There are many types of guitar strings. We are going to discuss how they’re made, the best brands, the standard gauges, how to pick the right ones for your instrument and style, and prices.
Everyone who first takes a serious interest in guitar wants to know what the string order is in terms of musical notes and why they’re arranged in that way.
By adding a string or two, shortening the neck, and arranging them in a Perfect 4th Interval you can increase the speed of playing and reduce strain on the hands and wrists. Other interval layouts were tried but had some harmonic problems. The order is EADGBE, from the lowest (bottom) string to the highest.
When people ask “What are the guitar string sizes?” they really want to know about the gauges, the term referring to the diameter of the string. The answer is… that’s not quite how it works.
Yes, there are standard gauges but in several standard sizes like light, medium, and heavy. Each, when properly tuned, will exert a different tension on the guitar’s neck and if you jump to another size you’ll probably need to adjust the truss rod and get used to the new action of the fingerboard.
Choosing guitar strings is like choosing lenses and frames for your glasses. There is a right strength of lens for you and when you switch frames it may take some adjusting to get used to.
This analogy is referring to the bridge height, nuts, and truss rod tension. Do take your time to experiment but once you settle it’s best to keep using the same gauges so you can dodge the lengthy set-up process from happening again.
There is a standard but the thicknesses will vary slightly depending on the brand. But you’ll have a solid idea based on these “standards” sizes:
Nowadays, you can find many in-between sets, but you’ll want to have a solid understanding of what the gauges are in terms of actual measurement and how they affect your ability to perform with your desired tone.
These relatively open descriptions will also differ from acoustic strings to electric strings, so your experience in handling many types of guitar strings and gauges is paramount in making the right choice. The size of your strings affects your playability, depending on the genre you’re working within.
If you are a Blues player who is going to bend strings constantly, you may prefer a lighter gauge of string to offset your workload. If you are a Jazz player who will never bend more than a quarter step, you can afford to play thick, flat, wound strings.
There is a legitimate physical aspect to the gauge of your strings that will affect how well you play. Bending and fretting becomes much easier and faster with a lighter set, but in my own experience you will have a “tinnier” tone that must be compensated for with your guitar and amp tone controls.
A bigger string will offer a bigger sound, if we are willing to make sacrifices in other areas. Again, these sacrifices may be negligible depending on your genre. This sounds great, but other tone masters use the lightest of string gauges to full effect. The honest truth lies with the listener’s ear and capability to identify a sound with an individual player.
Whether you decide to play heavy strings because it fits your style and tone preference, or you choose to rock out on light gauge strings to make bending and playing easier in general, there are many options and brands available in today’s modern guitar string market. They may appear the same on the surface but their construction matters as well.
The core metal used for strings is an important variable to consider. Not only does the string core affect tone, but it affects the tension strength as well. The heavier the string gauge, the stronger the core metal needed.
There are many available core metal options:
Stainless Steel
Nickel Plated Steel
Nickel
Cobalt
Titanium
Chrome
Copper
There are three main string core metal options for electric guitar strings:
Stainless Steel is a great choice for any player. They have a balanced tone that allows the bright pick attack to come through while resisting the corrosion that can come from the player’s hand sweat. They tend to be less squeaky and last a long time.
Nickel Plated Steel is also tonally balanced and can easily achieve a warm tone while preserving the bright pick attack that can define your articulation. Nickel Plated Steel is one of the most common choices for all players and works well with all genres.
Nickel strings are literally pure nickel metal. These strings were commonly used in the past and can impart that vintage sound that many players desire.
The other options, while available, are not as common in today’s arena, but are definitely worth a shot. Copper and Chrome are much softer materials, and may be prone to premature string breakage. Titanium is a very strong material that might provide value to players who don’t enjoy changing their strings as often.
String cores for acoustics are different than electric strings. Since they are purely producing sound without the intervention of all of the electric guitars wiring schemes, they carry a different responsibility. This class of guitar string can be divided into two different categories:
Acoustic
Classical
Phosphor Bronze is very common in today’s market. They are produced to prevent corrosion from sweat and reduce oxidization that produces rust on the surface. They tend to be in the middle range of brightness and hence produce an overall sound that is conducive to any genre or play style.
80/20 Bronze strings are a mixture of Bronze and Zinc. They are also referred to as Bronze/Brass strings and are extremely common, much like Phosphor Bronze. One of the main differences is this variety produces a very bright tone that enhances articulation and pick attack.
This effect can be lost very quickly depending on how much the player sweats and how often they clean their strings.
Silk strings and Steel strings are described as a mixture of classical and steel strings, and are also called “compound strings.” They have a mellow sound and lower tension that provide the feeling of a classical guitar, while still providing the brightness of the metal of a steel stringed acoustic. The term silk is referring to the nylon used to make classical guitar strings.
