i like Ernie Ball super slinky or regular because for me they bend very well and sound sweet and have a blusey twang

It would depend on what you're looking to do with your playing. Not so much the genre.

Heavier gauge strings will provide more sustain. Lighter gauge will allow you to bend easier. Middle of the range provides a bit of both. Steel strings are brighter. Nickle are a bit softer. Bronze are even a little darker.

It's kind of like searching for tone, except you can buy it in a store, whereas tone is in your fingers and no amount of effects or emulators or anything else will just give you tone. You have to develop it yourself.

This will be a matter of starting with what you think you want and then making changes until you find what's best for you and your style of playing.

yea it is more of a preference to your style or the sound that you are looking for instead of just an overall sound that is definite

I am a blues player, and I use D'Addario XLs. So, like Xarkzilla was saying, it doesn't matter what you use, really it's how you use it. If you are playing a run of blues scales on, say a heavy metal guitar, and a set of 11's made by Dean Markley, it won't matter what it is. Your tone will come out. If you are playing acoustic, electric, whatever the case, it's what ever your fingers put down. I personally like to tune down a halfstep with 10's. But Stevie Ray Vaughn always used 11's and tuned down 1/2 step. I have been thinking about going up a size, but not a different brand.

I play all styles of music,I use 10 gauge on my guitars.You can play blues with any gauge strings,find a gauge that is right for you.

The string companies may try to promote certain strings as better suited for blues and some others better suited for metal. But the truth is that it all comes down to what YOU want from your strings in terms of brightness, flexibility, sustain and lifespan. There is no right or wrong.
I use "metal" oriented strings and I sure don't play that much metal =)

For me the only time I even give any thought to the type of string is at the time I am purchasing them. Once they are on the guitar I don't even think about what they are good or bad at. I just play the guitar. If I'm not getting the sound I want I fiddle with everything else to fix it. Especially my playing techniques.

Technique is what it all comes down to. With electric you can make EQ adjustments to compensate for string differences in sound. You can make other adjustments for differences in gauge. For acoustic you have only one option and that's to address your technique. It's your technique that shines through on what you're playing. Your techinque is also the foundation of your "tone." (Tone has nothing to do with your amp, your cab, your effects, your guitar, your pickups or your strings... It's in your fingers and technique.)

Thanks I figured it was technique that counts...not the strings....however I bend alot so the lighter strings do work better.

Thanks for the question John, I went to the site this morning to post more or less the same question. I recently purchased one of the new "American Standard" Strats, and within a week broke a string. Another player told me to stick with the Fender "Bullets," otherwise I would lose the nickle-wound sound. I have a Les Paul as well and always used Ernie Balls regulars (lime green). I'm going to put the Super Slinkys on the Strat. I'll post the results.. Any other suggestions out there?

Strings are pretty much a personal preference. If you tend to break the same string over and over, you need to check your instrument. You could very well have a problem with the bridge. (Though it's going to depend on where the string broke!) No real need to follow insistant advice saying you MUST use a certain string or your guitar won't sound right. All it has to do is sound right to YOU. Strings are strings, pretty much... I mean you wouldn't use silk and steel folk string on an electric, and you definitly wouldn't use classical nylons. All those different brands and different materials are just like condiments. They're there to allow you to dress your instrument to YOUR taste.

"(Tone has nothing to do with your amp, your cab, your effects, your guitar, your pickups or your strings... It's in your fingers and technique.)"

I love those kind of statements.. While I agree to a point (i.e. a HUGE part of it is fingers and technique) if the amp, guitar,effect didn't matter we'd all be playing though solid state crates using a squire or rogue guitar.

come on now.. You KNOW guitars /amps do matter at the end of the day.

Not at all... It really doesn't make any difference and I've seen the proof.

While George Harrison was still alive, he came to the studio to record some tracks for a friend. He didn't bring his own guitar, let alone an amp. He had a nice selection of amps and guitars to choose from. He picked up a guitar, looked at the amps and said, "I'll go direct." WHAT?!? DIRECT?!? How can you expect to get your "tone" going direct? 15 minutes of fiddling with the guitar and he says, "OK... I'm ready." You should have seen the look on the engineers faces when what came through the signal chain was ALL Harrison. No mistaking who was playing or who it sounded like. Not his guitar. No amp. Direct UNEFFECTED signal.

I felt this was the case with most musicians in the first place, but since that day I have been completely convinced that, for guitar players, your tone is in your fingers. Period.

What about an acoustic? No amps involved. So tone CAN'T be in the amp or cab.

Not to say a crappy guitar won't affect the overall result to some extent, but my cousin John can pick up a crappy guitar and make it sound great by comparrison. You might have heard of him? He and I have the same last name. Scofield. I've been around PROFESSIONAL musicians all my life and it's the same story over and over. I can only conclude that amatures rely on gimicks, effects or other outside influences as part of their signal chain to EMULATE the "tone" a professional has taken years of practice to develop. It's pretty easy to tell the difference. Just like it's easy to tell between a real tube amp and an emulated POS like the POD, J-Station, V-AMP or any other emulator you can mention.

Guitar "tone" is not at all the same as the tone controls on your home stereo. The two words have a completely different meaning. This is where the industry is driving the wrong behavoir. "Buy this! Or, buy that! You will get the "tone" you've always sought." Utter bullshit and there isn't a professional player I know who buys that line of crap. It's a selling gimick and every non-pro out there is the target. After all, who wouldn't jump at the chance to sound exactly like their guitar hero? Especially if the solution comes in a box. Human nature to want instant gratification and the marketing world is more than aware of this simple fact.