20 Best Guitar Strings For Acoustic Electric (2023 Updated)

My mother has played the guitar for years. So when she told me she needed new guitar strings, I wanted to make sure I got her a really good set. However, there are as many types of guitar strings on the market as there are flowers in the field.

The options were overwhelming. Therefore, when I had the opportunity to order the D’Addario Phosphor Bronze Warm, Bright & Balanced Tone, Light Gauge, Three Pack Acoustical String Set – EJ16-3D, I did a little bit of research before ordering.

After some schooling on the D’Addario & Company, Inc. , I found out that I would be providing my mother with one of the best acoustical string sets on the market. D’Addario Phosphor Bronze Warm, Bright & Balanced Tone Light Gauge Three Pack Acoustical String Set EJ16-3D arrived in a slim box with three sets of strings.

Pros: -Three sets of strings. -Each string set is contained in a grey VCI corrosion protection package that states that their vapor corrosion inhibitor keeps your strings factory fresh. -The front of each package lists out each string, (1st – 6th) stating what note that string represents, (E, B, G, D, A, & E), and which color ball would be at the end of that particular string.

I think this is a really nice touch for the beginners. -On the back of each package, was a code for the D’Addario’s Players Circle, which allows you to earn points towards free strings, gear and other exclusive prizes.

-Under this, is an additional note that tells you how to earn Players Circle points for recycling your strings through the Playback program to help preserve the planet. -D’Addario & Company, Inc is located in the United States, in Farmingdale, New York -Were very easy for me to string, even without a lot of guitar knowledge, thanks to the information on the packaging.

-An absolutely beautiful sound compared to my mother’s old guitar strings. -My mother likes how the strings feel on her fingers and she says they “slide” well. Cons: -None So Far Tech: -D’Addario Phosphor Bronze Warm, Bright & Balanced Tone Light Gauge Three Pack Acoustical String Set EJ16-3D are Light Gauge.

12 -. 053. -On the box, on a scale between Mellow and Bright, the sound of the strings is shown to be just past the middle on the Bright side. -String E – 1st -. 012″ Diameter – 23. 36 Lbs Tension -String B – 2nd -.

016″ Diameter – 23. 31 Lbs Tension -String G – 3rd -. 024″ Diameter – 30. 06 Lbs Tension -String D – 4th -. 032″ Diameter – 29. 93 Lbs Tension -String A – 5th -. 042″ Diameter – 28. 93 Lbs Tension -String E – 6th -.

053″ Diameter – 24. 95 Lbs Tension (NOTE – 25. 5″ scale length used for tension measurements) -Phosphor Bronze is considered the pinnacle of acoustic string alloys. -Phosphor Bronze is synonymous with Warm, Bright and Well-Balanced acoustic tone.

-D’addario Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings feature a precision wound corrosion-resistant phosphor bronze wire carefully drawn around a hexagonally shaped, high-carbon steel core. The result is a consistant, long-lasting tone with excellent intonation.

What I learned about The D’Addario & Company, Inc and their strings: -They are a ninth generation, family own/operated business. -Company has been creating musical accessories for over 100 years. -They pioneered the first to use Phosphor Bronze guitar strings back in 1974.

-They have more patents in musical products than any other company in the music industry. -They designed and built their own string winding machine. -They initiated Playback, the world’s leading string recycling program.

-The D’Addario Foundation donates a percentage of their profits to music programs in underprivileged communities. -They make strings for: guitar (bass, electric, acoustic, tenor, and classical), ukulele, mandolin, banjo, chello, violin, viola, chello, base, vihuela, guitarron, erhu, pipa, ruan, bajo quinto, bajo sexto, cuatro, requinto, viola brasileira, Irish bouzouki, Greek bouzouki, Cretan Lyra, cavaquinho, oud, and dulcimer.

-Their strings are used by artists and musicians all over the world. It has been a learning experience for both my mother and I and this company sounds amazing. However, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak, and these strings really deliver.

It is unfortunate I can not upload a video so you can hear the difference for yourselves. It is truly incredible. So if you are in the market for new guitar strings, we highly recommend the D’Addario Phosphor Bronze Warm, Bright & Balanced Tone Light Gauge Three Pack Acoustical String Set EJ16-3D.

