When it comes to acoustic guitar strings, the list of potential choices is seemingly endless. What gauge, alloy, type of winding and brand are all questions that will come up. A great way to find out all of these answers would obviously be to try a broad selection and see which ones work best for your setup and playing style. The drawback to this method is it’s going to take some time and will cost a few bucks. Searching through reviews, such as this one, can save you a lot of time and money. In the end you’re still going to want to try some different acoustic guitar strings because trying first-hand is still the best method but at least you’ll have a narrowed down list to go off of.
Steel acoustic guitar strings are still the most used type and offer a much broader range of tones than the nylon string. There are different alloys that go into a guitar string with bronze being the most popular because of its strength and tonal qualities. The bronze style acoustic guitar string holds its tone for a much longer period of time because of its ability to withstand the dirt and oils from the guitarists fingers. When choosing acoustic electric guitar strings, the steel versions have a slight edge in tone over the bronze style.
The thickness, or gauge, of the string is a very important detail to consider. The range of thickness from thin to thick has their pros and cons. Thinner gauge strings will cost you a bit less than heavy gauge and will be easier to fret cleanly. They are also a lot more forgiving on the body and neck of the guitar. Heavy gauge on the other hand cost a few more bucks and can put extra strain on the guitar. The upside to the heavier gauge guitar strings is their ability to have a deeper, more powerful tone that has great sustain and brightness. They also tend to last longer because of their lack of stretch.
One thing to remember if you are an acoustic bass player, acoustic bass guitar strings are heavier than 6-string versions and will really require some perfect matching so as to not damage your instrument and not put unnecessary strain on your fingers.
After many years of playing, with many periods of trial and error on different acoustic guitar strings, I’ve narrowed down some brands that have been very good for me over different genres of music as well as different brands of acoustic guitar instruments. Below are some choices of the best acoustic guitar strings that I’ve used over the years.