Choose Guitar Strings

The guitar strings you should select depends on the type of guitar you play, the sound you want to create and your preferences for ease of playing. This articles sets out to show you wikiHow to choose guitar strings.

Steps

1. Figure out what kind of guitar you have. This will dictate whether you need electric guitar strings, acoustic steel strings, or nylon strings.
2. If you have an electric guitar, the industry standard is nickel wound. The most common gauge is 10-46. See Ernie Ball Regular Slinky or D'Addario EXL110. These are the most popular electric sets and provide a great starting point.
3. If you have an acoustic guitar, determine if it requires steel strings or nylon strings. Your guitar is built for one or the other. String gauge. If you want a thicker tone, choose a heavier (thicker) string gauge. If you want easier string to play, choose a lighter gauge.
4. Nylon strings have a soft, mellow tone and are easy on the fingers. You will stay with them if you decide to play classical guitar.
5. Pick ball-end nylon strings, frequently called "folk nylon," if you want to become a folk guitar player. They are a little heavier than regular nylon and take vigorous strumming.
6. Get Monel strings if your fingers are strong enough to handle the metal strings. They have a much sharper and louder tone than nylon. thickness varies according to the type of set purchased; medium-light gauge is recommended for beginners. Do not use them on classical or electric guitars!
7. Select silk and steel for finger-style playing. They are much easier on the fingers than the regular metal strings. Do not use them on electric guitars because they will not pick up electricity.
8. Pick bronze strings for finger picking on a folk guitar. They provide brilliance in sound. Select light gauge for finger-style playing, heavy gauge for strumming.
9. Buy a set of brass strings if you want your tone to be sharp and harsh. They are usually more brittle than bronze.
10. Get flat-polished strings if you desire ease of playing. They are easier on your fingers than standard metal strings. These strings come for both acoustic and electric guitar.
11. Select flat-wound strings for any electric guitar. They are comfortable to the left hand and give a smooth tone when amplified. This string is preferred by many jazz guitarists. Flat-wound strings will provide a more mellow tone than a similar round-wound string, however will be harder to grip with your fingers during bends and fretting due to the smoother surface of the flat wrap wire.
12. Make sure to get the correct type of strings for your guitar. Acoustic steel strings( phosphor bronze, 80/20, etc...) have too high a string tension for a classical guitar and can damage it. Nylon strings won't vibrate the top of a steel string guitar enough to produce much sound. Electric guitar strings have a different composition than acoustic guitar strings to help the pickups function properly; specifically they have steel wrapping instead of bronze.
13. If you are playing using alternate tunings, you may wish to get a set that will retain the same tension in that particular tuning as a set tuned to standard. For example a lot of metal bands use drop D/C/B/A tunings or D/C#/B standard tunings. For very low tunings choose a heavy set of guitar strings such as a 11. or 12. gauge set. Similarly if you play slide guitar in drop G tuning you would be better off choosing a set of strings which will have a high enough tension for you to play comfortably using a slide.

Tips

• Elixir Phosphor Bronze strings have an amazing sound and last longer. Recommended for acoustic steel guitars.
• Use a string winder/bridge pin puller on a steel string acoustic guitar. This will make string changing easier and won't hurt the guitar if accidentally dropped on it.
• Most of the guitar manuals have the max gauge that the bridge can handle.
• Replace old strings on your instrument. When a string gets old, it sounds dead. Beginning students can start looking for wear after about five weeks. When in doubt, ask your guitar teacher.
• Talk with an employee in the store or your guitar teacher about string tension. If the strings on your guitar have a high tension, then they eventually begin to bend the guitar neck, causing the strings to tune incorrectly and become more difficult to play.
• Coated strings last longer but mostly have a duller tone and have a weird feel to them. Clear tone strings are said to be good because they are coated but don't feel or sound coated.

Related Articles

• Buy Violin Strings
• Tune a Guitar
• Rapidly Learn to Play the Acoustic Guitar Yourself
• Buy Your First Guitar
• Play Classical Guitar
• Choose Electric Guitar Pickups
• Change Classical Guitar Strings
• Choose a Classical Guitar
• Change Strings on an Electric Guitar
• Make Your Guitar Feel Like an Ibanez

Sources and Citations

• http://www.learn-fingerstyle-guitar.com/AcousticGuitarStrings.html - Original source, shared with permission

See also

• Use a Guitar Pedal
• Make a Custom Guitar Strap
• Install Guitar Pickups
• Use a Guitar Capo
• Use a Guitar Slide
• Make Guitar Picks From Cardboard
• Make Flexible and Durable Guitar Picks
• Hold a Pick
• Use a Guitar Whammy Bar
• Use a Guitar Amp

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What links here

• Ease Finger Soreness when Learning to Play Guitar
• Change Classical Guitar Strings
• Change Strings on an Electric Guitar
• Choose Acoustic Guitar Strings
• Fix a Warped Guitar Neck
• Play Classical Guitar
• Use a Guitar Capo