Best Electric Guitar Strings For Beginners (2024 Update)

I began using these strings a few years ago when I began experimenting with extreme low tunings; both standard and drop tunings (anywhere between D standard all the way down to drop-G#). At the time they were the heaviest set of strings I could find in the town where I live so I put them through the paces for a good long while before I tried other gauges/brands. Now, if strung on a good quality 25.5 scale guitar these strings do okay tension-wise all the way down to drop-A# or even drop-A for doomy, drone-type stuff. I found that if I tuned any lower than that they lost all clarity and definition. On a 24.75 scale guitar, however, drop-B was as low as I could get with them and they honestly didn't sound that great. After a few months of experimentation I found that Drop-C on a 24.75 scale guitar was just about right for this set of strings tension-wise. Later, after settling on drop-B as my main tuning, I found that the .56 bottom just wasn't thick enough to provide the string tension and clarity I need for my playing style. I also found, much to my dismay, that the .56 bottom string broke way too often to be such a thick gauge string which makes me think that the quality of these strings is sub-par compared to other brands I've tried since. I even filed down the string saddle to try and reduce the wear on the string but it didn't seem to help. I've also found that these strings rust and corrode much sooner than other brands I've tried even after I started using a string cleaner after playing. The final complaint I have about these strings is that the plain G string they put into this pack of strings sounds ridiculously bad in any tuning and the lower you tune it the worse it sounds. I imagine it would help if they made it a wound string or at least included a wound string in the pack so you could choose between the two. I've since settled on another brand of string in .10-.60 gauge and I am much happier with the tone, tension and definition compared to the EB not even slinky set.ViperDude310

I needed a set of strings to reproduce a heavily Black Sabbath influenced recording (c. Vol 4) that would not thin out in a drop tuning environment, standard for slide playing and standard for thickening the tone and sustain before I got to my amp or effects loop I tried out a set of these when I was informed they are indeed made in the USA. Short answer: Oh yeah, oh hells yeah! The increased tension in the neck might make these strings unsuitable for some players. I'm on a neck though body Gibson SG and have been holding solidly in tune (E=329Hz. A=440Hz, etc).for over a week with no loss. When you put these string on you will need to stretch them with a string stretching tool or by bending the string left to right, right to left with your thumb and finger from the nut to the bridge to keep them in tune, go down the string in 1/2" increments and repeat until you run out of string. Many players put on a set of strings and break as they go, try this and see how much less you have to tune in the overall lifespan of the string, i break in all my strings with this method and it works wonders. I would NOT use these for guitars manufactured with inexpensive components (e.g. knockoffs and starter kit guitars) as you will go out of tune due to the lack of strength on the wood used to build and the tuning pegs which are usually very cheaply produced from inferior metals with shoddy gears and posts and truss rods that are misaligned and/or made form inferior components. Once on these strings sound big, (e.g. yo mama big), the fatter tone and sustain going to these from light and medium gauge .9/.10 – .42/.48 is immediately noticeable and leaving yourself in standard tuning will be much more of a workout on your fret hand, but the payoff is the tone and sustain you can get from the increase in string mass and tension. For the negative reviews I'd be interested to see what kind of guitars these strings are being set up on and what the manufactures recommend. I'm planning on putting the other set of these on a G&L ASAT (AKA Telecaster 2.0) for heavy blues slide and I will observe if that stays in tune as well.as it's a 4 bolt neck, but if your gear is not very good to begin then don't expect adding that much more tension to an inexpensively made guitar to behave like a quality instrument.Sultan of the Six Strings

Unfortunately, I do not have a 7-string axe but if I did, it would be strung out with these babies! I buy them for the 28, 38 & 58 strings for my SRV Strat to get that Texas tone. They play just as smooth & good as any of the other Ernie Ball strings I use. I love the heavy, warm-end tone & the strings do not disappoint AND they're easy on the fingers meaning they're smooth. If you bend strings up a whole step like I do, these strings will toughen you up real fast.. These strings last and never have I experienced any corrosion. Highly recommended if you want that Texas blues tone, jazz sound or you just wanna DJENT!John564Holloway

