String Winding MaterialĪs previously mentioned, on the electric guitar 3 of the strings are wound and 3 unwound. You may need to make adjustments to your saddle position on the electric guitar and consider if it is worth the effort of changing or adjusting your current saddle if playing an acoustic guitar with a compensated saddle. But, keep in mind this will very likely have an impact on the guitar’s intonation. less finger strength required on electric guitar and greater resonance on acoustic guitar.Īlthough not as common, guitarist’s can source sets of guitar strings with an unwound 3rd for acoustic and wound third string for electric guitar. Wound and unwound strings offer advantages to both acoustic and electric guitars, providing the same advantages offered by heavier gauge strings compared to lighter gauge strings e.g.
As each string moved up one position, this meant the third string was no longer a wound string, as it was now the 4th string. But as songs began featuring extended guitar solos and more of the spotlight was placed on flashier playing, some guitarists began removing their low E string (6th) and using the 5th string in its place instead.Īt the same time they would replace the high E string with a lighter gauge banjo string. Previously almost all sets of guitar strings (acoustic or electric) included a wound G string. Wound V Unwound StringsĪnother key difference between electric and acoustic guitar strings is the addition of a third wound string, the G string on acoustic guitar. As a result, with a greater demand on resonance and projection, acoustic guitars tend to use heavier gauge strings.Įlectric guitars on the other hand, with more of a focus on bends, and playing fast runs across the fretboard, typically use lighter gauge strings, although again, there are exceptions.
While there are exceptions guitarists usually approach acoustic and electric guitars differently. This means, the heavier strings make the top of the guitar vibrate more which in turn enhances resonance and accentuates mid to low frequencies which give the acoustic guitar greater volume (loudness) and projection (the distance sound travels), and warmth. This additional energy is transferred to the body of the guitar via the bridge, which in turn creates more movement of the soundboard. On larger acoustic guitars such as dreadnoughts and jumbos heavier gauge strings create more tension than light gauge strings and require more energy to play. There’s a couple of reasons for this: Resonance While you can put lighter gauge strings on your acoustic guitar and heavier gauge strings on electric guitar, you may not like the results. One of the first obvious differences between electric and acoustic guitar strings is the string gauges available for each. One of the first questions a new guitarist usually has in relation to guitar strings is, are there are differences between electric and acoustic guitar strings? Are Electric Guitar Strings the Same as Acoustic? The windings used for the bottom four strings on acoustic guitar, and bottom three on electric guitar now utilize materials such as 80/20 composites of copper and zinc, bronze, nickel, nickel plated steel and stainless steel. Martin & Company introduced steel guitar strings in the early 1900s guitar strings were mostly made from catgut. Which, although not actually made from cat, was made from the walls to the intestines of horses and cattle.Ĭlassical and flamenco guitar strings aside which are made from nylon (or similar synthetic) wrapped in silver or bronze windings (bass strings) strings are now made with steel cores.
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There’s a lot more to guitar strings than most guitarists realize, so, if you’ve never really considered the impact guitar strings can have on your guitar, and how to get the best out of them, stay tuned! What are Guitar Strings Made of?īefore C. In the following article we’re going to take a deep dive into the world of guitar strings, including differences between acoustic and electric guitar strings, strings for, 7, 8 and 12 string guitars, strings for bass guitar and some information on string maintenance including how to make your guitar strings last longer, and how to restring your guitar the right way. pots and wiring) and upgrading hardware, especially your bridge and nut as these are the first and last points of contact for your strings.īut, did you know the most cost effective and least challenging experiment you can undertake to influence tone and playability is to simply try a different set of guitar strings?įor between $10 - $30 you can often make changes to the playability and tonal output of your guitar, and unlike swapping out your pickups, it takes less than 5 minutes work and you won’t need to fire up your soldering iron. Not satisfied with the tone of your guitar? Usually when this happens the focus of our attention is firmly placed on the pickups, electronics (e.g.
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