How to choose the best acoustic guitar strings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

When choosing strings for an acoustic guitar, any musician, both a professional and one who first picked up the instrument, faces one difficulty. It consists in the inability to listen to the sound. How certain strings will sound will become known only when they are used, it is impossible to predict the sound.

If professionals understand what they came to the store for, that is, these people are familiar with various brands, they have specific preferences and favorite manufacturers, then beginners do not have such experience and are lost in front of the shop window.

How to choose?

Buying strings is almost always a lottery, but there are some defining moments. Firstly, you need to be as clear as possible in advance about what exactly you need to purchase in terms of technical characteristics and material. It makes no sense for a beginner in music to try everything at random, because a person who does not have experience can simply pull the string incorrectly, because of which he will not hear its true sound.

Determine what is worth buying, music teachers, acquaintances with experience in the game can help. A similar question can be asked in thematic groups or forums. The only thing you shouldn't do is trust the salesperson who tells you which strings are best for acoustic guitar.

As a rule, the dealer is not at all interested in how the instrument will sound, he is concerned about selling old or frankly low-quality, stale or expensive goods to an amateur. Each musician can choose the best strings for an acoustic guitar only independently, as well as an instrument. Absolutely identical strings, like the guitars themselves, sound completely different in different hands.

What are they like?

The question of what strings are on an acoustic guitar, how they differ from classical ones, beginners are usually embarrassed, trying to figure it out on their own. However, having found out how one differs from the other, novice musicians do not take into account such a factor as finger strength, which an experienced musician or teacher will definitely tell you about, explaining which strings are used on acoustics.

The acoustic strings themselves can be:

• monolithic steel base;
• steel in flat and semicircular windings;
• synthetic on a steel basis.

Hearing about steel, novice musicians almost always ask sellers for acoustic guitar strings made of copper or brass in bewilderment. Questions like this are immediatelycomplete lack of experience and even the very fact of acquaintance with the instrument. Copper, brass, etc. are not the material of the strings themselves, but their windings.

Monolithic

Made of so-called piano steel. The windings of "monoliths" use copper, its alloys and phosphor bronze. These strings are very resonant and have good unison. Almost all 12-string acoustic guitars are equipped with them.

It is generally not recommended for beginners to take them, since the game requires a certain skill. With its absence and insufficient strength in the fingers, the sound comes out not quite clear, with whistling and rattling.

Flat and half round windings

This is how an ordinary acoustic guitar with 6 strings is equipped. The strings are pulled with the flat side under the fingers, and the round side, respectively, to the body of the instrument.

This is the best choice for beginners. The specificity of this type of strings is that they give a more matte, clear and devoid of impurities sound even with uncertain playing technique. A particularly important point is the smooth sound on the bass, which is more difficult to achieve than the top ringing.

Synthetic

They are most often equipped with not very expensive instruments, which are just purchased by beginners. Many are completely satisfied with the sound, and going to the store, such musicians know for sure that they need "synthetics".

Typically, it's only when you contact the dealer that new guitar players find out that this kind of string comes in two types.

First type - strings in a metal winding, additionally closed on topteflon. This variety is good for those who use the tool intensively, as it is extremely wear resistant and almost does not give in to friction.

The second type - strings, in the winding of which the wire and "synthetics" are connected. This variety is lighter in terms of pressing the frets, but quickly gets dirty with sweat and leather particles, since the gaps between the turns are not very tight. This feature leads to the fact that these strings are devoid of iridescence, that is, gypsy romances cannot be played ideally on them, the sound is rather dull. But for chanson they are quite suitable.

About winding

Before you change the strings on an acoustic guitar for the same, you need to know exactly what variety is on the instrument, and, most importantly, do not forget what the winding is made of and what type it is made of.

Literally everything in the game depends on these factors, and not only for a beginner, but also for an experienced musician. Since guitar playing is based on tactile memory, that is, the memory of the fingers, string consistency is extremely important. Accustomed to certain gaps in the coils and the bulge of the strings, musicians always experience discomfort and perform worse on the new type.

Of course, after some time given to scales or other exercises, the fingers get used to it, but there are not always free hours for their own “tuning”, especially for beginners.

Winding materials

Acoustic guitar strings are wrapped with copper and its alloys, phosphoricbronze, brass, synthetic polymers and silver.

There was a joke among Western guitarists in the middle of the last century that silver strings protected them from vampires in auditoriums.

In fact, such strings are not made of silver, and they cannot protect against a vampire. Silver is only a coating sprayed onto finished strings with any winding. This does not affect the sound in any way, but it looks very aesthetic and even mysterious. In addition to visual appeal, such strings do not leave dark marks on the skin and do not fade with long use.

Phosphor bronze and brass are the most durable and strong windings available. But they have a minus, the same as that of polymers - such acoustic guitar strings do not ring. Their sound is thick, rich and muffled, very solid and serious.

Copper, like its various alloys, is the most popular winding material. These strings give out lilting, they are ideal for Spanish pieces of music, for accompaniment to dances, singing romances and much more. For example, a high-quality fight can be performed exclusively on copper. The only negative is the fragility, these strings have the shortest life.

What else influences the sound?

Beginning musicians, trying to achieve a satisfactory sound quality, often change the strings, throwing out quite good ones. And they do it just because it doesn't sound. This is another difference between a beginner in music and an experienced guitarist.

Besides the material of the winding and the type ofThe sound is affected by the height of the strings on an acoustic guitar. It is regulated above the fretboard, and it is on it that the quality of sound, the convenience of performance, and even the life of the strings largely depend.

Each musician chooses this parameter for himself, there is no single standard for “correct pitch”. It is determined personally, during the game, of course, not in an hour or even a month.

Beginners should take into account when tuning that strings pulled too low will definitely cling and rub against the frets, as well as rattle on chords. Too high tension will require a lot of effort from the fingers and the whole hand, especially on the central frets.

The tool itself affects the optimal height parameter. For a convex neck, one height is good, for a curved neck, another. The ratio of the thresholds also matters.

What does a regular set of strings look like?

In a standard set for a six-string guitar, only the 4th, 5th, 6th are always wound. But the 3rd string can have the thinnest winding in comparison with the others, but most often it is “bald” or “naked”. 1st and 2nd always remain unwound.

In stores, strings are sold exclusively in sets, which quite often causes bewilderment among novice musicians who need to replace only one that has burst. However, the sale of strings in sets is not due to the desire of sellers and manufacturers to cash in on beginners and inexperiencedguitarists. This is due to the fact that each part of the strings has certain technical characteristics of the nuances of sound. Acquired at random, one by one, strings from different factory batches almost never sound in unison.

And this moment is extremely important for getting high-quality sound. Even playing at home or performing in the park on a bench "for girls" on strings from different sets often gives a noticeable resonance to the listeners. And when the instrument is busy at venues with sound amplifiers, for example, in any of the clubs or cafes, sound defects are the first thing that “rushes into the ears”. Therefore, you should not look for advertisements for the sale of one string or a pair, you need to purchase a whole set.

Beginners don't have to be shy when choosing their first set with strings. You should ask about everything, no matter how ridiculous the question may seem to the most novice guitarist. Music is impossible without a good instrument, which, in turn, requires a thorough study by the owner.