[gtrdave]

Originally Posted by earlessdog

so lower as in thinner, like 9's?

The proper answer is whichever strings you're most comfortable with.
I now use 11's and find it more comfortable to play faster.
You may find 8's to be your friend but that depends on your overall finger pressure but, to me, string gauge does not play a large part in playing fast.
The two bigger factors in speed are picking technique and string height/action.

[ryanxxxx]

yeah i agree with this

on my 7 string i use 11's and i can go just as fast as i can on my strat with 10's but when i try to play my friends guitar with 9's i get tripped up.

its just preference

but generally bigger gauges have better tone imo