As a guitarist, you need to keep your strings changed to sound the best you can. But which strings should you buy, and how do you know a good quality string deal? The myriad possibilities are daunting, and making a sensible choice is difficult. You need straight answers to make the correct choice for your style and instrument. But where do you begin with so many options?

You have to consider a number of things when picking your strings. What kind of guitar do you play, and what style of music? Do you use alternate tunings? Are you a lead or rhythm player?

Moreover, guitar players often find themselves having to choose between sound quality and string life. Old strings are hard to keep in tune, break more easily, and sound bad. Some kinds of string keep their tone longer, but might be more costly. The guitarist on a budget may find himself having to choose between good-sounding strings that are less durable, and longer-lasting strings that don't sound as good.

The more you know about brands and string models, the better off you'll be when it comes to choosing a set. This information is the result of long experience and a lot of money in string purchases, and I've selected what I think are the 5 strongest string brands across the board. My priority is how the strings sound and feel, but how long they last also matters. A long-lasting, good-sounding string could rank more highly than a great-sounding, short-lived string. These are simply my judgments about string brands on the whole. For bass, acoustic, or electric strings, they may be in a different order or there could even be different brands listed. These comments are about brand tendencies on the whole, not any specific string models.

5. D'addario

D'addarios are a cheap brand. They sound pretty good new, however they also have poor sturdiness. You may use them when you need a quick pickup, a backup set of strings, or when you require to stretch your paycheck out so long as you can.

4. GHS

GHS is well-known for their Boomer string series. Their tone is decent throughout the selection of strings, from acoustic to electric to bass, but where these strings really acquit themselves is in their long life. You can't break these strings unless you're trying (or you leave them on upwards of 1 year, which I've come across before), but even then it's hard to do. They maintain their tone and good tune longer than any other brand tested except one. They also work effectively for alternate tunings. If you are on a tight budget or perhaps really do not replace your strings often, GHS may be the string you want.

3. Ernie Ball

Ernie Ball's most well-known series is the Slinky models. These strings sound better new than just about any brand for bass and electric, and in addition they feel wonderful. If you're a rock or metal lead guitarist, Ernie Ball will be your brand. Unfortunately their acoustic models don't live up to the high standard set by their others, and string longevity lags behind other brands tested.

2. Dean Markley

Dean Markley is my old standby. I've been using them ever since I first played a guitar while i was 10 years old. You can't get it wrong with either their Blue Steel or Vintage lines. They outlast any uncoated brand I've tested, and they're great workhorse strings. If I have a very full slate of shows on the agenda over a long weekend, I'll put Dean Markleys on there inside of a heartbeat and know I'll be sounding great all weekend long.

1. Elixir

They say you get what you pay for, and with Elixirs they're right. These strings are expensive at the start, but cost-effective at the end as they'll last twice as long as what you're used to getting with a good set of strings. Elixirs even mature tonally as you keep playing, which is certainly the opposite of how most strings respond.

Elixir does coat their strings, and some feel coated strings sound flatter or duller than non-coated strings, but I can't hear it. I have personally used the very same set of Elixirs on my acoustic guitar for six months, with public performances at the least once a week, with hardly any drop in tone quality or feel. The coated string takes a bit of time to get used to, but whenever you do you may never buy another model of strings.

Conclusion

By now you should have an honest analysis of some brands of guitar strings and their traits. Of course, when searching for a particular model or instrument your preferences can be different from what I've listed here, but hopefully you now have an effective sense of where you should look.