Advice on guitar strings?

Question

What are the best type of strings for a semi-acoustic guitar?

Also, any information on the different types of guitar strings (light, ultra-light, heavy etc..) would be greatly appreciated.=]

Answer 1

There is no "best" guitar string.  It all depends on what string you like best.  Since they're mostly cheap - around $5 a set - you should try different kinds until you light upon the one that sounds best to you.

Most people use light or medium strings; avoid heavy gauge strings unless you are certain that your guitar is braced for them, which very few are.

I happen to use and recommend Elixir Nanoweb light gauge strings for all of my steel-string acoustics.  They're more expensive - about $15 a set - but they last a long time and their coating all but eliminates finger squeak.

There are at least 30 brands of strings but you might want to check out CF Martin, GHS, D'Addario, and a few others.

Answer 2

its all preference.  i like GHS, i'm endorsed by them, but i used to be endorsed by ernie ball who are pretty good too.  heavy are used mostly for ehavy metal, but a few jazz players use them too. ultra lights break.

Answer 3

As for what brand, I love Elixirs, but their sound wears off quickly. Martin's are pretty good, though.

As for the other stuff, just ask anyone at the music store and they can give you the low-down on all of that.

Answer 4

i use to use martin strings. nice strings. i've been using elixirs for the past 4 years. i started with Nanoweb now i use polyweb (preferred). i've gone thru the gauges and i like medium.

Answer 5

What the h**l is a "semi-acoustic guitar"?  I have heard of Acoustic guitars and Acoustic Electric guitars.. but I have NEVER heard of a "semi-acoustic" guitar...

If you want to know what strings to use.. and they can be different even for identical guitars from the same builder... then you can do what everyone else does... go to an Internet site like Strings and Beyond and ORDER ONE SET OF EVERYTHING that you think you would like to try.. and then play on each set for about a week... keep notes as to tonal quality and then, when you work your way through about 20 sets of strings, you will KNOW which strings sound the best for YOUR PARTICULAR GUITAR... there really IS no other way to do it... and you won't get your answer here on Yahoo Answers... because it's a PERSONAL THING and nobody on here can tell you what your ears tell you.

Answer 6

I personally like Elicsir strings. I think they are the best for acoustics and electric. Most people who play lead like the light strings which are a 9 gauge. I personally like the DR Dime Bag Darrell strings that go from 9 to about 50. So it has both good for solos and metal rhythms. I would go for a more expensive string because they seem to last a whole lot longer. Its well worth it. If I were you I would stick with whats comfortable with you and to experiment.