17dead

I'm thinking of switching from 10 to 9 gauge strings to make it easier to do bends would 1 gauge make much of a difference or should I go to 8

TwoPlusTwo

8s are a bit too light for most things.
Try going to hybrid slinkys were the the bottom is 9 11 16 and the lows are the same as 10s

MaggaraMarine

Just learn to bend better. It's your technique that's not great and you need to improve it. I'm not sure if lighter strings will help that much. I can bend pretty well on my friend's guitar that uses 11 gauge strings in standard tuning and I use 9s on my guitar (though I'm thinking about changing them to 10s or maybe even 11s). They don't really even feel that different.

You need to learn proper technique. I think you might be bending too much with your fingers and not enough with your wrist. Also don't use just one finger to bend. I always use two or three fingers to bend the strings (unless it's a "blues bend", ie a 1/4-1/2 step bend).

Also maybe your action is too high? You could try lowering it. Of course you could buy a 9 set but I don't think your bends will magically improve just because of lighter strings. I think you should try different string gauges and find the right for you.

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