Thank you for a very informative, thorough and comprehensive explanation of the differences between all the guitar strings. You made many valid points and your down to earth style is great to listen to as you don’t talk down to people who are watching who may be beginners or advanced.
Thank you. I never thought about the strain on the guitar. I assumed the differences was playability and that heavier strings had clearer notes compared to the lighter ones. Keep it up, cheers!
I'm 21 I customize my own set of Thomastik flatwounds I take the thin strings from a pack of Ernie Ball strings my custom set is 7/38 with an 18 flatwound wound third My tone sounds the same as if I was using regular strings my style is pretty much like Luther Perkins
Thanks again another spot on video. I feel I should return the favour and as I do SEO for a living I'd suggest you add this to the video description "Tags: D'addario, Ernie Ball, guitar string explainer, string tension, heavy gauge strings explained, medium gauge strings explained, heavy gauge strings, pro & cons". You will get more people finding these great resources then. Sorry to offer unasked for advice but karma and all that good stuff. Cheers again.
Good video, thank you! The dreadn likes my new gibsons coated 12s a whole orchestra of tones&brigthness more.. I grew anough skin on the fingers to chainge them & the elixers ive had before got me there in my opinion. Every stringset serves its perpose on differend gitars-sounds-playabillety. Just dont break the gitar by too tick of strings!!
For my Nylon String Guitars, I always use Ball End Nylon Strings (they do make Bridge Beads that allow you to convert Tie End Nylon Strings into Ball End Nylon Strings) which make restringing the Guitar a Snap, and it also lets the strings come out of the bridge at a steeper angle over the saddle.
I watch the video 4 times trying to decide on Medium to light after your explanation wich tell me u know what you are saying Tnks I play for many years always using da same Addario s once I use Ernie s but went back I play Acoustic.....Acoustic Electric.....Fender Strat and Strings are always on my normal budget.....4 times a year times 5 guitars....😁funny how money is spent when ur kids are grown. Tnk u n blessings u seem like a great guy....ttul
I remember when I started playing guitar 15 years ago, I put D'Addario mediums on my acoustic because I thought the same thing. I sure developed my calluses quickly but it wasn't a fun experience starting out. These days I've settled on custom-light as my go to.
As an electric player buying acoustic strings for the first time I thought the acoustic sizes looked insanity large. 10's on electric are the norm, and 9's are considered light. There was no way I was getting medium acoustic strings, but I wasn't sure if I was wrong in my chowing custom lights.
I'm 64 now and an ex pro. We used to use 8s or 9s were used for live work! They work I the high mids which let you cut through the mix. In a live situation,you get invited to go with friends to see a live band because they have a really good guitar player. All you can hear is, didly, didly, didly Dee, Dee, deeeeeee etc, very muffled too! You can use a boost pedal on solos but everyone has their fingers in their ears and when it's over, they say, they were good, but they knew it! They were too loud! It's because the strings are too heavy. If you use 8s or 9s at the most, this will not happen!!!!!! This is the old, old school coming out of me now! These are old basics coming out now. When live, it's easy to get low mids. Tone is exponentially thrown forward and it will get louder the higher and longer the room is. Hence the muffled sound. The mud frequency. The pressure zone. Their is only so much headroom? Heavy strings make things worse! Use 8s or 9s at the most. I'm begging you. I'm pleading with you. Don't do it!!!!! You're committing live suicide!!! You also get the Doppler effect (the fire engine going past effect) !bass players should use light strings too! This will sound stupid. They should use 10 inch speakers too. Get all the bass from the bass drum!!! This is not a guitar lesson, a lesson in live sound. Heavy strings are for anywhere but the live stage!!!! Don't do it. You'll be sorry! Listen to old granddad here. I won't lie!! Good luck, and peace to you all!!!!!!!
Very informative. I just got a used epiphone Texan inspired acoustic electric. I’ve tried light and it sounds very tinny and medium just sounds better. Do you think my guitar can handle mediums ?
