Are you asking yourself “How do I choose my electric guitar strings”? If so…. article is right up your alley!

Choosing guitar strings that fit your playing style is a low-cost way to make a big difference in YOUR tone. If you own multiple guitars or bass guitars you may want to do a use different guitar strings (gauge or type) depending on what style your playing and tone you need from each individual guitar.

We recommend reading this entire article to get a better understanding of the types of strings, gauges (sizes), and why changing strings might require some minor modifications to your guitar. If you ever have questions you should consult with your local guitar luthier or guitar tech for expert guitar string recommendations.

This article doesn’t cover “everything there is” it’s just a great start for some understanding and information before you purchase strings.

Quick Intro to Guitar Strings

Guitar strings generate the sound waves that are picked up by your pickups to create the sound you hear. Pitch is affected by guitar string size (gauge) IE: smaller gauge strings have higher pitch vs. larger gauge strings have a lower pitch.

There are other factors affecting sound output. They are the composition, coatings, age, condition and even cleanliness of the strings. How often you play your guitar is a major factor in how often you should replace your strings.

Guitar String Construction

The primary attributes of guitar strings are string core, winding, coating, and finished string gauge.

Within these attributes, you will experience different results based on the combinations of these attributes and the quality of the strings. Keep in mind that as strings are used and age the sound quality will diminish and they get sounding really muddy.

Electric guitar strings are manufactured from steel, nickel, or other magnetically conductive metal alloys. The typical string has a steel core and a “silver-nickel” outside winding on the wound strings. Keep in mind that silver is not used in making guitar strings. Otherwise…..they’d be REALLY expensive.

The sound produced by strings is heavily dependent on the combination of the strings core, winding, and plating or coating.

• Nickel-Plated Steel: These are the most popular string type. They deliver exceptional brightness, warmth, and full-bodied tones.
• Pure Nickel: A slight step down in brightness from nickel-plated strings. They are a workable string for most types of music. These have a little warmer tone than nickel-plated strings.
• Stainless Steel: This is the choice for a sharp, crisp tone. Corrosion protection is great but they are a bit “stiffer” and feel “harder to play”.
• Chrome: These are the strings preferred by blues or jazz guitarists. Chrome strings have a warmer sound but really lack much resonance.
• Cobalt: These offer great pickup response with crisp brightness across a wide range. A little less bottom end than the nickel-wound.
• Polymer-Coated: These provide corrosion resistance which can help them to last longer but they have far less sustain and frequency response than uncoated equivalent strings.
• Nylon Strings: Not for your electric….don’t go there!!

KEEP IN MIND: Coated strings are a standard string upon which a polymer finish has been applied. While the life of a coated string is longer, you sacrifice a lot on higher frequency response AND overall sound quality. Coated strings are more expensive than uncoated strings. My opinion is it’s best to change strings more often with uncoated strings rather than trying to stretch out string life with the more costly coated strings.

Types of Guitar String Cores

The string core refers to the shape of the wire which is being wound. It’s either hex core or round core. These two types have very subtle differences in playability and sustain. These differences are virtually unnoticeable by average guitar players.

Hex core strings offer a brighter, louder tone.

Round core strings deliver a smoother, mellow tone.

Guitar String Windings

At first look you will recognize that the 1st 2nd and 3rd strings (like a high E, B and G) are solid (not wound). The larger gauge strings are wound and can be recognized as such by the winding / texture on the string surface. The types of electric guitar string windings include roundwound, flatwound and halfround wound.

Roundwound Guitar Strings

These are the most common type of guitar strings and are appropriate for virtually any music genre. They deliver a very bright tone with a solid, full-bodied sound. We suggest always using roundwound strings for the majority of our clients and customers.

Flatwound Guitar Strings

Flatwound guitar strings have a flat playing surface which produces a dark, subdued tone. Most people find these smooth and somewhat “different to play” but not particularly great if you need the higher frequencies when your playing. Jazz players LOVE these!

Halfround Guitar Strings

Halfround guitar strings fall in the middle-ground between roundwound and flatwound. As with flatwound, they are “different” to play and do not provide the higher frequency tones that fit many of the popular genres such as rock, metal, country, and blues. We have never sold these strings in 18 years. The majority of what we sell are roundwound.

Guitar String Gauges

In the guitar and guitar string manufacturing industry there are common standards for guitar strings gauges and paired sets of strings. Individual strings are sold for guitar players who want to customize their sound. Mixing brands and string gauges can deliver a very unique sound. For beginner and novice guitar players it’s a good idea to stick with guitar string sets for which your guitar was made. KickAxe USA does sell custom sets that are progressive tension sets.

Electric Guitar String Sets

The following are common string set sizes mass produced and packaged for a 6-string electric guitar. These are listed with their common name and string gauges. Guitar players often refer to string sets with a shortened description using the gauge of the lightest strings, i.e., a light set could be referred to as 10’s although the full set has gauge sizes of .010 .013 .017 .026 .036 .046

• Extra Super Light .008 .010 .015 .021 .030 .038
• Super Light .009 .011 .016 .024 .032 .042
• Light .010 .013 .017 .026 .036 .046
• Medium .011 .015 .018 .026 .036 .050
• Heavy .012 .016 .020 .032 .042 .054

 Bass Guitar String Sets

The following are common string set sizes for a 4-string bass guitar. These are listed with their common name and string gauges. There are some differences in names from the different manufacturers even when they are the same sized set. These sets may be referred to in slang such as “45-100” (spoken forty-five one hundred)….just a little different than the guitar string sets are referred to.

• Extra Light .040 .060 .070 .095
• Light .045 .065 .080 .100
• Medium .50 .70 .85 .105
• Heavy .50 .67 . 90 .120

Every guitar and bass is manufactured with a set of specifications which includes the manufacturers recommended string size. This typically corresponds to one of the mass produced “string sets” previously mentioned.

This does NOT limit you…..we just adjust the nut slots and saddle slots to fit the strings you need for your playing style and your tone….it’s as easy as that!