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CHANGE ’EM REGULARLY. Strings are like socks: they feel nicer when they’re clean, and, as they age, they stretch out of shape and lose elasticity. This can make it harder to keep them in tune. Also, grime that accumulates in the winding can act as an abrasive and can cause premature fret wear. Worn frets make it harder to get a good, clear tone, and frets are expensive to replace.
Change your strings about once a month, perhaps more often if you play more than a couple of hours a day. (To learn how to change your strings, check out this article: Time to Change.) Putting on a fresh set of strings is the easiest thing you can do to make your guitar sound better. It also gives you a chance to clean the fretboard, which is good because a clean guitar is a happy guitar.
A Smattering of Strings
Don’t let that wall of guitar strings at your local music store intimidate you. Start your search with one of these five classic string sets.
Acoustic Strings
D’Addario EJ16 Many guitar builders put these light-gauge phosphor-bronze strings on their new instruments ($12.49 list/$6 street). www.daddario.com.
DR ZAE12 Zebra Designed for acoustic guitars with piezo undersaddle or magnetic soundhole pickups, these strings ($17 list/$7.99 street) have a double winding of nickel for the pickup and phosphor bronze for a mellow acoustic tone. www.drstrings.com.
Elixir Polyweb Light-Medium The coating on Elixir strings cuts down finger squeaks and extends string life. Sometimes called a bluegrass set, this set ($28 list/$11.99 street) combines the three lower strings from a medium set for strong bass runs and the upper strings from a light set for easier bends. www.elixirstrings.com.
Electric Strings
Ernie Ball 2223 Super Slinky Super Slinkys ($8.25 list/$4.50 street) were among the first sets of extra-light electric strings available. www.ernieball.com.
Fender 150R These sets ($9.50 list/$4.99 street) boast pure nickel windings, just like the strings Fender used on their guitars back in the 1950s. www.fender.com.
List price is the manufacturers’ suggested retail price, and street price is an estimate of the actual cost before taxes.
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