Strings don’t always get a lot of love—there aren’t too many demo videos about the best guitar strings, and you can’t flip ‘em on the secondhand market like guitars, pedals and amps—but stringing your instrument with the ideal materials and gauge for your needs is an easy way to improve the sound and feel of your instrument.

Before we get into how to choose guitar strings, let’s talk about what might happen if you play the wrong strings.

If you bought your guitar fresh from the factory, it’s likely been setup for a specific gauge (aka size) of strings. The tailpiece, bridge saddles, tremolo springs, nut slot width and depth and truss rod have been adjusted to the manufacturer’s specs so that the neck relief and action are comfortable to play. There’s no buzzing, no dead spots on the fretboard, the tremolo is balanced correctly and each note rings true.

As you experiment with different types of guitar strings, you might notice that now there’s fret buzz suddenly, or the strings are pulling away from the fretboard, or it’s too hard to fret a note—or not hard enough. Are you playing the wrong guitar strings?

Trick question. There are no wrong strings, only wrong setups. Does that mean you can throw roundwound baritone strings on your heirloom classical guitar? In a word, no. It means that with the correct strings (and usually a setup) you can transform your guitar from a lean, mean twangy hybrid picking machine to a menacing, drop-A djent goblin—if you want.

Types of Guitar Strings

Naturally, you should use strings designed for your instrument. While we’re all about experimenting with the guitar, there are plenty of different options to try out within your instrument’s string family.

Guitar strings come in four main types, and they correlate to the different types of guitar: electric, acoustic, classical, and bass.

Electric Guitar Strings

Electric guitar strings interact with your pickup’s magnets to turn sound into electricity. They’re constructed from a solid wire core wrapped with one of several conductive metal alloys to help your pickups convert mechanical vibrations from your strumming and plucking into sound waves.

Some common electric guitar string materials are:

• Nickel-Plated Steel—balanced between brightness and warmth, more attack than pure nickel.
• Pure Nickel—not as bright as nickel-plated steel, rounder attack.
• Stainless Steel—bright, zingy tone with prominent harmonics, especially under high gain.
• Chrome—typically flatwound, chrome strings have a warm sound and muted attack preferred by many jazz, blues and Americana guitarists.
• Cobalt—bright, modern high output tone with additional touch-sensitivity and increased dynamic range.
• Coated—resists corrosion, but polymer coatings can reduce sustain.

Another important factor in a string’s sound is its winding. In a typical electric guitar set, the first three strings (high E, B and G) are unwound. Some players prefer a wound G string, and saying so out loud still causes online arguments to this day.

An unwound G, being a lighter gauge, is easier to bend—a big advantage for blues players. But a wound G can improve intonation and tuning stability, as well as provide the necessary string-to-string balance for some chordal playing styles. Some guitars even require a wound G depending on the type of bridge on the guitar.

Regardless of material (or a wound or unwound third string), the lower three strings in the set (D, A and E) are wound in one of three ways:

• Roundwound—in a roundwound set, the low strings are wrapped with a grooved heavy metal threading for maximum output, pick attack and sustain. The most popular string by a country mile, roundwounds are heard across rock, metal, fusion, prog, pop, Americana and all the subgenres.
• Halfwound—halfwound (or groundwound) strings are roundwound strings that have been through an extra finishing step in which their grooved edges are ground smooth for a sound that splits the difference between roundwound and flatwound strings. Halfwound strings sound darker than rounds, but retain more attack than flats.
• Flatwound—popular with blues, jazz, soul, rockabilly and R&B guitarists, flatwound strings use a solid core wrapped in a smooth metallic ribbon to produce a pure, organic tone perfect for low-to-mid gain playing. In the rock, country and pop world, session guitarist Matt Sweeney (Superwolves, Adele, Johnny Cash) swears by flatwound strings for fingerstyle playing, even with overdrive.

Acoustic Guitar Strings

Non-classical “steel string” acoustic guitars use softer alloys than electric strings, but still retain the bright and powerful sound that defines rock, country, modern folk and blues music.

Since often times there is no acoustic pickup to worry about (and acoustic/electrics still use acoustic strings), choosing the best acoustic guitar string is a matter of balancing your ideal tone with your guitar’s body style, playing technique and the condition of your instrument’s neck, bridge, bracing and top.

