While everyone focuses on the build quality, pickups, ergonomic features, and other traits of electric guitars, the matter of strings gets kind of neglected. After all, this is where your initial tone starts, so it’s only obvious that strings play a huge role in shaping your overall output as a guitar player. Additionally, different kinds of strings will also make things more or less noisy or comfortable, depending on their design.
But what’s really tricky is the whole process of finding the best electric guitar strings for your needs. With so many products on the market, you might get lost finding the perfect set for you. Of course, this also depends on so many different factors, including your preferred style of music, the kind of tone that you’re aiming for, as well as the preferences in string gauges. Since it might not be the easiest task to find the best strings these days, we figured we could help you out by doing some research and bringing in the best electric guitar strings on the market.
Elixir Optiweb
Elixir are one of the most respected string brands on the market today. Although more expensive, their strings keep things really fresh for a very long time. For instance, Elixir Optiweb are nickel-plated steel strings with the company’s special coating that will keep them safe from any rust and dirt for a very long time. And this particular set is extremely bright and manages to stay like that even months after constant playing sessions. Although more expensive, you just can’t go wrong with these ones if you’re into a brighter tone.
Ernie Ball Classic Pure Nickel Super Slinky
Ernie Ball is one of the most important players in this game, and thei Super Slinky sets have proven to be one of the most popular ones on the market. Whatever is the genre, guitarists will quite often go for Classic Pure Nickel Super Slinky sets. This is mostly due to their “balanced” tone that covers all parts of the audible spectrum evenly. They are relatively light as these sets are in the 9-42 gauge. At the same time, they’re very comfortable to play.
GHS Strings BCCL Big Core Nickel Rockers
GHS is one of the first manufacturers that comes to mind for true electric guitar lovers. The set that we’re looking into here is their BCCL Big Core Nickel Rockers that come in an air-tight package that keeps them fresh right before you put them on your guitar. These are round-wound strings that are on a slightly larger than usual hex core. This gives them a medium bright tone and prolonged sustain.
Gibson Brite Wires
Additionally, we’d like to mention Gibson and their Brite Wires. These are especially designed to work with those vintage-oriented guitars and bring that strong crisp attack to the equation. They come with a nickel plating and a Sweedish steel hex core. With these strings, your guitar will have both the brightness and warmth, which is very unique for those old school rock and blues songs.
