Electric Guitar String Gauges Explained - What's The Difference?

Choosing the right set of strings can be a bit confusing if you're new to playing the electric...but fear not, Sam's here with a "Beginner's Guide To Guitar Strings" to help you out!
What's the difference between guitar string gauges? How are guitar strings made? Which strings are best for down-tuning? How will different string thicknesses affect my guitar's playability and tone? What are the best strings for my type of guitar and playing style?
In this video, we answer all these questions, plus, we've got advice and a few handy tips to help you correctly re-string your guitar and prolong the life of your strings.
For the examples in this video, we're using Rotosound strings, see the full range here: goo.gl/KFfjVJ
Subscribe: kzbin.info?sub_...
Find us on social media:
/ pmthouseofrock
/ pmthouseofrock
/ pmthouseofrock

[@brendancahill3723]

Learned more about strings here in 13 minutes than I have in 13 years of playing

[@ErnieIsleysabeast]

This was incredible and one of the best tutorials I've seen on guitar

[@daytonia25]

I was going to get some strings today and I was confused on string gauges. Thanks Sam for clearing things up!

[@Giggiyygoo]

I've gone back and forth on gauges and settled on a hybrid set. 9s on the plain strings and 10s on the wound ones. Easy bending for solos, and less buzz with low action for chords or especially power chords.

[@sonysev9383]

I’m having an issue with this right now. I like the roundness of the 10s but I need that bend. Thanks man

[@zzzwy777]

good idea

[@getholicviraj]

I've used the std 9-42's for all, except for the e string where I've used a .010 guage e string.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

@@getholicviraj I now use a 9 because I have railhammers

[@emirinobambino]

Extremely helpful video--thank you for the time and effort put into creating it.

[@deanworsley5208]

Thanks for this mate, I’m a bass player just taking up (in addition) six string electric, got myself a sweet little Squier Strat, this has demystified the thinner string thing a lot. You rock 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@peterchung623]

Sam you are a great teacher, easy on the brain, you keep it interesting, well done and thank you

[@nessadove1369]

Super helpful!! Great video. Thank you

[@DerBerg92]

I watched the whole video, and I play guitar for almost 10 years now and already know all the differences... . But I really liked it.

[@paulpratt8769]

Very helpful! Picked up a guitar again, havent since doodled around as a kid and this explained so much about what one would think is basic.

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

PMTVUK I use Ultra-Light Strings but to get low action w/ no buzz, I shave down the frets flush w/ the fretboard.

[@juZZ1969]

Very informative video - WD Sam and the PMT team

[@theHAL9000]

What a great overview. Well done and done with humor.

[@arjunchakrabarti9491]

Incredible. Wonderful video.

[@makaras]

Great video - thanks so much!! My first string of my first guitar snapped yesterday haha so need this education

[@tadiousedun]

Did enjoy.. learned a lot .. thank you

[@mac_uk5464]

Great channel, you give actual sound examples instead of just saying" Sounds different".

[@abigailmarks3180]

Dagan's the man

[@anne-hardt]

I understand this very good opinion. I like and use ROTOSOUND PURE NICKEL SUPER LIGHT 9-42 strings. thank you.

[@rajkrishan3092]

thank you for your service 🙏🏻

[@donciseau]

Very educational!

[@JohnSmith-zv8km]

Really useful thanks

[@Caltops78]

Great info for this novice player. Love the humor as well!

[@arthurcanal5250]

Love that white Les Paul!

[@6-string_guitar578]

Great info tysm

[@karthikbs9722]

That is a lovely riff 00:18

[@xp_pk]

Thorough and funny. Just Brilliant.

[@freddiebowers1125]

So very good ,thank you! Some strings are marked acoustic I think a Elixir is the one? I use them on my electrics. I think their company tries all these varieties just to sell a lot of different strings to get more diversity giving them a niche

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

I use Daddario ELX120+ They are a 9.5 guage string. 9s are too thin and 10s are too thick. I wish other string manufacturers would do they same !

