Best Light Gauge Acoustic Guitar Strings (2024 Update)

The Martin Extra Light 10 to 47 strings work very well on my Martin D28. They sound like Martin and are great for live gigs. Affordable strings for live Musician…Vernon

Definitely easier to play, but a bit lacking in tone( especially base). Big difference to a set of custom lights. Depends on your priorities! Barre chords and string bends noticeably easier to bring off.alex m.

I never get involved with commentary of products, but I feel obligated to say WOW, with Martins new Authentic Acoustic line of strings. Installed the PB variety on my 000-28ec, my Gibson sj200, and my Collings CJmh, in each case there was an immediate improvement in all areas of tone. Pardon the cliche', but in every way the guitars came to life. Great sustain, solid bass, and smooth bell like treble. I have tried many strings over the years, and yes there are differences, but never tothe degree I hear with these. A vast improvement in all areas, IMOP. Can't say how long they'll last, haven't had them on that long. Ther worth a try to any guitar out there. And I will always buy from Strings and Beyond. They have always been courteous, professional, ship quickly, and competitively priced. Thanks.Mark

For the last couple years, I’ve been comparing these Lifespan 12-54 against other coated phosphor-bronze sets: D’Addario EXP 12-53 & D’Addario XT 12-53 & D’Addario XS 12-53 & Elixir’s Light nano set. These Martin Lifespan strings have given me no issues, except that my low E string bridge pin doesn’t quite want to press all the way in (due to being cut for a 53 vs 54 gauge string). I didn’t think that small variation would matter, but it seems to! Even with the bridge pin slightly protruding higher than the others, these strings sound great and have lasted quite a long time without degrading in tone or feel. My pick eventually does cut up the coating, which visibly frays and starts to dull the string sound. But, this is after much time and use. I like the sound and feel of the strings, and will now be comparing them to the new D’Addario XS strings, which claim to survive picking better than any other string, while using a thinner coating. We shall see! At this time I can report that I like the Martin Lifespans fairly equally to D’Addario EXPs, which sound and respond better (in my experience) than Elixir’s comparable strings. I have not yet concluded my XT and XS testing to compare, but I expect them to perform as (or more) durably as these Lifespans. I anticipate the XS strings to sound and respond more like uncoated strings than the others listed above (including these Lifespans) while potentially surviving more punishment from my pointy Dunlop Primetone Flow plectrums! I’ll review the XS performance on that listing after finding the results. I have been pretty satisfied with these Lifespans, but not blown away in comparison to D’Addario’s coated offerings. They’re competitive and if you’re a Martin lover, these are an easy set-it-and-forget-it option that give a longer replacement cycle than Martin’s uncoated strings without sounding completely dull. You can get a still good low-end brassy growl on these until their coating starts to fray. However, you’ll definitely also want to try a set of D’Addario’s coated strings to pick a favorite based on their response with your own guitar, picking technique, and sound preferences. I found Lifespans to be pretty stable for intonation and gradually become less strident/bright in tone through use (wear at the picking location). D’Addario lights may have a touch less power (fundamental frequency) on the lowest string. They both respond well and sustain well on my guitar, with the D’Addarios remaining extremely stable with intonation. [For reference, the strings mentioned here were all installed on a very fine Larrivee LV-10 (sitka & EIT) built around year 2000. The guitar has a TON of rich mid-to-high overtone presence and excellent string-to-string balance with good dynamic range and sustain. Most strings sound pretty good on it, but the timbre does noticeably change with different strings. These changes in overtone prominence are difficult to express in a written review…. Larrivee calls for D’Addario 12-53 gauge phosphor bronze strings. Bridge pins are ebony (like the bridge).]Daniel

Like buying a string you need but it's buying six strings you need. I did indeed recieve six different strings, each one able to create the appropriate string sound I needed.customer

Elles sonnent très bien, et sont très agréables à jouer. A voir dans le temps, si elles résistent a la corosion dans le tempsStéphane E.

Definitely the best strings at the price point lately. They have a thinner or smoother wind than Ernie Ball slinkys or Daddarrio exl and this results in less finger noise and a zingier tone IMO. I'm into clean and classic rock, and I doubt you would like these over the former two names if you were into more modern and metal sounds. It depends on the guitar for me, on my strat I could use just about any strings. My guitars with humbuckers seem more picky, at least to my ears. I prefer these over the other two as far as cheap strings go, and these are often cheaper. Win win. Used to be I would never have preferred Fender strings so either my tastes are changing or these strings have changed over the years.Joelish

Overall: Don't pay any attention to the low price these are great strings. Have used Fender 7250's on all kinds of bass guitars they always sound great and feel good. Years of use have proved quality. I put them on my Jazz bass, my PJ, and my Squire, have used them on Samick, Music man, OLP, and Epiphone basses, all good.Scott

