20 Best Extra Light Acoustic Guitar Strings (2023 Updated)

I screwed up, ordered the wrong strings – these are for accoustic (steel) guitar, my guitar is classic (nylon). But my son owns/manages a music recording studio in Seattle. He not only plays guitar, he also keeps a couple of guitars on hand for artists who want to try a different sound.

I gave these strings to my son, and he likes them a lot. He has often used D’Addario strings before, but he loves the soft sound produced by these extra low-tension strings. Their sound is not as bright and ringing as higher tension strings, but this can be an advantage.

When used on a rhythm or support guitar, the sound they produce blends well and doesn’t “up-stage” the lead guitar. When used for a soft instrumental solo (ballad, love song, etc), the rich tones are great.

Haven’t used them before and found them to be a little on the heavy side without much payoff in the sound department. Probably comes down to personal preference. If you’re already using heavy gauge strings then go for it.

I play an all mahogany Martin with a satin finish 000- 15 M. It is very sensitive and responsive which is what I wanted, plus I like the look. String noise was a huge problem. I worked on my technique and used a lubricant string spray , but still not satisfied.

I liked the mellow sound of silk and steel , but still was getting more string noise than I wanted. The flat tops fixed my problem. almost no string noise at all. They are mellower in tone than regular phosphor bronze, but I prefer that.

Daddario mentions that on their string package.

These are a very good deal. I was painfully using 13’s to build finger strength and toughen my fingers. That worked, the guitar sounded great but was just not enjoyable to play. I’m mostly an electric player, but decided to get into fingerpicking blues.

I put these on a 63 Gibson LGO which is kind of a parlor style guitar. Although these strings didn’t have the sound of the expensive Martin Lifespan SP 13’s, my goal was accomplished. The guitar is now a pleasure to play, and the sound is still good although not as brassy.

Another factor going with light gauge strings is that it is a lot less stress on this old guitar.

I just recently picked my guitar back up after about 20 years of not playing. I have Gibson Hummingbird that I always had and the did use Martin strings on. I really got the bug about playing and ended up buying a Yamaha R 700 as well as a Seagull S6 (with a Seagull Artist Mosaic on the way).

While talking to Josh on MF one day about strings he told me about these Earthwoods–lighter gauge–. 11-. 52. He swore by them. I had a credit with MF so I bought two sets. They are as good on my Seagull S6 as the Martin’s ever were and easier to play (I finger pick mostly) and the combination of the full sound of the S6 and the Ernie Ball Earthwoods is a perfect combination.

I’ve had them on for three weeks already and play sever hours every day and they still sound bright and full of tone. I put the other set on my Yamaha just recently and they sound as good as the Martins ever did.

Whether they will remain crisp remains to be seen (each guitar is different). But in anticipation of getting my Seagull Artist Mosaic soon I’ve decided to buy four 6 packs of the Ernie Ball Earthwood Strings with my certificate from Backstage pass.

I couldn’t ask for a sweeter deal than that.

Ernie Ball produces excellent strings, most people know. These strings are no exception. They sound beautiful, on my dreadnought. Low end is nice and warm. While the high end sounds crisp. Perhaps what I don’t like, is they loose their brightness in about a month (of course depending on how much you play).

And I know they will keep sound if you clean them. But their price is comparable to their string life. And they don’t break easily. I will keep using these sets for as long as they make them. And I would recommend them to any player.

I’ve had my old acoustic Sigma Dreadnought since 1988. I don’t change the strings often enough. But when I do it breathes new life into the old boy. No exception with these D’Addarion nickel bronze strings.

I was surprised at how fast it stays in tune, I thought I would be constantly retuning but this is not the case. A good purchase. Also, I had purchased an Angry Charlie at the same time which I had to return as it was too high gain for what I needed it for.

PMT made it easy to return and quick on the refund. I feel I can trust PMT.

I put these strings on my son’s acoustic and the improvement was incredible. The mixed gauge works well and the bass strings give off a lovely sustain. I have had good sound from old strings in the past but these were a major improvement on the set being replaced.

The quality is tangible and seems to lift the whole guitar. I bought another set and put them on an old cheap Fender and wow what a difference. Highly Recommend.