Personally I love flat wound strings for how smooth and easy they are for sliding your fingers up and down the guitar fretboard and the sound is fantastic, only problem is they are rather difficult to find as very few music shops seem to keep them. And definitely nickel wound rather than bronze wound as the silver simply look great on most guitars. Great video thanks!
They definitely make a heavy for acoustic. I used them on my Taylor 214DLX, which is tuned down to C standard. If you stay a half step down and don’t want to lose volume, go for medium.
Hi, Mark. Something I came across a few months ago. Tried 12's on an American Standard, tuning a whole step down, all adjustments (truss rod, bridge, so forth) done. Did it trying to get a different "tone". It sounded terrible: dull, muddy, dead. Tried everything else: pickup height adjustment, EQ on the amp I use and in the end I gave up. Then, I did the same on a cheap Chinese made guitar I've had (and loved) for year. Ceramic pickups, body wood unknown, cheap pots etc. It sounded great: fat, lots of presence and a mellow tone which was what I aimed at. Something I'll never get to know (wood, maybe?) made all the difference along with the string gauge. Sometimes there is a little bit of alchemy and magic with guitars. Thanks again for your nice and informative videos, mate.
I fell into that trap as a beginner, went with the mediums because I didn't know much about strings. And now that I've learned to play I'm making the switch over to lights, which should be a breeze to play on since I have many years under my belt with the heavier gauge strings.
I second that. Short scale guitars have less tension is my understanding. Wouldn't heavier gauge strings be more applicable if you wanted to 'boost' your short scale guitar?
What best strings for a beginner,im 65 and have tried to learn guitar many times but get frustrated when i have difficulty making bar chords etc due to my short fingers,,im a drummer and have played in bands since i was 10,,now i want to learn to play guitar so i can play some somgs ive written over the past years
Dip your toes into DADGAD tuning as many of the chords are easier to play than the traditional chord shapes and DADGAD tuning gives you beautiful lush sound when played. There's lots of open tuning videos out there to you to check out.
While lighter gauge strings are easier to play they actually work better on a longer scale length since each string needs a certain amount of tension to make a good sound on a particular note. I managed to put a set of 7s on a Baritone Acoustic Tuned up to E Standard & it sounded rather interesting.
On my homemade electric guitar I use my own custom set of Thomastik flatwounds that I customize myself I take the thin light strings from an Ernie Ball pack my custom string set is 7/38 Thomastik flatwounds with an 18 flatwound wound third My tone sounds the same is regular old heavy strings Play country rockabilly bluegrass and Blues
Strange that this gent, who sells guitars says that Daddario don't make "heavy" acoustic strings - Ej18/19. However I really don't think they are necessary for most. Medium gauge Ej17 (13-56) ARE standard for larger guitars such as dreads, archtops, resonators. (Lights (12-43) are for smaller guitars, 000 and smaller. I know of one player who uses lighter tan lights on is OM, but I don't know of anyone else that used extra/ultra lights.
Concerning acoustics, you should have mentioned belly bulge and the influence of humidity on the results of string pull! I bought a wonderful used Sigma with extremely low action (1,5mm low E and 1,0mm high E at 12th fret, with absolutely no buzz and 0,3mm neck relief), strung with 11-52's. In my damp house, the action went to 2,5 - 2,0 in less than six months, due to belly bulge. I should have taken those strings off earlier, but I'll never know if that would have saved it... Now I've strung it with 9-45's, that will be much easier on the top. I suspect solid wood tops are more subject to belly bulge than laminated ones, too.
i have a small body cheap acoustic, i just put a pack of 11-52s alice strings and they died quite fast. im planning on changing to some D'addario extra lights 10-50s see how it holds up.
I use 11s on my Avalon's and Lowden's. They come from the workshop with 12s but I find them a little hard on my fingers as I play about 4 or 5 hours a day.
