Introduction of the steel string guitar
At Homestead Guitar, we use standard Adirondack tops for our guitars. Like many guitarists, we believe that Adirondack tops are among the best for steel string guitars, offering exceptional tone and projection. You can learn more about the benefits of Adirondack tops [here]. [hier]However, the top isn’t the only factor that influences a guitar’s sound—strings play a crucial role as well. Different types of strings bring unique characteristics to your instrument.
Strings can be categorized in two ways: by their
thickness (gauge) and by their material. Each combination offers distinct tonal qualities and playing experiences, allowing you to customize your sound to suit your style.
Different thickness
The common string gauges on steel string acoustic guitar are 0.010, 0.011, 0.012, and 0.013. In addition to these common gauges, there are also 0.009, 0.0115, 0.0125 and 0.014 strings. These are the sizes for the first string of the string set. (the high e-string). Curt Mangan himself also has a string set with 0.008-0.038 thickness with Monel as material (67% nikel, 30% copper, and 3% mix of iron, manganese, carbon and silicone).
These first string of common thickness are paired with 5 other strings as standard. Here are the standard gauges of the common string set:
D'Addario en Elixir
Ernie Ball (akoestisch)
Martin Snaren
GHS
Besides the standard sets, there is also a light-medium combination set, where the three treble strings are from the light set (.012, .016, .024), and the three bass strings are from the medium set (.035, .045, .056).
Tone: thinner string has more treble tone, while thicker string has more bass tone.
Volume: A thinner string produces less volume compared to a thicker string
Flexibility; when tuned the same (on the same scale), thinner strings need less tension making them more flexible to bend than a thicker string.
Guitar scale and string gauge
The standard scale of Homestead guitars is 650 mm, but some models, such as Traveler (590 mm) and Parlor (609 mm), have shorter scales. Besides that, customer can also order shorter scales for their guitar, like another common scale of 630 mm.
Guitars’ scales also influence guitar strings’ tension, namely, the shorter the scale the less tension the strings need to be in tune. Combined with the thickness of the strings, thinner strings and shorter (guitar) scales will provide more flexibility and easier to play but less volume, meanwhile, thicker strings and longer scales will offer more volume but less flexibility to bend and harder to play.
The history of string material
oThere is no single clear history source on the guitar strings. There are clear sources that before the 19th century, the catgut (core) was used in string instruments, including for the Bass strings. Although the name is catgut, most of the strings made back in those days are not made from cat gut but from sheep or cattle intestines. The ‘cat’ is actually short from ‘cattle’. The ‘Early Romantic Guitar.com’ mentioned that “wire-wound strings with a gut or silk core have been around since the 17th century.” There is also no clear source of who invented steel-core guitar strings, Ervin Somogyi on his website esomogyi.com stated that “…, the steel string guitar has been a creature of the factory.” It further stated that at the beginning of the 19th century, metal wiring industries for fencing were booming. With it the Americans (pioneers, farmers, ranchers, homesteaders) see the use of metal wiring adaption for their stringed instruments. In the beginning, they put metal strings on their instruments built for gut-strings. The result was a structural defect because the neck, the bracing, and the bridge were not built for the higher tension of metal strings.
The same website mentioned that in the late 1800s, the Larsons brothers made the first durable steel string flat-top guitars, and at the same time,” Orville Gibson was solving the same structural problems by making his steel-strung guitars arch-topped.” Read more about it at esomogyi.com. But the production was limited and it was not until the 1920s that Gibson produced the archtop jazz L5 in quantity. Several years later other manufacturers follow Gibson in producing steel strings guitars but with flat-top.
There is also no unanimous information regarding the material composition of the steel strings wound on the 3rd until the 6th strings. What the writer has found of the earliest wound material was “silver wound” listed in 1903 Gibson catalogue (source: campusfive.com).
Information about the wound materials is clearer in the 1930’s. There are many sources mentioned 80/20 bronze, Phospor bronze, and Monel Nickle as acoustic guitar strings.
Different string material
80/20 Bronze
The 80/20 Bronze strings was developed by John D’Addario Sr. and John D’Angelico in 1930s. It was developed specifically for acoustic guitar. The composition of 80/20 bronze are 80% copper and 20% zinc. Hence the name 80/20. The sound characteristics of 80/20 bronze are bright, crisp and deep with a projecting tone.
An uncoated 80/20 bronze is vulnerable to corrosion. That is why many string producers also offer coated 80/20 bronze strings. But for the purist, uncoated 80/20 bronze strings are also widely available.
