String Gauges: What is Right For You?

With Ernie Ball sponsoring Scotland's award winning rock and metal festival, Les-Fest (www.les-fest.co.uk), I decided to take a selection of the strings they sent to Les-Fest HQ and talk about where I consider each set to be best used.
Thicker strings provide more tone and a louder response, but they are harder to play and bend.
Light strings are a breeze to shred about on, but don't sound quite as good and can be prone to tuning issues or fret buzz if hit too hard.

Personal preference, and the style of music you play will dictate your string preference, but it is worthwhile to get out of your comfort zone and try different strings to hear and feel the difference they make.