Best Guitar Strings For Rock (2024 Update)

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

Overall: Use these exclusively on my 7 string. Perfect gauge sizing for down tuning; I love tuning to GDGCFAD. As far as "output" I can't really discern any advantage over other strings, but these of course have that great bouncy Ernie ball sound to them. I feel like they last a tad longer than plain Ernie balls but it could be a placebo effect. The gauge is perfect for what I do, anything else with these is just a plus. My main motivator to choosing strings are the available gauges, and these are a perfect fit. If you're looking in this range, you won't be disappointed.Brad

These are the slickest, most comfortable strings. I bought them to put on a PRS Angelus SE and be able to do those David Gilmore bends on an acoustic. For that, they are awesome. Bendiest, easy to slide acoustic strings I have ever tried. Great for all those single note lead lines. The bass strings are also heavy enough to still give some oomph. The problem is when you come out of those lead lines to do any rhythmic strumming-the tone is bright, brash, tinny and very G forward. I want to like these strings for their play-ability and keep trying them to see if they'll break in, but always leave disappointed. For reference, my PRS is already a little brighter in a Taylor sort of way than my other guitars. I usually play Santa Cruz Low Tension Parabolics on my Santa Cruz OM, and Martin Life Span on my Martin 0015. The brashness is muted a little if amplified.Jonah

Bought these as replacements on my Taylor guitar. I was surprised at the quality of the strings, the incredible tone and that they didn't stretch A LOT when new (meaning I didn't have to retune after every song…I let the rest for about 4 hours and tune them up before performing). And, they were made in the USA. Highest possible recommendation!Amy

I have been experiencing with different string blends and I stumbled across these… I love them! I like the bright top tones these strings bring. They are super flexible for soloing! I have smaller hands amd fingers so the thinness is an extra benefit! 10/10 recommend!Kayla

I am a drummer. My son needed strings. He took a few lessons years ago, and recently decided to try again. Guitar needed strings. I put on a full set and tuned it up. Seem to be functional. Fairly flexible. I didn't want really heavy strings. I know they would wreak havoc on un-callused fingertips!Scott W.

First time using these. I really like them. I immediately noticed how much smoother they feel compared to the previous brand I started out using. They feel so much better on your fingers and they dont feel ridged on the thicker strings. String bends are much better. I think I am going to switch to Ernie Ball from here on out. These seem like a much better quality and better value.hillbillyonlineshopper

Strats, ES, Les Pauls, hollow body Gretschs, PRS, my absolute go to strings. Every electric guitar I own gets set up with em. I absolutely buy in bulk. Great life for frequent use. Haven't broken a string in years. Properly stretched you shouldn't have any tuning issues.Charlie

I played 3 shows, and 2 practices then Pop goes the B…. 3rd practice, POP goes the A. This is all within 1 month from purchase, and pretty much how regular Slinky's hold up for me. Weather perhaps?… (I traveled from CALIFORNIA to CANADA and played 2 shows…) Faulty pack of these durable non breakables? Geared for those with that feather like angel whisper strumming technique??? I dunno, but do know when I first put on a new set any brand strings… and I mean ANY set I can bend, and dive, strum madly, and create chaotic thunder like all them fancy Axe Slingers Ernie Ball shows wrecking havoc on 'em for a good 10 minutes… What I was looking for was tone, and added longevity, and willing to pay the x-tra normal pack X 2 price…. but, I'm left a bit unimpressed here. Has EB's quality just gone down?… I mean even my regular slinky's seem nothing short of weak… my band's other guitarist is swearing by D'Addarios…. Think I may have to give 'em a whirl… Sorry EB. Oh, and as noted on a prior post the return policy is mailing back ALL strings (Good and bad one's), and EB will then send another pack to you… Why not just be able to go into an authorized ED dealer, and get a new pack??? So, you buy one pack , the another to replace it, then wait on the return… a bit pricey transaction.Barryfly69

I purchased these new Paradigm strings just to try them out as I'd heard so much hype about them . My first impressions are they feel and sound great , the easiest way I can describe them is like an up graded set of regular Slinkeys , I tried cobalt strings and didn't like them at all tbh , I've had them on my Gibson SG for over a week now and been playing for several hours every day and they sound really bright n fresh . One thing i've noticed is the tuning stability of the Paradigm strings much Better , my sg has always had a problem of never staying in tune !!! These new strings seem really stable and I hardly stretched them at all when I put them on my guitar . Will they last 90 days and still sound great though ??? Well i suppose only time will tell , at the moment I'm very happy with these new Paradigm strings . A +++++Leighton B.

