[Closed] Which guitar strings?

10s or 11s for and acoustic, 12s if yer mental! 😆 tbh its down to person all preference.

9s for electric.

Imo.

You're right BTW its the guage of the string. Smallest number is the thinnest string obviously.

Check out justinguitar on youtube and on the web as its a very good resource.

String wise 9-42 would be the traditional choice on an electric guitar for a beginner....it's what most of my students use. That is a pretty light gauge so will be easier to play. Personally I play 11-56 but I play in a Blues band that does lots of Hendrix/SRV/John Mayer covers so like a nice fat sound that you get from heavy strings. Ernie Ball strings are a pretty safe bet. Cheap ones will break/not hold tune.

ernie ball nines would be a great start and see how you like 'em

Ernie Balls are good. You might want to get an extra 9 or 10 gauge if it is the first time you are fitting them. You can download an app for free to do the tuning or buy a cheapo tuner when you buy the strings.

Thanks gents - a set of Ernie Ball strings and pack of picks ordered.
Time to hit you tube.

Bear in mind if the strings are a different gauge than the previous ones, the guitar may need a bit of setting up, as the strings may alter the neck tension.

Any guitar shop can do this, although like bikes, I learned through tinkering, trial and error and the internet!

Online guitar tuner may be useful if you haven't got a tuner http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/

^ just what I was going to say. Apart from the diy bit on the guitar.

Cheap electronic tuning device will be a good investment too.

I used to use Ernie balls too.

Personally I can't stand Ernie Balls, used them fore about 4 years and I almost quit playing!

Elixer. the best strings, the nicest to play, the best sound and thats whats important.

oh and they last longer too.

If you are just starting out 9-42 is fine. The guitar when new probably had 9-42 on it. Rock on!

If you are just starting out 9-42 is fine. The guitar when new probably had 9-42 on it. If you have a smart phone you can probably download a tuner app for free. Rock on!

nothing to add, but bookmarking this for later.

wait! any recommendations for strings for an acoustic bass?

I am also not a big fan of Ernie Balls strings. I used to use them all the time when I was a jobbing musician and changed them every night but found that they didn't keep their brightness very long. These days I use D'Addario and find they are brighter and stay bright.

I also use D'Addario strings, but usually [url= http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/guitarstrings_detail.asp?stock=06022413030819 ]Flatwound strings[/url] instead of the normal ones.
My older electric is an '80s metal guitar (I got it in '89 or '90 aged 9), but can sound more like a modern guitar with fatter, flatwound strings. I put them on my new guitar too and love the sound as well. Can't do pick scrapes though 🙂

If you have a smartphone you don;t need to buy a tuner - just get one of the many tuner apps (although you should learn to do it by ear too as it's a good skill to have, use the tuner to tune the low E string then try and tune the rest by ear relative to the low E. you can then use the tuner to check how well you did)

The first guitarist to play 9s was James Burton. He explains here at about four minutes. Bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs are all a lot easier on thin strings. Contrary to what you might expect they are a lot more durable than heavy strings because a thinner string is slacker for a given note. Edit: IIRC gibbons of ZZ Top goes down to 7s for some songs.

[url=

on strings and things[/url]

Elixer. the best strings, the nicest to play, the best sound and thats whats important.

oh and they last longer too.

Me too. I have nasty sweaty fingers that kill Ernie Balls in one gig. ELixirs have actually saved me money.

Elixir here too 🙂