Tuesday, April 15, 2008

How to Choose Guitar Strings

When choosing guitar strings for your electric guitar, the decision is ultimately up to personal preference. Your guitar strings will effect the sound quality and the comfort of your playing. You need to find a balance between the two that works for you.

As far as the sound goes, certain strings produce different types of sound. Some strings produce a more metallic sound and others produce a more warm, blended sound. Regardless, certain strings will sound different on individual guitars because every guitar's pickups are different.

I personally like my top three strings to be a thin gauge, and my bottom three strings to be a thicker gauge. My range is usually 11-50, where 11 is the gauge of the high E string, and 50 is the gauge of the low E string. This is a good setup for heavier music, such as death metal.

There are hundreds of makes out there, but I stick with DR strings. Go to your local guitar shop and start experimenting to find out what works for you. Strings are cheap, so your best bet is to stick with trial and error.

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