According to a Fender rep, these are what came on the Fender PJ bass I ordered from Musician's Friend. They produce the classic Fender tone I wanted. I eventually replaced them with a set of Fender 7250L (.040, .060, .080, .100) to make it easier to play on the guitar's 9.5" fingerboard radius. I stayed with Fender because of the tone that the 7250M strings produce. The Light's have slightly less oomph on the low end, yet all the tone while the lighter gauge makes for nice melodic work on the high end of things. If you have a Fender bass and want Fender tone…Vice

These came installed on my new Epiphone J-45 and man do they sing. Nice bass response and they are not tinny sounding, got the just right acoustic sound. They are coated and to me they make it easier to play. As I haven't played them for that long I'll have to see how they hold up. One other reviewer gave them 3 stars but if you read the review, he was complaining about the shipping time and even said he hadn't tried them. I find it hard to believe that it was AMS's fault for the delay, they always ship super fast. We were (and still are) getting slammed by Covid and delivery times by carriers were way behind in September when that review was written.Greg 'Purple' Hays

I like to keep my J45 Gibson guitar all "Gibson", so I use Gibson coated strings. They sound great and last a long time. Other coated strings are nice too but the Gibson strings just seem to sound brighter and louder.Guy

Only have them on for a couple weeks but good so far. Consistent tone with a bright edge that is holding pretty well in the early going. I gradually migrated on my Martin Jr from the OEM coated mediums to uncoated lights, and to a 80/20 for good measure. The guitar gets dark pretty quick with coated strings so I thought I'd try this for more brightness. Hope it lasts.Old Smokey

I tried these after other folks had given good reviews for them. I put them on my Tacoma JR55 Jumbo rosewood/spruce and on my Asian Breedlove maple/spruce dreadnaught guitar. They were so dark and muddy that I replaced them by the next day with EXP light gauge strings. I am now sold on the EXP; 80/20 bronze for bluegrass boldness, or phosphor bronze for warmth. Elixir is good, but they don't seem to keep good tone after a month or so. If you like a brighter sound, you might want to try another string rather than John Pearse. I wish I had spent my money on D'Addario EXP's!K Woodruff

I am a professional studio musician for mainly country, Gospel, and bluegrass music. I had been using Elixir's for years and never thought about trying anything else. Well one day i wanted to try out some for the heck of it and I got these John Pearse strings along with a bunch of other strings that were sent to me to see if I would market. These strings blew me away!! They had a louder sound than any other strings i tried. They had a super great tone. I was able to tell a very noticeable difference in the rich lows that were added with these strings. The only bad thing is they don't last as long as the coated strings but sometimes you have to decide if you want a better tone and change strings more often or have something like Elixir's that don't sound as good but can stay on there for a longer time. Oh and even people that have no clue about guitars, would hear my guitar and ask if I done something to it b/c it sounded louder and better and I have a Customized Larivee that Jean made for me!!Country guitar picker!

These came installed on my new Epiphone J-45 and man do they sing. Nice bass response and they are not tinny sounding, got the just right acoustic sound. They are coated and to me they make it easier to play. As I haven't played them for that long I'll have to see how they hold up. One other reviewer gave them 3 stars but if you read the review, he was complaining about the shipping time and even said he hadn't tried them. I find it hard to believe that it was AMS's fault for the delay, they always ship super fast. We were (and still are) getting slammed by Covid and delivery times by carriers were way behind in September when that review was written.Greg 'Purple' Hays

I like to keep my J45 Gibson guitar all "Gibson", so I use Gibson coated strings. They sound great and last a long time. Other coated strings are nice too but the Gibson strings just seem to sound brighter and louder.Guy

You cant get a better deal. 3 sets for 15 amazing. They sound crisp, clear,and after a whole week playing everyday still sound new. Other brands stay new for about 3 days then they die out, not these! They shock me everytime i pick up my acoustic thanks GHS.thejackofvocalandguitar

I just got a brand new Taylor(615ce) and i was like nice these strings sound good. These sound great 3 days later they sounded dead i was really disappointed. Then i went to go buy the same pair 15 dollars every time i want that new string sound. NO WAY! Goo Goo dolls lead singer Johhny R. uses these so i tired them. BLOWN AWAY!!!!! at there tone and clarity, 3new sets for the price of 1! sold and i am a GHS customer for life.thejackofvocalandguitar

I build guitars and buy these for setups period. I have tried to use these on one occasion just for kicks but found the tension all wrong. Not so much on the wound strings as the unwound upper strings. I found the tension and feel really poor. They seemed to be ridiculous to bend and if you managed that they felt like they were about ready to snap. I did not like the brittle tone either. The feel of these is just all wrong but they are cheap and fine to use for building but my guitars would never go out with these!Thump54

