Guitar Strings Outlet Store

From acoustic to electric, it all starts with the string. Materials include chrome, cobalt, nickel, phosphor, bronze, nylon, silk and steel. Diverse windings, different gauges, crazy colors, cryogenics, and protective coatings are all called upon in the ultimate pursuit of tone, longevity, and well...yeah...looking cool. From eight-string to baritone to classical to straight-ahead rock, AMS has the right set of guitar strings for every player.

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D'Addario XSABR1047-3P XS 80/20 Bronze Acoustic Strings 3 Pack

80/20 Bronze are our brightest acoustic guitar strings, made to give your tone an unparalleled shine. With the addition of our revolutionary XS coating, our bold, bright 80/20 strings obtain maximum life, with an ...

Guitar Strings

When it comes to tone, your strings are make-or-break. From alloys to gauges, from windings to protective coatings, choosing the right guitar strings will ensure the best sound and ease of playability for your axe. With a diverse selection of strings from Ernie Ball, D’Addario, Elixir, and numerous other top-selling brands, American Musical Supply is the place to find your ideal Electric Guitar Strings, 6-String Acoustic Guitar Strings, 12-String Acoustic Guitar Strings, and Classical Guitar Strings.

Guitar String Construction

To help you choose the best guitar strings for your needs, let’s begin with a little background on how strings are constructed. Electric and acoustic guitars are strung with a combination of both plain and wound strings. For the plain strings, a length of round tin coated Swedish steel music wire is cut to size and fitted with a ball end. Manufacturing their wound counterpart is a little more complicated. Wound strings are created by wrapping wire, made from one of several alloys, around a round or hexagonally shaped steel core wire, with different gauges achieved by altering the thickness of the wrap wire.

The alloys used for the wrap wire are chosen based on the different properties required for use on either an electric or acoustic guitar. Where acoustic strings need to generate massive amounts of volume, electric guitar strings are made of ferromagnetic metals to interact with the instrument’s magnetic pickup. Other considerations include tone, longevity and overall feel.

Varieties of Acoustic Guitar Strings

The most popular alloy used in the making of acoustic guitar strings is Phosphor Bronze. Composed of 92% copper alloyed with 8% tin, Phosphor Bronze strings have a reddish hue and produce a rich, warm tone.

Also popular for acoustic guitars is 80/20 Bronze, sometimes called 80/20 Brass. Combining 80% copper with 20% zinc for a crisp bright tone, 80/20 appear more golden in color due to their high percentage of zinc.

For the acoustic guitarist desiring a softer, mellower feel and tone there are silk and steel strings. A silver-plated copper wire wrapped around a silk covered, thin steel core offers an easy fingering string with a silky smooth tone.

Varieties of Electric Guitar Strings

By far, the most popular alloy used in electric guitar strings is Nickel Plated Steel. Providing the strong magnetic properties needed to interact with an electric guitar’s magnetic pickups, Nickel Plated Steel delivers a warm, smooth tone and can usually be found factory installed on most new guitars.

Pure Nickel strings, once the standard in the sixties, are back in a big way. They produce a darker tone with less brightness that’s preferred by some players. They are also the least abrasive on your frets.

Stainless Steel strings generate the brightest tone and will provide extended life as they resist corrosion better than any other untreated string.

Flatwound strings are a different animal altogether. Instead of using a round wire for the wrap, flatwound strings are wrapped with flattened steel or tape and then ground smooth for the dark, dusky sound often preferred by Jazz guitarists.

Half-Round strings straddle the divide between round and flat. Wrapped with a round wire, it is then ground flat to give the smooth feel of a flatwound with a brighter sound than flatwounds.

Varieties of Nylon Strings

Nylon strings, often times called Classical Guitar Strings due to their regular use with that family of guitars, are unique in their construction amongst all other guitar strings. For the unwound strings, a single filament of Dupont Nylon is used. For the wound, a fine Nylon threadlike filament core is wound with silver-plated or bronze wire resulting in a mellow sound with a soft feel that is played without a pick. Nylon strings are available with the traditional “tie-end” or the easier to restring “ball-end.”

Coated and Treated Strings

The biggest innovation in string design in the last twenty years is the coated or treated string. To postpone the inevitable rust and oxidization that will eventually inhabit your strings, manufacturers have taken to offering strings coated with anti-corrosive treatments. These strings will last longer and retain their brighter sound without being dulled by corrosion.

Guitar String Gauges

The other big consideration when choosing strings is their gauge, or thickness. Measured in thousandths of an inch, the sets are often referred to by the gauge of the thinnest string. For instance, 9’s would refer to a set ranging from .009 - .042. Common gauges for electric guitar strings include 9’s (Light Gauge) or 10’s (Medium Gauge.) Acoustic strings are generally a little thicker to produce more volume. Common gauges are 12’s (Light Gauge) or 13’s (Medium Gauge.) Nylon strings are labeled as “tensions”, Light Tension, Normal Tension and Hard Tension.

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