Choosing Guitar Strings

Here are the factors you must take in consideration when choosing guitar strings:

String Brands

Choosing a guitar string brand comes down to personal taste. Try out some different brands to find out what brand suits you the most. Some of the more popular brands include:

• D’Addario
• Ernie Ball
• Dean Markley
• Elixir

String Composition

Most strings (electric and acoustic guitar strings) are made by winding a “wrap wire” round a  metal wire. The material used for the wrap wire determine how the guitar strings sound like.  Materials used include:

• Nickel: Most electric guitar strings are nickel plated steel on a round steel core. Nickel plated give a bright and warm sound and they provide enhanced sustain. Ernie Ball Slinkys, D’Addario EXLs, GHS Boomers, Fender 3250 Super Bullets are all examples of nickel plated strings.
• Stainless Steel: provides a brighter tone but the hardness of the alloy can lead to fret wear over time(D’Addario, Ernie Ball, and Fender all make stainless steel strings)
• Phosphor Bronze: provides a warmer tone, used for acoustic guitar strings (for example: D’Addario Phosphor Bronze)

String Gauge

Guitar strings come in sets and most of the time sets are referenced by the diameter of the first string (for example .009) or the first and the last string (for example .009 – .042). String gauge affects tone and playability of your guitar. A heavy gauge strings will produce a higher volume but will require more hand strength to fret the strings. For beginning guitarists it’s better to use a lighter set at first as they are easier to handle and they won’t give you sore fingers.

An important thing to remember is that when you change to a string set with a different gauge, your guitar neck and intonation need to be readjusted. Heavier strings produce more tension and therefore pull more relief into the guitar neck.

Winding Type:

• Round wound: uses a round wire. This type of winding gives brighter sound, but produce more extra noise
• Flat wound: uses a flat ribbon wire. Flat wound strings are commonly used on fretless bass guitars. The smooth surface of a flat wound string is further enhanced by light abrasive polishing.This gives the strings less resistance and less extra noise because they have a smoother surface, but they produce a duller sound.

Tips to Increase String Life

• Wash your hands before your play your guitar and wipe down your strings with a dry cloth after each use. Doing this helps a great deal to preserve string longevity. Also keep your fret board clean and oiled.
• If you break a lot of strings, look for sharp edges on the bridge, saddle or tuning pegs.
• Sometimes your string gets stuck in the nut slot , especially when tuning down. You can solve this by putting a bit of flake graphite in the nut slot (under the strings) to remove friction so the string can slide more freely. You can easily get flake graphite by scratching the lead of a pencil with a knife.
• Change your strings when they lose their brilliance and intonation. The life span of a guitar string depends heavily on how much you play and on how well you take care of them.
• Don’t replace a single string in a used set when you break a string. The sound of the new string will be completely different compared to the other strings.