I tried these Balanced Tension Nickel Bronze strings on my Gibson J-15. I figured that they would give me a little more volume and I was very disappointed. Not only was there no additional volume, but they sounded very muddy.

I haven’t given up on the idea of balanced tension, but these aren’t the ones for this guitar. I’ll try the lights and see if they are a little brighter.

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.

Bought a new guitar and these were the original strings. Martin Guitars also recommended the strings and I wanted to capture the original sound when purchased. The end result is the guitar sounds exactly as it did in the shop.

They sound great and are long lasting, maintaining a constant tonal quality. When I changed the strings there was no sign of degradation or pitting. To be fair, I only changed the strings because I thought they’d been on too long rather than any deterioration in sound.

I also regularly used a Fender Speed Slick String Cleaner.

These are the best acoustic strings I’ve yet to play. They are not coated like Elixirs with that squeaky, slippery sound. They are treated which means you get the extra life and playability without losing the authentic sound of a true acoustic.

They cost more than a typical string but pays you back by lasting longer and always staying in tune. They are LOUD and crisp. Great for strummers. You wont be disappointed! Rich M Brooklyn NY.

Such nice strings!! The tone and action are great, and the feel is very tactile, making bends, vibratos, and harmonic insertions perfect every time. They are not a hard wearing string, In fact, due to their soft feel construction, you will go through these fairly quickly depending on your playing style, and playing time.

But I change strings often for recording purposes anyway, and the trade off is well worth it, as this vendor makes them so affordable. If you are going to get the most out of your playing time, keeping your instrument freshly strung will help you to become a more ear discriminant player.

If you aren’t listening closely to what’s coming out of your instrument, and training yourself to make incremental adjustments to your playing style based on your ear feedback, you’ll never improve much over time.

Give these Earth-woods a try. You’ll play better, and your fingertips will thank you in the long run. Best $15. 00 you’ll ever spend!.

I have used many different ernie ball products in my time, as well as many different types of strings. I restrung my acoustic today with the medium gauge strings as I have a gig tonight. After thirty or so minutes of tuning and playing to stretch there are already multiple corroded spots on the strings.

I have never seen anything like this before. Finger ease does not do the trick for these. Not sure if the packaging was bad, they sat on the shelf too long, or just bad strings. Either way, I will not be purchasing these again, and I will not recommend them to friends who also play.

It never occurred to me to try ERNIE BALL strings. I’ve used other branded strings in the past such as Fender, Martin etc. I heard on You Tube the guitarist Albert Lee saying that he used Ernie Ball strings.

Now if these strings are good enough for Albert Lee, they’re certainly good enough for me. I was pleasantly surprised at the tone of these strings when fitted to my Fender F75 acoustic guitar. Not too deep – but pleasantly rich.

They also hold their tuning very well. Some strings that I’ve used in the past tended to lose their tuning regularly. These Ernie Ball strings hold their tuning rather well. They are also very reasonably priced.

I would’ve given these strings FIVE stars but that stands for ” amazing ” I absolutely hate the word ” amazing “.

A Gregg Bennet all sapele laminate guitar was my only guitar for about 10 years. I most always used Martin strings because I prefer the tone to others on that particular guitar. When the MA540s came out, I’ve used them the most.

Never broken any strings ever, so they’re durable, sound good, and have the life span of similar strings. They’re reasonably priced and cost effective, especially if you change strings often. I could say the same for the D’Addario EJ16’s which I’d use occasionally to mix it up.

Overall though, I prefer the 540’s.

Being a neophyte to guitar, all I initially cared about was the durability of the strings. So I ended up gravitating to Elixer, and they did the job. However the more I played my Epiphone DR 500 Mastercraft, which IMO is a brite sounding guitar to begin with, I thought the guitar was a little too brite.

Since I was, and still am, a neophyte I was more concerned with learning chords, strumming and timing. So I put the strings on the bottom of the list. About 8 months ago I bought a Yamaha FGX5 and didn’t like the strings it came with.

I went on a search for strings that would bring out the warmth, intonation, separation and clarity of the guitar. I think I went through 6-8 different brands. Even tried the D’Addairos in the all black packaging and was pretty disappointed.

