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Guitar Strings - Your Basic Insight

By Josh Scalf

Generally speaking there are two types of guitar strings that are made.

1. Steel – used on electric and acoustic guitars

2. Nylon – primarily used on classical and flamenco guitars

Electric guitar strings that are wound are created by rolling a string made of white metal around a centrally located string. The different types of material used for wrapping around the central string depend on the durability and tone wanted by the musician. Typically you will find that an electric guitar uses a nickel or nickel alloy material.

The thickness of the string is referred to as the gauge of the string. The guitar string is measured by fractions of an inch.

Light Gauge String

(.008 - .038) (.009 - .042) (.009 - .046) (.010 - .046)

• Easier to push down, and you will be able to bend them without any problem.

• Allow you to be able to play much faster

• Do not hold their tune very well
• Have very little sustain

• Produce very little volume

• Not good for lower tunings

(.011 - .050) (.010 - .052) (.012 - .052) (.013 - .056)

• Heavier gauged strings are preferred by many of todays guitarists because of the tone and the feel of them.
• Good for guitar players that prefer to have their guitars tuned down lower than standard (drop D, drop C, drop B etc.).
• Will hold their sustain much longer in the drop tunings

1. Aggressive Playing

   - This happens to be the most common reason for breaking strings

   - No doubt, you will get so deep into your jam session, that you will tend to strum a little to hard with your pick and snap a string. Unfortunately there is no way to fix this problem other than change your playing style, but I don't recommend that at all.

   See Also:
   A Novice's Guide To Guitar Playing - When learning any instrument, it pays to start out inthe right way without picking up bad habits. The guitar is no different.

1. Old Strings

   - Over time your guitar strings will loose their elasticity simply from the constant stress that is put on your strings.

   - If you have not played or changed your strings in a long time, they will rust over, and become very susceptible to breaking.

1. Over tuning

   - This simply means that when you are tuning your guitar, you may wind the tuning pegs to high, resulting in a broken string.

   - Because this could very easily happen, it is wise to tune your guitar with the strings facing away from you.

   See Also:
   Mastering uitar Arpeggios - Read a step by step plan on becoming confident with playing arpeggios on the guitar.

1. Sharp Objects

   - You may find sharp areas on the guitar that are capable of breaking a guitar string. These areas include but are not limited to: The bridge, the nut, tuning peg.

Guitar strings are the heart and soul of any guitar. Without them, there would be no possible way to create sound. To get the best sound out of your guitar, you should change your strings on a regular basis. This is an easy way to experiment and try out different gauges to see what tone fits your style.

Josh Scalf is an experienced guitarist that offers information and resources for aspiring musicians. Check out more quality articles and resources for awesome gear at www.guitaradvice4u.com