Since 1977, I have been selling Daddario EJ-16s to my customers and rate them as the number one best acoustic Phosphor Bronze string. EJ-16s were one of the very first and remain the most consistent Phosphor Bronze sting on the market.

The inner core of the wound strings is hex shaped, so when they wind the outer string around it, it locks onto the corners of the hex core. This wind method is what keeps the core from loosening from the outer winding.

That’s how strings become “dead sounding” and its where other brands fail! EJ’s are also wound more consistently with just the right amount of tension- not too loose or too tight like hand-made and cheap strings.

The metallurgy is second to none. You should honestly use these strings to measure all other strings by.

These strings frustrate me. Overall I do love the tone and the way they play. After reading some other reviews of these guys, it seems some don’t like the tone they have. I do play southernish style of folk rock/OLD country.

So for me, they sound fantastic. The problem I’ve had with them, and not sure if it’s a manufacturing problem or what, but these strings are fragile like glass. I will admit to playing kind of hard, think like a punk player but on acoustic.

But even taking it easy on these things, I’ve broken the D and G string in less than a week. Most recently on a live stream. It’s a shame because I do really like the way they sound and play. I’ve gone thru two sets already.

Normally I have issues with the higher string breaking on me but rarely ever the lower strings. Very surprised honestly. Normally Ernie Ball makes really good strings. I use Ernies on all of my electrics, so really confused as to what the deal is with these guys breaking so much with little punishment or time.

So, overall, like them, but don’t trust them. I won’t leave them on for my next live stream, I don’t want to take the risk of them breaking on me again. If they were made better, or whatever the problem is, I would buy them every time.

And I know it’s not my guitar, the last strings I bought were Martin and they lasted for almost 3 years. Maybe I just have bad luck with them.

I bought two sets of medium gauge aluminum to try and compare to my current preferred strings. I normally use Martin SP phosphor bronze 13s which have more phosphor content than any other 92/8 as apposed to the normal 80/20 phosphor content.

The Martin SP are wonderful strings and have a unique tone superior to other phosphor bronze. I’ve had these strings on for several months and the sound is still great. They have a clearer tone clarity over the phosphor bronze strings and seem to resist corrosion more than what I have been using though I haven’t played outside with them as I used to do a lot, but still they are sounding great.

The only drawback is a little less volume, not much less but a slight noticeable difference. I did play a lot on the street busking where acoustic volume is everything, but the clarity difference I feel is worth the slightly less volume.

They are still decently loud enough to be heard competing against background noise and other instruments. I have about 8 packs of the Martin strings I will still use but these will be my new favorites.

I strung my Martin D-15 and my HD-28V with these and did compare the sound difference as best I could. These are more expensive but I think for the time they last are comparable with coated strings as aluminum doesn’t corrode as fast as a bronze makeup.

I have also used D’Addario coated 13s and still these are better. My complaint on the Addario coated I bought a 2 pack and I think they were mistakenly wrong gauge in the package. Upon putting them on, I had to drastically adjust my neck truss rod to stop them from buzzing.

I notified MF about the mishap, they referred me to the Addario company which gladly replaced both sets, the set I used and I did have to send them the unused set. They were nice about it but it would have been an issue had I not had a few sets of my regular or I would have been in trouble.

Anyway, there you have it, my opinion. Hope it helps. By the way, these have same tension strength.

Such nice strings!! The tone and action are great, and the feel is very tactile, making bends, vibratos, and harmonic insertions perfect every time. They are not a hard wearing string, In fact, due to their soft feel construction, you will go through these fairly quickly depending on your playing style, and playing time.

But I change strings often for recording purposes anyway, and the trade off is well worth it, as this vendor makes them so affordable. If you are going to get the most out of your playing time, keeping your instrument freshly strung will help you to become a more ear discriminant player.

If you aren’t listening closely to what’s coming out of your instrument, and training yourself to make incremental adjustments to your playing style based on your ear feedback, you’ll never improve much over time.

Give these Earth-woods a try. You’ll play better, and your fingertips will thank you in the long run. Best $15. 00 you’ll ever spend!.

I have used many different ernie ball products in my time, as well as many different types of strings. I restrung my acoustic today with the medium gauge strings as I have a gig tonight. After thirty or so minutes of tuning and playing to stretch there are already multiple corroded spots on the strings.

