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STRINGS GUIDE
General FYI - Questions & Answers
String Materials:
There are many good string brands to choose from. Each has its own properties. The best choice depends upon your instruments sound and your own tone preference. Try different brands and materials and let your ears be the judge. However, below are some guidelines as to general characteristics of the more common materials.
Acoustic Steel Strings:
Bronze Wound - The most common material for steel string guitars. This string has the brightest sound when new. Is good for recording and combo work. However it will loose its initial brightness very quickly. This can be an advantage - If you don't want a bright sound, play on these strings for a few hours and they will start to mellow.
Phosphor Bronze Wound - This string is a bronze string with phosphor added to the alloy. This has two primary effects. It will make the string warmer sounding than regular bronze, and will extend the life of the tone (Will maintain its original sound longer).
Silk & Steel - This is a special design string where the unwrapped strings are plain steel and the wrapped strings have a thin steel core surrounded by many nylon filaments and then wrapped with silver plated brass windings. This string is under less tension when tuned to pitch and will soften the volume of your instrument. Also it will be easier to depress the strings. This type of string is not as bright as the other steel string types and less durable. Great when a more "classical guitar" tone is desired or softer action is preferred.
Electric Strings:
Nickel Plated - This string consists of nickel plated steel wraps around a steel core. The steel gives you better magnetic pull thus more volume electronically, and the nickel helps keep the steel from corroding. This is the most common type of electric string.
Pure Nickel - This string consists of nickel wraps around a steel core. Due to the pure nickel content of the wrap this string is more mellow in tone and has less output electronically. It gives that "vintage sound"
Stainless Steel - The brightest material for electric strings, and has good volume electronically. The stainless steel is not as smooth to the touch as the nickel types of strings. Stainless steel is a very hard material and combined with its rougher texture, in my opinion, causes quicker fret wear. Bass Strings:
Most bass strings consist of a central string that is wrapped in a second layer to make it thicker and more resilient to wear and tear. This second layer will also contribute greatly to the overall sound of a bass. The following are the most common varieties of bass strings:
Roundwound bass strings are the most common bass string. They are found on the majority of electric basses. Roundwound strings are characterized by giving off a very bright and pleasant tone but are known to give substantial wear and tear to fretboards over time.
Flatwound strings are very smooth and have a dark sound. They are preferred for fretless basses because they are gentle on fingerboards and have very even playability.
Tapewound strings are even kinder to your fingers and fretboard than Flatwound strings. They are quite light and give off a very warm and jazzy tone. Tapewound strings are also preferred for fretless basses because of their forgiving nature.
Default String Type/Should Not Change:
Certain instruments are made to use certain types of strings, for example…nylon or steel strings. Therefore, it is not recommended to use nylon strings on steel string guitars. Please consult with a personal before wanting to do this.
Effects of String Size:
Most guitars come from with "Lite" gauge strings .012-.054 for acoustic guitars and .009-.042 for electric guitars. If you change string gauge you may need to have your instrument adjusted to keep the action (distance that the strings are from the fret tops) the same. Less tension may cause the strings to lower and cause buzzing while higher tension may cause the strings to rise making it difficult to play. Electric guitars that have a tremolo system may also need it adjusted. The effects that string gauge have on your instrument are tone, playability and its adjustments. A larger gauge of strings applies more tension to the guitar. This has the effect of giving you more volume and a more focused sound. Because of the greater tension, it will require more pressure to depress the strings. However, higher tension strings vibrate in a smaller arc allowing the strings to be adjusted closer to the fingerboard with less potential of buzzing. Lighter gauge strings cause the opposite changes.
When To Change Strings:
Dependent on how often you play, your playing style, your care of the strings, and the effect your hands, picks, bows, etc. have on the strings. Generally, it is between 15 to 30 hours of play that a set needs to be changed! Here's why: As you play, the strings will collect dirt and oils from your hands or any playing materials you use. This causes the strings to become dead and to vibrate unevenly along their length (also causing tuning problems). Dirt and oils get into the windings and down inside to the core of the strings where it can cause corrosion of the core. Therefore, it’s recommended to wipe off the strings off clean each time you are finished playing, this will help prolong their life. Also if you bend strings or play hard this will cause flat spots on the strings especially at the fret locations, shortening their life.
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