I was looking for a perfect set to stay super tight in Eb but also retain enough tension in lower tunings. I had been using the Not Even Slinky set and found the higher strings for be a little too thick and the lower a little too thin. So, I decided to give these a shot. I remove the .28 (Normally the 4th string) and that way, I have regular 11s at the top but super heavy strings at the bottom. When tuned to my signature Eb, they retain a lot of tension and are good for a nice chugging sound. When tuned any lower than Drop C, they start to lose a little tension, but still stay manageable. I'd say the lowest comfortable tuning is Drop A before they get too floppy. Overall great strings, EB is the best!Ryan

Ernie Ball Strings are great. They have a lovely "twang" to them when brand new. However, I DO like their Paradigm Strings the most, as they last for 6 months or more before I need to change them. Those Ernie Ball Paradigm Strings are the best, longest lasting strings that I have ever used. I wish Artist Guitars stocked the EB Paradigms (I'd have given a 5* Rating instead of 4* if they had Paradigm Strings). If/when they DO start to stock them and if their price is right, I'll purchase them for ALL my 7 or 8 guitars! ATM I usually purchase 3-pack deals via e-Bay. 😀 I only got these as I wanted a brand new set of 7-String Guitar Strings for my brand new and 1st ever 7 String guitar, the Artist Guitars' Spiritus 7 that I purchased recently. However, I am going to purchase Paradigm 7-String sets from now on. These non-paradigms are just temporary. I'll be purchasing another Acoustic Guitar or few in the future also, as I'd like a JB300NT V2 Steel String Acoustic as well as a new Nylon Classical Guitar. And I need a Bass or 2 also. LOL You can never have enough, let alone too many Guitars! Thank you Artist Guitars. You guys rock!Narayana

BB King famously convinced Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top to switch to lighter strings and Billy never looked back. Tone can be shaped so much by the amp so the primary function of strings is feel and playability. Lighter strings like these mean you can play harder for longer. I also find I'm playing more accurately because my movements needs to be more delicate.Jack C.

You have to try these strings for yourself. No matter what anyone reviews or says, this is a matter of preference. So I say spend the money and try them. I will relate my personal review now. First off Ernie Ball strings are very good strings. I would say that about Curt Magnum, DR, GHS pure Nickels and Fender pure Nickels also. I play pure Nickel strings which are mellow strings btw. I normally use .10s and .11s. This was an experiment for me because I went down a rathole one night on the internet reading about what strings "the stars" use. I read what people said and honestly it is entertainment in itself!!! If you use 10s or heavier, you will have to adjust your neck, action and intonation. These no getting around that. The tension is very different. If you re-adjust your tone settings on your pedals and amplifiers, you'll get a usable tone with these strings. You'll have to play with your pickups also since they respond differently. Don't use these strings if you have a heavy picking hand like SRV. If you have a light hand or can switch it up and play softly, try them. DON'T go out and play a gig if you haven't spent some time with them, especially if you are dropping down from 10s or 11s. If you use 9s, you'll probably be ok. I am all for playing without tiring and playing without hurting my tendons. Maybe I will stick with these OR NOT. I have them on a PRS Custom 22 SE. I use 2mm V-picks. You had better use light picks with these strings. I switched to a Fender medium. So I use 11s when tuned down a half step. 10s up to pitch. If you have tendonitis from playing guitar 3 or 4 hours a day for 50 something years, these will be a refreshing change and you may not have any pain whatsoever. These are certainly the strings to use on a guitar that has a neck issue where the truss rod won't handle 11s or 10s. Nowadays, necks don't seem to be made to handle the medium or heavy gauge strings that I grew up with. Whatever I say doesn't matter. When it comes to strings, you will have to try them yourself and decide if they work for you or not. I purchased four sets to try on numerous guitars. I may get up enough nerve to use them at a gig. These may be strings to put on student guitars so they don't get discouraged.Rick

Ernie Ball has always been a high quality guitar string. Used by beginners, every day pickers, and professional musicians. They provide great sound and a great feel when played on a cheap guitar, or high dollar instrument. Im no professional guitarist , but I do know The Ernie Ball Slinky series string should be your number one choice when looking for a great all around string. There on all my guitars. And let me tell you, they really make my Strat talk like SRV s # 1uskev-xeu3yty9

these strings are the best that i have ever used. i think they sound better then d'addarios, if only because they are warm as opposed to bright, which goes well with my alder guitar. mine lasted two months before breaking, and i couldn't detect a change in tone or tuning stability. and they're red! the only reason i gave a 9 on quality is that the coating wears off where it contacts the frets and where you pick after a month or so, but it doesn't affect anything but looks. too bad i didn't buy more.word.

