I bought these strings because I had recently bought a fender strat, as I had an idea that using strings without too much of a drastic gauge difference between the top and bottom strings (i.e. 9-52) would create a more balanced tone, and reduce the amount of pull on the neck. These strings really did the job for me because they complimented my strat really well and also my playing; having slightly lighter lower strings and beefier higher strings, enabling for the more balanced tone I was looking for, which worked well when using the icy bridge pickup. They also felt like good quality strings that would last a while (compared to some worse an more expensive stings I've used). The 'closer' gauges of these strings also improved the tuning of my guitar meaning I didn't have to tune as much. With the price of these strings I would definitely buy them again!!