I use nines on my electrics for bending and I use twelves on my acoustic because that's what it came with and I only bought it less than two months ago. The other thing that should be addressed is ease of access. For electrics, nines and tens are the norm so being used to those sizes is beneficial because it means that you can play pretty much anything. For acoustics, I think that twelves are best because they give good sound and they aren't that difficult to get used to. Once again, since pretty much EVERY acoustic guitar comes with twelves on it, being used to playing twelves on an acoustic will make any acoustic that you want to try in a store feel comfortable and familiar. I should add the caveat that I had been playing electric for a good amount of time before I bought my acoustic dreadnought and I really don't think that an acoustic is a good idea for a beginner. Electrics are slimmer, more ergonomic and have thinner strings which is so much easier on the fingers. I didn't dare try to play an acoustic until I decided that my fingers were callused enough to not be in agony from the thicker strings. Now, some say that starting on an acoustic is better because it gives you better finger strength (and harder calluses) faster and there is merit to that but I don't think that's the norm. For a beginner, the most important thing is that they practice and to practice you have to PLAY. Fingertips are among the most sensitive parts of the human body so the pain that a beginner feels is REAL. Pain is your body saying "I REALLY DON'T WANNA DO THIS!" and your mind will want to follow suit. I believe that it's a far better thing for a beginner to take every possible action to mitigate the pain and work their way up. Nines are pretty reasonable but sevens and eights work too. Even though it will take longer to build calluses and finger strength, it doesn't matter because the most time-consuming part of learning guitar is chord shapes and transitions. Learning those gives you more than enough time to build strength and calluses for playing twelves on an acoustic with twelves. There will be a period of adjustment, but it won't be agonising and a beginner will be very encouraged that they're finding playing an acoustic to be far easier than they expected. That's how it was for me, in fact, I absolutely fell in love with playing acoustic the first time I tried after having played electric for a good long time. So much so that I bought an acoustic the day I tried them. There was an adjustment period (less than a week) and I now play it every single day to practice on.
An advantage to 12's and 13's is the wound third (G) It makes it so a open D cord has the fifth on a wound string, also you can play power chords off the D string It doesn't make much difference if you use distortion but it's noticeable clean
Really enjoy your videos. Always interesting. In this one, you don't talk about the thing I have the most difficulty with. Should I buy Phosphor Bronze, wound nickel, etc.? What's the tonal difference when using different alloys? Also, while you cover string weights ad nauseum in this video, you don't really speak to a question/debate I have with my other guitarists friends: do lighter gauge strings "weaken" tone/make things sound thin?
Usually the left handed version of the same guitar costs 10-20% more. It'd likely that either they don't make a cheap left handed, or they're not the same model being compared.
I Am Having To Tune 2 Frets And Use Capo On 2 Fret And There Still Put A Lot Of Stress On my Guitar using Elixir 80/20 Bronze Nano Web light Gauge Do not Know Whats Rong
Whats the best guitar to buy that easy to chord and play in a affordable price range,,i remember i use to play around with a les paul electric a friend had and it was heavy but easy to chord and play
So I am a SRV fanboy/wannabe….but never bought into that “heavy gauge = big tone fiction” I’ve played Billy Gibbons 7’s since they came out, and always get compliments on tone. Personally, I think what pick you use (or don’t use, and how you hold it) changes tone far more than any string gauge.
Question. I tune to D standard on my Les Paul and Schecter and they sound good, they have 10s. I tune to D standard on my Yamaha and it sounds like garbage, it has 9s. Is string gauge size the factor here?
Hello! Thanks for sharing. Which gauge strings would you use on a J-200 jumbo, either Gibson or Epiphone? I don't play hard, more arpeggio style guitar playing, e.i., Greg Lake. Thanks for any input, and blessings from Michigan.
Try both and see which one's you like. Jumbo guitar are made for increased volume and are great guitars for strummers so if you do a lot of that then 11s or 12s would be fine. I wouldn't go any heavier though. I prefer 11s myself.
