Strings Strings Strings

String type is a totally personal thing...

Some love the ease of lighter gauge strings on the fingers, while others can't go past the tone they get from heavy gauges

There are some trade off's though...

the heavier the gauge, the stronger your fingers need to be to play cleanly (but you are rewarded with a full, ringing tone)

the lighter the gauge, the easier it is to fret notes cleanly and bending strings is easier (but the lighter you go, the "tinnier" it sounds)

If you change string gauges, you may need to adjust your truss rod (heavier strings exert more tension on the neck and usually require the truss rod to be tightened to compensate for the extra stress applied to the neck) also, a thicker gauge string tends to raise the action on your guitar... a setup will fix this but every time you change your string gauge, a setup will be needed to achieve maximum playability..

My advice is to start with a light gauge (maybe 0.11's) and critically listen to you playing...
Are you getting fret buzz from not accurately/correctly fretting notes .. especially barre chords ??? if so, you should work on your technique before going to a heavier gauge....
If your playing is accurate but the tone is a little bit "thin" you should try a heavier gauge string and see if you like it... As i said before it is harder on the fingers but the payoff comes with a fuller tone.

Don't be scared to buy a few sets of strings in different gauges and see what you like.. experiment a bit.. (these can be cheap until you settle on a size you like)

Good luck

J

ya. strings are personal.
I donot like thin strings. nines are to tinny and thin sounding. sure they are easier on the fingers etc.
I use Ernie Ball Super Slinkys. 10-46.
they are nickel too, which I feel has the best tone. something about nickel coatings that feel nice. they dont cost an arm and a leg either. good utilitarian strings.

I also like the super slinkys :D I even put them on one of my acoustics. 10-46 on the acoustic and the 335 Dot and 9's on the other electrics. I've used Ernie Ball strings since I was a teenager( thats been a long time :lol: ).

Ok, so I have an electric/acoustic guitar, newly bought.

Meaning an acoustic guitar that has electronics, or an electric guitar that has a piezo pickup to give acoustic sounds?

LOL

yeah I guess I miffed that one up :shock: , but this is the beginner section :lol:

It is an Acoustic with electronics :)

acoustic/electric works for me...and ya know, I missed that part.
I assumed it was an electric.
so Ernie Ball 10-46 will NOT be a good choice.
those are for electric guitars.not acoustic and acoustic/elec.

for my acoustic whuich is also electric I use D'Addarrios bronze phosphor.
I forget the gauge. I use Martin guidlines, as that is what I have.

my bad.

I've been using strings from WebString exclusively now. http://www.webstrings.com

Super cheap, under 3 bucks a set. Every sort you would need. On my acoustic, I use what they call a "Bluegrass" set. The smaller strings are .012s, and the larger strings are from a standard 0.13 set. For my guitar, this beefs up the bottom end some, while not sacrificing the playability for it.

They are good qualtiy. You will change them more often than Elixer, for sure. But at $3 per set, you can change 5 times for one set of those Elixers!

I would just go to the music store with like 20 bucks and buy a few packs and use each set for a week or two (or less if you don't like them). The best way is to just try a whole bunch out and see what you like. I was using Ernie balls on my electric and wanted to try some out and i did this and just ended up using Ernie balls in the end.