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Guitar Lessons, How Do Different Types Of Guitar Strings Effect Your Sound?
by Chris Thomas
There are so many different brands of guitar strings out there, and within the brands there are many different gauges and types. This can be overwhelming for beginners, so I want to briefly discuss different types of strings and associated sizes and why you want to carefully consider the types of strings you would want to use.
First of all let’s briefly discuss nylon strings. These strings are used on classical guitars and are conducive for fingerpicking. If you own a classical guitar or are considering purchasing one, these are the strings you will use.
Now if you’re playing a standard electric or acoustic 6-string guitar, you’re going to want steel strings. Some of the more popular brands are D’Addario, Dean Markley, Ernie Ball, Elixer, GHS, and Fender. Try the same size of each brand and you will begin to notice differences. I remember trying D'Addario, Dean Markley, and Ernie Ball .009s and I was partial to D'Addarios because it seemed like my pick would get caught on the strings to o easily. So definately experiment with different strings to find out which you prefer.
As for the different sizes, they come in sizes ranging anywhere from sets of .008’s to .013’s. Now, you may wonder what this means. Well the .008-.013 range describes the thickness in inches of the high E string. So when someone says 8’s, 9’s 10’s, they’re typically referring to a set of guitar strings with the high E string of that thickness. The remaining strings are also thicker or thinner depending on the thickness of the high E string, although you can buy individual strings to suit your personal tastes.
What thickness should you choose? I prefer D’Arddario 9s for my electric and Elixer 10s for my acoustic. For me, anything thicker then 10s give my fingers a tough time. But also know that the thicker strings will have a much better tone. As a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend set thicker then 9s for starters until you build up some left hand strength. I don’t recommend 8s at all as they tend to break too easily.
If you’re going to be playing dropped tunings, then you should consider thick strings in the .012-.013 range (Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky Strings are great). This will allow you to tune down and still have tight strings that don’t flap around. The thinner strings will usually be too slack when you’re tuned down.
About The Author: Chris Thomas writes articles and does reviews of the top online guitar lessons for http://www.guitarlessoncomparisons.com
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The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
There are so many different brands of guitar strings out there, and within the brands there are many different gauges and types. This can be overwhelming for beginners, so I want to briefly discuss different types of strings and associated sizes and why you want to carefully consider the types of strings you would want to use.
First of all let’s briefly discuss nylon strings. These strings are used on classical guitars and are conducive for fingerpicking. If you own a classical guitar or are considering purchasing one, these are the strings you will use.
Now if you’re playing a standard electric or acoustic 6-string guitar, you’re going to want steel strings. Some of the more popular brands are D’Addario, Dean Markley, Ernie Ball, Elixer, GHS, and Fender. Try the same size of each brand and you will begin to notice differences. I remember trying D'Addario, Dean Markley, and Ernie Ball .009s and I was partial to D'Addarios because it seemed like my pick would get caught on the strings to o easily. So definately experiment with different strings to find out which you prefer.
As for the different sizes, they come in sizes ranging anywhere from sets of .008’s to .013’s. Now, you may wonder what this means. Well the .008-.013 range describes the thickness in inches of the high E string. So when someone says 8’s, 9’s 10’s, they’re typically referring to a set of guitar strings with the high E string of that thickness. The remaining strings are also thicker or thinner depending on the thickness of the high E string, although you can buy individual strings to suit your personal tastes.
What thickness should you choose? I prefer D’Arddario 9s for my electric and Elixer 10s for my acoustic. For me, anything thicker then 10s give my fingers a tough time. But also know that the thicker strings will have a much better tone. As a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend set thicker then 9s for starters until you build up some left hand strength. I don’t recommend 8s at all as they tend to break too easily.
If you’re going to be playing dropped tunings, then you should consider thick strings in the .012-.013 range (Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky Strings are great). This will allow you to tune down and still have tight strings that don’t flap around. The thinner strings will usually be too slack when you’re tuned down.
About The Author: Chris Thomas writes articles and does reviews of the top online guitar lessons for http://www.guitarlessoncomparisons.com
These articles on lifestyle and more
Reprint this article free of charge as long as you keep the author's resource box or bio intact and the links active. A copy of the ezine or URL of the page where the article was reprinted emailed to the author would be very much appreciated. guitar lessons
Return to the selection of guitar lessons
You may want to try these articles on guitar lessons
Guitar Lessons, Guitar Lessons And You: Finding A System That Works by IPRWire Staff Writer Approximately 483 Words
Guitar Lessons, Wrist Vs. Forearm Picking - Which Is Better? by Chris Thomas Approximately 411 Words
Guitar Lessons, Good Guitar Technique Will Allow You To Play Anything! by Chris Thomas Approximately 331 Words
Guitar Lessons, I Finally Took Guitar Lessons by Denton Krypps Approximately 478 Words
Guitar Lessons, Guitar Lessons: Guitar Playing Must Be A Passion by Bill McRea Approximately 340 Words
Guitar Lessons, Guitar Lessons €“ String Bending by Bill McRea Approximately 376 Words
Guitar Lessons, Guitar Lessons €“ Playing Harmonics by Bill McRea Approximately 431 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://www.zentao.com/guitar/guitar-lessons.html
http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Lessons/
http://www.supersonic.net/guitar/
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
