Enviromentally-friendly strings

Another aspect that should also be considered when buying strings is their packaging: the majority of string manufacturers use plastic to package their products; they thus contribute to creating a lot of totally unnecessary waste. Don't buy products of such resourcewasting manufacturers.

Strings

When buying strings, the scale length of the guitar has to be taken into consideration. Nowadays, however, this is no longer a real problem as most sets of strings are made to fit the longest scale length and just have to be cut off if necessary. String gauges are normally given in inches - it is common to talk of .011, .010 or

.009 string sets, the number describing the diameter of the thinnest string of the set.

Only strings made of magnetizable material can be used on electric guitars. Thicker strings make the guitar sound louder because one of the many factors determining the output of a pickup is the amount of mass that is moved in a magnetic field.

While the thinner strings are made of steel wire, the thicker strings have a steel core which is mostly surrounded by nickel wire. Since all the strings are of equal length and should have equal or near-equal tension, the mass of some of the strings has to be increased somehow to make them produce a lower-pitched tone. This is achieved by winding either flat or round wire around the steel core, giving either “flatwound” or “roundwound” strings. Using flat wire helps to prevent the strings from making unwanted noises while playing, whereas roundwound strings are more “supple”, vibrate more freely and thus produce more harmonics than flatwound strings. Roundwound strings, however, also tend to accumulate dirt more easily in their fine grooves.

When strings are very old or even rusty they no longer produce a clean sound and should be replaced. Even though it is a fact that all strings sound best when they are new, it also has to be said that is not such a good idea to change strings all the time for that reason. Throwing away strings that no longer sound as brilliant as new ones do is basically a huge waste of material. By regularly wiping the strings with a cloth, the bad effects of hand sweat can be relieved.