-
Step 1
Determine if you have a regular six string guitar or bass guitar. If you only have room on the neck for 4 strings then you have a bass guitar. Also, even if you have 6 strings it could still be a bass guitar, if the strings are the thickness of shoe laces then its a bass guitar.
-
Step 2
Decide if you will be bending the strings on a regular basis. If the answer is yes, then stick to lower gauge guitar strings, refered to as 8's (eights) or 9's (nines).
-
Step 3
Decide what genre of music you will play. Jazz uses 13's, Heavy Blues uses 13's. Country chicken picking tends to use 9's or 10's. Acoustic guitar strings tend to be 11,12, or 13's.
-
Step 4
Decide if you want extended life strings. If you are a new player and break your strings often, then buy cheaper, lower string life strings. 'Coated strings' have an extended life but tend to cost twice as much as normal guitar strings.
-
Step 5
Get busy. If you are still worried about changing strings then get a music store to do it for you. Ask if you can watch them.
Comments
justscott said
on 8/14/2009 Thanks! Good advice on picking out guitar strings.
jenng said
on 6/11/2009 gREAT ARTICLE ON HOW TO CHOOSE GUITAR STRINGS 5*
Maranatha80 said
on 5/6/2009 Very well informed article! Thanks for sharing. 5*'s