I have never seen anything like this before. Finger ease does not do the trick for these. Not sure if the packaging was bad, they sat on the shelf too long, or just bad strings. Either way, I will not be purchasing these again, and I will not recommend them to friends who also play.

It never occurred to me to try ERNIE BALL strings. I’ve used other branded strings in the past such as Fender, Martin etc. I heard on You Tube the guitarist Albert Lee saying that he used Ernie Ball strings.

Now if these strings are good enough for Albert Lee, they’re certainly good enough for me. I was pleasantly surprised at the tone of these strings when fitted to my Fender F75 acoustic guitar. Not too deep – but pleasantly rich.

They also hold their tuning very well. Some strings that I’ve used in the past tended to lose their tuning regularly. These Ernie Ball strings hold their tuning rather well. They are also very reasonably priced.

I would’ve given these strings FIVE stars but that stands for ” amazing ” I absolutely hate the word ” amazing “.

I got these strings because playing long acoustic sets, hours of guitar lessons, practicing, bending etc can get tiring after a while. Maybe most of the time I’m playing electric or on the nylon guitar, so the strings are bit easier.

Anyway, I wanted something easy to play. I’ve seen folks throw electric strings on an acoustic before, I find the tone and volume underwhelming. Enter these strings, the lightest I could find. They sound good (perhaps slightly quiet, not sure, not really A/B testing), bend easily enough (it’s an acoustic guitar so it’s still a bit of a pain),and have good enough tone.

The price is right. I bought an extra set for my brother’s ovation (which you can’t adjust the action to). They might be tarnishing a little quickly, but that might just be my acid hands in the summer.

Anyway, they’re strings. No suprises here.

I have used Elixir Nanowebs for years now, i’s so hard to find anything comparable. I tried these hoping, and while these strings do last a bit longer than any regular string – they are nowhere near what Elixirs are.

I gig every weekend, normally playing for 10 hours. These strings collected grime and oxidised still quite a bit. The Elixirs just simply don’t do that anywhere near as much. The Elixirs also take a bit more of a beating.

I can normally get 2 weekends out of a set without a breakage, these Morgan strings broke every second gig. So for half the price of Elixirs, these barely make the grade. The feel of the steel strings was quite nice though, they responded and had a great feel to them which I actually preferred over the Elixirs I normally get at the same gauge.

All in all, I’ll be sticking to Elixirs – if anyone finds a product that does what Elixirs do for cheaper, let me know! For a player who likes a strum every now and then, these strings will do and are pretty well priced.

For gigging musicians, you may want something that holds up a bit better.

Yeah these strings are legit. Within a few days of putting these on and breaking them in. They sound amazing. My guitar went from sounding like a £400 guitar to sounding like £1,000. Reccoment you have the brige saddle set up to handle these as they are on the heavy side but the tone is unmatched and the feel on my fingers is so much more softer than any strings I’ve used before.

Definitely buying again after being told to try these. PMT delivered on time undamaged and well packaged. Overall I’m one very happy plucker.

I started playing guitar in 1973 and have owned a lot of them both electric and acoustic but I prefer acoustic because of the self sufficiency of the instrument. An acoustic guitar doesn’t require electricity or other mouths to feed.

But it does require expertise or creativity in return for its service. In a way an acoustic guitar is like a lie detector. To this day I do not consider myself to be much of an instrumentalist because I use acoustic guitars primarily as a writing instrument as opposed to a performance vehicle but what I have learned is that a good pair of strings adds a lot to the encouragement of playing the things.

Gordon Lightfoot said it plain and in his typical poetic fashion. ” It’s the wood and not the wires” and I prefer solid mahogany bodies with a spruce top but having said this- a superior set of strings makes all of the difference in the world and even a laminated piece of junk can have its day in court.

I’ve used a lot of string brands over the years and for the money I feel that D’addario strings are the best.

I’d been having intonation problems all of a sudden on two of my acoustic guitars. One of which I just spent a heap of money on putting a fancy magnetic pickup/microphone on. All the local luthiers are booked solid, so in desperation I had to tackle the problem myself.

