Guitar Strings

When you approach the market for guitar strings, you have a myriad of choices to get yourself confused unless you are very specific. There are so many brands to choose from and everyone has his or her own personal choices. Brands really matter a little bit only. What matters the most is the construction, material and gauge of the strings. As you would not want to dive into the technical aspects of the string making, let us leave the construction part. But let me talk something on the material used. The strings can be made from nylon, steel or they may be nickel wounded or copper wounded. There are few things that should be considered while buying a new set of strings. These are the tone, the durability, the feel, corrosion resistivity and erosive property.
The tone is directly related to the material used for making the strings. Steel strings are brighter than copper wound strings. The durability may be defined from two points of views. One is the durability of tone and the other is durability of the string. These really depend on the quality of make of the strings. But it also depends very much on how you take care of your strings. It is always advised to keep your strings clean and free from sweat and moisture. This will surely enhance the durability of the strings in terms of tone. The feel is decided by the gauge of the string that is being in use. The gauge is the thickness of the strings. Thinner strings are easy to grab and play but have thin tone as compared to higher gauge strings. But higher gauge strings are a little bit difficult to play. Corrosion resistivity is another factor which must be kept in mind as far as durability of the strings is concerned. Nickel wound strings have better resistance and they provide longer life to the strings. One more thing is the erosive property. Generally, this part is neglected by everyone, but you should know that the strings rub against the frets while playing and erode them slowly. Gradually after few years of playing, you will notice that the frets are getting worn out. To support less wear of frets, try less erosive strings. Nylon strings are soft and are a good choice for beginners. But they do have professional use as far as Spanish guitar is concerned. As they are softer, they have lesser strength and break more easily as compared to steel strings. Steel strings are a bit hard to play but are very bright and are strong enough to provide good durability to the strings.