12 to 53 is definitely not “light”. 11 to 52 “custom light” is medium. This is the sweet spot. “Extra light” is light, good choice for a 12 string (tuned down to D) to be kind to the guitar, offsetting the added tension of 6 more strings. “Super light” (9 to 45) is extra light. Very noticeable loss in volume and sustain. Also, the 1st string can break by just tuning up the first time. Definitely not for going on the road. But they bend super easy, and if you have a high action vintage guitar with the truss maxed out and the saddle as low as possible, this gauge will likely allow the neck enough extra back-bow to eek out some lower action.
I still can't decided between 12 or 11s for my acoustics .For decades I am still evaluating more tone and volume with the 12s but prefer the easier playability with 11,ime in a permanent stalemate lol
With new guitars, yes, but the most popular string in electric is still the 10s. They outsell the 9s to the one. The 12s out sell the 13s and acoustic about three to one. And no one even carries heavy acoustic strings anymore except for low tunings.
I used to use medium strings on acoustics. Last year I switched to light and I can feel like the guitar is easier to play and much easier to bend the strings
I’m trying Ernie Ball Extra Light 80-20’s at the moment 10-14-20-30-40-50 on my D18 They sound very balanced and are much easier to play. The volume difference doesn’t matter to me because I plug in 90% of the time unless I’m just noodling around.
Addendum: Took them off. “G” was buzzing and no matter how I adjusted the relief, I couldn’t correct it. Put the 12-54 80-20’s back on. Experiment over.
![The Best String Gauge For Guitar [Ultimate Guide]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Xq47umcIEA4/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Best String Gauge For Guitar [Ultimate Guide]](/img/tr.png)
Best video on guitar strings ever. Directions to this video should come with every guitar.
Thank you for a very informative, thorough and comprehensive explanation of the differences between all the guitar strings. You made many valid points and your down to earth style is great to listen to as you don’t talk down to people who are watching who may be beginners or advanced.
Excellent Guy 👏🏼 everything you said is accurate and it’s what everyone thinks
Just headed out the door to get some acoustic strings for an inexpensive guitar.. Extremely helpful.. Light it is
Hi mate, finally a no nonsense explanation without attitude,
Thank you.
I never thought about the strain on the guitar. I assumed the differences was playability and that heavier strings had clearer notes compared to the lighter ones.
Keep it up, cheers!
B B King said why you working so hard as to why he used 8's
@@magooinlalouisian11's dont feel like work to me
This is the best 10000% video on guitar strings.
Thank you. Really enjoyed the way you explained and described the strings. :)
Brilliant. Just what I wanted as a beginner. Thanks.
Interesting stuff, excellent, I use 11/52 pretty much usefull for all 😊
I'm 21 I customize my own set of Thomastik flatwounds I take the thin strings from a pack of Ernie Ball strings my custom set is
7/38 with an
18 flatwound wound third
My tone sounds the same as if I was using regular strings my style is pretty much like Luther Perkins
Great information. I like 9's on my Strat, and 11's on my Martin.
I put 12 on my Martin and then tune down to E flat. Works pretty good for me
I like 12s and E flat tuning. Nice tone and comfortable to play
Thanks again another spot on video. I feel I should return the favour and as I do SEO for a living I'd suggest you add this to the video description "Tags: D'addario, Ernie Ball, guitar string explainer, string tension, heavy gauge strings explained, medium gauge strings explained, heavy gauge strings, pro & cons". You will get more people finding these great resources then. Sorry to offer unasked for advice but karma and all that good stuff. Cheers again.
Thanks for the tip, also as you know comments are helpful too so we appreciate the comments, anytime.
Good video, thank you!
The dreadn likes my new gibsons coated 12s a whole orchestra of tones&brigthness more..
I grew anough skin on the fingers to chainge them & the elixers ive had before got me there in my opinion. Every stringset serves its perpose on differend gitars-sounds-playabillety.
Just dont break the gitar by too tick of strings!!
