Very, very recently (today), a friend engaged me in a discussion of guitar strings and his recent experimentation regarding string size preferences and what he’s feeling about it. I thought it might be both interesting and that we can learn something from the experiences of forum members.
Having played guitar for many years, I’ve tried all sorts of things from pickup changes, designing and building several guitars, many different circuit designs to have many different sounds available, different tunings, etc. With string sizes, there are also many opinions espoused regarding tone, feel, playability, buzz avoidance, etc., etc., etc. For size, I’ve tried from .007s to .013s, various manufacturers, round-wound, flat-wound, half-wound, steel, bronze, nylon, coated – the list goes on and on and on.
So, what have I learned? On my electrics, I’ve settled on flat-wound, .009, steel strings with nickel plating. The manufacturer hasn’t make much of a difference to me as long as they are quality strings. On acoustic, I found that everything mattered. Bronze sounds different than steel, and of course much different than nylon. The top wood makes a quite a difference, the fretboard, less so, at least for me. HOWEVER, on electric, the string type and size make a big difference, especially in playability, but the guitar wood, much less so, same with the nut whether bone or some plastic. I believe that’s because, on an acoustic, unless the guitar is amplified, the sound is the sound and the strings, wood, and size truly determine that. But on an electric, not only the strings, but the pickups make an even bigger difference; the ability to shape the tone with bass, middle, and treble controls make an even bigger difference; the ability to add reverb, delay, chorus, etc., makes an even bigger difference still, and the use of distortion swamps the entire sound even more.
So, it’d be interesting to hear from other guitarists. What are the biggest differences you hear? What are your preferences in string types and sizes? We never know what others hear, or what they think they hear, and the same is true about ourselves.
Thanks!
Having played guitar for many years, I’ve tried all sorts of things from pickup changes, designing and building several guitars, many different circuit designs to have many different sounds available, different tunings, etc. With string sizes, there are also many opinions espoused regarding tone, feel, playability, buzz avoidance, etc., etc., etc. For size, I’ve tried from .007s to .013s, various manufacturers, round-wound, flat-wound, half-wound, steel, bronze, nylon, coated – the list goes on and on and on.
So, what have I learned? On my electrics, I’ve settled on flat-wound, .009, steel strings with nickel plating. The manufacturer hasn’t make much of a difference to me as long as they are quality strings. On acoustic, I found that everything mattered. Bronze sounds different than steel, and of course much different than nylon. The top wood makes a quite a difference, the fretboard, less so, at least for me. HOWEVER, on electric, the string type and size make a big difference, especially in playability, but the guitar wood, much less so, same with the nut whether bone or some plastic. I believe that’s because, on an acoustic, unless the guitar is amplified, the sound is the sound and the strings, wood, and size truly determine that. But on an electric, not only the strings, but the pickups make an even bigger difference; the ability to shape the tone with bass, middle, and treble controls make an even bigger difference; the ability to add reverb, delay, chorus, etc., makes an even bigger difference still, and the use of distortion swamps the entire sound even more.
So, it’d be interesting to hear from other guitarists. What are the biggest differences you hear? What are your preferences in string types and sizes? We never know what others hear, or what they think they hear, and the same is true about ourselves.
Thanks!