Here you have one of the best strings you can get for the price you pay. One may think, oh since they are coated with color , the quality sucks. They were wrong, I've been using these strings for about 3 months now, not only do i get compliments on how good the strings look on my black Gibson Epiphone, but i also receive compliments on how good my tone is. There is only one problem i have with these strings. After playing with the strings all day, around the picking area of the strings they red coating comes off. If you think about it, No ones really looking at your picking hand anyway. Also DR includes a piece of paper that even tells you that the Coating comes off. Overall this product is a must buy for me anytime i need new strings.Michael

Put These on my Gibson Voodoo LP The red strings look great with it's Black and red finish. the tone is bright for coated strings. Only have had them a week so none of the coating has come off yet.Did a three hour jam session with my band Second Satuarday last weekend and they held tone very well. So far pleased and will purchase againSecond Saturday

These replaced the set of 10's that came on my 25.5 inch scale Hanson Firenze; Jazzmaster style offset with classic-wind Firebird-like blade pickups and a Bigsby. No setup changes were required when I dropped back to this lighter 9.5 set. I can't tell the difference in tone but my 64-year-old fingers aren't feeling nearly as much stress when I play. I liked the sound of the 10's compared to the 9's I was accustomed to but my fingers never quite adapted. These in-betweeners feel great and sound good too.Dave

I'm very surprised these strings aren't far more popular. I think it's because most guitarists don't think about in-between gauges. You get the easy playability of 9 gauge and the tuning stability of 10 gauge. They're not so stiff that ye lil finger tip gets all sore doing them bends and not so light that when ya get all into the groove and apply a tad too much pressure them notes start to sound a touch sharp. As for tone, these sound great! Not too bright. Not too dark. Just right. I play a lot in drop D using a Floyd and these are the perfect string. Not too stiff, not too light. Perfect for noodling around the fretboard. I mean, these are 5 bucks a set. Buy a set and check em' out. I'm sure as hell glad I did. As far as stuff getting on your hand as one reviewer stated, well uh, I think that's a dirty bridge and fretboard. Definitely not the strings. How would that even be possible??DanGoodShot

Well built strings in my opinion. There smooth and able to hold there tone pretty well I think that these strings will prove to be at least satisfactory for any type of musician They can take the heat and they look pretty good too.TC

Bought these on a recommendation from a guy on YouTube and have not had any issues at all. I used Dean Markley Blue Steels for nearly 20 years, but due to lack of availability, was looking for an alternative. The individual who recommended them is a touring professional guitarist. I see why he uses them.Jason

I've tried many string brands out there and have come back to Ernie Ball in the last couple of years. They sound and feel great, stay in tune (assuming you have a guitar that stays in tune), and are durable (no strings last forever). You can simply depend on them.Frank

Getting back into guitar after a few years off, decided I don't really have anything to prove to anyone and dropped down from 12's to these 10's. Negligible sound difference, if any at all really. But wow are my fingers so much happier. Less pain = more practice. Get you some!ZACH

I have used Ernie Ball Slinkys since I started playing guitar (time that can be measured in decades, that's all I say). I have been through other top brands, and just don't like them. I have gotten to know EB strings to the point where I can nearly predict when they'll break. That's good in my book. The lively tone and intonation stays for a LONG time. And they're good enough to scrape clean and, in the word of Billy Idol, Start Again. Well, that beats boiling them (RIP EVH). What's even better is all these new, attractive hybrid sets, allowing you to easily find your groove without having to get two packs for your ideal set! EB just keeps getting better.Guy lll

I really like these strings. They are warm, and give what I believe to be the best tone on my Stratocaster's and Telecaster. I don't really remember when I first started using Pure Nickel strings (of any brand), but I DO know I have never used anything but Pure Nickel since. The strings got a 4 star rating. I purposely omitted 1 star because, I feel they don't last as long as say a Nickel wound D'Addario would…but then again, I have not found a Pure Nickel D'Addario set of strings. So I forfeit the longevity for the tone. I DID just today order some Fender 150M (medium gauge 11's)…which are also Pure Nickel. I would never order 10 sets of strings if I didn't like them. Once I get to play the 11's, I will give a review on that product page. As far as Fender Pure Nickel strings go…you can't go wrong on the tonal quality. Rock on!!!White Dog

