LEARNGuitarBass.com     bass & guitar tab | chord charts | music | lyrics | gear | free lessons | ear training

"What's the difference in strings?"

Today I want to talk to you about strings and the different gauges that are available today.

Not only are there different brands of strings -- but there are also different gauges / thickness too!

Depending on what gauge / thickness you use determines the sound of your guitar playing!

Just remember...

The higher the gauge number -- the thicker the string
The lower the gauge number -- the thinner the string

Thicker strings last longer and have a chunkier sound. Thinner strings don't last as long and have a much brighter sound.

As a side note: if you find your strings vibrating a lot or aren't ringing out properly - this is usually because they are slightly touching the frets on your guitar.

If you have this problem -- go for a thinner gauge string and they will offer your fingers more room to move on the fretboard!

If you want -- check out: http://www.stringsandbeyond.com as they specialize in selling guitar strings and as well as offer free shipping on some orders!

Here's a rough guide to string gauge and thickness...

ULTRA LIGHT STRINGS

E|-------------|.008
B|-------------|.010
G|-------------|.014
G|-------------|.022
A|-------------|.030
E|-------------|.038

EXTRA LIGHT STRINGS

E|-------------|.010
B|-------------|.014
G|-------------|.020
G|-------------|.028
A|-------------|.040
E|-------------|.050

LIGHT STRINGS

E|-------------|.011
B|-------------|.015
G|-------------|.022
G|-------------|.030
A|-------------|.042
E|-------------|.052

MEDIUM STRINGS

E|-------------|.013
B|-------------|.017
G|-------------|.026
G|-------------|.034
A|-------------|.046
E|-------------|.056

HEAVY STRINGS

E|-------------|.014
B|-------------|.018
G|-------------|.028
G|-------------|.040
A|-------------|.050
E|-------------|.060