My first set lasted 3 1/2 gigs before I broke the D string. This is much better than the average string for my heavy right hand. I play 10's on my Taylor T5. I can't play more than 2 gigs on a regular set period. I will up date and see how my second set goes. Here a run down of my first impression. 1- great feel. Bend nicely for soloing 2- they stay in tune well. Better than average 3- they have an extra wrap, very fine, on top of the regular wrap at the ball end. If you get a lot of strings breaking down at the bridge these strings may help. 4- dissapointed in only 31/2 gigs What strings are better – NYXL or these? Right now the jury is still out. Both are much better than regular strings for sure.bigstrick1

I was excited to try out the Blue Steel acoustic guitar strings. I got them in the mail and strung up my guitar with much anticipation. They were good at first, but after only about 20 minutes, my hands smelled like cheap metal, and the tone had already dulled. These strings made my high quality guitar sound like a tinny, cheap First Act Guitar. I would not recommend these strings to anyone. However, I would highly recommended Elixer nanowebs or polywebs. They are a far superior string. They are worth the extra price and will make any guitar sound great.Paul B.

Played guitar for 9 years. Have always picked and fretted with excessive force. My hands sweat and ruin strings. I've tried many strings, Elixrs were the best but too expensive, DR, D'addario, Ernie Ball, RotoSound….nothing felt like home. Somebody told me about these strings, I bought two packs of 12s and fell in love. Unlike the coated strings (Elixr) these are super-cooled so that the molecules lock together tighter. They stay in tune better than any strings I've played. These strings can take a beating. The tone is great for 4 or 5 weeks and it still sounds decent 2-3 months later. They are cheaper than most strings so you're crazy not to try them.TheCapitols

I've been using these strings for years. I love a wound 3rd string. They last up to a month for me where other brands only lasted a week tops. I just bought a new Les Paul with a Bigsby. It came with 9s on it and the intonation was way off. I had a set of 9s by EB and put them on to see what would happen. After a couple of days I could see it wasn't going to work out so I replaced them with a set of these 11s and the guitar locked right in tune.OleJazzer

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

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

My Mitchell MS450 (single cutaway LP style guitar) came with D'Add's, which sounded decent. When I switched them out, I went with the GHS 10's on a hunch based on things I've heard. Great move! Nice, brilliant tone, rings out for eternity if you let them! I have heard that the GHS 9's are really good on Strat style guitars, so GHS might be my go to on my Squier Strat Classic Vibe next string change.Joe

I used 11's from D'Addario for years and I would break a string consistently for every show that I played. I do not know why I kept with D'Addario for so long. I figured I needed to have a heavier string gauge for durability and better tone. Searched around and came across these strings in the heavy gauge, and I could not be happier with them. These strings have great sustain, are durable, do not corrode as quickly as other brands I have used in my professional career playing music, and, despite their heaviness, are easy to play in standard tuning. Along with playing well with a pick and fingers, these strings also sound terrific when playing slide. You can get the same great tones out of these strings that Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks have with their lighter gauges, as well as channeling the fat tones that you hear from Duane Allman from the Fillmore East show. Great Garcia tones can come from these strings as well. Basically what I am saying is that you can still get those classic guitar sounds on these heavy strings without feeling like your losing tone or playing opportunities utilized by the players that inspire you who may use lighter string gauges. These strings also (as far as I know) have a round core instead of a hex core. I think that might be a reason why these strings have so much sustain, especially when you have some distortion or overdrive keeping them warm while playing lead. If you are on the fence about getting these, I recommend you give them a try just see how they work for you. They are no that expensive and its worth it to figure out what works for you as a player. Feeling confidence in the gear you use is so essential to being comfortable on stage. Buy a pack and see what happens. You might find yourself just what you've been looking for.JFromJUNCO

I used to use Boomers for about 10 years, on all my electrics (9s). Until arthritis started creeping in. Switched to EB slinky 8s, and playing became much easier. Everything still had a huge sound, but previous order added a test set of the Boomer 8.5s for my Gibson Les Paul goldtop with P90s. Took a while to get used to the rougher feel compared with the EB 8s. But will probably order another set for the goldtop, and a set for my ES295.Joe S.