For years I've played flatwound strings, but when I bought my new Fender American Professional Jaguar I was taken by how lively and expressive the strings were! I left them on. There was a learning curve, with me having to learn a lighter touch, but the more I played them the more I liked them, I went on the Fender website, clicked on the "Chat with us" button, and asked what set came on the Jaguar. It was this set – the Fender 250L Super 250 Nickel-Plated Steel Electric Guitar Strings. VERY musical, VERY expressive! I play jazz-inflected folk, fingerstyle or various flatpicks, including Fender 351 Thins and Dunlop 204s. There's a reason Fender puts these on their guitars!RubyTuba

BUY THESE ! I hadn't used Fender strings for 30 years . A friend of mine bought out a music store so to liquidate he sold me all the strings and drum sticks in stock .. there were mostly Fender strings so I started using them . 20 packs of 9's lasted me well over a year . I work at least 3 night a week as a lead guitarists / vocalist . so I use my main Strat a lot . after I ran out of Fender's I used GHS and noticed I was breaking strings .. so I tried the Ernie Ball's .. breaking strings again ! I went to a local music store and bought a pack of Fender's . as an experiment I wasted to see how long before one would break . SIX WEEKS ! .. THEY LASTED 6 WEEKS ! .. That's 18 gigs , 3 hours pr night for a month and a half every Thursday Friday and Saturday . and they still sounded good ! FENDER RULES !horsesass123

These are not bright strings, the sound is somewhat dull – not so much you can't boost highs and adjust mids to compensate enough for most purposes, but these will never sound great for anything that needs to pop with bright presence. I am forced to keep a 5 string tuned down a whole step for one of the bands I regularly work with and this is the only game in town. You will need to re adjust your bridge because your intonation will change with these strings on and it may be enough to make solos and high passages sound a but wonky. If you have to keep a rigged tuned down, these are what you need but they put an awful strain on the neck if you try to pull them up to standard pitch – use for lower tunings ONLY.Doug

i've been using these strings for almost 2 years for hard/heavy rock. on a 36" scale 5-string the 135's feel great, and stay nice and tight at Eb or D tunings. at standard E tuning they are extremely tight. i've taken them down to C tuning, which puts the low B all the way down to seriously subterranean G, and that's about where they start to get floppy on a 36" scale bass. i would describe their tone as being loud and punchy, which suits loud, heavy music very well. as for longevity, i'm getting a solid month out of them at 10 hours per week of fairly vigorous playing. i kept the last set on to to see how long they'd go for. after 3 months they're starting to loose temper, and need to be replaced… but that's after a lot of playing.Wesley

I use these strings on my Ibanez Premium RG with Dunan Distortions and compared to the cobalts I usually use, they feel a lot stronger, definitely even louder and the high strings really ring out a lot. On a clean sound they're very crisp and clear, for high gain they have a lot of output and clarity, even compared to the cobalts. I just got them not long ago so i can't comment on the life yet, but I assume it'll be as good, if not better than the cobalts. Overall excellent strings and i really love the new plain strings as i was kinda disappoint by the cobalts on changing the wraps. Great job on these!JeffTremy

So I've been putting Ernie Ball coated strings on my Strat for a while now. I played around with cobalts and the tone was great, but I thought the life wasn't as long. The M-Steels don't seem awfully different from the cobalts. This certainly isn't a problem; they feel great and sound great. However, after how hard they marketed these strings as a "revolution" it just seems strange to me that they put out a product that's so similar to the cobalts. Marketing gripes aside, these are good strings. Great tone, bright and snappy but not thin. They feel like very solid, strong strings. Like all Ernie Ball strings, they have great feel. Are they a revolution as advertised? No. Are they are great set of strings? Sure.Kevin

Ernie ball m-steels are for me a great find, nice and tight bass side of the strings, and a more mid focused sound with increased output. They feel a bit strange a first and have a slight increase in tension, I have these on 4 of my guitars, it only sucks that they don't do 7 or 8 string sets which I have already msged Ernie ball about, maybe that will change in the future.gnosisdemiurge

