What would your guitar be without its strings? Unplayable, just a few pieces of wood attached to each other that would be good for nothing apart from using it to hit someone over the head, as a useless tennis racket, or starting a fire.
That’s how important your strings are, without them, you have nothing. They are truly the heart of the instrument, they are what your fingers touch, what your pick strums. They are also responsible for producing every vibration that gets turned into the sound that your guitar makes.
So, why do most guitarists take them for granted?
Most buy a set of strings, are generally happy with the tone, and stick with that brand and gauge for the rest of their lives. But there is so much more to strings than that, they play a critical role in shaping your tone. The materials used in their manufacture significantly affect how the string will sound, yet most players don’t understand the differences. That’s why I’ve decided to take a closer look at what materials are used to make guitar strings, starting with…
A Brief History of Guitar Strings
In ancient times, early stringed instruments such as lutes used what were termed gut strings, which were usually made from sheep or cow intestines that were cleaned, stretched, and twisted into thin, durable ‘strings’. I have to admit that I’m glad I wasn’t a guitar player back then, I don’t think I’d enjoy flying around the fretboard pressing down on parts of dead animals.
Unfortunately for cows and sheep, there was no advancement in string manufacture for centuries, and gut strings were the only option throughout the incredibly musically important Renaissance and Baroque periods when the closer ancestors of the modern guitar started to emerge.
By the 19th century, metal strings had finally entered the market. They were quickly adopted because they didn’t have the issues of gut strings, being much less sensitive to temperature and humidity changes and far more durable. They also created a brighter tone, especially in the case of steel strings, which helped project the instrument and separate it from the other instruments being played at the same time. This was a key aspect of the guitar's rise in traditional folk and early country music in the United States.
However, it was not all good news for our cuddly animal friends grazing out in the fields, because classical guitarists continued to use gut strings before they were eventually replaced by the much more animal-friendly nylon string in the 1940s.
That’s the guitar string history section covered, let’s move on to the…
Different Types of Guitar Strings and What They’re Made of
The choice of the best set of guitar strings will depend on what guitar you are planning to put them on. So, let’s go through the requirements and the options for each one, starting with…
Acoustic Guitar Strings
The most important function of acoustic strings is to resonate loudly without being amplified by anything but the guitar itself. Therefore, they are usually manufactured from metals that produce a bright, projecting tone, such as…
Bronze
Regardless of the name, bronze strings are not made of 100% bronze. They are usually created from an alloy of 80% copper and 20% tin, although zinc is sometimes substituted for tin. The packaging reflects this, and they are usually labeled 80/20 bronze.
They deliver a crisp, bright sound with a lot of higher-end frequencies, which is why folk and country players love them so much.
They are relatively durable but oxidize quicker than a lot of other alloys, therefore losing their brilliance over time.
Phosphor Bronze
These are very similar in design, but a small amount of phosphorus (usually less than 1%) is added to make them more durable than bronze strings. They produce a slightly warmer, richer tone than bronze strings, combining both brightness and depth.
Steel
Regardless of whether an acoustic guitar string is wound with either bronze or phosphor bronze, the core is usually made of high-carbon steel. Strong, flexible steel is the best option to give the string the required tension for acoustic projection. The lower strings - E, A, D - are wound, while the higher strings - G, B, E - are usually plain steel.
However, some manufacturers, such as D’Addario, have taken things one step further and include silk with the steel core as in the following set…
The silver-plated copper windings over the silk and steel core produce a string with a warm, mellow tone, which is under less tension than strings that have a solid core. This reduces finger noise, making them a great choice for fingerstyle, especially on smaller-bodied instruments, such as parlour guitars.
To Coat or Not to Coat - That is the Question
Some manufacturers use polymer coatings around their strings to protect them from corrosion and extend their lifespan. The construction of the strings is usually quite traditional, but they are then coated, creating a thin barrier to protect the string against sweat, oil, and dirt.