[@RenoLaringo]

Thank you so much for the time and effort! 👍 Btw, what was that vibrato setup on the red guitar you showed? Never seen such a mechanism before... Thx ! 🙏

[@Liam-zw1ek]

One thing that always gets missed when people say the Strat's longer scale length requires more tension, which it does, is that the longer length negates the increased tension, because of the extra leverage created by the longer length. I have guitars with both lengths and the Strat is easier do bends with despite the increased tension.

[@ashu7pathak]

Hey, @PMTVUK, I'm a huge Beatles fan. So I googled what strings they used, after hearing you say they used Rotosound, and I found they used Pyramid Gold - roughly 100 pound for a set! And Roman are just 7 pounds! Ofcourse, The Beatles with all their riches, could have afforded as expensive strings as they possibly can make, so why would they play with cheaper (relatively speaking) strings? Completely BEATs me!

[@Slipstream2009]

Get Rotosound, best string ever! Almost unbreakable and they come with an extra high E. I use the pink ones which are equivalent to Ernie Ball Super Slinky but much better.

[@ashu7pathak]

@@Slipstream2009 Since I own a Les Paul, I've already bought Roto Yellows!

[@Galacticgospel.]

Thank you

[@grumpchong]

I've got a couple of Kramer Ferringtons (narrow body acoustic/electric) which I've always strung with 9-42's. They sound ok, but I am wondering if a heavier gauge will give them a warmer more acoustic sound?

[@daveperrin9408]

Hi guys. Great video. I play a Fender Stratocaster player series. Which came with 9s to 42s on which I've always used. But I want to change up to 10s to 46s would I need to do any work to the nut ie widen it a bit or would that be ok. And the floating bridge would I need to put a bit more tension on the bridge springs to keep it at the same height? Only been playing guitar for 4 months. Any advice would be much appreciated. Cheer's guy's.

[@claytonbjork5687]

Very good

[@123elvislives]

Great review mate 👍🇦🇺👍🇦🇺👍

[@PracticalTacticalAccuracy]

I would be interested to hear a discussion about how string size may affect a persons playing style and if there is a correlation to hand size or hand strength. I have very large hands and find 8's to be so sensitive to touch and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Do the 8's teach me to have more finesse, or should I run heavier strings to get more finesse? Is there such a thing as too sensitive? Do heavy handed players just need heavier strings?

[@adrianj3198]

Large hands with 8s? lol Ive got big hands and i use 10s

[@stevebrusseau3301]

I have big hands and I have 8.5 on my strat and 9 on my lp

[@jasonmcmillan4373]

That Les Paul sounded great playing RATM.

[@andreeadobre3190]

Big scary (tattooed or not) dudes tend to be the nicest people ever. It's the normals that scare me.

[@bmoneybby]

We must live in different neighborhoods.

[@Traynoramp08]

I actually special order mine, they are hybrid strings Pure Nickel Custom Gauged ROUND CORE. They are nothing compared to anything out there. Soft with flexibility and amazing tone.

[@Chris-sd8mk]

I’m new to guitars can you advise me on string gauge for playing ska music.i have just bought a squire affinity telecaster.

[@BurimPrroi]

Is it possible to buy somewhere only the thinnest (lowest) string of the guitar? I think is a 008 steel string. How can I find it on Amazon?

[@dejiita]

been playing 11-12s eb for years now i play A 10-46 and a 10-52 rotosounds

[@bartvanriel6767]

In my experience thinner strings snap less often. Think about it. My zippy slinky has a .009 as the B string instead of the high E so the same string has 3 full tones less tension in them hence they break less often

[@Adi_98.]

What if I moved from 10's to 9's ? Mine came with 10's I wanna try 9's ....will it effective anything? I have a Cost KX300 etched,it has hardtail bridge...Like a huge difference? I am beginner, so wanted to lower down ...for my leads.

[@groverjuicy]

Now to find a block of cheese...

[@stephenweir.]

Hi Sam, what is the difference between 10's pink and 10's yellow, in the sixties Hank Marvin used roto sound strings I was going to get a set, but not sure, my strat came with 9's, if I get 10's do I need to alter the setup of the guitar?