Nice work
For my Nylon String Guitars, I always use Ball End Nylon Strings (they do make Bridge Beads that allow you to convert Tie End Nylon Strings into Ball End Nylon Strings) which make restringing the Guitar a Snap, and it also lets the strings come out of the bridge at a steeper angle over the saddle.
I watch the video 4 times trying to decide on Medium to light after your explanation wich tell me u know what you are saying Tnks I play for many years always using da same Addario s once I use Ernie s but went back I play Acoustic.....Acoustic Electric.....Fender Strat and Strings are always on my normal budget.....4 times a year times 5 guitars....😁funny how money is spent when ur kids are grown. Tnk u n blessings u seem like a great guy....ttul
I remember when I started playing guitar 15 years ago, I put D'Addario mediums on my acoustic because I thought the same thing. I sure developed my calluses quickly but it wasn't a fun experience starting out. These days I've settled on custom-light as my go to.
As an electric player buying acoustic strings for the first time I thought the acoustic sizes looked insanity large. 10's on electric are the norm, and 9's are considered light. There was no way I was getting medium acoustic strings, but I wasn't sure if I was wrong in my chowing custom lights.
Finally straight talk .. thank you
Great information! Thanks very much!
I'm 64 now and an ex pro. We used to use 8s or 9s were used for live work! They work I the high mids which let you cut through the mix. In a live situation,you get invited to go with friends to see a live band because they have a really good guitar player. All you can hear is, didly, didly, didly Dee, Dee, deeeeeee etc, very muffled too! You can use a boost pedal on solos but everyone has their fingers in their ears and when it's over, they say, they were good, but they knew it! They were too loud!
It's because the strings are too heavy. If you use 8s or 9s at the most, this will not happen!!!!!! This is the old, old school coming out of me now!
These are old basics coming out now. When live, it's easy to get low mids. Tone is exponentially thrown forward and it will get louder the higher and longer the room is. Hence the muffled sound. The mud frequency. The pressure zone. Their is only so much headroom?
Heavy strings make things worse! Use 8s or 9s at the most.
I'm begging you. I'm pleading with you. Don't do it!!!!! You're committing live suicide!!! You also get the Doppler effect (the fire engine going past effect) !bass players should use light strings too! This will sound stupid. They should use 10 inch speakers too. Get all the bass from the bass drum!!!
This is not a guitar lesson, a lesson in live sound. Heavy strings are for anywhere but the live stage!!!! Don't do it. You'll be sorry! Listen to old granddad here. I won't lie!! Good luck, and peace to you all!!!!!!!
Very informative. I just got a used epiphone Texan inspired acoustic electric. I’ve tried light and it sounds very tinny and medium just sounds better. Do you think my guitar can handle mediums ?
Personally I love flat wound strings for how smooth and easy they are for sliding your fingers up and down the guitar fretboard and the sound is fantastic, only problem is they are rather difficult to find as very few music shops seem to keep them. And definitely nickel wound rather than bronze wound as the silver simply look great on most guitars. Great video thanks!
100% Extra light should be called light, light should be called mediums, etc.
Me I prefer medium rare!
No peppersauce for me pls. The stains are non removable!
thanks for your advice
Excellent! Very informative. Thanks!
Love your informative videos.
They definitely make a heavy for acoustic. I used them on my Taylor 214DLX, which is tuned down to C standard.
If you stay a half step down and don’t want to lose volume, go for medium.
Interesting and helpful, cheers Gary, subscribed.
Hi, Mark. Something I came across a few months ago. Tried 12's on an American Standard, tuning a whole step down, all adjustments (truss rod, bridge, so forth) done. Did it trying to get a different "tone". It sounded terrible: dull, muddy, dead. Tried everything else: pickup height adjustment, EQ on the amp I use and in the end I gave up. Then, I did the same on a cheap Chinese made guitar I've had (and loved) for year. Ceramic pickups, body wood unknown, cheap pots etc. It sounded great: fat, lots of presence and a mellow tone which was what I aimed at. Something I'll never get to know (wood, maybe?) made all the difference along with the string gauge. Sometimes there is a little bit of alchemy and magic with guitars. Thanks again for your nice and informative videos, mate.
sounds like luck had something to do with it as well.
