what acoustic guitar strings do i use?

A common question asked by students is what acoustic guitar strings are best. This obviously depends firstly on what kind of guitar you have and if it is designed for nylon or steel strings. I have tried quite a few different brands of strings and I have found that Elixir Lights .012 - .053 to be excellent for acoustic guitar. They have now become my personal preference and what I recommend to other people, it was originally a guy in a Guitar Centre store in Tucson who turned me on to them.

Aside from the great sound the main advantage is that they last quite a bit longer than other acoustic guitar strings due to a special coating which protects the strings from sweat and the process of oxidization which corrodes and rusts guitar strings. The coating does a good job to keep your strings free of this inevitable process for longer without sacrificing anything in terms of tone. Obviously important!

The set of strings I use are 80/20 Bronze meaning that the G string is wound. The B string and E strings are straight steel however they are also coated in an anti-rust plating. When your strings eventually give out due to a build up of dirt and corrosion it’s often the higher gauge strings which go first, you’ll find that the strings sound rather dead and without any brightness in tone. You’ll also feel like it’s harder to tune your guitar as accurately as before.

If it’s been a while since you last changed strings and the colour of them is looking pretty old then consider a string change, it should go a long way to breathing new life into your guitar and tuning up will be easier and more accurate. Give the Elixir’s a go… Elixir Lights .012 - .053 | 80/20 Bronze, Acoustic Guitar Strings and combine them with my guitar lessons for maximum effect :-)

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