Questions about Acoustic Strings...

[AKSteve]

Howdy all...

I have been playing acoustic guitar for about 8 months, and am really enjoying it. Guitar is one of those things that I've ALWAYS wanted to know how to play - it's great to finally be learning! :p

My playing style so far is experimental - trying to nail chord changes smoothly, practicing a lot of barre chords and progressions, and messing around with fingerstyle a little.

I read another post about guitar strings, and it brought up some questions that I have about strings. So far, I have simply purchased the strings that were on sale at the local music store - Everly's, I think, mediums (.012 - .54??)...

My questions:

How do string sizes and/or materials affect the sound of the guitar, generally speaking?

Do certain string sizes work best with certain styles - strumming, finger-picking, barre chords, etc.?

What effect does string material have on sound, playability, etc.?

Thanks for any input - I'd like to try experimenting with some different strings, and appreciate any input...

AKSteve

[ESP_Viper]

Well string gauge is mostly for the tuning that you are in. On an electric guitar, if you were to be in standard tuning and stay there, a lighter gauge set of strings will be fine. But if you are going to tune lower, heavier gauge strings are a must. I'm not a huge acoustic player, so I'm not familiar with the gauges that are needed and what not. The material of the string does matter... but I can't tell ya what type sounds like what. I know most electric guitars have nickel strings and most acoustic guitars have steel strings. There are also nylon stringed guitars. I hope this helps a little :)

[steve]

ESP viper is right, generally the lower the gauge string the lower the tone. Also the lower the gauge ussaully it is easier to bend, although acoustically you don't bend to much except for classical guitar. The best thing is to try out different strings, different gauges, different companies, different styles, etc.

[Zero]

You have to watch that you use the proper kind of strings on your guitar. I've been told by a few people that putting the wrong kind of strings on your guitar can hurt it! i don't know why, something to do with the tension of the strings, and guitars are built towards sets of strings (not gauges, types nylon, steel, etc.)

Not sure if this is totally true though :)

~Z~

[captaintaco]

Hi all. Here's the skinny on acoustic guitar strings.

In my opinion, the heavier the gauge (12's are pretty heavy), the better the tone. However, you have to be careful because you can pull the bridge up and cause your soundboard to belly if your string gauge is too high. You will see that instead of the bridge laying flat on the soundboard, it now has a distinct angle to it where the bridge pins are. In other words, the bridge pins theoretically should meet the soundboard at a 90 degree angle. If the string gauge is too heavy, it will pull on the bridge and the pins will now have an angle to them. That is not good. If your guitar has a bellied soundboard, you need a device called a bridge doctor to fix it.

Light gauge strings are easy on the hands, especially if you're just beginning. They fret easily and bend easily. This can be good and bad. If you push too hard when fretting, you will bend yourself right out of tune. But, they are easy to play, especially for barre chords. They sound good enough.

Medium gauge strings are more difficult to fret, but sound really great. They will give your hand a workout. The mass of the strings will produce better tone, however.

Heavy gauge strings are what I use. They sound awesome and resonate forever. They have great sustain and tone. Be careful, though. They will pull your bridge right off of the soundboard.

Another factor here, AKSteve, is the string nut at the top of the fretboard. Whoever made your guitar slotted the nut for a certain gauge of strings. You pretty much have to use whatever gauge the nut is slotted for. Unless you want to re-slot the nut. If you use too-heavy strings, the strings will bind up in the nut slot. Or, if you use too-light gauge strings, the string will not fit the slot and you will sacrifice some of your tone.

So keep that in mind too.