What makes good guitar strings? How do I choose them? (acoustic)?

Choosing The Right Strings for Your Guitar, Bass or Mandolin

I'm going to break this down to the bare essentials and steer clear of adding personal opinions about what string brand is my favorite.

Besides the brand we can choose...

String gauge (size) Light gauge, Medium gauge, Custom gauge etc.

String composition (material) Nickel, Stainless, Bronze, Phospher Bronze etc.

String Gauge

String gauge and tension can effect your instrument in various ways, here's a few...

Strings effect ACTION / SET UP

When choosing a set of strings for your instrument one of the most important things to be aware of is that when an instrument has been "tweaked to perfection" it has been done so with that particular gauge in mind. Increasing the tension/gauge on an acoustic guitar is likely to pull more relief (bow) into the neck and may cause the top on a flat top acoustic to raise a bit more as well. Therefore, in quite a few cases, increasing the string tension on a well set up acoustic instrument is likely to cause higher action and may require adjustments like...

Enlarging the nut slots to accommodate for the larger string size

Tightening the rod to counteract the increased tension on the neck

And, possibly, lowering the saddle if there is enough difference to the tops belly

And of course a decrease in tension affects action as well...the reduction in tension may leave the neck too straight to play cleanly as the rod now may pull with more tension than necessary. This all depends on how an instrument is set up and how much of a change in gauge you go with.

On a professionally set up electric guitar with a tremolo this simply spells headache either way you go. Tremolo's incorporate springs which counteract the strings tension. Changing the tension throws the trem out of balance and will dictate the need for adjustments. Read more here.

A change in tension and string gauge also affects the neck and intonation.

Srings effect SOUND

Besides affecting the action, a change in tension may also affect the sound (sustain and tone). Some players may choose to increase the string gauge on their instrument to experiment with volume and sustain. A common complaint when using very light or extra light gauge strings is a loss of volume, sustain and a thin or twangy sound.

You should consider the instruments CONDITION / AGE

While most new instruments are solid enough to give the player the option to choose from several string gauges, vintage pieces or those with other problems may greatly decrease our options. Older instruments that were originally designed to be strung with gut strings or were simply braced lightly, require very light gauges and should be structurally sound before submitting them to tension.

If you are thinking about stringing up a vintage instrument for the first time I highly recommend having it inspected. Take a peek inside and insure all braces are securely glued to the top and back. Inspect the bridge plate for cracks and ensure the bridge is glued down solidly. These are just a few areas that could create undue stress on a top if damaged or loose.

Another common problem that robs us of our options is an older guitar who's neck is either dead flat or slightly back bowed and void of adjustment. In an effort to force relief (forward bow) into a back bowed neck when the truss rod is already completely loose, we sometimes use a larger gauge string to place the neck under more tension in an effort to encourage it to bow forward.

More information on neck problems can be found here.

Strings effect playing COMFORT

OK, not that you could have missed it but...bigger gauge=more tension, and more tension can cause discomfort for some players as it places more pressure on your fingertips while fretting. It also makes it even more painful for those playing instruments with very high action.

For those who are just beginning to play this can equate to some serious discouragement, especially when the box you are learning on has the action of a dobro. Yow! Been there, done that right? For this reason I may recommend some beginners opt for a Light or Extra Light gauge until their fingers have developed calluses. Once you've learned to play you can start pondering just how to obtain the best possible sound from your instrument.

BRONZE PHOSPHER-BRONZE COATED NICKEL STAINLESS ...

String Material

Besides the effects of the strings tension on your instrument the material from which it is made will also effect tone and sound.

Instead of rambling thru all the brands that are on the market what I normally recommend to those wanting to experiment with sound is to try strings made of different materials...just stick with the same gauge.

You really are getting something different from generic or other brand strings when you buy Pearse strings. Whether the difference is worth it is a difficult question that depends on what you like to hear and how your guitar is set up and what tunings you like to play in etc.

Apart from the choice of metals and alloys themselves the main difference between strings concerns the relative diameter of the core steel and the winding. The thicker the winding (i.e. the more mass) the lower the pitch can be without raising the string tension. Unfortunately the thicker the winding the more inharmonic the higher frequencies of the string resonance become. To hear this effect at its extreme just listen to the low (wound) strings of a piano and compare the sound to a harp or cora for example. One effect of this inharmonicity is the distinctive wound string timbre, the other is a slight shift in pitch. This shift is hard to compensate for in guitar design so most guitarists have learned not to play much on the high frets of the low strings.

The winding and core masses/unit length are functions of both metal alloy choice and thicknesses. If you look closely at the catalog of any large string manufacturer you see choices that reflect all three factors: guage, metals, winding thickness. These parameters primarily have two effects you care about as a guitarist: string tension and timbre.

Life is simple if you play in just one tuning: you just pick guages that result in the same tension in each string and John Pearse configures some resophonic string sets according to tuning. Regular string sets are gauged for uniform tension in standard tuning which is why people end up buying these sets and one or more singles.

This is only half the story. Even tension is good (for the guitar and player) but how much tension? This depends on your playing style and how much your instrument can take. Here are two extremes you might think about: Martin Simpson likes high string tension so he can play slide on non-resonator guitars with low action. He also likes lower tunings than standard (C, D and G). The tension helps with the hammer-on/pull-off stuff too. The result: thick guages and long scale guitar.

John Renbourn on the other hand doesn't play slide in concert but he does like to bend strings and even take BB Kingesque solos on the inner strings. Not surprisingly he has a short scaled guitar and light gauge strings and tends more to higher tunings, e.g. A-tunings rather than C tunings.

Since all the tunings can be scaled up or down and this choice might depend on who you play with or what keys you can comfortably sing in, the answer to the "best string" question is inevitably personal. One general thing I have noticed in my own experience and by listening to the advice given on this forum and at IGS is that many players will benefit from shifting to thicker guages, i.e. higher string tensions - especially if they are transitioning from regular tuning to common slide tunings.

THere are quite a few other good tips on strings you find in other threads on the forum, e.g. this one.

If I were you, and if you're just starting out playing the guitar, I'd go to a music store and ask someone to play the two guitars so you can hear the difference in string sound. Generally, though, metal strings are tougher on the fingers, especially if you're just starting to play guitar. I prefer the metal sound, but it sure feels good to play nylon strings sometimes and give my fingertips a break. :)

For acoustic guitars stick with elixirs. Every guitarist at Berklee loves elixirs... or at least the many I talk to. But you have to decide what kind of gauge you want and from there you just need to get a feel for the different gauges.

How to Choose Guitar Strings

Steps

1. Keep in mind that the string you select depends on the type of guitar you play, the sound you want to create and your preferences for ease of playing.

2. Go to your local music store and look at its selection of strings.

3. Get nylon strings if you are a beginner. They have a soft, mellow tone and are easy on the fingers. You will stay with them if you decide to play classical guitar.

4. 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.

5. 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!

6. 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.

7. Pick bronze strings for fingerpicking on a folk guitar. They provide brilliance in sound. Select light gauge for finger-style playing, heavy gauge for strumming.

8. Buy a set of brass strings if you want your tone to be sharp and harsh; they are usually more brittle than bronze.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

Tips

* 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.

* 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.