Can you put lighter strings on the guitar?

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For some people playing with lighter gauge strings will be more comfortable because lighter strings are easier to press and easier to bend. The tradeoff for putting lighter gauge strings on your guitar is that you will lose a little volume and your tone may be slightly affected. These effects are minimal and maybe worth changing to a lighter string gauge.

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It is important when changing to a lighter string gauge to have guitar properly set up. Heavier strings put more tension on the neck of the guitar than lighter strings do. So, when you change to a lighter set the neck of the guitar will move, and the truss rod will need to be adjusted to accommodate the new tension. The same applies for when changing from a light gauge set of strings to a heavier set, the truss rod will need to be adjusted properly to accommodate for the change in tension. If you don’t properly adjust the guitar to accommodate for the change in tension the result may be either a lot of string buzz from the strings being too close to the fret board, or the strings will be too far from the fret and be very difficult to press and play.

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It is best to ask a luthier or a guitar tech to help you make the proper adjustments to the guitar when changing string gauges.