Phospor Bronze
Phosphor bronze as a metal composition was first introduced in Vienna around 1870 by George Montefiore-Levi and Karl Künzel. The compositions are made of copper alloyed with up to 11% tin, up to 0.35% phosphorus, and may contain other elements depending on the usage of the alloy. The characteristics of phosphor bronze are: tough, has fine grain, and is highly corrosion resistant. That is why it is often used in many industries including the marine industry.
There is no clear source mentioning the starting year of Phosphor bronze used as an acoustic guitar’s string. D’Addario does mention on their website that they pioneered the Phosphor Bronze string for acoustic guitar in the 1970s. The reason Phosphor Bronze was not widely used before the 1970s was the relatively high price compared to later years.
The compositions of Phosphor Bronze strings are: Bronze: 92% Copper, 8% Tin, and less than 1% phosphorus. The sound characteristics Phosphor bronze strings produce are: warm, bright, and balanced tones.
Uncoated Phosphor bronze strings are relatively durable compared to 80/20 bronze due to their corrosion resistance. Due to its fine grain, the strings have tonal quality that lasts longer.
Monel Nickel
Monel is an alloy of nickel created by Robert Crooks Stanley in 1905. It is made of Nickel (52% to 67%), Copper, and small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon and silicone. It is resistant to corrosion and acid. It is also difficult to process since it hardens very quickly.
Several sources mentioned that monel strings were used as early as the 1920s. Back in the day, the price of Monel alloy was quite expensive, which is why it stopped being produced around the 1970s. Not until the 2010s it is being re-introduced as guitar strings by several strings producers.
The sound characteristics of Monel strings are: clear, natural, and focused sound. Like Phosphor Bronze strings, Monel strings are corrosive resistant.
Nickel Bronze
Nickel Bronze strings are made of Phosphor Bronze strings plated with nickel. At this moment, only D’Addario offers this type of string for acoustic guitar. Due to the nickel plated, the sound characteristic is like Monel Nickel strings. But there are some differences which are:
- Monel strings produce a warm, vintage tone.
- Nickel Bronze strings produce a brighter, more powerful sound with a bit more treble response compared to Monel.
Silk and Steel
The terms silk and steel come from the steel core with the soft feeling of the string. What makes the soft feel is the layer of silk filament sandwiched between the core and wire wrap made of silver-plated copper. Silk and steel strings are available from many brands, including D’Addario, Martin, Ernie Ball, and many more.
Silk and steel strings need less tension than any other steel-cored strings and the silk filament produces more warmer and mellow sound.
Titanium core
Titanium core strings are one of the latest innovations in the guitar strings world. It has a round titanium core wrapped in nickel for its 3rd until 6th strings, while the 1st and the 2nd strings are from steel string.
The sound that these Titanium core strings produce is a clear and warm sound. At the time of writing this article, Martin is the only brand that offers titanium strings. According to the manufacturers, titanium core is more flexible than steel strings, but still has the same strength. Due to the flexibility, the guitarist needs less effort to press or bend the string. Titanium strings are relatively expensive compared to other types of strings.
Aluminium Bronze
The latest string material is Aluminium Bronze by Ernie Ball. It is made of Maraging steel hex core and Aluminium Bronze wrap wire (a blend of copper and aluminium). According to a member of acousticguitarforum.com, Aluminium Bronze has the characteristic combination of Phosphor Bronze and Nickel Bronze. It is brighter than Phosphor Bronze and Nickel Bronze and has more overtones than 80/20 Bronze.
Conclusion:
There are many types of string to choose from. We can categorise types of strings according to their thickness and their material.
String thickness
There are four common guitar string thicknesses for acoustic guitars. They are:
- Extra light; 10-47
- Custom light; 11-52
- Light;12-54
- Medium; 13-56
The thinner the strings, the easier they are to play, but the volume is less. As such, the thicker the strings, the harder they are to play, but it will be louder.
The best string thickness for beginners is either Extra Light or Custom Light.
String material
At this moment there are three widely used string materials; 80/20, Phosphor Bronze, and Monel
80/20 Bronze Strings produce a bright, crisp, deep, and projecting tone. An uncoated 80/20 strings are vulnerable to corrosion.
Phosphor Bronze strings produce a warm, bright, and balanced tone. The material of Phosphor Bronze is corrosion-resistant.
Monel strings produce clear, natural and focused sound. The Monel material is corrosion-resistant.
Nickel Bronze strings produce a similar sound to Monel strings, but have a brighter, more powerful sound and a slightly more responsive than Monel strings.
Silk and steel strings produce warm and softer sound. These strings need less tension which makes the strings easier to bend.
Titanium core strings produce a bright, warm sound. Due to the material, this is the most expensive string set on the market.
Aluminum Bronze strings produce a bright, sparkling sound. It is the latest innovation in acoustic guitar strings.
There are different string materials on the market, the best way to find out which gauge and material suits your taste is to try them out yourself.