Nylon strings are the standard for classical guitarists in today’s market. While there are many types of nylon strings, the most commonly seen is clear nylon. They are visually appealing while providing a clarity of tone with a bright attack that offsets the mellow overall tone of the classical guitar.
Other options include black nylon, rectified nylon, and composite strings. The best classical guitars on the market come strung with nylons by default still.
Gut strings were the original strings for the classical stylist. They were literally made from the guts of farm animals, mostly sheep. The intestines and the process used to make these strings became more expensive than nylon and thus have fallen out of favor.
Silver Plated strings tend to refer to the bottom 3 strings of a set. These are the strings that are wound with metal to help provide the tensile strength and diameter to achieve the proper low notes of the guitar. They tend to be much warmer in tone than their counterpart, the gold plated strings.
Gold Plated strings are really just 80/20 Bronze & Zinc wound nylon strings. They are also used to produce the bass wound strings of a set of classical strings.
They maintain their place in the market due to having a much brighter tone than silver plated strings and are used by many professionals due to their capability to project louder and sharper.
Coated strings have polymer webbing wrapped around the string that protects the metals from oxidation and skin oils, which enhances the life of the string tremendously.
While this provides a longer lifespan and prevents the player from having to buy new sets of strings as often, they do cost more money for providing extra benefits. The longer you play a set of strings, the less bright and new they sound. They will receive added mass from rust, oils, skin cells, and dirt. This will cause the string to loose brightness and affect the overall intonation of your instrument.
Coated strings have found a way to bypass these effects for an extended period of time. Many players swear by this new technology and are willing to pay a higher premium for better tone for a longer period of time.
Check out a set of Elixir strings for yourself to hear and feel the difference. The coating actually reduces string squeaks as well, providing a consistent sound for close miking and recording acoustic players.
The squeak of the finger over the round wound strings of an acoustic has always been an intrinsic part of the instrument.
Elixir now offers different varieties of their polymer coating on many different gauges and string cores for both acoustic and electric steel strings. Try them out, they could provide that extra functionality you’ve been looking for.
Winding refers to the wire wrapped around the solid core metal we just discussed at length. There are three types:
Roundwound
Flatwound
Halfround
Halfround strings aren’t popular for a reason, but it is good to know they exist.
The roundwound strings feature a textured surface created by winding a round wire around the core metal. Flatwound strings are far more flat along their length because the core is surrounded by a smooth wire, as pictured below:
The difference extends far past just the look and feel. Roundwound strings have a shorter life, create more string noise, and wear on your frets more, but feature a brighter tone, longer sustain, and lower tension.
You’ll also hear more harmonics and be able to grip them better for bending and finger picking. Flatwounds last longer and have a warmer sound… pretty much the opposite of what we listed for roundwounds.
Ernie Ball
D’Addario
DR
Jim Dunlop
Martin
Yamaha
Fender
GHS
Elixir
Don’t Pinch Pennies – It will literally only be a difference of a couple of bucks to get the good stuff over the cheaper options. You’ll enjoy playing more, they will sound better, and you’ll learn faster.
Buy in Bulk – Once you know what you like, when you buy a set of strings go ahead and pick up 3 to 5 sets. There’s no point in reordering or running back and forth to the store.
Don’t Freak Out – If you’re new you may be tempted to try every size in several brands. It’s not needed nor will you have the time to set up your guitar that many times. First decide which guitar string thickness you prefer, then test the brands above.
Popular is Popular for a Reason – The best strings rise to the top. Try out the main cores, main sizes, and main brands first. There’s no need to feel anxious about anything. Follow the crowd. This is one of those rare times they’re right.
You can buy some really crappy strings for $3 to $5 bucks a pack, or go to the respectable tier and spend around $8 to $10 per set, or get the best at $15 to $20.
Now, if you’re just getting started and breaking strings every time you try to tune up because you hit the wrong octave, then start out with the cheapest strings. Once you can reliably tune and play without destroying them, you can work you way up.
Once you have the hand coordination, your learning will be accelerated too.
You can extend the lifetime of your strings by wiping them down with a clean cloth after each play session. It only takes moments but will remove grime and residue.
Washing your hands before you play can reduce the amount of oils you’re depositing in the strings and ultimately delay oxidation.
When you change your strings, write the date down and toss it in your case. You’ll be able to keep track and maintain a regular cycle.
Keep an extra set or two in your case. It’s a good idea to keep extra high strings around, too.
Lastly, you should invest in a cheap string winder. They’re dirt cheap and will help you restring in a heart beat, which matters if you’re in the middle of a song or on set break and scrambling to get ready to get back up there and melt faces.
As players, we are always searching for the highest possible functionality, while balancing tone and playability for the genre we play.
