Wednesday 9 February 2011

String Gauges And Tips

Greetings! Today I am going to be doing a small blog about, String Gauges! Tada!

Basically, string gauges is the thickness of your strings, and depending on the thickness can change the tone and style of playing.

The thicker the string, the fatter the tone tends to be, whilst the thinner the string, the tone tends to be more treble orientated. In addition to this, thin strings are often easier to play faster on, and are easier to bend as there is less tension (unless of course you have gigantic hands). For people who are into drop tunings, thicker strings are recommended as it will provide a better fatter tone for those drop D or drop C power chords, as well as not buzzing against frets as the strings aren't slack, however some people find thicker strings are hard to bend.

Remember, there is no right or wrong string gauge or brand! Everyone has individual tastes and styles, so mess about with different pairs to find yours. Just be sure to not harm your guitar when changing from extremely thick strings to thin, ( from say 9's to 13's) as it may cause harmful tension in the neck. Also, if you have a floyd rose, putting a different thickness on will cause the bridge to change from its floating position, so be you are experienced enough to alter it to its original state if you do.

As well as string gauges, string brand can make a difference too, personally at the minute I am using the Dunlop Heavy Core (pictured) strings, where the top string is a string higher to the others, so for example when the strings should be:  010 - 014 - 018 - 028 - 038 - 050, they are:  011 - 014 - 018 - 028 - 038 - 050.

I have also used brands such as D'addario, Ernie ball (found they rotted too quickly) and many more.
It is also important to clean your strings  (preferably with a string cleaning product) as when you play , your hands release sweat, which over time corrode the strings, which leave them eventually sounding dull.  Even if you clean the strings, I find I have to change mine every 1-2 months.

There is a brand known as Elixir "Nanoweb" strings, which actually last a very long time (I've had mine on the Les Paul for around 2 months and still sounding great).

One final thing, different brands of strings are best for different types of guitar bridges, as some are better for different stringing techniques and less-slipping when playing, ask your local guitar shop!

I hope this has helped, if not, I apologise. Any questions- feel free to ask below :) Thankyou.

40 comments:

  1. So long how have you been playing?

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  2. Really awesome stuff ^_^ personally i use 10's cuz i have to drop b alot of songs

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  3. rickysha- 3 and a bit years now
    Kiyoshi - yeah I differ between 10's and 9' :) Into your metal then?

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  4. I'll refer a friend over to you, he plays guitar and what not =P

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  5. brother plays guitar... never really got into it. wish i had played an instrument.

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  6. tried those elixir nanowebs, but didn't really like the tone or the slippery feel. i prefer the sound and feel of heavy uncoated d'addarios (sounds great with a cedar top :D)

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  7. Love instruments, I wish I was a drummer :(

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  8. Hey man, really useful info. Def. followed. ;)

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  9. i used to play bass in grade school, damn my fingertips always hurt! :(

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  10. Hey question, if i wanted to pick up guitar, how much should i shell out on a guitar for my first one?

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  11. @Sadomi - For your first guitar, you probably won't end up looking after it and your likely to damage it in one way, I wouldn't go for one of those nasty "£90 starter kits" from E-bay, as they're cheap,chinese and sound awful.

    Try going for a copy of a brand, so say the squire stratocaster instead of the fender, and if you can, second hand. As for an amp, go for a 15watt small transistor amp, like a fender frontman, also 2nd hand if you can. There are no real rules, but I would say no more than £150, and £100 ideally.

    Bare in mind there might be a bag to buy, picks, guitar books, strings, leads etc.

    Trust me though, a very good hobby to get into.

    Also, it depends on if you mean electric guitar or acoustic. My first acoustic cost me £60!

    Anything else you're unsure about just ask :)

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  12. Ive only been playing guitar for about 2 yrs, how about you?

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  13. Excellent. I'll be sure to keep this in mind.

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  14. auana- 3/4, not exactly sure. Not exactly a guitar god but can bang out a few Metallica and Joe Satriani tunes :) Keep playing!

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  15. thanks this was helpful

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  16. interesting i dont play a guitar though i play a synthesizer love it

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  17. Great blog, I've always had a passion for guitar playing!

    http://tameric.blogspot.com/

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  18. nice post, thi was a great read

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  19. Interesting stuff cheers for the info.

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  20. Thank you sharing this info! Followed!

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  21. Thanks for the info i need to replace on my strings anyway and i just learned a bit more then what i did in the first place

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  22. Heh.. I've got super thin (.008 I think?) Martins on my acoustic, and D'Addario reg lights (.010) on the electric.

    Gonna try some new ones out though.. still haven't found what I'm looking for.

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  23. Nice blog.

    http://tameric.blogspot.com/

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  24. Helpful and interesting post. I play the guitar myself, so this is good to know.

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  25. for me it's new informations and helpful.

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