Used these to replace the ones that came on my 2018 Gibson Les Paul Standard HP after the factory set had lived its life. I love the sound of these strings and playability of 9s. Haven't broke broke one of these strings yet, even with a lot of bending.The Legend

I bought my first guitar back in January and I went to string up some Ernie Ball Room strings and they broke INSTANTLY. A week later bought these and had no problem with them. They work BEAUTIFULLY for my guitar. I love the feel I love the tone-They're nice and easy to bend. I've been using them on my guitar for a long while now. I'm thinking about going for 10's next time? Anyway a GREAT string pack in my book.Oya

I used to have to buy the Skinny Top Heavy Bottom and Power Slinky set in order to get the low and high strings that I preferred but ever since Ernie Ball came out with this set I don't have to. It's my go to set of strings for standard because I like tight strings that I can chug or shred on. Plus they last forever. Get these!Rollin

The biggest selling point for Super Slinky strings is their magnificent tone. There really aren't any strings that sound better than these for hard rock. But as others have noted, they are sometimes prone to premature breakage of the unwound strings at the ball end. It you use a locking tremolo like a Floyd Rose, then this isn't an issue, as you'll be cutting off the ball ends anyway. But for everyone else, he's a trick that I (and many other players) have been using for Super Slinky's ever since the 80's. Just grab your soldering iron and solder the string down where it's twisted around the ball. Just be sure that the twisted part is nicely coated with solder and you shouldn't have any more problems with early breakage. Don't worry, it won't mess up their tone of anything like that… not if you do it right. Try it and see!Rasterburn

These are really nice! They deliver very warm and round tones when playing clean; however, when using overdrive or distortion, the tone becomes pretty monstrous! Because of their thickness, understand they're not made for easy bends and jazzy licks. Additionally, if your guitar is set-up for 9's, or even 10's, you'll need to make slight adjustments in your action, especially if you're using a trem.Shane S.

I took a chance with these strings and was Not let down. I wish I would have bought more packs of Darco strings instead of trying other popular brands.string buyer

Overall: Got a couple sets of the extra light (D930) strings put one of the sets on my Gretsch G5425. Easy on, tunes well and after stretching the strings it holds tune very well. The bass is strong and no too overpowering and the treble was bright without being tinny. The middle was a little underwhelming at times, but I'm not sure if it was the strings or the amp I was using. When I changed amps there were no issues. I would definitely use these again. Next up will be trying a set out on my Les Paul, after I burn up the strings on it.Steve

First off, I am the biggest Van Halen fan you'll ever find and have nothing but respect for the Brown Sound. That said, you won't find it in these strings. They're awful. They're constantly at odds with my Floyd Rose and I've yet to keep them all in tune without the Low E flopping all over the fretboard. And the strings that do stay in tune produce a tinny, whiny sound through the same settings that were cranking out near-Van Halen tone from Ernie Balls. This is my first experience with the EVH equipment line and I must say I'm not impressed. The only connection to Van Halen I see here is that only Eddie himself could make these things sound good.Lee

So I ordered a five pack and so far two of the packs had strange issues. Pack number one had a missing high E string then pack number two had an extra G string. This was my first purchase of 5150 strings and probably my last.dkgetz

If and when you find these for a reasonable price BUY THEM!! Since Eddy died anything with his name on it skyrockets in price. I don't play as often as I'd like, but when I do I play hard. These strings are some of very few that stay in tune, don't corrode or flatten out on the fret side. ALL strings should be thoroughly wiped down after use. GHS Fast fret is a great choice, rubbing alcohol followed by mineral oil is another.blue-mike

I'm glad I tried the Fender ss strings. They feel great and have a consistent tone. Not sure bout the longevity yet, too soon to tell. Great price as well. Bought a few Set to give as presents.RochesterTom

These are great guitar strings and a lot better than the ernie ball. As a leading manufacturer of strings, for decades Fender has delivered a high-quality product. The sound of these stings with a Spanish Cedar Wood pick is crisp.mojogumbo

I used Fender strings a long time ago and they always performed well. I made the change to super slinkys many moons ago but decided to go back to 350L when I changed over to my Nighthawk. The slinkys seemed a little dull, maybe it has something to do with the Nighthawk having a Fender scale length. Great move! Everything is much brighter and present with no sacrifice on bottom definition. I play every day and liked the longevity of the super slinkys so we will have to see how the Fenders compare. Great strings and a great price from MF as usual.Jerzy

