Guitar strings

mr dave · 06-19-2012, 04:48 PM

I'm a D'Addario only kind of guy. One of these days I might try Elixir's but I've yet to be disappointed on either guitar or bass. I've tried Ernie Ball strings a few times as well and found they popped too easily.

For bass I'm all about the D'Addario Chromes, regular gauge, the ribbon wound style provides a really smooth touch to your fingers and a nice subtlety to your tone. For guitar it's mostly .10s, except for the guitar I keep tuned down to C which gets .13s

Guitarbitz · 06-20-2012, 04:30 AM

Finding a string that suits you, your guitar, your style and gives you the sound you want is a bit of a journey.

There are a lot of different guitar strings out there (Just take a look at guitarbitz.com's guitar strings page, we have 11 pages of guitar strings).
Just make sure that when you replace them you opt for the correct strings for your type of guitar.

Electric strings for electric guitars, acoustic strings for acoustic guitar, classical nylon strings for classical guitars and bass strings for bass guitars.

For Acoustic guitars, choose between Phosphor Bronze which give a mellow, rounded tone, or 80/20 Bronze which gives bright, crisp tones.

The gauge of the strings is related to the thinnest string. Gauge 12, aka 0.012, aka 12 thousandths of an inch, is the standard found on most acoustic guitars. Heavier gauge strings (e.g. 13, 14, etc) are harder to play as they have more tension but give more bass tones and volume. Lighter gauge strings (e.g. 11, 10, 9, etc) have less tension and therefore easier to play, but have more treble tones and less volume.

Try the different manufacturers D'Addario, Martin, Elixir, even Ernie Ball. They all make their strings slightly differently so will all produce slightly different tones.

For electric guitars, choose between the different string materials:
Pure Nickel will give soft, mellow tones and feel smooth to the touch;
Stainless Steel will give sharp, powerful tones but feel rough to the touch;
Nickel Plated Steel is a combination and gives the best of both with almost the sharp powerful tones of steel but with a smooth feel.

Again, try different gauges (lighter gauges give you more treble tones and are easier to play, heavier gauges give more powerful bass tones but are hearder to play). Or look at a hybrid set, light treble strings for easy bends with heavy bass strings for that power and bass.

There is a lot more to guitar strings than first meets the eye, there is a lot of science behind them nowadays, for example the shape of the core wire on wound strings, should it be round, square, hexagonal, etc, etc.

Just try a few different strings from different manufacturers and see which you like the best.

Now, shall we start a debate on the science of plectrums, they are just as complicated as guitar strings and they can give quite a difference in tone to your playing, but perhaps thats for another post.

GuitarBizarre · 06-20-2012, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitarbitz

Finding a string that suits you, your guitar, your style and gives you the sound you want is a bit of a journey.

There are a lot of different guitar strings out there (Just take a look at guitarbitz.com's guitar strings page, we have 11 pages of guitar strings).
Just make sure that when you replace them you opt for the correct strings for your type of guitar.

Electric strings for electric guitars, acoustic strings for acoustic guitar, classical nylon strings for classical guitars and bass strings for bass guitars.

For Acoustic guitars, choose between Phosphor Bronze which give a mellow, rounded tone, or 80/20 Bronze which gives bright, crisp tones.

The gauge of the strings is related to the thinnest string. Gauge 12, aka 0.012, aka 12 thousandths of an inch, is the standard found on most acoustic guitars. Heavier gauge strings (e.g. 13, 14, etc) are harder to play as they have more tension but give more bass tones and volume. Lighter gauge strings (e.g. 11, 10, 9, etc) have less tension and therefore easier to play, but have more treble tones and less volume.

Try the different manufacturers D'Addario, Martin, Elixir, even Ernie Ball. They all make their strings slightly differently so will all produce slightly different tones.

For electric guitars, choose between the different string materials:
Pure Nickel will give soft, mellow tones and feel smooth to the touch;
Stainless Steel will give sharp, powerful tones but feel rough to the touch;
Nickel Plated Steel is a combination and gives the best of both with almost the sharp powerful tones of steel but with a smooth feel.

Again, try different gauges (lighter gauges give you more treble tones and are easier to play, heavier gauges give more powerful bass tones but are hearder to play). Or look at a hybrid set, light treble strings for easy bends with heavy bass strings for that power and bass.

There is a lot more to guitar strings than first meets the eye, there is a lot of science behind them nowadays, for example the shape of the core wire on wound strings, should it be round, square, hexagonal, etc, etc.

Just try a few different strings from different manufacturers and see which you like the best.

Now, shall we start a debate on the science of plectrums, they are just as complicated as guitar strings and they can give quite a difference in tone to your playing, but perhaps thats for another post.

What the actual crap?

