Guitar String Gauges

Guitar String Gauges

For Electric and Acoustic Guitars

Hollow Body Electric and Solid Body Guitars

-Alan Arnell

Guitar strings are available in different gauges.

Heavier gauge strings produce a thicker, fuller sound;

lighter gauges are thinner, easier to bend and great for soloing.

Good pitch accuracy (intonation), which means that the guitar is in tune all the way up and down the neck. The gauge of the string can greatly affect the quality of intonation.  If you were to go to your guitar store you really will not go wrong in your string brand, style and sizes of your strings.  I have found that all strings on the market are of a good quality.

However, for the most pitch perfect/stylistic of guitar player there are many variations and combinations to consider and thus choose when buying guitar strings.

Solid Body Guitars

For solid body guitars using string sets with an unwrapped G string has been documented that the gauges of .010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046 have the best chances and give the best results for setting up good Rock N Roll intonation. If you plan to do a great deal of stretching of strings for pitch effects, thinner strings are better for that style of play.  However, in obtaining that string with super-light string function limits the user in maintaining and obtaining good intonation.

Acoustic-Body Electric Guitars

With the acoustic-body electrics and straight acoustic guitars, most guitarist use strings sets with wrapped G strings that will lesson intonation problems.  Plain third strings are often the main source of bad intonation.  This type of string choice will have a tendency to sound sharp and if they are strung too tight, the bridge saddle adjustments cannot compensate for them.  For a well-adjusted bridge, the saddle insert for a plain G string is usually placed closer to the rear of the bridge than the other inserts. That is why most guitar instructional books do not recommend using plain third strings on acoustic arch-top and flat-top guitars with slanted bridge saddles that cannot be adjusted for individual strings.

Arch-Top and Flat-Tip Acoustic Guitars

On the typical arch-top and flat-top acoustics, the second string can also cause an intonation problem.  If the B string is too heavy, it will react in the same way as a plain third string.  Such, there is a tendency to go sharp in the upper register.  In-days-gone by of the Big Band era very heavy strings were used.  The result was that the bridge saddles had to be notched out at the rear under the second string to help correct the intonation.  Today’s string gauges used by the majority of acoustic guitar players, notched-out bridge saddle is a problem, that causes the second string to fret flat in the upper register.  Today’s guitar makers uses an un-notched, slanted bridge saddle that gives excellent intonation. The approximate string gauges recommended here is .012, .016, .024, (wound).032, .042, .054.

Fixed Bridge Guitars

The fixed bridge guitar, such as a classical and folk model guitars, the Luthier (Guitar Maker) will try different gauges, because this is usually the only solution to intonation problems.  Some classical guitar builders cut an offset to the rear under the third string to help compensate for the inherent sharp qualities of the unwrapped nylon third string.

First-String Intonation

Some guitarist set the bridge to insert placement by aligning the pitch of the fretted E at the 12th fret to the harmonic E at the 12th fret.  This alone is fine, but if there is a real need to make it perfect, adjust it so the fingered B at the 19th fret on the first string has the same pitch as the harmonic B at the 19th fret.  Doing so you can be sure that the bridge/insert placement for the first string is correct. A rule to keep in mind:  If the fretted note is sharp compared to the harmonic, move the bridge/insert back, increasing the string length.  

If the fretted note is flat compared to the harmonic, move the bridge/insert forward thus decreasing the string length. For arch-top guitars with movable bridges and slanted saddles, this will be the only bridge adjustment you should make.  If intonation problems exist when you are going through the sequence discussed here, your only solution may be to try different string gauges.  The base of the bridge should not be canted.

Using Harmonics

Using harmonics to adjust the tuning or intonation of a guitar would be okay if you play only harmonics all the time.  This not the way most players play today.  The only realistic method is to set the intonation to fretted notes up the neck-which is the way most of us play guitar.

Intonation the other strings

Doing, so you could start tuning the second string so that the pitch of the fretted E (5th fret) matches the open first string.  Let notes sustain while you are doing this function.  Next use the sequence in the below example to set the intonation of the remaining five strings.  Please note that the fingered notes in the diagram spell a major triad: root the 3rd, 5th root.  The sequence for the third string is especially helpful for setting an unwrapped G string’s intonation.

Note:  At the beginning of each sequence, be exactly correct when tuning the first fretted note to the open string.  If the pitch of each pair of strings is not exactly the same, the rest of the sequence will be useless.  The sequence beginning with the third string works equally well for the electric bass, even though the pitch is one octave lower.

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