I reluctantly bought a set of D’Addarios SX’s, in the all white packaging. I went to 11’s to try and damper some of the briteness of the Epiphone DR 500. The Epiphone is still a little brite, but that is the nature of that guitar.

The strings made a noticeable difference, in a good way, IMO. So I put a set on my Yamaha FGX5. On the Yamaha, the SX’s sound great and the people I play with noticed it right off. I’ll keep 11’s on the Epiphone, but I’m going to go to 10’s for the Yamaha.

So far I am very satisfied with the SX’s and will use them until I find something better. Everyone’s taste is a little different, but I think these strings are definitely worth trying.

D’Addario XTAPB1253 XT Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings, Light, 12-53 Set of 6 I used these on my Ovation 6 string acoustic guitar. I didn’t have a problem stringing these on and none of them broke while tuning them.

It’s easy to find the right strings since each end of them are color-coded to show you the correct placement through the bridge. More experienced guitarists know which strings go where without this feature but it’s a nice one for the novice.

All new strings require stretching. You may have to tune your guitar several times between playing sessions until they settle and stop stretching as often. I don’t use a pick. I strum and pick with my fingers so I can’t tell you how it sounds using one.

I noticed that when changing chords, going from one fret to another, or purposely sliding down the strings they didn’t have that familiar squeaky sound that you usually hear. They seemed to have eliminated that in these strings which is awesome.

These strings were easy on the fingers and felt smooth. They were light and didn’t hurt or dig into my fingers when pressing down on them, for the amount of time I played, like most strings making your fingers sore quickly.

This was the first time using uncoated strings and so far I’m impressed.

I honestly do not know how to start this, but I actually like Ernie Ball and the strings they make. I like the tone and feel of their strings. I also love how a lot of the guitarists and bands that I know and love, even legends, use these strings.

But, when I got these strings, I expected them to last longer than 3 months, but I had to change them after around a month. I think this is because of how dirty the fretboard of my guitar is or because of how low quality my guitar is.

I own a Squier Affinity Stratocaster HSS, and I’m not sure if it is my instrument to blame, the amount of air in my room, or sunlight. Also, the strings tended to get really weak when I bend. I can’t even bend a whole step on the high E string after like 3 weeks.

I was really anticipating these strings to be a lot different than the classic Slinky strings, but I believe both strings are of same quality.

No more searching, wishing, hoping that someone would finally make the finest electric guitar strings in the world. Ernie Ball has done it. Simply perfection. Expensive? Yes. But that’s only an up-front cost as a set of these will outlast any other sets of strings by any manufacturer by a 3 -1 margin, easily.

Crisp, toneful, elegant, state of the art. Sadly, a lot of fellow players have ignored absolutely critical components of their “sound” or “tone” by overlooking some basics such as the Speakers they use, their cables, types of picks and of course, strings.

True, most people wouldn’t notice or care if you used a brick or a shoe to strum your instrument and couldn’t tell if you were playing a 3 year old set of rusted, brittle, weak strings. But these things matter to some of us and I’ve never played on strings as well made and great sounding as these.

I used their Cobalt series for years but these are without equal. Stellar and well done. Very Well Done to all at Ernie Ball.

I bought these strings because they caught my eye in the store. the last year or two I have been playing the ernie ball earth wound strings. I installed them on a mid grade fender acoustic guitar. initially I was very happy with these strings.

they tuned up pretty easily after installation and stayed in tune better than almost any string I’ve played on acoustics. these are some very firm feeling strings for the gauge which in my opinion is a great thing.

though I was very disappointed that these strings broke extremely quickly. after about two weeks my a string broke. I rarely have ever broken an a string. I don’t know if its due to the stiff feel but I have never had ernie ball strings fail so quickly even when I played much more often in the past.

I hope that my experience isn’t shared by many others because I really enjoyed the tone and how well the strings stayed in tune but to break so quickly is not acceptable to me.

I’ve bought this product several times now and it never fails to clean whatever I use it on eg stable walls, floors, rubber mats, concrete yard, the house windows, even the calor gas tank! Highly recommended for excellent performance and competitive price.

Try it, you wont be disappointed!.

