FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Ghs Guitar String

Question:
I bought my guitar and started playing about a month and a half ago, and have not yet changed the strings. Based on the posts I've read about changing strings, I think this is something that I need to do. I just have a few questions about this. 1) Is there a difference between strings that you can buy? And if so, do you reccomend any specific ones? 2) I really don't know _how_ to change the strings. Can anyone give me a quick explanation, or tell me a website that might help? 3) I play about 2 or 3 hours a day, mostly just for fun....how often do you think I need to change strings? The guitar is an electric Gibson Epiphone Any help?

Answer:
Guitar strings, good question. If you want treble, snappy, quick, tight, high end fender stratocaster tone, go for .08 to .47 (low E to high E), with a round G string (my lead uses this on all his single coil only guitars. If you want huge, beefy, AC/DC like sound, go for .11 - .50 (I use these on my Gibson Les Paul, as well as my SG). They are harder to bend, but the tone is thicker and they sound better when detuned (an obviously needed thing in my band.) I always use a round wound G string (keeps better tune) and GHS guitar boomers and Dean Markley are what you will find on the majority of my instruments, though my seven string Ibanez is a different story. I sometimes play with a High A string (.08, .10, etc.) or a low B string, which usually come in bass packs. I use Ernie Ball super slinky there, because when I tune up to that high A, or F# if i'm detuned a minor third, you really need all the extra tension capabilities. Remember, tone is everything, appearance is nothing.