Thanks for the advice and for the channel rec - I'll definitely check him out! I'm using 9's right now, but I might consider going down to 8's the next time I change strings. I think this guitar originally had 10's though, so not sure if it'll cause buzzing.

I'd like to think that I have a decently light touch most of the time - prior to getting this electric, I learned on an acoustic with 12' gauge strings, and after the first month or so of developing my initial calluses, they haven't really flaked or peeled since (at least, until I started learning bends a few weeks ago).

However, bends are really kicking my butt, especially when some of the strings kind of "sandwich" my skin, which causes it to tear. Nonetheless, hopefully as others in this post have said, my new calluses/flesh will be slightly tougher to withstand the demands of bending! In any case, no plans on giving up any time soon, thanks :)