Very informative. Thank you!
I fell into that trap as a beginner, went with the mediums because I didn't know much about strings.
And now that I've learned to play I'm making the switch over to lights, which should be a breeze to play on since I have many years under my belt with the heavier gauge strings.
That was very helpful thank you 👍
I am rather puzzled by the suggestion to go for extra light on a short scale guitar?
I second that. Short scale guitars have less tension is my understanding. Wouldn't heavier gauge strings be more applicable if you wanted to 'boost' your short scale guitar?
Heavy gauge strings are also used specifically for lower tunings, i.e. I use 12-53 for D tuning.
Thart light top/medium bottom. Heavy would be 14s
My Martin D-28 came with mediums (13- 56), and I wonder if I should switch to 12’s.
I have d-28 as well 13 are perty hard to play but sound good
What best strings for a beginner,im 65 and have tried to learn guitar many times but get frustrated when i have difficulty making bar chords etc due to my short fingers,,im a drummer and have played in bands since i was 10,,now i want to learn to play guitar so i can play some somgs ive written over the past years
Dip your toes into DADGAD tuning as many of the chords are easier to play than the traditional chord shapes and DADGAD tuning gives you beautiful lush sound when played. There's lots of open tuning videos out there to you to check out.
While lighter gauge strings are easier to play they actually work better on a longer scale length since each string needs a certain amount of tension to make a good sound on a particular note. I managed to put a set of 7s on a Baritone Acoustic Tuned up to E Standard & it sounded rather interesting.
On my homemade electric guitar I use my own custom set of Thomastik flatwounds that I customize myself I take the thin light strings from an Ernie Ball pack my custom string set is 7/38 Thomastik flatwounds with an 18 flatwound wound third
My tone sounds the same is regular old heavy strings
Play country rockabilly bluegrass and Blues
Gary know's his shit and helped me a ton!
Strange that this gent, who sells guitars says that Daddario don't make "heavy" acoustic strings - Ej18/19. However I really don't think they are necessary for most.
Medium gauge Ej17 (13-56) ARE standard for larger guitars such as dreads, archtops, resonators. (Lights (12-43) are for smaller guitars, 000 and smaller.
I know of one player who uses lighter tan lights on is OM, but I don't know of anyone else that used extra/ultra lights.
D'addario makes them... We don't sell them.
Concerning acoustics, you should have mentioned belly bulge and the influence of humidity on the results of string pull! I bought a wonderful used Sigma with extremely low action (1,5mm low E and 1,0mm high E at 12th fret, with absolutely no buzz and 0,3mm neck relief), strung with 11-52's. In my damp house, the action went to 2,5 - 2,0 in less than six months, due to belly bulge. I should have taken those strings off earlier, but I'll never know if that would have saved it... Now I've strung it with 9-45's, that will be much easier on the top. I suspect solid wood tops are more subject to belly bulge than laminated ones, too.
i have a small body cheap acoustic, i just put a pack of 11-52s alice strings and they died quite fast. im planning on changing to some D'addario extra lights 10-50s see how it holds up.
It might have more to do with the brand than the light or extra light difference.
My perfect solution is 11 - 50 if you can find them!
The one strings I trust are Erine Ball.
I use 11s on my Avalon's and Lowden's. They come from the workshop with 12s but I find them a little hard on my fingers as I play about 4 or 5 hours a day.
I use nines on my electrics for bending and I use twelves on my acoustic because that's what it came with and I only bought it less than two months ago.
The other thing that should be addressed is ease of access. For electrics, nines and tens are the norm so being used to those sizes is beneficial because it means that you can play pretty much anything. For acoustics, I think that twelves are best because they give good sound and they aren't that difficult to get used to. Once again, since pretty much EVERY acoustic guitar comes with twelves on it, being used to playing twelves on an acoustic will make any acoustic that you want to try in a store feel comfortable and familiar.
