Fender Strat String suggestions?

Hello! Since you are a drummer, you will most likely address the guitar with a percussive playing style. I would recommend starting with a set of nickel-plated 10’s (e.g., 10-13-17-26-36-46) from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, or GHS brands, which are all reasonably priced and reputable strings. Most manufacturers will recommend a certain brand of strings for their instruments (9-11-16-24-32-42, is the gauge Fender generally installs on Stratocasters); however, that is usually a result of advertising preference, rather than practical functionality. Many times players will use the strings that came on their guitar until they break, which is long past the useful life of the strings. Once you get used to hearing the tone produced by new strings, you will want to keep them fresh by changing them regularly. Although they may seem attractive from a standpoint of longevity, stainless steel strings tend to be very bright and seem unnatural to me. At the other end of the spectrum, flatwound strings are more muted, and in my mind better suited for jazz work. Make sure to check and adjust (if necessary) the intonation (string saddle position), neck relief (truss rod), and bridge orientation to the body (tremolo block springs) after going either up or down in string sizes. Check out a href="http://www.fender.com/support/stratocast..." rel="nofollow"http://www.fender.com/support/stratocast…/a for details on making these adjustments. Best regards, Dana