Filed / intonated the nut, bridge, tweaked the truss rod, and tried different gauge/brands of strings. nothing was satisfactory. especially the pickup sounding like a dime store product. Looked into what strings perform best with a magnetic pickup.

the answer was always the same. it doesn’t matter. Until someone mentioned that GHS White Phosphor is designed specifically for the job. My local stores don’t carry them. Bought a couple sets on line and then reordered a stack of them.

Now that they’re singing so well, I’m beginning to wonder if all the other work I did was even necessary. And one more kicker. Even the Extra lights stand up on my acoustics. It’s a joy to now be able to bend strings without delegating that job just to my electric guitars.

Try them, they’re great. Feel nice, sound wonderful, last a long time. I’ve been through so many brands and so many different types of string, and these are the absolute best (for me). Even better than the expensive Austrian and German brands.

I play many acoustic gigs, most are three sets a night. Some mainstream brands don’t even last for one gig, going dead too soon. And if you try to squeeze a second gig out of them, it’s normally the wound third string that disintegrates, regardless of manufacturer or price.

But these White Bronze strings hold up well. My acoustic guitar is also stiff to play (yes, I should get an easier-playing guitar), but these feel perfect and my fingers aren’t beat up by the end of the night.

The singer-songwriter I often work with heard these strings on my guitar and immediately noticed the difference, and then wanted a set on her guitar.

I bought a Martin HD-28 and the sales person recommended the Retro 11s and a grabbed a pack. Boom. I was hooked and for three years have kept my HD strung up with Retro 11s. Recently, my PRS SE acoustic needed some strings and I was out of my D’addario Phosphor Bronze 12s, so out of desperation, I threw a set of Martin Retro 12s on it and BOOM! What the heck? The Retros are not just for Martins! Okay, game on.

I ran to the store last night and grabbed a pack of Retro 13s for my small McPherson Touring. They come with and recommend Elixer Nanoweb and I have liked them but again. I like the Retros more. Now, it might be my personal taste and ear but I really like the sound and feel of the Retros.

Easy of my fingers and my ears. Try one pack and see for yourself. If you are like me, you enjoy experimenting with strings to see what happens. The one guitar that I have that I do not like them on is my Yamaha.

I prefer Ernie Ball Phosphor Bronze.

My son in law has owned a 000-15 for around 10 years. I’ve played it over that time quite a bit and have enjoyed the mid focused sound that the 000 Martin is known for. Well, last night he handed it to me with these light retro strings installed; it’s like a different guitar.

Full spectrum sound and just a sweetness it never had before. I concur with other reviewers that the Martin Retros bring out the True Tone of the wood. Can’t speak for rosewood (yet), but for Mahogany Parlors this is your ticket to special.

These strings are awesome. I have used them now for about the last 7 years, and really wouldn’t consider others. I enjoy strings that offer a full-bodied mid-range, but pull some nice bright high ends.

Theses offer all of that with a guaranteed eveness of each string. Before then I used Elixir without the HD configuration. Haven’t heard or used any strings that have better qualities!.

I used to go through strings every few months. Regular strings deaden pretty quickly and lose their brightness. After a few months they just start getting gross and I’d have to replace them. These Elixir coated strings are a great value for someone like me.

While I probably wouldn’t record with them, the coating protects the strings enough that I’d say they last at least 3 times longer than normal $5 dollar sets of strings – and I found these at $5 bucks a set! Even at $15 bucks a set they’re totally worth it because of the extended life.

Like I said, they sound fine for regular practicing and playing, but I might not record with them. A fresh set of uncoated slinkys are much brighter as you might imagine. New players aren’t going to hear the difference and can easily take advantage of the value.

Some players will like the less bright sound they generally have.

I’m 76 and have been playing since I was 12. Having spent a fortune on my very delicately strutted wonderfull Froggy Bottom H12 Limited I happily followed their string-make advice for 6 years. But recently I needed a much “brighter” tone for a particular project.

Elixir give me that. But other reviews warned me I’d suffer broken strings, so I ordered spares of the 3 lighter strings. No need! The first set went on normaally and are still on without breakages. As the H12 is small and has quite narrow slots, re-stringing is not the easiest of tasks for an “oldie”.

