Know Your Strings: The Top 5 Guitar String Makers

Guitar players have to deal with the need to regularly change their guitar strings. How do they know which ones to purchase? There are hundreds of options, and sometimes it’s really hard to know which to buy. To know you’re making the right pick, you should know which make of string will meet your needs. But how can you know?

You have to consider many things when picking your strings. What kind of guitar do you play, and what style of music? Do you use alternate tunings? Are you a lead or rhythm player?

Not only that, but guitar players often have to choose between tone quality and long life in their strings. You might spend more money on strings that sound great new, but lose their good sound quickly. Deadened strings are harder to tune, easier to break, and don’t sound good. These qualities may differ from brand to brand. A working guitarist might need to choose between tone, feel and durability. These facts are especially necessary when it comes to acoustic guitar strings, since you can’t hide a bad tone with your amplifier.

The more you know about string brands and models, the better you’ll be able to make a good choice. I’ve reviewed many different styles of string and come up with my favorite top 5 best string brands. I consider tone and feel to be the main factors, but durability also counts. A string that lasts longer and sounds ok might receive a higher rate than one that sounds great but is shot after the first gig. These comparisons might not hold with particular string types. For example, the #4 brand might make better acoustic strings compared to the #2 if I were only comparing acoustic string models.

5. D’addario

D’addarios are generally considered a value string brand. They’re usually well-priced and sound good new. They also had the shortest lifespan of all of our top 5 brands. The best time to get D’addario strings for many applications is when you’ve got a gig coming up tonight or tomorrow and realize you either need a spare set of strings (just in case) or are a few bucks short until payday and need strings that sound decent in the short run, but can change them when next Friday rolls around.

4. GHS

The GHS string you’re very likely to buy is their Boomer series. They’ve got decent tone on all instruments, but these strings really shine for their longevity. They are quite challenging and difficult to break, additionally they hold their tone a good long time. Also , they are a good string to make use of should you be into alternate tunings, as they don’t go dead as soon as other strings when you’re constantly changing their tension.If your budget makes it necessary that you acquire fewer strings, or if you just hate changing them, GHS might be the brand for you.

3. Ernie Ball

Ernie Ball makes the Slinky brand of strings. They always sound fabulous when new, and feel great underneath the fingers. In fact, I rate Ernie Balls #1 for best-feeling string. Their electric and bass models eclipsed other sellers for the majority of uses. You will not come across a better-sounding brand for rock and metal lead playing. Their acoustic models are subpar in my view, though, and in addition they don’t maintain that amazing tone long-term.

2. Dean Markley

Dean Markley is a fantastic string brand, and my old standby. Their Blue Steel and Vintage makes are both excellent choices for whatever instrument you play. I’ve heard reports of one bass player whose strings actually outlasted his instrument! Dean Markley Blue Steel outlast any other uncoated model of strings I’ve played. When you’ve got a full weekend marked on your calender, with gigs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, consider a brand new set of Dean Markleys to help you get through the weekend sounding great.

1. Elixir

Elixirs might cost more than every other brand I tested, but they’re totally worth every penny. They’re going to last longer than almost every other string available to buy, and the already rich tone gets better as you keep using them.

Elixirs are coated for longevity, and it’s been said that coated strings are tonally inferior. Sometimes that’s true, but I really don’t believe that it is with Elixirs. They last months and keep a good tone the full time. On account of the coating, it may take a little while to get comfortable with the feeling, but it’s worth the time and expense.

Conclusion

Obviously, this is just a summary of string brands. Your specific needs may differ depending on what your own circumstances are. But this overview should provide you with a solid idea of what to look for with guitar string brands.