Notsureifheretoadvertiseortoactuallybehelpfulwhatt hehellisgoingon

mr dave · 06-21-2012, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guitarbitz

(Just take a look at guitarbitz.com's guitar strings page, we have 11 pages of guitar strings).

Nice spam, now what actual guitar strings do you use on your actual guitar(s)?

Plankton · 06-21-2012, 09:16 AM

D'Addario 10's for some 20-30 years now.

Guitarbitz · 06-26-2012, 04:34 AM

Depending on my guitar I use different strings.

On the Les Paul I find D'addario gauge 10 work best.

On my strat, gauge 9 fender bullets give the best sound.

On my martin acoustic, as i dont play it that often i use elixir gauge 12 phosphor bronze nanoweb.

and on my encore strat copy (my first guitar that I have had for years) skinny top heavy bottom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

Nice spam, now what actual guitar strings do you use on your actual guitar(s)?

VibesMusic · 06-27-2012, 12:36 AM

Fender super bullets are the purest throw that with a single coil pickup

pickleinmypants · 07-30-2012, 11:25 PM

elixir are decent for beginners or d'addarios are pretty decent

frankmastro · 09-09-2012, 06:38 PM

EJ 16s for my acoustic always.

Whatever strikes my mood for electrics...especially depending on what I need to play and/or what tone I'm trying to achieve.

attm · 09-15-2012, 05:10 PM

Elixir Extra Lights Are Great... But expensive...
i personally used to play on dulop it was awsome... so

thers not much of a diffrance just take care of ur guitar and she will be kind to you too )

06-20-2012, 04:30 AM	#12 (permalink)
Guitarbitz Groupie Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Frome Posts: 2	Guitar Strings Affect Tone Finding a string that suits you, your guitar, your style and gives you the sound you want is a bit of a journey. There are a lot of different guitar strings out there (Just take a look at guitarbitz.com's guitar strings page, we have 11 pages of guitar strings). Just make sure that when you replace them you opt for the correct strings for your type of guitar. Electric strings for electric guitars, acoustic strings for acoustic guitar, classical nylon strings for classical guitars and bass strings for bass guitars. For Acoustic guitars, choose between Phosphor Bronze which give a mellow, rounded tone, or 80/20 Bronze which gives bright, crisp tones. The gauge of the strings is related to the thinnest string. Gauge 12, aka 0.012, aka 12 thousandths of an inch, is the standard found on most acoustic guitars. Heavier gauge strings (e.g. 13, 14, etc) are harder to play as they have more tension but give more bass tones and volume. Lighter gauge strings (e.g. 11, 10, 9, etc) have less tension and therefore easier to play, but have more treble tones and less volume. Try the different manufacturers D'Addario, Martin, Elixir, even Ernie Ball. They all make their strings slightly differently so will all produce slightly different tones. For electric guitars, choose between the different string materials: Pure Nickel will give soft, mellow tones and feel smooth to the touch; Stainless Steel will give sharp, powerful tones but feel rough to the touch; Nickel Plated Steel is a combination and gives the best of both with almost the sharp powerful tones of steel but with a smooth feel. Again, try different gauges (lighter gauges give you more treble tones and are easier to play, heavier gauges give more powerful bass tones but are hearder to play). Or look at a hybrid set, light treble strings for easy bends with heavy bass strings for that power and bass. There is a lot more to guitar strings than first meets the eye, there is a lot of science behind them nowadays, for example the shape of the core wire on wound strings, should it be round, square, hexagonal, etc, etc. Just try a few different strings from different manufacturers and see which you like the best. Now, shall we start a debate on the science of plectrums, they are just as complicated as guitar strings and they can give quite a difference in tone to your playing, but perhaps thats for another post.

06-21-2012, 09:16 AM	#15 (permalink)
Plankton Just Keep Swimming... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: See signature... Posts: 7,765	D'Addario 10's for some 20-30 years now. __________________ See location...

06-27-2012, 12:36 AM	#17 (permalink)
VibesMusic Groupie Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 2	Fender super bullets are the purest throw that with a single coil pickup

07-30-2012, 11:25 PM	#18 (permalink)
pickleinmypants Groupie Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 17	elixir are decent for beginners or d'addarios are pretty decent

09-09-2012, 06:38 PM	#19 (permalink)
frankmastro Groupie Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 6	EJ 16s for my acoustic always. Whatever strikes my mood for electrics...especially depending on what I need to play and/or what tone I'm trying to achieve.

09-15-2012, 05:10 PM	#20 (permalink)
attm Groupie Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 16	Elixir Extra Lights Are Great... But expensive... i personally used to play on dulop it was awsome... so thers not much of a diffrance just take care of ur guitar and she will be kind to you too )