The choice of which gauge string to use is a personal one, based on your playing style and the tone you are trying to achieve. When changing string gauge, especially when going heavier, the string tension may be significant enough to require adjustment to the setup of your guitar. Most beginning guitar players find extra light or light gauge strings the easiest to play. And they overall produce less volume and shorter sustain than heavier strings. Depending on your string height and neck relief (what is commonly termed "action"), you may be fine when you change gauge, or you may find you got buzz where there was none before. Both lighter and heavier gauges have pros and cons. Lighter gauges emphasize the guitar’s higher treble tones and produce less sustain. For convenience, an entire set of acoustic guitar strings is often called by the gauge of that high E string. For instance, a string gauge of .008 would be called an 8. If you decide to change your string gauges from the factory installed string gauges, please be sure to remember that the guitar may need to be set-up to accommodate this change. ), and the nut of your guitar is designed to hold a specific gauge range. :) The same is true for coated strings – they will be worth the slight extra cost for most people. However, guitar string thickness (gauge) is measured in increments of thousandths of an inch. What You'll Need . Can going to a lighter gauge result in buzzing? One last thing to consider: String gauge can have a … Acoustic Guitar String Gauges . For example, you if normally play lights you should be able to change to a custom light or medium light … Interestingly enough 8's will work bell with both Acoustic & Electric 12 String Guitars because for Acoustic Guitars the Nickel Wound Strings will produce a Darker more Full-bodied sound. 3. For instance, you can play through a set of light gauge strings. The Martin M170 acoustic guitar strings are excellent for beginners thanks to their thin gauge – 0.010-0.047 inches. If you have a certain gauge of string on your guitar, then the guitar is likely to be set up for that gauge. 8's are essentially Ultra-Light Gauge 12 String Guitar Strings, & that teeny tiny High G String doesn't break that much, because it's under very very low tension. Playability, bending, vibrato. A light high E string might be .012 while a heavy high E string might only be .014, which is a very small difference. Wire snips; Pliers (maybe) A cloth to wipe down guitar ; Guitar polish (optional) A "string winder" (optional but recommended) New guitar string I have an acoustic Ibanez guitar (AEL20E)originally equipped with D'Addario EXP strings (.012-.053)... would it be right to change them for lighter strings (D'Addario XL strings .010-.046) ?? Then check the intonation - adjust if necessary. If you are learning on a steel string guitar then a light or extra light gauge is recommended. A string of lower tension will arc wider than a string of higher tension. On the other hand, lighter-gauge strings break easier and are more prone to buzzing, especially in guitars with low action. At the extreme end of the scale spectrum are baritone guitars (see “Taking on the Tweener” in the March/April 2020 issue), which usually range from 27–30 inches in scale and are designed to be tuned down as far as a fifth below a standard guitar. They’re simpler to fret and work best for learning string bending and best string gauge for fingerstyle. If you change down by more than one gauge – e.g. Light strings on an electric guitar will have smaller gauges than light strings on an acoustic guitar. Elixir have popularized their own ‘Custom Light’ gauge of acoustic guitar string that measures at 0.011 – 0.052. medium- be careful and make certain with the manufacturer that your guitar was built for higher tension strings. Again, all other things being equal—you’re using the same wrap alloy, same brand, all that sort of stuff—a heavier gauge set of guitar strings is going to have a little bit more output than a lighter gauge set of guitar strings. As you work through bending, use a guitar strung with light-gauge strings, like an electric, or restring an acoustic with extra-light strings, being sure to not use a wound third string. Popular Acoustic Guitar Strings for Blues. A set of 0.009s are considered very light, while a set of 0.014s are considered very heavy. These are the string gauge sets: Producing treble notes. Conversely, you could also use a medium or thick gauge as well. Steel strings come in a variety of gauges and types of windings, and can also be manufactured from different types of metal. If you are changing more than one step in string gauge we recommend that you have the first change done professionally to ensure the set up remains comfortable, intonation accurate, and tone correct. Extra-light: For acoustic guitar strings, the term "extra-light" refers to .010 to .047 gauge strings (referring to the diameter in inches on the highest and lowest strings). If you are a professional musician playing live or recording music in the studio you are mostly going to be changing your strings every gig or studio session. Requiring little effort for pressing, these strings are significant for building finger strength in beginners. They’re not as loud and produce more fret buzz than others. Just like for electric guitars, acoustic guitar strings come in different gauges. Experimenting with string metals and gauges often unleashes creativity. It may also impact the performance of your guitar. Dunlop Strings is proud to partner with world renowned guitar expert Gary Brawer in the production of our new series RESTRING: WITH GARY BRAWER. Steel string gauges vary from extra light to extra heavy. As to going to thicker gauges e.g. Changing String Gauges. 