Q: I purchased my first acoustic guitar about 3 months ago. When should I change the strings?

A: When you change strings is dependent upon how often you play, your playing style, your care of the strings, and the effect your hands have on the strings. The short answer to this question is between 15 to 30 hours of play! Here's why: As you play, the strings will collect dirt and oils from your hands. This causes the the strings to become dead and to vibrate unevenly along their length (also causing tuning problems). Dirt and oils get into the windings and down inside to the core of the strings where it can cause corrosion of the core. If your hands are dirty or if your hands perspire when you play, this will shorten the string life. Wiping the strings off each time you are finished playing will help prolong their life. Also if you bend strings or play hard this will cause flat spots on the strings especially at the fret locations, shortening their life.

Q: A friend told me that I should put nylon strings on my guitar to make it easier to play and help keep my fingers from becoming as sore when I play. Is this OK? I purchased some nylon strings but how do they go on?

A: First of all I assume that you have a steel string acoustic guitar. The keyword here is steel string! While nylon strings are under less tension and are larger in diameter, which you would think would be "easier" to play, there are other factors which make it improper to put nylon strings on steel string guitars and vice versa. The primary reason is the differences in the design of nylon (Classical) versus steel string instruments:

(1) The nut - (part at the top of the guitar that guides the strings) slots are narrower on steel string guitars and would need to be widened to allow for the larger diameter nylon strings.

(2) The saddle - (white piece on the face of the guitar that the strings go over) angled on acoustic guitars and straight on classical guitars. Because the diameter, tension, length and height from the fingerboard of a string effects its ability to play in tune, the saddle angle needs to be different for nylon and steel strings.

(3) The tuning gear design - diameter of the post is larger on classical guitars. Nylon strings stretch more than steel strings and the larger diameter post allows for faster tuning. There are other reasons but these are the most obvious.

After all this... if you must put nylon strings on a steel string guitar use the kind for "folk guitars" these are smaller in diameter and have a ball end designed to work with guitars that have pins to attach the strings. You will still have to widen the nut slots (have a good guitar tech do this) and live with less than accurate tuning.

Q: There are so many kinds of strings to choose from, which ones are the best?

A: There are many good string brands to choose from. Each has its own properties. To avoid conflicts with personal preferences I can not make a specific brand recommendation. The best choice depends upon your instruments sound and your own tone preference. Try different brands and materials and let your ears be the judge. However, here are some guidelines as to general characteristics of the more common materials.

Acoustic Steel Strings

Bronze Wound - The most common material for steel string guitars. This string has the brightest sound when new. Is good for recording and combo work. However it will loose its initial brightness very quickly. This can be an advantage - If you don't want a bright sound, play on these strings for a few hours and they will start to mellow.

Phosphor Bronze Wound - This string is a bronze string with phosphor added to the alloy. This has two primary effects. It will make the string warmer sounding than regular bronze, and will extend the life of the tone (Will maintain its original sound longer).

Silk & Steel - This is a special design string where the unwrapped strings are plain steel and the wrapped strings have a thin steel core surrounded by many nylon filaments and then wrapped with silver plated brass windings. This string is under less tension when tuned to pitch and will soften the volume of your instrument. Also it will be easier to depress the strings. This type of string is not as bright as the other steel string types and less durable. Great when a more "classical guitar" tone is desired or softer action is preferred.

Electric Strings:

Nickel Plated - This string consists of nickel plated steel wraps around a steel core. The steel gives you better magnetic pull thus more volume electronically, and the nickel helps keep the steel from corroding. This is the most common type of electric string.

Pure Nickel - This string consists of nickel wraps around a steel core. Due to the pure nickel content of the wrap this string is more mellow in tone and has less output electronically. It gives that "vintage sound"

Stainless Steel - The brightest material for electric strings, and has good volume electronically. The stainless steel is not as smooth to the touch as the nickel types of strings. Stainless steel is a very hard material and combined with its rougher texture, in my opinion, causes quicker fret wear.

Q: My classical guitar has 3 nylon strings and 3 metal strings on it. Why? Shouldn't they all be the same?

A: Actually your guitar has 6 nylon strings. When we speak of nylon vs steel strings we refer to the core material of the string. If you look closely at the end of the "metal" strings you will see that the inside material consists of many small fibers. These fibers are made of nylon! Thus it is nylon, not a steel string. The reason that the lower pitched strings have a "metal" (most commonly silver plated copper) winding is to add mass to the string so it will be able to be tuned lower. Without this winding the diameter of the string would need to be so much larger, to have the same mass, that it would be impractical to play. Also, if you break one of the wrapped strings and wish to replace it, be sure to ask for a (low E, A, or D) nylon, string not a steel string, or you will probably get the wrong type. You could damage your classical guitar if you put a higher tension steel string on it!

Q: How does the size (gauge) of strings effect the guitar?

A: The effects that string gauge have on your instrument are tone, playability and its adjustments. A larger gauge of strings applies more tension to the guitar. This has the effect of giving you more volume and a more focused sound. Because of the greater tension, it will require more pressure to depress the strings. However, higher tension strings vibrate in a smaller arc allowing the strings to be adjusted closer to the fingerboard with less potential of buzzing. Lighter gauge strings cause the opposite changes. Most guitars come from the factory with "Lite" gauge strings .012-.054 for acoustic guitars and .009-.042 for electric guitars. If you change string gauge you may need to have your instrument adjusted to keep the action (distance that the strings are from the fret tops) the same. Less tension may cause the strings to lower and cause buzzing while higher tension may cause the strings to rise making it difficult to play. Electric guitars that have a tremolo system may also need it adjusted.

Q: The ends of my fingers hurt from playing. What can I do?

A: If you are a new player you will experience some discomfort at first because your fingertips have not toughened and it seems new players have a tendency to press too hard on the strings. With time and a light touch (enough pressure to contact the fret top is all that is needed) the tenderness will go away. Hang in there! (Tip - try putting one of the oral treatments made for babies, when they are cutting teeth, on your fingertips to reduce the tenderness.)

Q: I like the sound of steel strings better than the nylon strings that are on my guitar now. Can I put steel strings on my guitar without problems?

A: This can be dangerous! The design of nylon string guitars is very different from steel string guitars. To get the best sound from a guitar there is a balance between strength and flexibility. Nylon strings are under less tension than steel strings so the top is made thinner and the internal braces are lighter allowing the instrument to vibrate more, giving you better volume. The extra pressure that steel strings put on a nylon guitar can, over time, cause the top to pull up, cause braces to come loose, and even pull the bridge off the guitar! Also, most nylon string guitars do not have internal neck reinforcement (truss rod) like steel string instruments do. This will cause the neck to pull forward causing the distance of the strings from the fret tops to increase greatly making the instrument difficult to play. The tuning gear rollers on nylon instruments are also different. They are normally made from plastic which will not support the pressure of the steel strings. The shafts may break under the extra pressure.