Guitar Strings

A Beginner's Guide to Guitar Strings

There are many different types of guitar strings and the ones you choose will depend largely on the type of instrument you have, your level of playing proficiency and the style of music you play. Strings are available for the four main types of guitar - Electric, Bass, Acoustic and Classical. These guitar strings differ in the materials used, construction technique and physical attributes depending on the instrument for which they are designed and the desired characteristics required by the user.

Gauge and Construction

Gauge is the thickness of a string and is traditionally quoted in thousandths of an inch (e.g. .010in). However, you will often see this written simply as 10. Usually guitar strings are provided in packets of matched strings. Sometimes these are referenced by the high string only (e.g. 10), or by the high and low strings (e.g. 10-46). Because gauge of a string has a direct relationship to its weight then the same packets may also be referenced using weight (e.g. Light). However, different manufacturers use different standards and construction techniques so this should be checked individually.

Guitar strings are usually single lengths of plain wire (high strings) or have a wire core with an additional wire winding (low strings). These wound strings may also differ in construction with the most common being roundwound. This refers to the cross-section of the wire used in the winding. Other less common types are flatwound but these tend to be more expensive. Nowadays also a string may be coated or un-coated. This coating is a very thin layer of additional material which protects the string against corrosion and wear.

Whereby the characteristics of gauge and construction can be applied to all types of guitar strings, the main differences for individual instruments occur with the actual materials used.

Electric Guitar Strings

Nearly all of these guitar strings are made from a steel core. The most popular type of winding is nickel plated steel. These produce a bright tone and are suitable for all types of music. Less common are a pure nickel winding (offering a warmer, more vintage sound) and chrome or stainless steel. These latter ones giving a clear, punchy sound often preferred by fusion and jazz players.

Bass Guitar Strings

These guitar strings naturally use the bigger gauges to give that distinctive low end tone. As with electric strings they are typically made from a steel core. The most common types of winding are made from stainless steel or nickel. An important consideration when choosing bass strings is scale length. This is the length of string which must be used to match the users own bass guitar instrument. Scale lengths vary from short (30in/760mm) to extra long (up to 36in/915mm).

Acoustic Guitar Strings

As with electric and bass guitar strings, these too are typically made from a steel core. Popular types of winding are made from bronze or from phosphor bronze (the latter has a significant phosphor content added to the bronze alloy). Bronze strings have good sound projection, bright tones and deep bass response. Phosphor bronze offer an overall balanced tone coupled with longer life.

Classical Guitar Strings