1. If you’re looking for acoustic guitar strings for blues, the strings below are a good place to start. … This makes it a bit easier on our hands to get used to the stiffness of the acoustic guitar. When going from a lighter to a heavier gauge, it is important to make sure the nut has enough room to support the extra girth from the string. The standard ‘light gauge’ electric guitar string is 0.009, whereas the typical light gauge acoustic string is 0.012. Going to give light gauge strings a go on a J-45. Recently went from 10s to a hybrid set of 9s/10s on my electrics, and have found myself playing differently and better -- not to mention inspired. When going from a heavier to lighter gauge, you may experience some buzzing from the guitar. The gauge is the thickness of each string. I chat more about it in the video. I want to change my medium gauge .013-.056 to heavy gauge .014-.060; I have switched between light and medium gauges without much of a problem but would I need to adjust the truss rod switching to these heavy gauge acoustic strings? On an electric guitar, "extra-light" means .009 or even .008 gauge on the top string. The gauge will depend on what you’re looking for – the lighter ones are better for beginners! Yes, that possibility definitely exists. Martin Guitar Original Acoustic M170 Guitar Strings. String gauge is all-important when it comes to choosing the right acoustic strings for your guitar. Acoustic guitar players prefer a heavier gauge with a wound G string and a bronze finish. How often Should You Change Acoustic Guitar Strings? This may include checking the action, intonation, neck relief, pickup height, and nut slots of … Here is our tutorial on changing electric guitar strings. Electric guitar players tend to select nickel strings in a lighter gauge that do not have a wound G string. The next best thing about heavy gauge guitar strings is that in general, they give you more output. Changing Strings on an Acoustic Guitar - Removing the Sixth String These instructions apply to acoustic guitars. Overall, light-gauge strings are suitable for: Smaller-body acoustic guitars. (the instruction manual, that came with my guitar when i bought it, says that it's recommended to use strings of the same series as replacements) so, would it be right? Your guitar strings are one of the biggest factors that determine the quality of the overall sound and play-ability of your acoustic guitar. On the other hand, for a Marshall-style, midrange-heavy, tight-crunch tone, lighter strings with humbuckers and a gain-y amp—without too much bass in the preamp—will get you there. These strings may produce a better acoustic tone, but they’re very hard, sometimes impossible, to bend. The lighter the string gauge… It may be a good idea to take your guitar to a luthier for a setup after changing the strings. But how often should you change strings? Thanks For smaller bodied acoustic guitars, lighter gauge strings might complement the sound better, and vice-versa, with thicker strings a better fit sound-wise for larger bodied jumbo and concert models. Fingerpicking or subtle strumming. First thing with new string gauge, play it for 10 minutes and then check the relief - if it needs any adjusting at all it's probably to loosen it slightly - there's less pull from thinner strings. You have five main string gauges, known as Extra Light, Custom Light, Light, Medium and Heavy. Now on my acoustic guitar, I am still using the string that the guitar came with it from the factory. Acoustic strings typically come in gauges of extra light (.010-inch diameter) to heavy (.059 in. if you were to go from Medium (13s) to Extra Light (10s), then you would need to have your guitar set up to work with the 10s. Guitar strings are measured in 1/000th of an inch, and packaged in sets that are typically referred to by their thinnest string, the high E. And light strings for either can vary greatly between one manufacturer and another. What are your experiences going from heavier to lighter on acoustic? That is why…it’s far better to compare the actual diameters of the strings. Many acoustic guitars come equipped with "light" gauge acoustic guitar strings. It’s no secret that older acoustic guitars tend to sound better with age but the same cannot be said for guitar strings, which tend to sound dull and become more difficult to play as they age. When choosing a gauge, you really need to think about what type of blues you will be playing. These will have an easy feel. If you will be using a lot of bending, lighter strings will definitely help you with that. For a light set of electric guitar strings, the string gauges might run high to low, .009 to .042. The latter are also called "custom-light" strings. Aside from the comfort and playability factors, the wrong set of strings can potentially damage your guitar. This is probably a good place to start - if you are a heavy strummer and find yourself breaking strings often, you may want to consider buying slightly heavier gauged strings. Been playing medium for years.