Musicians Gear strings are perfect for any player. If you get your strings for free because of an endorsement deal, you can claim a better value. I don't have that option = I pay for my strings. I change strings about once a month, sometimes more often, because NOTHING sounds as good as a new set of strings. But I can't afford big coins to keep fresh strings on them. These MGs are very affordable, they sound great, they play well, they are consistent, and I am very happy when I play with new strings. The new packaging helps stop rust and corrosion, so I usually buy in boxes of 10, just so I have some on hand.guitarpicker7

I use these strings all the time. Dont believe all the nonsense you read- they sound good, they last well and they are affordable. If you dont need to pay double or triple for hype, buy these strings. The best sounding strings in the world are new strings. Buy a stack of these and change them whenever you need to. The more you play, the more often you will need to change them. Even a cheap guitar will sound good with new strings. And the most expensive guitar will sound bad with old strings. I love them.reynardfoxe

Whenever I buy or replace guitar strings on all my acoustic guitars-I always go with martins. They are by far the best strings out there with a better Sound-I put them on every new or used acoustic guitar I have ever owns! Why? Because they are simply the best acoustic strings out there. Only 1 thing about the Martin strings that kind of upsets me. Is they used to always make sure you got 2 first e, strings in every set. Don"t no why they ever stopped doing it. But wish all guitar strings would place 2 first E, Strings on all guitar strings. Maybe they all just decided to let them break it & they will have to buy another whole new pack.I guess these guitar companies -all of them even though they are All already filthy rich -Just have to make another dollar.theemann54

I have purchased several different Martin strings lately (SP's, Marquis, Flex Core, Retro) and found these to be the most well behaved, if you do a lot of strumming. They also sound very good when you punch in a couple of melody notes along the way. For being their least expensive strings, it just adds to the list of good and different possibilities. I was pretty happy with the results. The guitar that I put these on is a Dreadnought known for the wide range in tone from string to string, but these are surprisingly well balanced. I don't know how long they are going to last, but very good first impression.PopStar

As a professional singer-songwriter in the San Francisco Bay Area, I like to keep my guitar strings fresh-sounding. I just installed a set of Aegean extra-light bronze wound strings on my guitar and am very happy with the sound, which is full at the low end and bright at the high end. Compared with the more-expensive Martin extra-lights I've been using, the Aegeans seem a bit louder and more raucous sounding in the mids and highs, making them a great choice for folk-rock, Americana and delta blues. The Aegeans are also a little shorter than the Martins, so there's less extra string left dangling from the tuners. It's hard to go wrong with these strings.stevtaylo_291

My son in law has owned a 000-15 for around 10 years. I've played it over that time quite a bit and have enjoyed the mid focused sound that the 000 Martin is known for. Well, last night he handed it to me with these light retro strings installed; it's like a different guitar. Full spectrum sound and just a sweetness it never had before. I concur with other reviewers that the Martin Retros bring out the True Tone of the wood. Can't speak for rosewood (yet), but for Mahogany Parlors this is your ticket to special.Tuneboy2000

I've been through about every brand of strings trying to find the *right* ones for my Martin OM-28V and OM-18C. Retros are the deal. You can really finesse the tones out of the guitars with these strings. They've got a huge dynamic range but it's controllable at the same time. Other brands of strings seem to just over drive my small bodied guitars and playing too aggressively just produces a lot of jumbled booming sound. The Retros let you play loud or soft and the tones are clear on either end. As already mentioned they're very easy on the fingers and note articulation is amazing, hammer-ons and pull-offs that were once a struggle just happen.Joe

The Martin retros are one of my favorite strings, but monel/nickel strings have a particular tone and feel to them. If that's what you're after then there's almost no substitute, but if you're expecting the sound of bronze you'll be very disappointed. Monel has a darker tone to it that will give your guitar an overall "woodier" sound, i.e. you will hear less metallic timbre and less of the type of overtones you get from bronze. Due to the properties of the metal, these strings also tune to standard at a lower tension than bronze so they will have a bit of a softer, looser feel to them. I use these on my all-mahogany Martin 00-15M. I play the guitar in open or dropped tunings a lot and I find the monel tone compliments the guitar well. It's also a long scale guitar so the lower tension is nice for comfort over long play sessions. I now exclusively use the Martin Retros on this guitar but still prefer PB on my other ones. Again, they are a niche string, but if monel is what you want, then the Martin Retros are the way to go.Drew

For many years the Martin M140 ruled the acoustic guitar world, then sadly one day they disappeared. Now the sound that you've heard on many (many) Woodstock era recordings is back. You MUST give these a try. You'll be a believer!Rocky G.

I was out on the road when I broke two strings on my acoustic guitar. As luck would have, I was visiting one of those lovely European countries, whose stores close on Sunday. Understandable. Store owners also want to go and visit the festival where things are happening. So, a fellow guitarist introduced these to me. I felt silly, because I had never up to that point associated the Martin brand with strings rather only their (quite popular) acoustic guitars. After trying these, I've been purchasing from the Martin line of strings ever since. Martin strings now adorn my mandolin as well.Boyan P.

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