Acoustic guitar strings....

M

memo

New member
I tried running a search for this but I didn't get very accurate results so I'm going to ask this to you.

Guitar strings was something which I didn't worry much about, but now that I got myself a new electro-acoustic (Yamaha APX 4a), I want to get some new strings for it.

I mostly do rhythm stuff with it, so I want to get some strings that would make it easy to play bar chords and fast chord changes. (the factory strings are a bit too thick, at least the top ead) I know that I need thinner strings for this but I don't know anything about the gauge or the type of strings I should get.

So anyone?
 
Marin SP

I have a Seagull and always use Martin SP Phospher Bronse(Studio Performance). I use the light guage 11-47 I beleive. The Martin part number is MSP4100 in case you are interested. They sound great and stay in tune very well. By the way, they have multiple gauges you can buy.

As far as what guage you should use, I recommend finding out what the manufacture recommends and then take it from there.

It also depends on the sound you want to attain. Thicker string will have a warmer sound than thin, but you need to choose what sounds good to you.

I would recommend trying the Martin SP's. You want to make sure you get the ones that are all phospher bronse. They also make some that are an 80/20 mix that in my opinion are not as good. If you do not like them, all you have to do is try someting else.

Hope this helps.
 
13s are stock on most acoustic-electrics.There are maybe 6 wire factories supplying all the various brands so to expect performance to vary by brand is perhaps wishful thinking.
You need to have your action lowered rather than go with skinny strings.Get a local tech to file and intonate the bridge-nut for you.That way you can have a full sound and still play those barchords without putting a permanent groove down the length of your first finger.
Tom
 
My personal favorite for acoustic is GHS contact core. Incredibly bright and long life span.
 
Ze big question.

Is that I'm not a good enough guitarist to feel the difference between the brands mentioned here. I have use d'Addario, and GHS and Martin SP. All of this are roughly in the same price range, too. ($8-9 here in Sweden at least). I have also used cheaper strings (around $5) and this usually suck bigtime, makes my guitar hard to tune and so on.

Now, I assume that what strings you like is a personal matter. Do the rest of you guys agree?
I'm just not good enough (or maybe it's my $80 guitar... Yeah, I'll blame the guitar. :) ) to really have my own opinion yet. Right?
 
I'm hooked on Elixir strings. They have a coating on them to make them last longer. They are twice as much as normal strings, but I think they are worth it. So much so that after trying them on my Ovation, I got some for my electric aswell
 
Regebro is absolutely correct. It is a personal preference issue. The thing about guitar strings is that they are not that expensive. This allows you to try various different strings until you find the ones you like. Once you put a set of stings on a guitar and play them, you will know they are the ones because the sound will just send chills down your spine.

Happy Strummin' Joe
 
I agree with Top Jimmy...Elixers came on my Taylor and they certainly know much more about guitars than I, so who am I to argue?

It really comes down to your ears and ax, though...Some strings sound good on certain guitars, some do not. I used to use Martin SP on my Yamaha acoustic, then I tried Kaman Addamas (sp?) and never went back. My friend has a Takamine acoustic, put the Kamans on that, sounded like crap.

Try everything till you're happy...
 
maybe I'm a mutant but..

... I use 11s d'addario ELECTRIC guitar strings because I really don't like that g-string wound.
It sounds brilliant and steel strings seem to keep their brightness much longer than bronze strings.
 
Yikes!

I always hate it when ppl put electric guitar strings on acoustic guitars. In my experience, it sounds like shit (thin, wimpy, no warmth) 99.9% of the time.
 
as you said: 99.9% of the time

I used to put 10s on it (cause I had it on the electric too) but this really didn't sound great.
But then I switched to 11s and this sounds a lot better - it's amazing.
 
Defnitely a preference thing, as you can see from the many opinions here.

In my experience, if you are using a passive soundhole pickup with an acoustic, electric guitar strings actually work better through a PA than bronze because bronze isn't a very magnetic metal, and so the pickup will not, well, pick up the strings very well. But this makes your acoustic sound like crap the rest of the time when you're not plugged in.

If you have an electric-acoustic with a piezo, or something like that, it is actually a sort of microphone that produces the sound, so you don't have the same issue. I find bronze strings to be the best for this situation.

And lastly, string gauge is probably more prone to personal opinion than anything else. It's all about what you like best.

Oh, yeah. My personal faves are D'Addario bronze 12s. I find these to be superior to just about everything, but you have to change them frequently to maintain a nice bright and punchy sound. Again, my opinion only. Take from it what you will.
 
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