[@Slipstream2009]

Pinks are 9's and Yellows are 10's. No you don't need to alter the setup of the guitar just to change gauge.

[@krzysiekstrzakowski2305]

so if i tune the guitar to drop d tuning i get free distortion effect?

[@darrenlstewart]

What’s the riff on the drop d example!?

[@luckyluke8518]

Killing in the name by Rage against the machine

[@yetigoosecreature8682]

if you haven't already, try Elixir Optiweb 9s :)

[@reqrew9797]

Hi. What’s the specific name/number of it?

[@shubhapeter3476]

At 8:45 what is the string is he using.....

[@kiillabytez]

I've settled on the $6 Dean Markley Helix: 11/13/18/30/42/52 in C Standard, and it seems I'll get some real slinky feel and chunky bottom without worrying about string breakage or floppiness. By my calculations, it should act a little lighter than the D'Addario EXL120s tuned to E Standard that were on the guitar when I bought it. Do you think I made the right choice?

[@spineflavoredrhombus7799]

What gauge is B tuning?

[@biglog6402]

Rotosound guitar strings, the worst strings I’ve ever had the misfortune to buy. They come with 2 high E strings because they snap when you put them on and attempt to stretch them out😖. This has never happened to me with any other brand of strings 10 to 46’s.

[@twistedbunny]

whats the riff he plays in the drop C tuning at 8:50

[@cal3b803]

99% sure it’s killing in the name of, rage against the machine.

[@twistedbunny]

@@cal3b803 thanks a lot man, i couldn't shazam that shit cause it kept giving me some weird ass chinese boy band group, I'll check it out for sure

[@leonteddy4751]

Gorgeous accent

[@GuitarPedalAZOR]

I have some pedals to evaluate, are you interested?

[@MemesAreLife0401]

I switched 10s to 8s

[@BenB2005]

The fact that, "Mmm, nice bi' a' stil'on" hasn't become a meme makes me feel like the internet has failed me.

[@astroidyeti2169]

I’ve always tuned down to flat

[@pomarancza6672]

Great tutorial but my dumb brain is even more confused 😂

[@johnwriterpoet1783]

Seven guage? Ok, dental floss.

[@varunagrawal7036]

😤 I found a website where you can get 4s on special order

[@Ramble1234]

@@varunagrawal7036 where

[@teleavision8819]

Admit it, everyone thinks it funny when someone cuts the cheese.

[@f3uibeghardt522]

No one with ear gauges will ever scare me.

[@Madeyes6]

Lol why would 5 people unlike good information?

[@chaos3061]

Different companies that wanna make their brand seem better? Idk tbh

[@mentalreaper173]

i wanna know the riffs he playin

[@GabyG48]

Metal heads are very nice actually

[@billyrogers4855]

An 8-38 feels like you're pressing down on human hair

[@KrishMetalYT]

Open a store in India, bro

[@dhfreak5575]

Dislikes are from players that use gauge .007

[@pejus1295]

imagine using anything under 10s

[@guitarguy7847]

Aparrentley 8s feel like there are some missing

[@najmihakimkhairi1210]

Shredder want to know your location

[@bassa69]

flat tuning so much better then standerd

[@weerasinghelageudarathmaut6945]

ft

[@darrenwoolley51]

This brother been abusing the arterial strings I'll assume, I have the same evidence on my arms too (and every other accessible highway).. I'm not judging, just hope he seen light and stopped that madness, I'm 11 yrs clean now, if I can, he can... All can. Stop the madness!!

[@midsequence1234]

Hi Sam 😂

[@davidclark3603]

It's actually Very, very simple. Very light gauge strings are for live. Heavy strings are for macho men with big muscles. Showing off!

[@scorpionleader1967]

You're telling me what different strings sound like, but you don't let me hear them for myself... USELESS, but thanks anyways.

[@MikeJones-oe3do]

Stevie Ray wouldn’t be playing 13 s now if he was still alive, probably 10s.

[@demonprincess5634]

so you don't like hiring women huh