Best strings for fingerstyle acoustic?

[Perro]

It’s been nearly a year now since I got my Furch Yellow but only maybe 3 or 4 months since my local guitar guy switched the strings out on them. It came with Elixir strings originally, and when I had it setup by my acoustic guy he fitted them with D’addario lights. They’re okay, I actually think the Elixirs sounded better, but for anyone that plays fingerstyle, or maybe even anyone that plays on an expensive guitar heh, what strings do you usually fit yours with?

[Crosswind]

I like D'Addario XS. Try lights as well as custom lights, and decide between them.

[MikeMcKee]

I’m sure you’ll get a lot of suggestions, but Elixirs are a pretty safe bet.

[RLetson]

Try some out. Let your fingers and ears tell you.

The fact that I prefer GHS or D'addario phosphor bronze lights or GHS silk & bronze on my Goodall and Guild doesn't mean that you will like them on your Furch. Or maybe you will. Your ears, your hands, your guitar.

[Dash_Starkiller]

The answer to any and all string questions is Martin Retro 12s.

[phil0021]

I’m 98% finger-style. I love Martin Retro 10’s on my short scale and long scale guitars.

[Ken Carr]

I play fingerstyle about 95% of the time. I am really liking the D'addario nickel-bronze balanced tension set. But it is truly subjective. You may not like what I like and vice versa.

[yaharadelta]

Originally Posted by Dash_Starkiller

The answer to any and all string questions is Martin Retro 12s.

"any and all" is a broad statement , they literally sucked the life out of a spruce over rosewood parlor that I have. I like the Retros on other guitars that I consider good for fingerstyle.

I like D'Addario EJ16's, or John Pearse 610LM PB and Silk Wound on small body fingerstyle guitars. It's worth experimenting to find something that matches what you are looking for.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

I prefer to stay away from mediums, that's about it.

[Rick101]

I’m pretty much a fan of straight up strings.

[donlyn]

Best strings for fingerstyle acoustic?

100% fingerpicker here and I use my nails as picks.

I favor the Elixir brand exclusively, and my favorite gauge is PB HD Lights, .013 - .053 . It is Medium gauge trebles with Light gauge bass strings. I use 'em on most of my six stringers from both small body Taylor Grand Concerts to large body Taylor Grand Orchestra and all three J-200s.

Both 12 strings use Elixir 12 string Lights, while my Walnut Jumbo sounds best with Mediums, and the Alvarez likes Lights.

Been using them for some years now, after now playing for over 55 years and trying out most of what's out there in brand and gauge. But overall, Elixirs have been my go-to for years now.

I used Mediums and Medium variants on my larger body guitars, but when I got my first Grand Concert it was strung with these HD Light gauge strings. Really liked the +.001 bump to the tone of the treble strings (.013, .017, and .025), paired with Light gauge bass strings ('032, '042, and .053).

I always liked guitars with a well balanced sound. Since that gauge worked with a small body, at some point I tried it with a large body. I think was the rosewood Grand Orchestra, which can naturally produce a quite compelling bass sound. Liked it with the HDs so much I tried 'em on everything, but realized a couple tries didn't work as well. But they still have Elixirs. The large bodied guitars don't need any help with the bass, and the normally large body bass sound now seemed to blend in the Lighter strings on bass with the HDs very nicely with those Medium HD trebles. And my old hands liked the overall reduction in tension too.

And one more thing. It's not just the sound, but the Elixirs, especially those HD trebles, feel great on my fingers when playing.

Don
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[Dash_Starkiller]

Originally Posted by yaharadelta

"any and all" is a broad statement , they literally sucked the life out of a spruce over rosewood parlor that I have. I like the Retros on other guitars that I consider good for fingerstyle.



I like D'Addario EJ16's, or John Pearse 610LM PB and Silk Wound on small body fingerstyle guitars. It's worth experimenting to find something that matches what you are looking for.

Actually I do retract that haha. I put them on a Huss and Dalton Tom-m and it was awful.

[sdelsolray]

Finding your preferred string sets for a particular guitar primarily depends on the instrument, the musical genres you play, your right hand technique and your personal aesthetic preference.

The only way to do that, at least for me, is to try many different string sets on the particular guitar, takes notes and decide for yourself. This takes quite a bit of time. Say you try 10 different sets. It's helpful to leave the strings on the guitar long enough to experience their new, middle and end life phases. Doing this for 10 sets can easily take well over a year.

All that being said, and being a fingerstyle player myself (flesh and nail - several genres), I can suggest several sets to make up that group of ten (in no particular order):

Santa Cruz Parabolic
D'Addario XS
Thomastik-Infled (Spectrums and/or Plectrums)
One of the Retro/Monel type string sets
A PB/silk set
A PB flatwound set (e.g., D'Addario Flat Tops or Magma PB flatwounds)
Some 80/20 sets (coated and/or non-coated)
A few inexpensive non-coated sets (e.g, John Pearse, Martin, D'Addario, GHS)

It's an enjoyable journey. Good luck!

[eyesore]

Been using GHS thin core 12-52. I prefer round core. In my stupid mind ,I feel that round core are easier to play, as opposed to hex.

[Garlic Breath]

I play sans plectrum and prefer elixir nanoweb lights. Tried the D’Addario x’s and found them to be dull on my rosewood. Also like it that the elixirs sound 1 week old for four months