A guitar string is a string made of a particular material: typically, gut, nylon or steel, which is spanned over a wooden instrument or an instrument that has magnetic or piezoelectric pickups. The purpose of the string is to vibrate and produce a particular musical note. A standard guitar has 6 strings and is tuned in the following configuration, E-A-D-G-B-E.
For acoustic guitars, the sound is produced by the vibration of the guitar strings being amplified by the wooden body of the guitar. For electric guitars, the sound is produced by the vibration of the guitar strings being transferred into an electrical signal using piezoelectric pickups or magnetic pickups and is then amplified using basic signal amplification techniques.
In the past, guitar strings were made of either wire or gut. Gut strings were typically made from sheep's innards. Guitar strings these days are usually made of steel or nylon. Steel strings are used for both electric and acoustic guitars, but nylon strings are usually used only on classical guitars, although recently some manufacturers have begun to make electric classical guitars, which also use nylon strings.
Steel strings for acoustics come in several varieties. Usually the first two strings are plain steel and the rest are some kind of metal wire wound around a core of steel or another material.
Bronze strings are just what they sound like. The four lower strings have a steel core wound with bronze wire. They are the commonly used steel strings for acoustic guitars.
Phosphor Bronze strings use "phosphor bronze" instead of plain bronze for the string windings. Phosphor bronze is an alloy of copper with 3.5 to 10% of tin and a significant phosphorus content of up to 1%. The phosphorus is added as deoxidising agent during melting. These alloys are notable for their toughness, strength and fine grain.* They offer a brighter tone, but are also rougher on your fingers than plain bronze wound strings.
Silk and Steel strings offer a more mellow tone. The four lower strings have a steel core wound first with silk and then with metal wire -- usually nickel rather than bronze. They don't "ring" or sustain notes as well as regular steel strings do. Though slightly quieter, they are easier on the fingers!
Electric steel strings are designed to sound good through a pickup, so they differ from acoustic steel strings. The first three strings are plain steel, and the other three are usually nickel wound. There is no reason you can't use them on acoustic guitars, nor acoustic strings on electric guitars if that's what want, though it may not sound so great!
Nylon strings are the modern version of gut strings and are used for classical and flamenco guitars. Usually the first three strings are plain nylon, and the rest are nylon wound with silver wire. They have a much softer tone than steel strings.
Gauge
A steel guitar string's diameter is called its gauge. Sets of strings are graduated so that their tension is as consistent as possible to offer an even resistance when you play them. They are usually sold in sets, labelled "Extra Light," "Light," "Medium," or "Heavy." (These tend to be most common, but certainly not a full list.) Every manufacturer has a different definition of what those labels mean, so don't expect Ernie Ball Super Slinkies to be exactly the same gauge as Fender 150's even though both are extra light , or D'Addario EJ15 extra light phosphor bronze to be just like their equivalent from Martin. If you can't find a set of strings whose gauges suit you, you can buy individual strings in the exact gauges you like. (It a bit of a hassle though!)
Changing the gauge of the strings will affect the guitar's sound and feel. Lighter gauge strings have a lower tension, and are easier to press down onto the frets. They are also harder to keep in tune, and they give less volume and sustain. Heavy gauge strings are the opposite -- harder to play, easier to keep in tune, and give more volume and sustain.
Nylon strings come in different "tensions." The different tensions are called "hard," "medium," or "light." Varying the tension of the strings affects the feel and sound of the strings.
*Ref : Wikipedia |
