Which strings are best?

 So you are learning to play the guitar and the time has come to replace your strings.

Guitar strings are like ink cartridges, from time to time they need to be replaced and like ink cartridges there are many different varieties. Choosing new strings for the first time can be quite daunting because there is so much to choose from.

 First things first acoustic guitars require acoustic guitar stings and electric guitars require electric guitar strings so this narrows it down a little.

Gauge

Next to think about is what gauge of strings you want. The gauge of the strings will have an effect on the sound you produce whilst playing. A fuller tone is created by thicker gauged strings, whilst thinner strings produce a lighter sound. For a beginner medium or thinner gauge strings are the best choice because thicker strings are harder to play. String gauges are shown as a series of numbers showing the thickness of each string measured in thousands of an inch e.g. 0.10 . The gauge of a set of strings is usually shown as the gauge of the thinnest string(10) of thinnest & thickest  (10-46).

As a beginner i would recommend that after you have decided on the gauge you want, the only other decision is what make to buy. There are other factors that determine the sound produced but for a beginner they will just lead to confusion. Find the right gauge and then move on to the other factor.

These extra factors are concerned with the materials used to make the string and the winding on the strings.

Material

The majority of strings used on acoustic and all used on electric are made of metal, they are either plain strings or wound strings. A plain string is just that, plain, round usually steel and used for the thinnest strings. Wound strings are used for the thickest strings.

Acoustic guitar strings (steel)

On an acoustic guitar usually the two thinnest strings (string 1 & 2) are plain steel strings, the other thicker four are wound with either bronze, phosphor bronze or silk steel (steel core wound first with steel and then a metal wire).

Acoustic guitar strings(Nylon)

Nylon strings are used on classical or flamenco guitars. They have 3 plain nylon strings as the thinnest strings and nylon wound with silver wire as the 3 thickest strings.

Electric guitar strings

Electric guitars generally have 3 plain and 3 wound strings. The thinnest strings are plain and thickest are wound. The core is either round or hexagonal steel wound usually with nickel wire.

Winding

Wound strings are produced in three varieties.

Round wound -- This is the most common and cheapest type. They have a round or hex core and are tightly wound with a round wire.

Flat wound -- These have the same core construction but the winding material has a rounded square cross section which reduces the squeak when sliding fingers along the string and reduces the area for dirt and oil to build up so extends the life of the string.

Half round -- This type of string is a cross between flat and round. They are made of round winding wire and afterwards ground and polished to give the outer surface a flat feel.

It will take a while before you find the strings you can say are perfect for you but it’s fun experimenting.     

Check out this video to see how strings are made                          

 

Guitar For Kids

 

So your child has said they want to play guitar, but your not sure if this is the start of a fulfilling past time or a fleating passion. It is a well know fact that you learn easier and faster when you are young but the strength required in the fingers means around 9 or 10 is the youngest a child should start. At this age a 1/2 size or 3/4 size guitar should be used depending on the size of the child. A full size guitar can be played when getting into the teenage years.

What type of guitar is best for a child and how much will it cost. Well acoustic, electric and bass guitars are all available in 1/2 or 3/4 size. The smaller size of the neck on an electric guitar will make it easier for smaller hands and the low action makes it easier for notes or chords to be played cleanly. They are more expensive to buy upto £100 pounds for a good quality beginner package. Acoustic guitars maybe slightly harder to play due to size, but they can be taken and played anywhere and for the same money you can get a better standard of guitar. The easiest guitar for a child to pay is the classical guitar due to it having nylon strings as opposed to steel, but it may be hard to convince a child that they want a classical guitar.

Money can often be a sticking point for a parent buying for their child beacause they do not know if they will stick with it or give it up after a month or two. That said it is important that the you give your child the best oppertunity to learn, and you really do get what you pay for. A cheap guitar is inherently harder to play and therefore it is much more likely the child will give it up. You should buy the best guiatr you can afford to give your child the best chance.

I would avoid a guitar with a TV character theme on the body of the guitar, although it may initially inspire their interset it could quickly become unpopular or uncool as the childs gets a little older and the guitar could be confined to the wardrobe.

A great choice of maker for a childs guitar is Squire who have a ‘mini’ range of stratocasters. They are made by Fender so the name speaks for itself. They are not to expensive, about £100 pounds, 3/4 size and are real good quality.

The word Capo is something you would not come across at all if you were not interested in guitar playing. It is from the Italian word Capotasto.

So what is a capo? Well a capo is a devise that attaches to the neck of the guitar and is used to shorten the length of the strings, which will in turn raise the pitch of each open string.

Capos are used to enable guitar players to play songs in a different key to which they were written. They want to do this for a number of different reasons. When playing with a band it makes it easier to play in the same key as the other instruments (piano etc) without playing complicated chords. It is also often used to change the songs key so that the plyaer is able to sing to song comfortablly without it being too high or too low.

Basically the Capo is placed at the required fret at the bottom of the fret just above the fret wire. The Capo forms a barre across all strings and effectively acts as the nut of the guitar, but a nut that can be moved up or down the neck. For each fret up (thats up in pitch/down from the  nut) the capo is moved the chords move up half a step. So a Capo on the 2nd fret is 1 step up, this takes an A chord to a Bb or a D chord to a Eb. See the table below for more translations.

It is really simple to use a capo and can be very helpful for a beginner. Try it yourself, take a simple song you know put the capo on the 2nd fret (or any other) and play the chords exactly the same but below the capo. The song is now in a new key.

Capos come in different styles, a strap on style and a trigger style as in the pictue above. They are both easy to use but a trigger capo is very quick and very easy, just squeeze it and put it were you want it.

Guitar Picks/plectrums come in all different shapes and a wide variety of thicknesses and choosing yours is really down to personal preference but the choice can be somewhat determined by the style of music you wish to play.
At present they are made most commonly of plastic, but can be made of metal, wood or even bone. At one time tortoise shell was the favoured material but not surprisingly this is now outlawed.

If your playing classical guitar you will probably mostly be using your fingers to pick, but plectrums are widely used in electric and acoustic guitar playing.
Rhythm guitar players often use thinner picks which produce a brighter tone whilst lead guitar players and jazz guitar players use thicker picks which produce a heavier tone.

The great thing for beginners is that you do not need to worry about choosing which one to use. Picks are really cheap to buy so you can get a whole range of different picks and see which you like best.

Pick some up now