Electric Guitar String Buying Guide

Trying to decide which strings to buy for your electric guitar? Here we’ll go through the different choices available and how they differ in sound and feel!

String Gauge:

The gauge is the thickness of the string in inches.  Electric guitar strings range from the thinnest of .008, (8 thousandths of an inch) to the thickest of about .056 but are more usually termed an ‘eight’  or ‘fifty-six’.

Lighter gauge strings are easier to play and allow bending of the notes but are also quieter and more likely to break.

Heavier gauge strings are harder to play but produce more volume and sustain.  They exert more tension on the neck but are good for tuning your guitar lower so as not to feel too loose.  If you’re thinking about changing the gauge of strings on your guitar we recommend getting it set-up to get the best playability and intonation, as well as avoiding any damage to the neck.

Sets are often referred to by the lowest gauge string in the set, so a pack with a .009inch 1^st string will be called a set of 9’s!

Here are your most popular gauge sets and their most common terms:

.008, .010, .015, .021, .030, .038 (8’s / Extra Super Light)

.009, .011, .016, .024, .032, .042 (9’s / Super Light)

.010, .010, .015, .021, .030, .038 (10’s / Light)

.011, .015, .018, .026, .036, .048 (11’s / Medium)

.012, .016, .020, .032, .042, .056 (12’s / Heavy)

You can also get hybrid sets that are thicker or thinner on the bottom or top.  These are good for alternative tunings to ensure you get the best tension for playability.

The most popular set is a pack of 10’s!  You can also get 7 and 8-string sets, or make up your own set with Ernie Ball single strings.