Choosing Guitar Strings

Steel strings are made with various windings in several gauges to suit different styles of playing. For general acoustic playing, medium or light gauge bronze wound strings with a wound 3rd string are preferred by may guitar players. Depending on the type of music you play, and the sound you prefer, there are many different types of guitar strings to choose from.

Heavy Gauge

For heavy rhythm playing and chunky chords. Heavy gauge strings are only suitable for very strong guitars and strong fingers. They are great for playing loud but you will notice a difference in the amount of pressure it takes to make a good sound and your finger tips will feel the difference until you develop thicker calluses.

Medium Gauge

These are good all-around mellow sounding strings that are great for finger picking or playing with a pick. Still more of a rhythm guitar string and will give you good volume but a little easier to play than heavy gauge guitar strings.

Sevilla Classical Guitar Strings Medium Tension Classical Tie-On Guitar Strings

Sevilla Classical Guitar Strings Hard Tension Classical Tie On Guitar Strings

Cleartone Hybrid Electric Guitar Strings

Light Gauge

Great for finger picking and playing with a pick. Light gauge guitar strings are great for playing blues or bluegrass and will give you a nice bright sound. However, they won’t give you as much of a bass sound and may not last as long as heavier strings. But, if you like playing a little lead guitar mixed with strumming, these are a good way to go.

Extra Light Gauge

These strings are usually too light for most acoustic guitars and you may hear a buzz if you play them on your basic guitar. These guitar strings are good for electric guitars and allow you to play nice, fast solos with plenty of string bending.

Ultra Light Gauge

Made for very fast electric lead guitar playing, these strings give long lasting sustained notes and bend very easily. However, ultra light strings can be far too light for many guitars. They are not the type of string you would use for general guitar playing and they will have to be changed often because they are so thin. But if you want to play some speed guitar and killer lead solos, this may be the way to go.

NOTE – For good general playing, use a wound 3rd string. An unwound 3rd string will give you an odd sound and your guitar may seem like it’s out of tune. Guitar string sets with unwound 3rd string are best used when playing lead or solos or for special blues effects.

Bronze Wound

- These steel strings are recommend for a good reining acoustic sound, but are not really suitable for electric guitars.

Flat wound and Ground Wound strings are for electric guitars only. Thy give a smooth slick sound, and allow the fingers to slide silently along the strings, however, they feel heavier that regular wound strings and are not as good for long sustained notes and controlled feed back effects.

Select the type of string that will fit the type of music you like to play and the type of guitar you own. Remember to change your strings often. All guitar strings will corrode over time and they should be changes at best, every 3 or 4 months whether you play often or not. At the most, you can let your strings go for 6 months or more, but if you let them go for a year without being changes, you will start to notice a big difference in the way your guitar sounds. Getting new strings is like getting anew guitar. Be sure to change them often.

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