So long-lasting strings are a bonus. PERSONAL TIP to avoid possible string breakages – don’t fit the strings the moment they arrive in the post, especially in winter. Let them come up to your usual/normal temperature for 24/48 hours first.

Apply tension in stages. Doesn’t this apply to all makes of strings, no matter the make of guitar?.

I have an older small-body acoustic and got these extra-lights to see how they’d do. The literature said the Polyweb sounded a bit warmer and felt “slicker” to play than the Nanowebs so opted for that coating this time.

They have accomplished exactly what I wanted. They have plenty of volume in a small-body, are a delight to play, and the guitar is more responsive than before. I have a similarly made deadnought that I put 11’s in 80/20 Nanoweb on, and those are perfect for that guitar.

They are a different sound. I also have a high-end dread that I put Nanoweb 11’s on in Phosphor bronze and they’re great for that one. So all three types for three different guitars and all worked perfectly.

I have bought Elixir strings many times before, but usually in a lighter gauge. Lighter ones were not available this time, so I gave the 12-53’s a try. They were easier to put on and sound great- maybe louder than the others (10-47’s) I used before.

Not as flexible for bending notes, but they feel really solid, and the extra volume is good since I mostly don’t use a pick, and don’t strum very agressively. I will buy these again, and highly recommend them.

First time trying Martin strings. Put these on my Guild F-130. They sound great, excellent projection and full bodied sound. I can’t say I felt much of a difference in tension compared to the standard 11’s I use (mainly d’addario) but they do feel softer to touch.

Overall, very pleased and likely to buy again.

I feel for my playing 11’s are the perfect balance for tone and ease of playing. These are lower tension but slightly heavier bass strings. Not all guitars are equal and my Hofner is very low tension so I can afford to have more heavier bass strings without taxing my hands.

Perfect!.

I put these on my Gibson J-55 and man what a difference over the phosphor bronze that came stock. I have yet to put them on my ’29/’31 L3 or Custom Shop martin 0018, but I really adore the sound on my J-55.

The J-55 has an Adirondack top, mahogany back/sides and is essentially a Gibson version of a Martin D-18 without the super boomy low end. I love these strings and they really bring out the natural woody tone of the guitar, which is how it should be in my opinion.

After using these I really like the sound, and in a weird way I’m closer to that guitar than I ever was before, the phosphor bronze that were on the guitar were just too bright and metallic, I prefer the natural earthy tones.

I put this guitar in different tunings and these strings really open it up there and in standard tuning as well. I can’t wait to put these on my Martin 000, I just got it so the strings on it are fresh but they’re 80/20s and I really don’t like them.

You can’t go wrong with these strings. I’m going to be using them on my acoustics forever. Just vintage, natural, woody earthy tones and I couldn’t be happier!.

After reading their bloated claim that every string. solid tight lows I wouldve expected them to be able to at least keep up with DAddario and Elixir. I put this Medium set on a 2006 Taylor grand Symphony made of Master grade koa And Sitka, a Guitar listing for about $6000 at the time, looking forward to hearing those solid tight lows, balanced mids and sparkling highs With a smooth silky feel.

I just been playing The guitar with a worn-in set of ELIXIRS on it, so the sound of the instrument was familiar, And fresh in my mind. Unfortunately for me, the Low E Was just about thuddy. Image were more pronounced and many strings sets deliver, The Hydro surprisingly understood, especially for a koa/sitka Medium set.

In short while they were well crafted they didnt come close to justifying being priced in the same league as those two industry standards. Now I get to take them off and put a reliable set on. No returns so Im wasting $16 on an unjustified boast.

Great way to make some quick, money I guess; Just talk big and get people to buy your stuff at high prices. Too bad it wasnt real.

These strings are very nice – I switch between various strings as I like to mix it up a little, but a couple I keep coming back to are DR Sunbeams and Newtones which are both round core strings with a similar feel.

These Curt Mangans felt and sounded very, very good on my Martin OM-28, and they lasted longer than average for me. One interesting thing that I noticed is that the typical discolouration that I always seem to get (especially on the D string, from the thumb pick) never was a problem with these, they always looked nice and new.

The only negative for me was the huge winding on the low E string. It was fat all the way up to the ball end, so much so that it didn’t fit the replacement bone bridge pin because the slot was too narrow.

The original plastic pins worked just fine.