Can you play the guitar without strings?
No?
Well thеn, the strings should be important, right?
For this week I made a short review of the different guitar strings.
Here it goes:))
When you choose or buy a guitar remember to ask the question: how thick are the strings?
When you buy a guitar it usually comes with the factory strings and set up. This is important to keep in mind.
The first question here is: How thick are the strings on this guitar? You should ask the question while choosing the instrument. If it feels nice, soft and easy, but the set is o.o9, then it may not be so nice with 0.10 thickness. You should consider also that the guitar might need a "Set Up". This is also good to know, because most of the mass factory guitars are not perfectly set in the factory. Also, you may preffer the strings as low as possible, which makes the guitar easier to play or a bit higher that assures clearer tone. Do not forget to buy some strings with the desired thickness along with the guitar. It would also be useful to get a tuner of some kind. Tuning is easy nowadays:)) My advice is go home and change the strings immediately, make the intonation and set up or find someone to do it for you.
How often should you change the strings?
Well, this is totally up to your individual preference, but I will tell you what I do:
Home Practice:
When I am only practicing, I change the strings every other week. However, I have several guitars and play selectively on all of them. As the strings age, the guitar does not stay in tune as long and also does not feel as good and easy to play. Bending is also harder. The sound is not good too (Yes, even if you use a lot of distortion:))
Rehearsal:
If I play with a band, I change the strings weekly. This way the guitar will stay in tune longer, and I won't waste everyone’s time tuning. I have 2-3 spare packs of strings with me at all rehearsals.
Studio recording:
I change the strings before each song!
If I record one song for more than a day, I change the strings before every recording day. This may sound like too much, but the sound engineer spends hours finding the best tone for you, so you should really help him out the best way you can! Each little detail matters for the quality of the sound. Besides, the next day the guitar sounds different. If you can not hear the difference yet, don't worry - in time you will.
How to keep my strings in shape?
The best way is to clean the guitar and the strings with a soft cloth each time you play the guitar.
This way any grease will be removed and the strings will stay "fresh" longer.
What brand of strings?
Hmm most of the string manufacturers are making great strings! You can try different brands and see for yourselves. I will give you some of the companies that I like and use below.
My favorites are probably Eliksir, D'Addario and Ernie Ball. Keep in mind that all of the guitar heroes are advertising some strings, but it does not mean that these strings are better than the other. The rule here is: the best strings are the new strings:))
My strings:
Electric 6 string guitar:
Note inches mm lbs kg
E 0.010 0.25 16.2 7.35
B 0.013 0.33 15.4 6.98
G 0.017 0.43 16.6 7.53
D 0.026 0.66 18.4 8.34
A 0.036 0.91 19.5 8.84
E 0.046 1.17 17.5 7.94
Acoustic 6 string guitar:
Note inches mm lbs kg
E 0.010 0.25 16.2 7.35
B 0.014 0.36 17.8 8.07
G 0.023 0.58 27.2 12.34
D 0.03 0.76 26.2 11.88
A 0.039 0.99 24.5 11.11
E 0.047 1.19 19.9 9.03
Here is a list of my TOP Guitar Strings Brands. You can also watch the video called “How to Restring Guitars With a Stop-Bar Tailpiece” – very interesting and useful.
Best
4040
Well thеn, the strings should be important, right?
For this week I made a short review of the different guitar strings.
Here it goes:))
When you choose or buy a guitar remember to ask the question: how thick are the strings?
When you buy a guitar it usually comes with the factory strings and set up. This is important to keep in mind.
The first question here is: How thick are the strings on this guitar? You should ask the question while choosing the instrument. If it feels nice, soft and easy, but the set is o.o9, then it may not be so nice with 0.10 thickness. You should consider also that the guitar might need a "Set Up". This is also good to know, because most of the mass factory guitars are not perfectly set in the factory. Also, you may preffer the strings as low as possible, which makes the guitar easier to play or a bit higher that assures clearer tone. Do not forget to buy some strings with the desired thickness along with the guitar. It would also be useful to get a tuner of some kind. Tuning is easy nowadays:)) My advice is go home and change the strings immediately, make the intonation and set up or find someone to do it for you.
How often should you change the strings?
Well, this is totally up to your individual preference, but I will tell you what I do:
Home Practice:
When I am only practicing, I change the strings every other week. However, I have several guitars and play selectively on all of them. As the strings age, the guitar does not stay in tune as long and also does not feel as good and easy to play. Bending is also harder. The sound is not good too (Yes, even if you use a lot of distortion:))
Rehearsal:
If I play with a band, I change the strings weekly. This way the guitar will stay in tune longer, and I won't waste everyone’s time tuning. I have 2-3 spare packs of strings with me at all rehearsals.
Studio recording:
I change the strings before each song!
If I record one song for more than a day, I change the strings before every recording day. This may sound like too much, but the sound engineer spends hours finding the best tone for you, so you should really help him out the best way you can! Each little detail matters for the quality of the sound. Besides, the next day the guitar sounds different. If you can not hear the difference yet, don't worry - in time you will.
How to keep my strings in shape?
The best way is to clean the guitar and the strings with a soft cloth each time you play the guitar.
This way any grease will be removed and the strings will stay "fresh" longer.
What brand of strings?
Hmm most of the string manufacturers are making great strings! You can try different brands and see for yourselves. I will give you some of the companies that I like and use below.
My favorites are probably Eliksir, D'Addario and Ernie Ball. Keep in mind that all of the guitar heroes are advertising some strings, but it does not mean that these strings are better than the other. The rule here is: the best strings are the new strings:))
My strings:
Electric 6 string guitar:
Note inches mm lbs kg
E 0.010 0.25 16.2 7.35
B 0.013 0.33 15.4 6.98
G 0.017 0.43 16.6 7.53
D 0.026 0.66 18.4 8.34
A 0.036 0.91 19.5 8.84
E 0.046 1.17 17.5 7.94
Acoustic 6 string guitar:
Note inches mm lbs kg
E 0.010 0.25 16.2 7.35
B 0.014 0.36 17.8 8.07
G 0.023 0.58 27.2 12.34
D 0.03 0.76 26.2 11.88
A 0.039 0.99 24.5 11.11
E 0.047 1.19 19.9 9.03
Here is a list of my TOP Guitar Strings Brands. You can also watch the video called “How to Restring Guitars With a Stop-Bar Tailpiece” – very interesting and useful.
Best
4040