Generally, smaller-bodied acoustics like parlor guitars should be strung with lighter gauge strings to accommodate their reduced size and retain their immediate, snappy presence. Jumbo or dreadnought guitars typically sound their best with standard medium gauge (or heavier) strings to achieve a full, balanced sound.

Players with an intricate fingerstyle technique might prefer lighter gauges for a softer touch and a little extra space between individual strings. And the opposite is true for heavy-handed strummers, as heavy strings are better at holding up to extended plectrum abuse. Or, if your guitar is fragile, lighter strings can prevent putting undue stress on the neck joint, bridge, bracing or top.

To really fine-tune your sound, you can experiment with different string gauges and zero in on the perfect balance of bass and treble. Heavier sets encourage a big, boomy bass response, while lighter strings accentuate treble frequencies, bringing out the subtleties of your picking technique.

The main types of acoustic guitar strings are:

• Bronze—bright and clear as a bell, but likely to wear out quickly, especially if you work up a sweat while you play.
• Phosphor Bronze—similar in tone to bronze strings, but with a longer lifespan and slightly darker sound due to the phosphor mixture.
• Aluminum Bronze—snappier than phosphor bronze, with pronounced highs and lows and a subdued midrange.
• Brass—sometimes labeled as 80/20 bronze, is big, bold, sassy and…brassy. Brass strings are jangly, clanging, metallic and bright.
• Monel—made of nickel/copper alloy, are crisp, but with a mellow attack.
• Coated—like their electric counterparts, coated acoustic strings resist corrosion with less brightness and sustain than uncoated strings.
• Silk and Steel—have a silk core, and are wound with silver-plated copper, with plain nickel trebles. These strings are perfect for delicate vintage instruments and players with a light touch.

Classical Guitar Strings

Prior to the 1940s, classical instruments—guitar included—used strings made from sheep or cow intestines. But don’t visit your local butcher just yet. There are vegan options.

Modern classical or nylon string guitars use an animal-friendly blend of soft metals, nylon and other synthetic materials to produce the same timeless mellow tone as gut strings without the guilt.

But unlike electric, acoustic or bass strings, which are packaged by size, classical guitar strings are sold by tension.

Low tension strings (sometimes called Moderate or Light, depending on the brand) offer easier fretting for smooth legato playing and a softer attack that prioritizes note body and sustain. High tension strings (also called Hard or Strong tension) project louder than lower tension strings with a sharper attack that’s perfect for rhythmic styles like folk and flamenco.

If low tension is too low and high tension is too high, then Normal tension is just right. Normal tension strings split the difference for beautiful tone and a comfortable playing experience across classical, bossa nova, folk, and flamenco. Even country, in the case of Willie Nelson and his guitar, Trigger.

Classical guitar strings are available in multiple materials to help players find their sound:

• Clear Nylon—the most common classical guitar string with a full, balanced and versatile sound for a variety of genres and techniques.
• Rectified Nylon—made from the same material as clear nylon, but with stricter sizing requirements. Each rectified nylon string is sanded to maintain its exact diameter along the entire length of the string. The tone is warmer than clear nylon, perfect for legato playing and other melodic styles.
• Black Nylon—these use a different nylon formula than clear and rectified nylon strings for a brighter sound with more overtones, making them popular for percussive styles like flamenco and folk.
• Titanium—their smooth feel is similar to flatwound strings, typically used to brighten the sound of an overly dark guitar.

Bass Guitar Strings

Bass strings are electric guitar strings with a longer scale, larger diameter and lower pitch. But there’s one extra detail to watch out for: scale length.

Scale length is the distance between the bridge saddles and nut of your guitar or bass. Most six-string sets fit the common guitar scale lengths, so folks on the treble side of the tablature don’t think about it too often. But on bass, scale length plays an important role in the sound and feel of the instrument.

The most common bass guitar scale length is 34”—just as Leo Fender intended. Precision and Jazz basses have this scale length, as do most modern basses. Short-scale basses, like the Fender Mustang or Gibson’s EB-0 have scale lengths of 30” and 30.5”, respectively. Since basses with shorter scale lengths require less string tension to tune to pitch, they have a floppier, more fluid feel compared to a full-scale bass, with a rounder, fuller bottom end.

