:eek:

An aquitance has written a short article on guitar strings in the Christian Musician magazine and has given me permission to include it here. He is an expert, at least more than I, so here it is:

Strings:
Whether you play acoustic or electric guitar, strings are a big issue. Unlike the old days, there are few 'bad' strings anymore. In fact, a handful of factories produce most of the of the string brands we use.

When trying to find the perfect string, I wouldn't start with brand names. Start with gauges and metal alloys. Acoustic string gauges run from .010" - .046" to .013" - .056" and electric strings can run from .008" - .038" up to 013" - .056". Gauge selection is a tradeoff between playability and sound.

The better the tone, the harder they are to play. Also, larger gauge strings tend to stay in tune better and aren't easily "pushed" out of tune by a heavy grip.

I think the standard place to start should be a .012" set for acoustic or f-hole guitar and a .010" set for solid-body electrics. If you get much lighter than that, you begin to lose tone and develop tuning problems. Very much heavier and the playability becomes stiff.

I've discovered that the exact string set that I use varies from guitar to guitar, so I always start by trying 3 sets of strings. (The standard gauges I mentioned above and one gauge smaller and one heavier to compare.) Once I establish the size of the string for that guitar, I buy 3 or 4 sets of that gauge in different metal alloys and brands. Eventually I figure out what I like the best for sound, playability and durability and then I buy a box of them to cut down on the expense.

Some of my personal favorite strings are D'Addario Phosphor and Thomastik Spectrum Bronze light-gauge strings for my acoustic and Savarez Alliance high-tension strings for my nylon string. There are a lot of good electric strings and having several different electrics, the gauges I use range from .095" sets to .012" sets, depending on the guitar. I usually like D'Addario nickel and Thomastik Swing strings the best.

By the way, I always take my D'Addarios out of their boxes and place just the plastic wrappers in my case to save room.

John Standefer