Guitar Strings

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.

Items 1-16 of 222

  1. Ernie Ball Slinky Guitar Strings
    Ernie Ball Slinky Guitar Strings
    The Top Selling Guitar String, Ernie Ball Slinky Electric Strings offer the highest standards through precision manufacturing to achieve a world-class tone Widely revered for consistency by ensuring exacting...
    $6.99 - $64.99

    4 Payments of $16.25

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  2. D'Addario EXL120 XL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings 10 Pack
    D'Addario EXL120 XL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings 10 Pack
    D'Addario XL Electric Guitar strings are world-renowned as The Player's Choice amongst gutiar players of all genres and styles. XL strings are wound with nickel-plated steel, known for it's distinctive bright tone...
    $54.99

    4 Payments of $13.75

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  3. D'Addario NYXL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
    D'Addario NYXL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
    D’Addario NYXL guitar strings will bend farther, sing louder, and stay in tune better than any string you’ve played before. Envisioned, perfected, and manufactured by DAddario in New York, this newly engineered,...
    $12.99 - $229.99

    6 Payments of $38.33

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  4. Ernie Ball Earthwood Acoustic 80/20 Bronze Guitar Strings
    Ernie Ball Earthwood Acoustic 80/20 Bronze Guitar Strings
    Made from 80% copper, 20% zinc wire wrapped around hex shaped tin plated high carbon steel core wire. One of the most popular acoustic guitar strings as used by the Eagles, Elvis Costello and Joe Bonamassa. Ernie...
    $6.99 - $64.99

    4 Payments of $13.75

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  5. Elixir 11052 NanoWeb 80/20 Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
    Elixir 11052 NanoWeb 80/20 Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
    Elixir Nanoweb Acoustic Guitar Strings; Don't Mess around with An Ordinary String! Elixir Strings with ultra thin NANOWEB coating sound great 3 to 5 times longer than ordinary strings. They have the bright tone...
    $17.99 - $42.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  6. D'Addario EXL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
    D'Addario EXL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
    EXL110 EXL110, D'Addario's best selling set, offers the ideal combination of tone, flexibility and long life. The standard for most electric guitars. EXL116 EXL116 is a hybrid set with an .011 on top and a...
    $6.99 - $119.99

    6 Payments of $20.00

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  7. Ernie Ball John Mayer Silver Slinky Strings
    Ernie Ball John Mayer Silver Slinky Strings
    Silver Slinky Strings are the result of an extraordinary partnership between Ernie Ball and John Mayer. Each string has been meticulously engineered with specific gauges and core-to-wrap ratios that meet John’s...
    $9.99 - $54.99

    4 Payments of $13.75

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  8. DAddario Acoustic Guitar Strings 3 Pack with Free Pegwinder
    DAddario Acoustic Guitar Strings 3 Pack with Free Pegwinder
    D'Addario's most popular acoustic set, EJ16 delivers the ideal balance of volume, projection and comfortable playability. Now you can get the Daddario 3 Pack strings and be ready to rock in no time. Phosphor Bronze...
    $22.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  9. Ernie Ball 2220 Power Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
    Ernie Ball 2220 Power Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
    Ernie Ball Power Slinky Electric Strings are a perfect match for those who like chunky rhythms for rock and roll or blues. Power Slinkys have long been favored by Slash, Metallica, & Kenny Wayne Shepherd due to the...
    $6.99 - $17.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  10. Elixir 16102 NanoWeb Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
    Elixir 16102 NanoWeb Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
    Elixir Acoustic Phosphor Bronze Guitar Strings feature the exclusive, ultra-thin NANOWEB coating. Strings are not just strings. They are the connection between you and your music. When strings go dead, so goes the...
    $19.99 - $47.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  11. Elixir 12052 NanoWeb Electric Guitar Strings
    Elixir 12052 NanoWeb Electric Guitar Strings
    Elixir NanoWeb Electric Guitar Strings give your guitar long lasting tone! Breathe life in to your electric with Elixir's NanoWeb guitar strings. Providing excellent tonality that lasts 3 to 5 times longer than...
    $14.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  12. Martin Authentic Acoustic Lifespan 2.0 92/8 Phosphor Bronze Strings
    Martin Authentic Acoustic Lifespan 2.0 92/8 Phosphor Bronze Strings
    Martin Authentic Acoustic Lifespan 2.0 strings offer next generation treatment for long life, great playability and feel, and superior reliability with authentic tone. Martin’s next generation Lifespan 2.0 strings...
    $14.99 - $229.99

    6 Payments of $38.33

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  13. D'Addario XS Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
    D'Addario XS Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings
    The XS acoustic strings feature D'Addario's most advanced coating technology which allows the string windings to be completely protected from contaminants preserving a lasting, clear tone with maximum life. High...
    $19.99 - $52.99

    4 Payments of $13.25

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  14. Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Electric Guitar Strings
    Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Electric Guitar Strings
    For maximize output and clarity the Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky Electric Guitar Strings are the only choice! These innovative strings are made of cobalt, this alloy provides a stronger magnetic relationship between...
    $9.99 - $24.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  15. Daddario NYXL Nickel Wound Balanced Tension Guitar Strings
    Daddario NYXL Nickel Wound Balanced Tension Guitar Strings
    A Balanced Tension set designed for greaterer dynamic control and a more consistent feel between strings for evenly balanced bending, strumming, fretting,and picking. D’Addario NYXL Super Light guitar strings...
    $12.99

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
  16. Darco Electric Guitar Strings
    Darco Electric Guitar Strings
    The Darco line of electric strings promises quality, tone, and value in every pack. They are designed for the pros and priced for the working musician so every guitar player can afford to change their strings as...
    $4.99 - $89.99

    4 Payments of $22.50

    No Credit Check

    h m s

    free-shipping-icon
Page
per page

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 BallD’AddarioElixir, and numerous other top-selling brands, American Musical Supply is the place to find your ideal Electric Guitar Strings6-String Acoustic Guitar Strings12-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.

About the Author - Michael Barberich

CONTINUE READING
SHOW LESS
Copyright © 1996-2025 American Musical Supply, Inc. All rights reserved