I'm new to guitar. How do I go about picking strings?

I bought my Telecaster used and I'm not sure what kind of strings it came with. One of them snapped on me and it's time to get some replacements.

Ultimately, I'd like to try a variety of different strings to see what I like. But I'd love a little guidance from more experienced guitarists on where I might want to start on string selection.

Electric? Get a pack of Ernie Ball 10 to 46 gauge nickel wounds and see how they treat you. If they are too tiring then go down to 9's, if they are too easy to play on consider 11s or just be proud of how badass you are...

For acoustic strings? I am the wrong guy to ask... I could give a rat's ass whats on my acoustic. Whatever's cheap and doesn't bend the neck.

Yeah you just gotta try out as many different as you can, it really is, well it's like music it's all about personal preference. As for the make I use Rotosound just always have so I am not the best to ask, but I have heard countless times before that Ernie Ball is a good option.

You are in luck. Electric guitar strings are super cheap, at least compared to bass strings. I would suggest going to your local music store and buying 4 to 5 sets.

I'm guessing you are new to guitar so I would suggest going with a 9 gauge set and at least one 8 gauge set to try out. It will take time to build up your calluses so you want to start off with lighter sets.

Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, Dunlop, DR, and D'Addario are brands I can recommend. DR's go dead quick in my experience and as do Ernie Balls however they will be easier on the fingers. D'Addario stays bright for ages but usually have a higher tension to them.

Stay clear the hell away from Fender, Dean Markley, and Cleartone brand strings. These flat out suck. That's my opinion, but one earned with experience in these products.

At first, get comfortable with what gauges you like. Then once you are set on gauge, you can start shaping your tone with materials used, shape, and coatings.

Thanks for the great responses! Looks like I'll be making a trip to my local music store this weekend. :)

I usually buy bulk strings online or at the guitar shows... retail is a ripoff

Also, once you settle on a gauge, style and brand you will want to make sure that the guitar is set-up to intonate properly with your string preference. If its not set up right you may get fret buzz, fretting out when you bend and/or the guitar may sound out of tune the further up the neck you play.

http://www2.fender.com/support/articles/telecaster-setup-guide/

For beginner players, definitely light gauge. More important for you to enjoy playing and learn the chords and scales. You can switch to heavier gauge later.

Or, if you are willing, just man up and get the heavy gauge now. But you have to be totally honest with yourself, and understand it will not be pleasant until those calluses have grown. But they will grow a lot faster. So ... it's really up to you and your personality.

ACOUSTIC strings ... I only use Elixer "nanoweb" phospher bronze on my steel stringed acoustics. I'm not a fan of the silly names (nanoweb? really?) that's just marketing. But they sound great AND they last forever. They are almost as expensive as bass guitar strings, ranging $14-16 last I checked. But they will last you a loooong time. I recommend a set of 12's.

definitely light gauge

"Womans' strings!"

Did you read my post? at all?

I prefer thick gauge strings that are loose tension for 6 string. The smaller gauges have those knife edge high strings and they always get caught in my calluses.If I use thick strings, it works more like a bass and I don't get damage from it.

Nothing wrong with light gauge if it's comfortable to you. For about a year, I used an 8 gauge slinky. It was like playing on rubber bands.

http://tinyurl.com/bjgkyp

Or, if you are willing, just man up and get the heavy gauge now. But you have to be totally honest with yourself, and understand it will not be pleasant until those calluses have grown. But they will grow a lot faster. So ... it's really up to you and your personality.

I am only speaking about electric because Acoustics are a world unto themselves, particularly when you are making an album.

Most people are not ready for the man up approach though it was mine 25 years ago when I pickup up my 1st strat and had at it. But I am a complete, single-minded lunatic. Or I was. I did a lot of growing up. That said, there are countless amazing players who use lighter gauge strings than you can even buy in stores. For instance, the Rev Bill F Gibbons of ZZ Top has a custom 7 gauge set made as his signature strings. Dr Brian May of Queen is well known for using 8s though I seem to recall that he recently gauged up to 9s. But he plays a short scale guitar. Even 9 gauges on a short scale will have about ZERO tension.

As an adult I have realized you do not have to prove your virtuosity by emulating SRV's use of tree trunk string sets. I use Ernie regular Slinkies because I am used to the feel and sound. No better reason. This is an area where sheer laziness may be your best ally! Get used to something that works for you and stick with it. Changing string brands and gauges is like constantly dicking with your rig. Its an excuse not to work on the biggest no-money tonal improvement you can make to your guitar sound.... PRACTICE!

In short, if you are constantly learning to play on different materials and gauges you are not learning to be a better player, you are relearning what you already knew because you changed the rules of the game. Just pick something, buy a case of them, and get back to playing.

Yes, that is true many famous guitarists - another one being Jeff Beck - use light gauge strings. But it is a fact that thicker strings will increase your tone and sustain. If you want my opinion, thicker strings are preferable. I play .10's or .11's on my electrics so we aren't talking about bass strings or .13's. The .12 set I mentioned was acoustic strings.