Recommended by a friend. The action on them is great. Great tone. Love the way that they sound and feel. Have tried many other types of strings and these are by far the best ones I have used. I will use these from now on. I am still learning how to play and these strings are make it easier.Chris

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’ve used these Santa Cruz Mid Tensions for 4 string changes now on both my D18 and D35 and I continue to be impressed. I don’t think it’s just a marketing gimmick as these strings produce a more balanced and full sound than regular phosphor bronze sets. It’s a more mellow sound right away, almost like Monel strings. These have a great feel under the fingers as well. Great product!Michael M.

I have used Elixir strings exclusively for the past 20 years. This is my first purchase of acoustic nanowebs in this gauge (only just started playing acoustic guitar again in recent months and always use polyweb 9's on my electrics). Only just fitted them yesterday (swapping out the poly 10's I had previously fitted – finding them too light for acoustic and going back now with the 12-53 to the maunfacurer's original gauge supplied on the guitar). Plays much better now – almost certainly due to the gauge and sounds good. Time will tell if I like nano's better than poly's on acoustic. Elixirs are comparatively expensive but the trade-off is that they keep their tone a very long time and don't corrode – so full string set changes are infrequent. Occasionally I replace just the plain strings on my electrics when I wear through the plating and/or tire them a bit with bending and vibrato.STEWART C.

I only have pros, no cons!!! I love Elixir strings!!! I've been using them for years!!! I first heard about them from a good friend of mine, Tom Hemby. He is a 30+ year session player and producer in Nashville Tennessee. I'm not a pro like him, just a weekend warrior, but honestly these strings have been a Godsend for me!!! I HATE to change strings!!! I'm using the word about strings!!! Anyway, I love the sound of NEW strings but hate to have to stop and change them all the time! My hands sweat profusely so I always have dead strings. Tom told me that if I started using Elixir strings that problem would no longer be an issue and he was right! I use the Extra Lights .010 -.047 Nanoweb set on my Blueridge BR-163 CE. One of the things I didn't realize was that the coating cuts down on the noise, the string squeak when I change chords or when I'm playing a lead. With un-coated strings it's very irritating! So, my strings are quieter, they last longer, they sound bright all the time!!! I'm diggin these strings! All I can say is if you aren't using them, you should be, give your audience a break from the squeak, squeak squeak, of your strings during your performances, it's very distracting from the songs and your playing ability!!! I tell everybody I know that plays or is starting to learn, just go ahead and buy yourself some GOOD strings, it's the foundation of your sound!!! NO MORE SQUEAKING AND THEY LAST A LONG LONG TIME!!! That's a winner to me!!!buddy636

The main reason I purchased this instrument was to have the ability to travel, play outside in the present climate. It's almost a disposable guitar. Not a negative against the instrument. I am not going to bring my Strat or Yamaha out to the fire, by the river or sitting on the porch during a rainstorm. Worth every dollar and every dollar I did not have to spend. GOOD VALUE, SOUND and SIZE. HAPPY!!!!Rich

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

I tried out the ghs boomers 7 string set on my Washburn x37 guitar. They have a nice clear , even tone about them. I like them better than the Ernie Ball 7 string set. I mostly play metal music and these strings sound great with high gain distortion. Not bad at all.H

I like this set for drop D down a half step (Db, Ab, Gb, C, F) on a 6 string double fat strat, ditching the 9. I like the sizes better than any of the 6 string drop D sets I've tried. These last a long time and still sound good.mike stellar-3LX.X

I have used these strings for 3 or 4 years now they're really good I chose them because of the size and I found out that they are awesome. Not one ever broke on me as I did expect the 10 to from the speed and pressure I used sometimes. My particular style is metal, the strings work great for that. They are highly pliable. I am a bender and the tuning I think does not go out too much after the stresses I place on the strings. I have used deep standard E standard C standard a also be dropped down tuning no problem with any of the strings at all the sound is crisp and clear it's not a muddy sound and it's not a tinggi sound from the strings like a steel Acoustic sound.Big Mac