These strings sounded good when I first put them on, but the bottom strings are weak and floppy. This is no good for Metal. Maybe a heavier gauge would work better, but I think next time I'm going to switch back to Elixirs or try something new.akerfeldtFTW

There are a few "good" brands of electric guitar strings, and I have always chosen Ernie Ball as my goto set. They cost less, and last just as long as anything else that I have tried so that right there is enough for me. The new Cobalt, and Paradigm series strings are even better in my opinion, and it is the Paradigm that I use on my personal guitars now but for every guitar that I sell (several every month) it is always Cobalt series strings. I live on the Florida coast so anything made of metal is short lived especially guitar strings but the Cobalts do the trick, and last a couple of months for me.zombie415.2009

These strings need no credability having already been used and endorsed by the likes of Eric Clapton and Steve Vai and many more guitar giants. I only recently tried these cobalts and will probably never go back to the standard nickel strings. The big difference you notice right away is the feel of the strings when pressed and played, almost giving the feel of having a scalloped neck. The strings have a sort of elasticity to them, making for easy bending. Just a great feel. The next difference you'll notice is the higher output they give, while in my case actually making each note more distinct and clear at higher gains. I play mostly rock and metal, but I recommend these all day long no matter what style you play. -Leslie Ripplktogo-us

Yes they cost about twice as much as a packet of standard Ernie Balls or D'addarios or whatever but when you compare the price to that of bass strings or violin strings we guitarists don't have it that bad. The difference between Cobalts and standard Slinkys is for me about stability. They have a different timbre and are slightly 'louder' than normal strings but if you do a lot of bending in your playing I recommend you check Cobalts out because I feel they stay in tune better. I don't have trem guitars but if I did I feel these strings would cope better with radical whammy antics than ordinary strings. At the end of the day it's a personal thing but I knew that when I bought and fitted my first set and I swear by Cobalts now. I would also submit that they degrade slower than regular strings and so changing them less often offsets their higher price. Check them out.matthew2949

I took a chance with these strings and was Not let down. I wish I would have bought more packs of Darco strings instead of trying other popular brands.string buyer

Overall: Got a couple sets of the extra light (D930) strings put one of the sets on my Gretsch G5425. Easy on, tunes well and after stretching the strings it holds tune very well. The bass is strong and no too overpowering and the treble was bright without being tinny. The middle was a little underwhelming at times, but I'm not sure if it was the strings or the amp I was using. When I changed amps there were no issues. I would definitely use these again. Next up will be trying a set out on my Les Paul, after I burn up the strings on it.Steve

what can i say, i have been using Ernie Ball Slinky's for almost twenty years.and would not think of any other string. they are so flexible, i think i am using regular guitar strings. it doesn't take a Hercules to pull the strings down to the frets. and they always have the sound i am looking for. look, i am going to shoot straight. most musicians are not rich.and struggle until that day(if it ever comes) we get discovered or finally break through. most of us don't. so, if i can get a string that allows me to do what i can with a bass, and sound like the most expensive bass ever made, at a price where i can eat dinner that night,that's a win-win. so whether i am playing for a bunch of my friends, or playing in some major concert venue.i will continue to use Ernie Ball products.david

I've used Ernie Ball guitar strings for quite a while now, so when I got myself a bass I immediately knew I would try their bass strings as well. So far, so good. I'm just as happy with the bass strings as I have been with the guitar strings. Excellent brand; great quality and value.lumina_racer

I knew from the first time I tried them that I’d be sticking with Stringjoy. Custom string sets for no extra charge? Hell yeah. The 7 string 11/70 is terrific for G# standard and drop F#Martin B

Really great strings. Been using them on my Gibson SG in drop C tuning and I have no complaints. A word of advice when you do get them, stretch them HARD or you'll have tuning instability for a few days until they rest but thats part of playing lower tunings. Great strings all around. Medium brightness and a good feel. I change strings often so I can't say "they last forever" but I will say there is no noticeable difference in tone over the 3-4 weeks I use them for.Samuel S

Perfect gauge for drop b on a 25.5†scale length! Not too heavy, not too light. Switching all of my guitars to Stringjoy. Nothing beats the tuning stability, and nothing stays so full of life as long as these do.Kenny B