lengths.
To be honest.... not that I wasn't before, I like 9-42 except for the high E. I would much rather have a 10 on the high E, and everything else in a 9 gauge pack. While gigging (not so much at home), I do find the high E just a little flimsy. I never break strings ( the last time was about 4 years ago), so that's not an issue. I also don't have "Rockefeller" money, so I ain't doing a custom gauge set. I'm happy with 9s, just would like a little more beef on the high E. Nothing that would make me want to switch tho.
I switched from .10s to .09s about eight years ago. Never going back, easier on my fingers. Now I pick up a guitar with .10s and they feel thick and hard to bend, .11s forget about bending altogether.
I’ve got .09 on my Tele with a compound radius neck medium Jumbo frets and .10 on my Am Std Strat with a 9.5” radius neck jumbo Gibson frets. I like the difference in feel for variety sake. Obviously bends are easier with the .09s. Lots to consider.
I just imagined doing wide vibrato(ala john sykes or YJM) on standard tuning using 12s or 13s and even then the thought made my fingers hurt....
I’m thinking about going from 9's to 10's on my Strat as well, just to make it a bit easier to play slide without fretting out.
I put 10-52 on every guitar I own. I learned to play guitar on 11’s, but about six years ago I tried «skinny top, heavy bottom». That’s perfect for me. I riff pretty hard.
last night I put some 9s on a Les Paul that had 10s. It did NOT like that, no sir ree I would have to either do the baking soda and super glue trick or start fresh with a new nut. I've done neither of those before Found another pack of 10s, cut off the brand new nines (me Scottish ancestor is spinning in they grave, they is) All was well. But I'll never get to know if I could tell the difference but I reckon I would.
I ran 10s on everything for many years except my S500, where I bounced between 11 and 13 for a few years. Last 10 years, I moved back to 9s on Fender scales, but stuck with 10s on Gibson scales because the low E would be too "floppy" when tuned down to D, but the last couple of years I've moved to DR Pure Blues 9-46 for everything. The heavier bass strings don't bother me, and the lighter treble strings are easier on the fingers and bending.
also you might try raising the action a bit to make the strings sing more. I do this with the low E on one guitar as They can be a bit floppy . I use 10's and like everyone else has chimed in there is a major difference feel wise. NOT unplayable, but i would never go any higher then that as I haven't found to be any advantage to playing huge strings unless you have really strong hands. A small adjustment to the set up may not even be necessary.
Try the .10s...give them a week or so to "break in" and see if you like them. I can't stand the .09s that come with most new guitars. Feels like there's nothing to them. I use 10.5 D'addarios on 25.5" Fenders, and Ernie Ball Power Slinky .11s on 24.75" and 24" scale guitars. Those Power Slinky strings are fantastic!
I switched to 10’s myself less than a year ago. I have a heavy right and left hand but was also just curious. To me, no tone difference just feel...and it’s quite significant. I love the tighter and stiffer feel and just the fact that I have to work harder on bends and vibrato. Took me a while for my hands to strengthen up a bit, but they did, and I’m glad I made the switch.