These strings work pretty much as advertised. They let you tune absurdly low without sacrificing note clarity or integrity… not perfectly, but reasonably. They also stay in tune remarkably well with little to no breaking-in.Regular DR 10's can handle my guitar tuned down 1 1/2 steps with no problems, but anything beyond that is flub territory and intonation is out by as much as a full half-step. With the DDT 10's, I can go 3 steps down and they still sound tight. If you check with a tuner, the intonation isn't quite right, but the difference is negligible to the naked ear. It's hard to break a DDT string. They are noticeably tougher than your average set of 10's. The feel is quite nice at 1 steps and lower though. They're surprisingly easy on the fingers. You don't have to pick hard to get heavy attack. They just exude brutal tone.Their quality stands true to the DR name. Definitely worth a try if you plan on experimenting with extremely low tunings. They can make your 6-string sound like a 7-string… only it'll still feel like a 6-string!Strizzwald

I typically play a half step down, sometimes drop C#. Guitar I have set up for that was giving me some occasional open string buzz in drop C#, but I didn't wanna go to a higher gauge because I like to be able to go to E standard once in a blue. Took the Daddarios off, put these on. Boom. Problem solved. Also very stable tuning wise and feel great overall. Thumbs up!Dustin J.

Its like this. The sound you heard or trying to get but you cant get the right effect, well that sharp attack and edge is and always was in these sets, I used for 17 years then something changed came back and discovered I wasted alot of money and time! The bestestist. Slinky tooo!007kun

I've experimented with different brands over the years but i keep coming back to EB. It's like they "get" what guitarists want in a string. The build quality is great. Never gotten a rusted string in all these years. Cant say that about a lot of other brand's. They are durable with a love to be bent. As far as sound, I like to think my ears have evolved over 25+ years of playing to the point that I've begun to appreciate the difference between nickel plated steel strings and pure nickel. If you like the crispness of NPS strings but are searching for a warmer sound, try these first before swapping things like amps or tubes. They are ideal for applications like blues, classic rock or even vintage metal that could be helped with a warmer sound.Jeremy B.

I use Ernie Ball Pure Nickel Slinkys almost exclusively on all my electric guitars, 11-48 on everything with a trem (plus a Thinline Tele) and 10-46 on everything else (other Teles and a Les Paul). I prefer the warmth of pure nickel on the lower strings, and Ernie Ball has for the past several years been my go-to favorite for reliable quality out of the package, clear and balanced tone across all six strings, plus overall feel and durability. I change strings frequently, usually after 12-16 hours of play, and Ernie Ball provides the perfect combination of affordability, quality and performance for my playing style and preferences.willbutyouwont

I subtract a star because the first set of Paradigms I ever bought literally snapped on me the first time I used them. But since then I've had a couple of sets and their ability to stave off rust is definitely noticeable. I'd say there's possibly the smallest bit of tonal loss, but so little it makes me question whether it's just me, so I'm ultimately impressed. Just make sure you keep the packaging in case they snap or they won't take them back!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

The strings are great. The salesman that helped me was absolutely right about the sound and the easy playability. I'm glad I spoke to him about them. Worth the extra moneyRIZZO

I first used paradigm strings when the guitar tech at Sam Ash put the on a vintage Gibson les paul deluxe. I've been using the ever since. Lone life and stay in incredible tune.ROGER

Read about the longevity, extra tone and volume and thought .. yeah yeah .. as long as they last a while .. But to be honest ..they are the best sounding strings I have ever bought. If they last longer it will be a win win.authenticautobody

This is what metallurgy is about. At 72, I have played rock and roll, as well as other styles , for over fifty years. This Maraging steel alloy in a string gives the best volume, harmonic response and durability of anything I have encountered on an electric, and I'm going to try it on an acoustic:(more later.) The sound on a fender at light gauge ('ninezies') was so good that I immediately put them on all my fenders and gibsons (a half-dozen or so) with fantastic results. I read some reviews elsewhere expressing concern over fret wear issues with harder alloy strings, but I don't think any of us would have to worry about this in our life time.Frank