Buying Guitar Strings….?
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at
4:50 pm
I need to buy a full set of acoustic strings for my Washburn. This is the first time I have ever needed to buy them (as I am pretty new to the guitar scene). Do I need to look for anything special or can I just walk in to a music store and grab a set of strings? Also roughly, about how much do they run in price? Thanks in advance!
Tagged with: Buying • Guitar • Strings
Filed under: Q&A
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There are differences in strings but don’t get too concerned. You do need to choose your string guage. I prefer medium guage John Pearse phospor bronze strings. If you are not particular at this point you can get any brand of phosphor bronze wound strings. Don’t worry about asking the question when you get to the guitar store… they will be happy to point you in the right direction. You can get strings from $1.99 on sale to $15.00 per set. Some brands that you will be fine with are D’addario, GHS, Ernie Ball, and a host of others.
Any local music store will have them. I go to the Guitar Center to by mine. There are thousands of strings so just tell the clerk that your have an acoustic Washburn and he’ll recommend which ones are best for your style of playing, they have so many of them so go by what he recommends, the guys in there are pretty good, they run anywhere from $7.00 – $15.00, there are more expensive ones and cheaper ones but this is about average. I play classical guitar and have for years, but lately I bought an acoustic myself and hadn’t had to buy strings yet, so I don’t feel as if I can recommend a brand name because I don’t know much about those type of strings, only nylon. Hope this helps.
Make sure you buy acoustic strings as opposed to electric strings. There’s a difference. Since you’re just starting out you don’t need any of the super fancy high end strings that are on the market, so a pack should run you less than ten bucks.
What you want is Phosphor Bronze Med/Light (12-53). If you go on-line to http://www.musiciansfriend.com they list them in order of popularity so you can see what most people prefer and get the prices. My favorites are Martin Marquis Phosphor Bronze (not 80/20). I recently used some DiDarrio and didn’t like them.
“Phosphor Bronze” last longer – “80/20 Bronze” are brighter but go dead sooner.
I use D’addario phosphor bronze custom lights .10 -.052.
I use these strings on all my acoustics because i play the instrument both as an acoustic and with stomp boxes as an electric and I need to be able to bend strings while chording at the same time. The phosphor bronze alloy is more corrosion resistant and helps prolong the life of the strings, as well as producing a more mellow tone acoustically.
I pay $13.99 for 3 sets from George’s music, which is a more or less local chain.
Several manufacturers now make resin coated strings which are more expensive, but last even longer. I think they are around 10-12 per set.
A retail music store will charge morer than Internet sites, but strings may be ordered through catalog or Internet by contacting http://www.musiciansfriend.com. You can buy one set or as many as you wish and are usually lower in cost.
If you must have a set of strings now simply visit your local music store and have a guitar technician there help you in the best selection. The most you would pay for acoustic strings would be $15 for Elixers and $5 or $6 for other brands. There are a number of quality brands to choose from, but I usually stick with Martins and Elixers. I also prefer medium gauge strings because of bass and projection values and they help keep my calluses toughened. Thin gauge strings have their advantages and disadvantages.
Most stores will install your strings free of charge if you purchase them there.
Different brands run different prices.. generally I pay 6-8 bucks for a set. I like Dean Markleys, and Ernie Balls, but those are for my electric. Gauges vary as well, most common I believe is 9 to 42.. they’re a little easier on the fingertips than 10’s. Since you’re new at it you should probably try different ones each time for the first 3 or 4 times you change them and see for yourself which ones YOU like best.
I bought my strings from Guitar Center and they were pretty cheap($10/box, 10 sets) but I bought the Guitar Center Brand, and it was there Grand Opening.