Standard Gauge Electric Guitar Strings For Sale (2024 Update)

Love these strings. Clean, bright, ringing tone and easy to bend. I like the Hybrid gauge for the lighter top end, but sometimes 9's tend to unravel at the ball. The end wrap eliminates this problem, and I haven't lost one since switching to the RPS type. I use these mainly for blues. On a short scale guitar, like an SG or a 335, (I use them on a custom, 24.75", short scale Strat and a '64 Hagstrom H2 with a 24.375" scale), I suggest replacing the 16p "G" string with an Ernie Ball 18w. The heavier gauge wound string compensates for the lower tension of the short scale, and makes for a fuller mid range. If they made this set with a wound "G", it would be perfect. IMHO.Steve

If I had to use one set of strings, I would go with this one. Besides being incredibly reliable and consistent (no disparity between packs) these strings have served well under different weather conditions and on long hauls. I always keep these in reserve when going on the road as the gauges in the pack can work as substitutes for other strings and brands. Meaning, you can mix and match should you break a string on a guitar that's tuned to D. I've always had loyalty to the brand, though I do use a variety of strings for the other instruments I play. The strings make a good pair with the (IMO) amazing Ernie Ball Music Man guitars.Boyan P.

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

These strings really made a big difference ( In my opinion) in the sound of my Epiphone ES335, very pleased with the results.oldriv58

I love the feel of these strings. The tone is exactly how I like. My sound is more dynamic than before. Contrary to other reviews, they DO stay in tune (check your intonation and guitar setup in general) and they DO last a long time. I'm not a fan of strings that have windings that work against you. These strings have just the right amount of smoothness and brightness. Bright, but not annoying.JDub

Got these just sampling a few string sets and stuck them on my 2005 Tele Deluxe, they have a fairly decent tone & output compared to my Slinkies and seem to be good quality but my major complaint is the G B and E to me are under much more tension tuned at 440, kinda mixed feelings since some of my guitars are strung with 10's so for me these are 10 feeling 9's ! Strings are the easiest swap for tone chasers so just try a set, you just might like them 🎼Dr.LaRrY

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

(Guitar there were placed on is a Tom Murphy Painted and Aged Gibson Custom Shop 1959 Les Paul Standard w/ Brazilian Fretboard) Back in the day, Ernie Ball strings weren't packaged well; they weren't even sealed. If you haven't tried them since their packaging was reinvented, they're definitely worth a look now. Tried D'Addario pure nickel strings, found the wound three to be too low output. I swear the core wire looked like it belonged in acoustic strings. Maybe I got a factory defect, who knows. Gibson strings sound great initially but the 'G' starts to sound dead after a week and the wound strings sound dead and filthy in three weeks. These on the other hand sound marvelous. They sound great out of the package, stay balanced, and sound good for longer than I thought possible.MidnightRiderInTX

I have recently come back to playing the guitar, Sax is my primary instrument but I have had my Gibson RD Standard since 1978. I have since increased my heard of guitars to 10 electric guitars and 3 bass guitars. I have come to favor the Ernie Ball lights and super lights on almost all my guitars. I play the 9's on all of my Stratocaster copies and the super lights on the 3/4 size guitars. I love the feel as far as tone, intonation, flexibility ease of bends and how the strings hold up as a whole. I would definitely recommend to a friend or buy this produce again.Antonio

I have been using the Power Slinkys (11s) for a few years now. I had switched from another brand because the Slinkys made my Strat sound more Straty. After watching a few videos on YouTube about string gauge, I thought I would buy the Regular Slinkys (10s) and see what difference that would make. When I got online to buy I saw that Guitar Center had a sale on 12 packs and since there is a pandemic, I thought it prudent to hoard strings. My logic was that while I may run out of TP, I would never run out of strings for my guitars. Long story short, you cannot go wrong with the tone of 10s. I do like them better than the 11s. They are much clearer in the low end and you get more definition. I have to do less EQing when recording and they just seem to pop better in a mix. The only downside is that they are taking me time to get used to, I play very heavy handed and these are much easier to bend. But I can already see that I have less hand fatigue.Richard

I see a lot of you use these for lower tuning, which is great, but not me! I use them for Eb! I play metal and need my strings to snap back and handle my heavy picking hand. These are massive, fat strings that deliver massive, fat tone!Bargain Bin Hetfield

These strings are perfect for lower tunings. The individual string gauges are well balanced for rhythm and lead playing. I use these strings for "drop C" & "C standard" tunings and they hold up exceptionally well for my style of playing. Excellent value and a quality product.Chuzz

I just got the strings and was very happy to notice that you have included a string winder inside the package! And if im not wrong, it doesn't state anything about a string winder. That really made my evening! Thank you very much! This is my second purchase from you and im sure it wont be the last. Its a pleasure doing business with you guys! Thanks again!justakshay

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

(Guitar there were placed on is a Tom Murphy Painted and Aged Gibson Custom Shop 1959 Les Paul Standard w/ Brazilian Fretboard) Back in the day, Ernie Ball strings weren't packaged well; they weren't even sealed. If you haven't tried them since their packaging was reinvented, they're definitely worth a look now. Tried D'Addario pure nickel strings, found the wound three to be too low output. I swear the core wire looked like it belonged in acoustic strings. Maybe I got a factory defect, who knows. Gibson strings sound great initially but the 'G' starts to sound dead after a week and the wound strings sound dead and filthy in three weeks. These on the other hand sound marvelous. They sound great out of the package, stay balanced, and sound good for longer than I thought possible.MidnightRiderInTX