All this fancy technology adds to the manufacturing cost, and coated strings are a lot more expensive than uncoated. But their brightness lasts a lot longer, more than repaying the extra cost over the extended lifetime of the string.
However, to my ear, they don’t sound as good and I therefore don’t use them. But this is of course down to personal taste, and lots of my friends swear by them and think that they sound better. They sell very well, so lots of other guitarists obviously agree with my friends, but I’ll stick with traditional string design personally, purely for the sonics.
That’s acoustic guitar strings covered, let’s move on to…
Electric Guitar Strings
Unlike acoustic strings, whose mission is to create a sound that can be amplified by the instrument, electric guitar strings rely on magnetic pickups to amplify their sound. Therefore, they need to be constructed from ferromagnetic materials, i.e., metals that can be magnetized. Popular choices include…
Nickel-Plated Steel
These are by far the most popular choice for electric guitars and feature a steel core that is wound with nickel-plated steel wire. The nickel creates a smoother feel as well as a slightly warmer tone than pure steel, while the steel core ensures a strong magnetic response for the pickups.
Pure Nickel
This combination of materials produces a more vintage-sounding string. They feature pure nickel windings (as opposed to the nickel-plated wire in the previous set) over a steel core. This produces a softer, warmer tone with less brightness.
This design was responsible for creating the sound of Rock’n’Roll back in the 1950s and later the foundations of the entire rock genre in the ‘60s. They are now favored by blues and classic rock players who are looking to re-create the classic, retro sound of the era.
Stainless Steel
Next, we have a string material combination that is as hard as nails. These feature a steel core that is then wound with stainless steel. This makes them the most durable string you can buy, which is also extremely resistant to corrosion.
They produce a bright, cutting tone, which is liked by many. However, their durability is also their downfall as they can quickly eat through fret wire, making them much less commonly used than nickel strings.
Cobalt
These use a cobalt alloy for the windings. Cobalt is a more magnetic metal than nickel or steel, which produces a louder, clearer tone with a lot of enhanced midrange. They’re not cheap, but if you’re looking for the ultimate in clarity, they are well worth trying out.
Classical Guitar Strings
These are significantly different from their steel-string counterparts because they’re specifically designed for fingerstyle playing on classical guitars. Most instruments will feature three nylon strings for the treble strings and three nylon-core strings which are wound with silver-plated copper wire for the lower frequencies.
Nylon
The treble strings - G, B, and high e - are typically made of nylon which is a clear rectified single strand of synthetic polymer. They produce a warm, soft tone making them perfect for classical music.
Silver-Plated Copper
The bass strings - Low E, A, and D - usually feature the same nylon core as the treble strings but are wound with silver-plated copper wire. The silver plating adds brightness and a smoother feel, while the copper provides tonal depth.
Other metal options, such as bronze or other alloys are also used.
Fluorocarbon
This is a modern alternative to nylon and offers a denser, more focused tone with more projection. Fluorocarbon strings are now being used by lots of classical players, especially professionals, because of the increased clarity and responsiveness they provide.
Need More Great Info on Strings?
Then check out my thoughts on What Guitar Strings are Best for My Guitar? and Why Your New Guitar Strings Won’t Stay in Tune & How to Fix It.
Wrapping it Up
That’s it for my in-depth look at what materials are used to create guitar strings.
Thankfully, the days of using animal intestines to make gut strings are now long gone, and we only have to pop down to the local music shop or buy them online. Plus, constant innovations from different materials, such as using cobalt alloys for windings to produce a louder, clearer tone, to Fluorocarbon strings on classical guitars for improved responsiveness, ensure that we all need to keep an eye on the latest in string developments to get the very best out of them.
So hopefully, you’re now thinking of your humble set of strings a little differently, and maybe you’ll take a little more time to go through the options when you’re choosing your next set. Go on, throw caution to the wind, and try something new next time, you might hate them, but… you might love them, and they could change the way you play guitar forever!
