Acoustic guitars don’t have the tone-tweakability of electric guitars, so your choice of strings is especially important. The good news is that advances in string-making technology have granted guitarists more choice than ever before. But that very diversity also makes choosing the right set of more daunting.
We join Jack Dunwoody, a product expert with Rotosound to get his advice on what you need to know about strings to make an informed, tone-enriching choice the next time you string up your . “Mostly the tone. So phosphor bronze is a very even-sounding string.
The middles come through very nicely, and they have a great sustain to them. And then the 80/20 has more of a scooped middle sound – we’d describe it as more of a ‘hi-fi’ sound – where you’ve got some very strong and a lovely crisp, crystalline top‐end. “You can visually tell the difference by looking at the wire, as well, on the string: the phosphor bronze is a little bit more of an orangey colour, whereas 80/20 has a bit more of a yellow colour.
Actually, although ‘80/20 bronze’ is the name that we give it in our industry, it’s actually brass – 80 per cent copper, 20 per cent zinc – hence the yellowish colour.” “Manufacturers will offer hex-core or round-core strings. Hex core is by far the most popular type of core in use nowadays because it gives you a really stable string, in terms of tuning.
That’s because the hexagonal [cross-section] of the core allows the wrap-wire to grab.