I am still very much a novice player and tried these earlier on to see if the lighter gauge would be a bit easier on my fingers. They were, but I am a large, relatively strong bloke and found that they were too light for me. Too easy to unintentionally bend the strings or even, especially with the high E, push it over the edge of the fretboard if my finger didn't land perfectly. This might not be a problem, however, for someone with more normal sized hands. The strings themselves are very well made and produce good sound/tones, they are just not for me.