A guitar string is an essential part of a guitar. Strings have a significant impact on how well you play the guitar in terms of comfort and sound quality. In this article, we discuss what guitar strings are, their order, and what to look for when choosing new ones.
What is a guitar string?
A guitar string is a thin wire that is stretched across the guitar’s neck. The strings are used to produce sound when plucked or strummed. The strings are typically made of metal, but there are some guitarists who use nylon strings.
Guitar strings have a significant impact on the sound quality of your guitar. The type of string, as well as the gauge (thickness) of the string, affects the sound quality. A thicker string will produce a fuller sound, while a thinner string will produce a higher-pitched sound.
There are two main types of guitar strings: nylon, steel, and gut. Nylon strings are softer and produce a warmer sound. Steel strings are harder and produce a brighter sound.
Order of the Guitar Strings
Acoustic guitars have six strings. The strings on a guitar are named in the order of “E, A, D, G, B, e” from lowest to highest pitch. This is the list of string names when played open.
The strings’ order can be confusing for beginners because the low E (the thickest and the 6th string) is on top and the high E (thinnest and the 1st string) is at the bottom.
Here are some phrases to help you recall the names of the strings.
- Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie
- Every Amateur Does Get Better Eventually
- Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears
- Eventually America Defied Great Britain’s Empire
- Eat All Day Go to Bed Early
It’s crucial to have a firm grasp on these string names since they’ll be useful when purchasing your set of strings.
What to Look for When Choosing a Guitar String
Strings are characterized by their materials, constructions, and sizes. They are made of different materials like brass, phosphor bronze, silk or nylon. The size refers to their thicknesses. There are strings that are medium gauge, heavy gauge and light gauge guitar strings.
They also come with a variety of constructions like the core wire wrapped around the material and wound guitar string.
String Gauges
Guitar strings come in different gauges or thicknesses. It’s as simple as the diameter of the strings. The string gauge is important because it affects the way your guitar plays and sounds.
The three most popular gauges for acoustic guitars are light, medium, and heavy. You can tell the string gauge based on its size, which is usually indicated in a number.
Generally, acoustic guitar strings are categorized according to their size as:
| SIZE | E | A | D | G | B | e |
| Extra Light 10’s | .010 | .014 | .023 | .030 | .039 | .047 |
| Custom Light 11’s | .011 | .015 | .023 | .032 | .042 | .052 |
| Light 12’s | .012 | .016 | .025 | .032 | .042 | .054 |
| Medium 13’s | .013 | .017 | .026 | .035 | .045 | .056 |
| Heavy 14’s | .014 | .018 | .027 | .039 | .049 | .059 |
The string gauge affects the guitar’s tone, which is the sound of a guitar when it plays. The lighter gauge string has a thin diameter, making it easier for a player to bend the strings. It is also great for smaller hands because it does not require too much pressure to fret the guitar strings. However, guitar players with bigger hands may find this kind of string difficult to control.
The lighter gauge strings produce softer and warmer tones while the heavier strings produce more volume and a fuller tone than light strings because they vibrate longer, but they’re also harder to fret and can be more difficult to bend.
You can choose between light or heavy strings based on the following:
- Your guitar playing style or the strings’ intended use.
- Take into account the size, shape, and weight of your guitar’s body.
- The climate where you live.
- Your guitar’s neck material and width.
- Your ideal guitar tone.
- The brand of your guitar.
- The instrument’s current condition.
Steel Strings
Steel strings are the most popular type of guitar string. They’re made of high-carbon steel and they’re known for their bright sound. Steel strings are great for rock, country, and blues guitar players.
If you’re looking for a mellower sound, try acoustic guitar strings that are made of bronze. Bronze guitar strings have a softer tone and they’re also more resistant to corrosion. They’re perfect for guitar players who want a vintage sound.
- 80/20 Bronze strings are the most popular type of acoustic guitar string. They have a warm, mellow tone and are easy to play. It is composed of 80% copper and 20% zinc.
- Phosphor Bronze strings have a brighter tone and are more durable or more corrosion resistant than 80/20 bronze strings, but they are also slightly harder to play. They contain more copper than 80/20 bronze and small amounts of tin with traces of phosphorus.
- Silk & Steel (Compound Strings) are strings that have silk thread wrapped around the steel core wire. They have a mellow, muted tone that’s great for playing folk guitar.
String Core
The string core is the internal part of the guitar string, which gives it its tensile strength. The two most common core forms for strings are hex core and round core.
Round core strings are made from a single piece of wire, while hex core guitar strings have a hexagonal inner core that is made from multiple pieces of wire. Hex core strings tend to be more stable and less prone to breaking than round core strings.
Guitar String Winding Types
The guitar string winding is the outer part of the guitar string that’s wrapped around the core. String makers have a variety of approaches for wrapping wire around their strings’ cores.
The three most common types of guitar string winding are:
- Roundwound strings are the most common guitar string type and they have a round wire wound around their core. This type produces a brighter tone and are the most popular type of string.
- Flatwound guitar strings have a flat wire wound around their core. Flatwound strings produce a mellower sound than roundwound strings and also last longer compared to other types.
- Halfround strings are a combination of roundwound and flatwound strings. They have a round wire wound around the outside of the string, with a flat wire wrapped around the core. This type produces a tone that is in between roundwound and flatwound strings.
String Coating
The string coating can impact the guitar’s sound significantly. Some guitar strings have a coating that is designed to make the string’s life last longer. However, this type of coating can also mute the guitar’s sound. If you want your guitar to have a brighter tone, choose guitar strings without a coating.
Another consideration is how much you sweat while playing guitar, as it will determine what strings are best for you. If your hands sweat profusely, then coated guitar strings would be a better choice than uncoated guitar strings because they do not corrode as quickly. If you don’t sweat that much, then uncoated guitar strings will work just fine.
Popular String Brands
There is a wide range of guitar string manufacturers that produce different strings with varying degrees of quality.
Some guitar strings are better than others depending on the guitar player’s personal preference and style of playing guitar.
Some guitar strings will last longer than others as well, which is why it is important to choose a brand that suits you best before making your final decision about buying new guitar strings for your instrument.
Some of the popular brands to choose for your set of guitar strings are D’Addario, Elixir, Ernie Ball and Martin. Each brand has their own unique style and feel to them so it’s important that you try out a few different types before settling on one set. You could also try GHS, DR, and Fender guitar strings.
Finding the Best Acoustic Guitar Strings
Last but not least, there are a few things to keep in mind when buying guitar strings. If you’re a beginner, it’s probably best to go for what’s popular among experienced guitarists. Although this will cost you more, it will ensure that you get a high-quality guitar string. Don’t be cheap with your strings as they’re an important guitar accessory. It is advisable to buy in bulk so that you may have a spare string or set on hand in the event that it breaks and needs to be replaced.
Also, make sure to try different brands and gauges to see what feels and sounds the best to you. You might be surprised at how different guitar strings can sound, so it’s definitely worth experimenting!
That’s all for now! Hopefully this guide has helped you better understand guitar strings and given you a few tips on choosing the right ones for your instrument. As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments below. Thanks!