Yes, that is true many famous guitarists - another one being Jeff Beck - use light gauge strings. But it is a fact that thicker strings will increase your tone and sustain. If you want my opinion, thicker strings are preferable. I play .10's or .11's on my electrics so we aren't talking about bass strings or .13's. The .12 set I mentioned was acoustic strings.

As an experienced tech I would disagree that what you stated is a fact, though I used to believe that heavy strings equals heavy tone and sustain too. Lets get all Isaac newton for a sec. Logically a lighter string will resonate longer with less energy required to set it vibrating unless your pickups are set so high they exhibit string pull. The only fact is that heavy strings produce a stronger fundamental because the greater arir resistance allows for a different ratio of fundamental to harmonic than a smaller string, hence their popularity with jazz players. But the decreased air resistance we just mentioned would also tend to support a smaller string vibrating longer generally apart from a bevy of other reasons why this should be true. There's a lot of physics and personal experience coming down against the accepted wisdom and I do not blame you for spouting it as fact.

It would be more accurate to say that the way you have your guitars set up you find that heavier strings give you more sustain and the tone is more pleasing to your ear and that your experience jives with the accepted wisdom amongst guitarists. I think guitarists are the ultimate old wives, telling tales. I have often been guilty of this! I too prefer medium or heavy strings for a host of reasons, but better tone is purely subjective, a strong fundamental is not everyone's priority and the sustain issue is extremely debatable... not to mention the fact that so many other physical factors affect sustain right down to your fretting technique that it is just impossible to offer this as a blanket rule. I am not saying I am right, I am just debating the prevailing theory of big strings give big sustain. Life is never that simple.

Personally I think differences in neck scale, hardware and construction have a lot more impact on electric guitar tone than does string gauge or material. I use the same ernie 10s on every guitar I own, but I own a HERD of guitars and every one has a ton of personality.

I think young guys ought to just pick something they feel good with and stick to getting great at playing on whatever that choice is. That goes for every bit of electric guitar kit. Just pick some stuff that's easy to manage and get down to the business of playing.

PS: I am actually mouthier and more opinionated about music IN PERSON! I tone it down on the internet.

Well I am impressed, and mind-opened. You make some very good arguments for lighter gauge strings. Regarding the fundamental bit, I am wondering now if that is why Jeff Beck and Steve Vai and so many other cats who do lots of harmonics and squeals prefer lighter strings (whether they know it or not, it sounds like they get more overtones and harmonics from those thinner strings). Very interesting.

My guitars are, by design, heavier and denser because I believe - whether it is wives tale or urban legend or fact - that heavier weight and denser wood gives some added sustain. I also know (I'm pretty sure this is fact) that dense wood like mahogany tends to have more lows and mids, whereas lighter woods like swamp ash and basswood have less lows/mids, which is just one of the many reasons strats and les pauls sound the way they do.

So basically I agree with you, there are so many factors... the wood type, the fretboard type (ebony bounces notes off the fingerboard more than rosewood, for example) and of course the string gauge. Heavier strings does not guarantee more sustain or better tone. But maybe, perhaps, it can help lean you in that direction.

Well I am impressed, and mind-opened. You make some very good arguments for lighter gauge strings. Regarding the fundamental bit, I am wondering now if that is why Jeff Beck and Steve Vai and so many other cats who do lots of harmonics and squeals prefer lighter strings (whether they know it or not, it sounds like they get more overtones and harmonics from those thinner strings). Very interesting.

Go science, right? I am not saying light strings are best, I am just saying that they are not inherently weaker in the sustain department and that good tone is subjective and really more of a cultural construct (though I have considered a physiological theory as well, but psychoacoustics is a slippery slope). I think you are correct about Beck and Vai viz-a-viz light gauge strings. Also keep in mind they are both wang bar masters (abusers???). This will be more true of Beckola than Vai because the big V favors the Floyd rose system with all that locking hardware, but lighter strings tend to be easier to set up vibrato systems for. With less tension to balance with the springs its just easier to get your vibrato set up to be very responsive and to generally return to pitch when used correctly.

So basically I agree with you, there are so many factors... the wood type, the fretboard type (ebony bounces notes off the fingerboard more than rosewood, for example) and of course the string gauge. Heavier strings does not guarantee more sustain or better tone. But maybe, perhaps, it can help lean you in that direction.

but then there's the South American rosewoods like Kingwood and the now-elusive Brazilian variety... so dense and reflective. My older rosewood boards are very dense and bright sounding like my ebony equipped les paul, whereas unplugged my tele and modern SG have more in common with eachother tonally than the SG does with my older set necks or the aforementioned LP. Of course, they also aren't maple capped. So many things. Its best just to own a fleet of guitars and enjoy them for what they are, isn't it?

Anyway, the heavy-string sustain you are experiencing is probably a sense that the fundamental sustains longer with 10+ gauges while the harmonics decay quickly after the initial attack. So in a sense they are helping you in that direction by taking a guitar that is already well-designed to sustain with any type of string and allowing it to create the sort of sustain that pleases your ear. Picking a string gauge on these criteria is also like the decision to play on pure nickel, nickel wound or all steel wrapped strings.