Basses with five strings or more (or four string basses built for drop tuning) have longer scale lengths to accommodate the increased tension that larger strings and lower tunings require.

The common bass guitar scale lengths are:

Short Scale—30” to 32”

Medium Scale—32” to 34”

Long Scale—34” to 36”

Super Long Scale—36” to 38”

Once you’ve identified the proper scale length for your bass, it’s time to think about materials:

• Nickel-Plated Steel—the most widely used material, softer on the hands than stainless steel but with a bright tone for most modern musical applications.
• Pure Nickel—softer in feel and sound than nickel-plated steel, ideal for the super sounds of ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s pop, rock, country and R&B.
• Stainless Steel—bright and zingy, stainless steel strings first appeared in the ‘70s where they caught on with arena rockers, funk superstars and the new wave of British heavy metal. Their aggressive sound is perfect for playing with a pick, slapping or aggressive fingerstyle playing.
• Polymer Coated—coated strings last longer than their uncoated counterparts, but with slightly reduced brightness and sustain.

And finally, the winding:

• Roundwound—Thank the Ox for roundwound bass strings. The Rotosound company developed the first roundwound bass strings at the request of The Who’s John Entwhistle, who wanted a growling, piano-like tone for his overdriven lead bass playing. They’re also perfect for slapping and popping, thanks to their bright and snappy sound.
• Flatwound—channel your inner James Jamerson or Carol Kaye with flatwound strings. The de-facto string of the Motown sound, ‘60s surf rock and the Wrecking Crew, flatwounds have a deep, thumping sound with a plucky attack and quick decay.
• Groundwound—if you love roundwounds but can’t abide fret noise, groundwound strings provide most of the same bright tone as rounds but with less finger squeaks and a subdued top end.
• Tapewound—to emulate an upright bass with an electric bass guitar, try tapewounds. These strings are made from a wire core wrapped in nylon, giving you the next best thing to a full size acoustic bass but with the added benefit of electric amplification.

How to Choose Guitar Strings

When it’s time to decide how to choose the best guitar (or bass) strings for your setup, refer to the Three Ts—Tuning, Technique and Tone.

Tuning—the tuning you play in will help determine the most appropriate scale length and string gauge for your instrument. Longer scale lengths and/or lower tunings often sound best with heavier gauge strings.

Technique—you might develop a preference for a certain gauge of string based on your genre and playing technique. Nü-metal guitarists who tune down to B (or lower) would likely want a heavier and brighter string for low notes at high gain. Likewise, fusion players, fingerpickers, neoclassical shredders and two-handed tappers tend to favor lighter string gauges that allow them to play accurately and with a light touch at incredibly fast tempos.

Tone—the sound in your head should match the strings in your hand. Players of modern high gain styles should try roundwound stainless steel or cobalt for their edgy, high output tone. Folk rockers, singer-songwriters and old-school chicken pickers typically get their vintage sounds from pure nickel in either round- or flatwounds. Jazz and blues aficionados prefer the smooth sound of flatwounds.

As far as how you should choose guitar strings, there’s no substitute for experience. Consider your instrument’s natural tonal character—is it bright? Dark? Balanced? Depending how your guitar sounds when it’s unplugged, you might pick strings based on materials to accentuate or reduce certain qualities.

On the heavier side of guitar music, low tunings and high gain dictate the need for long strings and high output, pushing players towards longer scale lengths, beefier string gauges and modern alloys. Classical guitarists need to execute intricate licks with precision and choose strings accordingly.

Finding your perfect set of strings takes some experimentation with different gauges and materials, but with time and patience you’ll find your perfect sound. In most cases, moving up or down by a single gauge won’t wreck your setup completely, but if you’re unsure how to adjust your bridge or truss rod in the event that something does need tweaking, it’s best to visit your local luthier for a string change and setup.

Still searching for your perfect tone? Check out our blog for tips and tricks to help you dial in the sound in your head.

Let’s Talk Tone

Remember to sign up for Seymour Duncan’s free Pickup Installation 101 online course for more in-depth information, tips, and tricks.

SIGN ME UP!

Any other product questions, comments or feedback? Let us know!