That's what I thought you guys would say, and I respect the opinions here. Which begs the question:

Anyone know why Fender persists in using 9s as stock? It just seems to create a hassle right out of the box. Gibson starts you off with 10s I believe...

Also, does changing from 9s to 10s on a new Tele require new setup to avoid intonation problems? (I'm new to Tele but past Strats seem fairly sensitive to the issue, perhaps because of the floating bridge...)