I have recently come back to playing the guitar, Sax is my primary instrument but I have had my Gibson RD Standard since 1978. I have since increased my heard of guitars to 10 electric guitars and 3 bass guitars. I have come to favor the Ernie Ball lights and super lights on almost all my guitars. I play the 9's on all of my Stratocaster copies and the super lights on the 3/4 size guitars. I love the feel as far as tone, intonation, flexibility ease of bends and how the strings hold up as a whole. I would definitely recommend to a friend or buy this produce again.Antonio

I have been using the Power Slinkys (11s) for a few years now. I had switched from another brand because the Slinkys made my Strat sound more Straty. After watching a few videos on YouTube about string gauge, I thought I would buy the Regular Slinkys (10s) and see what difference that would make. When I got online to buy I saw that Guitar Center had a sale on 12 packs and since there is a pandemic, I thought it prudent to hoard strings. My logic was that while I may run out of TP, I would never run out of strings for my guitars. Long story short, you cannot go wrong with the tone of 10s. I do like them better than the 11s. They are much clearer in the low end and you get more definition. I have to do less EQing when recording and they just seem to pop better in a mix. The only downside is that they are taking me time to get used to, I play very heavy handed and these are much easier to bend. But I can already see that I have less hand fatigue.Richard

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

A very good friend of mine uses these strings all the time; on all of his guitars. After playing few of his instruments, i understood why. In my opinion, these strings are pretty nice. They are smooth (not sticky feeling like flat wound chomes) and they seem to hold there tone pretty well. (At least for me) I have used these strings in the past but i couldn't appreciate them because i had a bad guitar. That's all changed now. I think i really like theseTC

Nickel electric guitar strings are the bright sounding electric guitar strings. You get the manufacturing process of DR 's specific string core winding technology the way they make their High Beam bass and guitar and guitar strings. DR pure Blues strings are as bright, loud and clear and well made both material and manufacturing wise as electric guitar strings can be. I suppose you could use thesewith distortion but with the clarity of these, playing in clean channel'd be 'purest way to hear emhartke2k

I wanted to try something different. I had EB slinkys on my Gretsch Jet. I decided to give the DR handmade Pure Blues a go. Personally I think these are better than the EB. They feel and sound different. Playing seems to take less effort than the EB’s. I would suggest do a google search on stringing roundcore strings. Apparently there are pitfalls if you don’t string them right. I’m going to order a couple more packs just in case. I’m very tempted to try the acoustic strings as well.DGB

I've been playing for 38 years. I wasn't aware of generic strings in the old days so I've used all the big names, Ernie Ball, GHS, D'addario and to me these are pretty good strings. I've been using them for 8 or 9 years now. The main thing I will say about them is that they mellow out quickly, in other words the new string brightness goes away pretty fast. For me, this is good. I do not like that jangle brightness of new strings. Other than that I can't hear or feel a difference from the major brands. I have recommended them to friends who also liked them. We were in a cover band together and had to restring many guitars fairly often because they would get sweat all over and not wiped down. So these were economical.Quinn

I bought a whole bunch of these in different sizes as it is a good way to experiment with using different sized strings. Some strings last a while but many pop almost immediately right at the ball. Once I had three in a row pop, each one the first time I struck the string with the pick. Enough of the strings work well enough to allow me to accomplish what i wanted but it is frustrating and I will be glad when they run out. But whatever at this price I don't really care.b

I ordered a huge bulk back in 2010, the 10 thru 46 guages set. They hold tune well and have good tone. After each time I practice or gig, I wipe down the strings with 3 in 1 oil and they last. Some people complain that the ball ends break off. But I only use these strings on my Floyd Rose equiped guitars, so I use the ball end wrapped through the posts of my tuning keys, then lock the clamp down. I use stainless steel picks and stacatto pick ( like Yngwie Malmsteen), bend 2 whole steps and pull up hard on the tremolo bar …..and they stay in perfect tune. I'm due for another huge order and will post another review.A.J.

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

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

I am glad that I found Pyramid strings. They feel and sound amazing. However, they last twice as long as any other strings that I have tried. DO NOT FORGET TO CRIMP THEM BEFORE CUTTING.Chris

I've used most all of the brands of strings for electric guitar over the years and the Pyramid pure nickel round core variations are by far my favorite for tone, sustain, warmth and longevity…They work equally well with my Les Pauls, Airlines and Rivolta guitars….highly recommended! Rod WellesRod W.

I've been using Dean Markley Blue Steel strings for years but now I'm searching for alternatives because the Blue Steel strings are always out of stock. I ordered Pyramid strings because that's what Wolf Hoffman of Accept uses. However, I ordered the stainless steel strings because I'm allergic to nickel. These strings are great…very nice feel and the tone is very bright which I love. I've tried the strings on my Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Explorer and Jackson Soloist and the results have been great. I tried multiple gauges with good results. In addition, the strings have lasted a long time – took a long time to tarnish and the wound strings kept their tone. I'll definitely continue to use these strings.Stephen

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

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

Have used these several times before and using them again. Have always found them bright and long lasting before any tarnish shows. Very good string at a great price.goodbeer72

The shipping was very fast, and the string quaity is great. Sweetwater is a well known store in the music industry, which is why I ordered these.hiat080-9