Electric Guitar String Materials – Strings By Mail
The various materials that electric guitar strings and their outer wrappings (wound) are composed of can have a very dramatic effect on how the strings play, feel, and sound.
Electric Guitar Strings – Strings By Mail
What Are Electric Guitar Strings Made Of?
Plain steel strings are a harder material that lend to a brighter sound with greater volume, however steel strings can also tend to wear down a guitar’s frets at a faster rate. In contrast, electric guitar strings made with softer metals such as gold and nickel can produce warmer and more mellow sounding tones, while being a less abrasive on guitar frets. Meanwhile, using cobalt in electric guitar strings helps to produce a higher magnetism to the magnetic pickups resulting in increased output and clarity.
The sound output from these electric guitar strings is primarily driven from the magnetic properties of the metals involved in the composition of the strings. The electric guitar string’s interaction with the magnetic pickups on electric guitars converts the string’s vibrations into electrical impulses through electromagnetic induction, and the signal is then amplified to bring it to the desired level of the player, or for the intended audience.
Electric Guitar String Composition and Their Effect On the Sound
Similar to acoustic guitar strings, the lower electric guitar strings have an inner core which is then covered in an outer metal winding (wound strings). String materials containing high iron content or steel tend to have very powerful output and a bright sound, especially when amplified. Strings made from less magnetically powerful alloy combinations (including materials such as nickel) may not be as bright or powerful in contrast to the steel strings, however they are often favored for their unique tonal characteristics.
I’m trying to get that vintage sound of the early rock & roll electric guitars. Which of the new strings sound most like the old ones? I have the vintage guitar, the vintage tube amp, but now need the vintage (sounding) strings.
Thanks,
Floyd
Hello Floyd,
Some of our more popular Electric Guitar Strings options for those looking for that good vintage sound are:
D’Addario Pure Nickel XL’s
http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/electric-guitar-strings-8/daddario-strings-9/pure-nickel-37/
Ernie Ball Classic Slinky Pure NIckel’s
http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/electric-guitar-strings-8/ernie-ball-strings-780/classic-rock-n-roll-782/
Fender Original Bullets, Pure Nickel’s
http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/electric-guitar-strings-8/fender-strings-1092/bullets-pure-nickel-1093/
Pyramid Pure Nickel Classics
http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/electric-guitar-strings-8/pyramid-strings-1043/pure-nickel-classics-2568/
Pyramid Pure Nickel Hand Wounds
http://www.stringsbymail.com/store/electric-guitar-strings-8/pyramid-strings-1043/pure-nickel-hand-wound-1046/
We hope this helps! But give us a call or an email if we can better assist you!
Thanks,
Strings By Mail