guitar string choice

kevjns · #1 January 15th, 2008

what are good strings to get as a total newbie ive been told as my yamaha cam out of a box the strings will be really bad cheepy ones and i should change them but been new i dont really know what to ask for ie diffrent sizes ect,I do find i have trouble with the bigger strings and i have big fingers seem to cross 2 all the time.So any recomendations would be great

thanks in advance

kev

allthumbs · #2 January 15th, 2008

There is a trade off between string gauge and tone. The heavier the string, the warmer the tone. I personally would not go lower than 11s unless you have a finger picking guitar with very low action then maybe 10s

kevjns · #3 January 15th, 2008

ahh right thanks for the advice any recomendation on brands been looking threw ebay and there are loads

Stratrat · #4 January 15th, 2008

Most brands are decent, and I don't know of any that are truly bad. I've used D'Addario, Fender, GHS, Ernie Ball, Elixir, etc. on my guitars and don't have anything bad to say about any of them. At this stage of your learning you really won't notice any differences (except string gauge!), so buy whatever strings are within your budget and easy to find, and change them often (at least every couple months or so). If you can buy over the internet, I've heard good things about Webstrings - very inexpensive, and a lot of people who've bought them say they're good strings (I haven't tried them yet.)

P-90 · #5 January 15th, 2008

There is one additional aspect to guitar strings that I plan on checking out for myself one of these days. My setup is pretty bright sounding, and sometimes as I move around the neck I can get some pretty shrill squeaking, running my fingers up or down a fat, round-wound string. I have bad memories of what it's like when flatwound strings go bad, but half rounds seem like they might be a good compromise.

Any half round users out there who'd care to comment?

kevjns · #6 January 17th, 2008

ok looked about and im thinking of getting these 3 Pack, Fender 150L, Original 150s, Electric 9-42 im a bit confused on the sizes tho im getting 9 to 42 cause they were oon the guitar form the box should i go bigger or smaller for diffrent sounds ie im lurning to play metal

allthumbs · #7 January 17th, 2008

9s are pretty thin. You are going to have to beef up the tone with effects. The thicker the string the more warmth they have. 9s are good for huge bends but, that is about all they have going for them in my opinion. At the least, I would recommend 10s.
If your guitar was set up for 9s then switching to tens will lower the action. If your lucky, it will result in faster action, Otherwise you may have to adjust the truss rod if the strings fret out.

kevjns · #8 January 17th, 2008

ahhh right ok ile look for 10,s then

thanks

kevjns · #9 February 14th, 2008

have had my string went for 11,s and guess what the 2 top strings wont fit into the nut guide so i ges its tens then im a bit confused as there are light super light medium large ect which are best im after 10,s

Dewy · #10 February 14th, 2008

.010's are a good place to start, and I would recommend you start out with cheap strings and replace them often, trying out different gauges each time. Make some notes, then branch out to different brands of strings.

Everyone winds up having a favorite, and you really just have to feel around to find yours. (HA!! I said wind in a string topic!!)

Ghost-RiderP51 · #11 February 15th, 2008

Get a set of .11, if you have small or weak hands go with .10. .10 and .11 are pretty average but you need to look at string metal too. What kind of guitar are you playing? Electric or acoustic? Either way I'm going to say dont get steel strings. On electric steel strings mess with your pick ups because it's such a good conductor. With electrics most people just go with nickel so if you have an electric get nickel. If you have an acoustic where you wont have the pick up issue then you may want to concider that steel is stronger than wood and what the frets are made of. So it will wear down your frets and wood alot of faster. But then you may not care. On acoustic other strings do the same, especially for the wood but atleast it lasts longer, right?

Stratrat · #12 February 15th, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-90

There is one additional aspect to guitar strings that I plan on checking out for myself one of these days. My setup is pretty bright sounding, and sometimes as I move around the neck I can get some pretty shrill squeaking, running my fingers up or down a fat, round-wound string. I have bad memories of what it's like when flatwound strings go bad, but half rounds seem like they might be a good compromise.

Any half round users out there who'd care to comment?

If you haven't already, you may want to try a set of Elixir Nanowebs to see if they help with the string squeak - I noticed a definite difference with them. They also seem to last longer before they start sounding dull.