A simple way to make any steel string acoustic or electric guitar easier to play is to put thinner strings on it. Thinner strings will not require as much force to hold down.

While changing to a thinner string size may compromise in tone, sustain, intonation & feel, these compromises are irrelevant if a beginner cannot play his or her instrument.

Guitar string thickness is referred to in thousandths of an inch, generally naming the thinnest & thickest strings in the set & referring to any balanced set by the thickness of the thinnest string & the thickest string in the set. For example: if you say “a set of nines” you are referring to a set which would likely be marked 9-42 on the front of the package, indicating that the thinnest string in the set is .009″ & the thickest string in the set is .042″. Labeling strings using words such as “medium” or “super light” is generally confusing & should be ignored as they often mean different things depending on style. For example “jazz light”, “regular light”, “acoustic guitar light” & “custom light” strings, all made by the same manufacturer, are four drastically different physical sizes.

I use D’Addario (Correctly Pronounced: Da-Dairy-O ((anglicized)) or Dahd-DAH-ree-oh ((Italian))) brand strings on all my instruments. They sound good & are consistently strong & free of corrosion in the package. Brand, as well as thickness are both personal preferences. There is no universally accepted best brand or size.

Electrics come strung with 9’s or occasionally 10’s. I recommend 9’s to most players below the college level. I recommend switching to 8’s for small children or anybody who is having an unusually hard time with 9’s.

Steel-string acoustics generally come strung with 12’s, which can be problematic for beginners, especially if the guitar has not been setup properly. If you are a beginner, having trouble pressing down on your acoustic, I recommend you restring it with 10’s.

NOTE: String gauge recommendations do not apply to 3/4 size instruments.