I should add the caveat that I had been playing electric for a good amount of time before I bought my acoustic dreadnought and I really don't think that an acoustic is a good idea for a beginner. Electrics are slimmer, more ergonomic and have thinner strings which is so much easier on the fingers. I didn't dare try to play an acoustic until I decided that my fingers were callused enough to not be in agony from the thicker strings.
Now, some say that starting on an acoustic is better because it gives you better finger strength (and harder calluses) faster and there is merit to that but I don't think that's the norm. For a beginner, the most important thing is that they practice and to practice you have to PLAY. Fingertips are among the most sensitive parts of the human body so the pain that a beginner feels is REAL. Pain is your body saying "I REALLY DON'T WANNA DO THIS!" and your mind will want to follow suit.
I believe that it's a far better thing for a beginner to take every possible action to mitigate the pain and work their way up. Nines are pretty reasonable but sevens and eights work too. Even though it will take longer to build calluses and finger strength, it doesn't matter because the most time-consuming part of learning guitar is chord shapes and transitions. Learning those gives you more than enough time to build strength and calluses for playing twelves on an acoustic with twelves.
There will be a period of adjustment, but it won't be agonising and a beginner will be very encouraged that they're finding playing an acoustic to be far easier than they expected. That's how it was for me, in fact, I absolutely fell in love with playing acoustic the first time I tried after having played electric for a good long time. So much so that I bought an acoustic the day I tried them. There was an adjustment period (less than a week) and I now play it every single day to practice on.
I started with 10-47's and recently bought some Elixir Polyweb 80/20's in 12-56. Where would the 12-56es fit?
An advantage to 12's and 13's is the wound third (G)
It makes it so a open D cord has the fifth on a wound string, also you can play power chords off the D string
It doesn't make much difference if you use distortion but it's noticeable clean
good point. They make 11's with a wound G too
Thank you 😊
Really enjoy your videos. Always interesting.
In this one, you don't talk about the thing I have the most difficulty with. Should I buy Phosphor Bronze, wound nickel, etc.? What's the tonal difference when using different alloys? Also, while you cover string weights ad nauseum in this video, you don't really speak to a question/debate I have with my other guitarists friends: do lighter gauge strings "weaken" tone/make things sound thin?
sir. what is the best gauge for laminated top?
thanks God bless
thank you very much!! you're awesome!!
I’m curious as to what your logic/thought about the correlation between scale length and appropriate/optimal string gauge is?
Thx, Mark.
Nice job
Gary I have a question for you I was wondering why takamine sells a right-handed 12 string for $699 and a left-handed 12-string for $1,900 thank you
Usually the left handed version of the same guitar costs 10-20% more. It'd likely that either they don't make a cheap left handed, or they're not the same model being compared.
@GarysGuitarsUSA thank you I appreciate it I know we went off topic there but I appreciate your answer thank you
My Guild Jumbo Jr came with medium gauge strings. Heard it’s because of the shorter scale? 🎸✌🏻
I Am Having To Tune 2 Frets And Use Capo On 2 Fret And There Still Put A Lot Of Stress On my Guitar using Elixir 80/20 Bronze Nano Web light Gauge Do not Know Whats Rong
What do the numbers mean?
Whats the best guitar to buy that easy to chord and play in a affordable price range,,i remember i use to play around with a les paul electric a friend had and it was heavy but easy to chord and play
So I am a SRV fanboy/wannabe….but never bought into that “heavy gauge = big tone fiction” I’ve played Billy Gibbons 7’s since they came out, and always get compliments on tone. Personally, I think what pick you use (or don’t use, and how you hold it) changes tone far more than any string gauge.
Nice and concise
Has anybody every done a video on the difference between Fender super 250s and original 150s? What is the difference?
