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A quick guide to buying guitar strings

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Buying Guitar Strings

One of the best parts of my job as a sales associate at Murphy’s Guitars in Utah is helping people find the exact tone that they’re looking for. Some customers find it right away and walk out of the store with huge smiles on their faces. Eventually I know that they’ll be back, first of all because I’m committed to giving my customers exceptional service, but secondly everyone will eventually need to change their strings. Today I’m going to walk you through searching for the perfect pack of strings. 

Electric, Acoustic, or Classical?

When a customer walks in and says, “I need guitar strings” It’s basically a game of 20 questions. Start with general questions, and filter it down to the most specific. The first question that I will ask 100% of the time is, “are these for an Electric, Acoustic, or Classical Guitar?” Seems easy enough, but just to be sure. knowledge on guitar anatomy and parts for Gibson guitars is very important for every guitarist

Acoustic

Also called a “steel string” acoustic, if your strings 3rd-6th strings are a gold or brown and the top two are steel, you’ve likely got an acoustic guitar on your hands, however if you’re not entirely sure, and think you might have a classical guitar (which acoustic guitar strings would damage) loosen the strings immediately and take it to your local shop, they’ll help you identify it.
A “steel string” acoustic guitar will use either a phosphor bronze or 80/20 bronze strings. Other options do exist, but these two types are the most common.

80/20 Bronze

I’ll often ask the customer if they prefer a brighter sound that works well with finger picking, country, bluegrass, or if the specific tone that they are looking for is brighter and more vibrant. These are your 80/20 bronze strings. These are lighter in color than their phosphor bronze counterparts (a golden wheat color), and also sound much brighter, and more alive. 80/20 bronze strings will normally be cheaper or the same price as phosphor bronze, and are produced by nearly any string manufacturer.

Phosphor Bronze

Darker color (darker golden honey) and a darker tone, phosphor bronze strings produce a dark, warm, rich, projecting tone, and although they come in the same gages as 80/20’s they will often excerpt more pressure on the guitar, therefore creating a more projecting tone.
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