Why do the Daddario "12" string set only come with 8 strings?
Question. I tune to D standard on my Les Paul and Schecter and they sound
good, they have 10s. I tune to D standard on my Yamaha and it sounds like
garbage, it has 9s. Is string gauge size the factor here?
I always choose strings by the actual gauge eg 0008 or 0010 to whatever thickness I want
I use hybrid Ernie ball
Hello! Thanks for sharing. Which gauge strings would you use on a J-200 jumbo, either Gibson or Epiphone? I don't play hard, more arpeggio style guitar playing, e.i., Greg Lake. Thanks for any input, and blessings from Michigan.
Try both and see which one's you like. Jumbo guitar are made for increased volume and are great guitars for strummers so if you do a lot of that then 11s or 12s would be fine. I wouldn't go any heavier though. I prefer 11s myself.
12 to 53 is definitely not “light”. 11 to 52 “custom light” is medium. This is the sweet spot. “Extra light” is light, good choice for a 12 string (tuned down to D) to be kind to the guitar, offsetting the added tension of 6 more strings.
“Super light” (9 to 45) is extra light. Very noticeable loss in volume and sustain. Also, the 1st string can break by just tuning up the first time. Definitely not for going on the road.
But they bend super easy, and if you have a high action vintage guitar with the truss maxed out and the saddle as low as possible, this gauge will likely allow the neck enough extra back-bow to eek out some lower action.
I still can't decided between 12 or 11s for my acoustics .For decades I am still evaluating more tone and volume with the 12s but prefer the easier playability with 11,ime in a permanent stalemate lol
I'd use 12s if you're comfortable with open tuning or playing in DADGAD tuning. Otherwise I'd use 11s and save some skin on your fingers.
If you find a way to grow stronger skin let me know😂
Ernie Ball 11.5 custom lights sound like the answer from above ...
That GEORGE shirt, i have the same shirt!!!
Martin D18 & HD28 come with Medium 13’s
Martin ships their dreadnoughts with Mediums 13-56.
Because they were designed for that string tension.
I just wanted to clarify his statement at 1:25 that “All the major companies ship their guitars with light strings, generally.”
In new electric guitars extra light is the norm. 9-42. I am referring to MOST new electric guitars.
With new guitars, yes, but the most popular string in electric is still the 10s. They outsell the 9s to the one. The 12s out sell the 13s and acoustic about three to one. And no one even carries heavy acoustic strings anymore except for low tunings.
Sorted, cheers mate. 😅
I play 9-46…what are those considered? The normal extra light gauge I see are 9-42…
on electric those are "regular light"
Which gauge do you recommend for C tunning?
13-56 for full scale
Now that I heard this I don't want to take a chance with medium or heavy strings on my old acoustics
We need a new standard of measurement for guitar strings obviously
The Coca Cola of Strings. Love it
Dammit,SRV de-tuned to E flat also...much LESS tension on the neck !!!!!
0:24 😂😂😂😂😂
I used to use medium strings on acoustics. Last year I switched to light and I can feel like the guitar is easier to play and much easier to bend the strings
Yeah…..no shit
I’m trying Ernie Ball Extra Light 80-20’s at the moment 10-14-20-30-40-50 on my D18
They sound very balanced and are much easier to play. The volume difference doesn’t matter to me because I plug in 90% of the time unless I’m just noodling around.
Addendum:
Took them off. “G” was buzzing and no matter how I adjusted the relief, I couldn’t correct it.
Put the 12-54 80-20’s back on. Experiment over.
Light strings on my telecaster just pull Am out of tune. On my Ibanez it's even worse.
👍
Daddarrio make the best acoustic AND electric
they are damn good strings
I just put 10's on my acoustic just because I thought that would make it easier to do bends...
try .8 super easy to bend but the con is if you're a fingerstyle player. there's always accidental bend
if you don't play 9.5s you're a peasant
because DAddaria is a Coca-Cola of strings I will never buy it again, I hate Coca-Cola...