I mainly use it to clean and freshen the wheelie bins. It works very well for that and sundry other things atound the place. Almost all reviews praise the product for its pleasantly low odour – and so do I.

If you use it to clean things properly then there will be no bad smell left, but the clue is in the name, it is a cleaning product, not just a simple lazy odour remover.

Bought this to clean up after a sewage overflow. 5 capfuls to 10 litres means it’ll go a very long way! As I’m trying to reduce plastics, this looks a good source of domestic disinfectant, watered down into spray bottles.

No odour – fits in with my general likes. I’m sure it’s easily possible to add some lemon juice or essential oils if you’re that way inclined. Would need a very strong odour to be effective outdoors anyway!.

So I have looked at these a few time and wondered ‘can they be worth that much, for strings that aren’t even coated?’ Apparently the answer is yes. These are quieter when it comes to fretboard noise than my coated strings and far easier to play.

My fingers just ran over them! A phrase that I have been trying to perfect for ages but which I couldn’t get the speed up for on acoustic- nailed! Fast strings, easy to play and won’t fatigue your fingers and they sound pretty nice too.

Are they worth the money? Yes, but I think it’s pretty subjective. If you have a highish action on your guitar, these could make barres and bottom note runs suddenly possible. But if you’re already happy with your 7.

99 strings, I doubt you’ll think these are justified, even though they’re good. For me though, they have made a tiring guitar fun again!.

Discovered these about 15 years ago, and have used nothing since. Big bold sound from all my acoustics. Gibson, Alvarez, Ovations, Martin. Nothing beats these. Brings out the best in every acoustic guitar.

These are the best, top of the line. $30 set of strings is not expensive for a guitar, thats if you had cheap guitars then sure but high end acoustic guitars sounds better with high end strings. What I like about these strings are the even tension and tone I get from using them.

Well worth the extra money. They dont seem to get turn patina quick like cheaper strings and or lose tone quality like cheap strings.

Put these on my Acoustic as the first set after purchase of a new dreadnought. They sound great! They ring out true tone. Also changed my string pegs to brass. They sound even better with these pegs than the plastic pegs.

I put D’Addario on all of my guitars. Have for years. Very happy with them will always use them.

The headline says it all. It seems like I was spending more time changing strings than I was playing. I unfortunately have acid hands and these have proved themselves worthy. Why these over Elixirs or Cleartone? Price for one.

And two, these string feel more like uncoated strings than Cleartone or the Elixir Optiweb which boasts a “natural feel. ” I thought there was no coating when I first put these on but it’s so minuet that I have to feel for the coating.

The reason I say Ernie Ball lost my business is twofold. One- they don’t coat all of the strings in their titanium line that I’m aware of. Two- Price point. For a few extra bucks, these strings have been on my electric for almost three months and still going strong.

I already switched out my Ernie Ball acoustic strings and even asked Daddario about a seven string set.

Solid not plate. Pure nickel silver aloy. Only two realy ring. FOR ACOUTUIC IT’S MARTIN PHROUR BRONZE 80/2O BUT FOR MY GIBSON LES PAUL CUSTOM AND FENDER STRATOCASTOR. IN 09 GAUGE. THEY RING AND BEND.

YES GIBSON AND OTHER MAKE SIMULER STRING. BUT FENDER HAS IT ALL OVER THEM IN PRICE AND PLACE TO GET THEM. BUT THIS IS MY OPINEN. FROM AGE 11 TO NOW 64. I PLAY GUITAR BANJO VIOLIN FLUTINA. WITH REAL FENDER MEN WOMEN CHILDREN.

HAVE MADE MUSICAL HISTORY! THANK YOU.

3 packs of quality fender strings great price. Same feel and sound as more expensive strings out there(earnie ball). No issues with dropping out of tune or snapping. Only slight issue if being fussy is the rather odd colouring system on the ends.

If your a newbie at changing strings could be an issue with mixing up the e/b/g string. with silly fender colour names but just be careful when sorting through!.

My main regret is that two of them snapped while I was stringing up. Because I start from the middle and work out, I had the D and G strings on, and they are lovely to play. They feel smooth and sound good.

It’s a rounded, full sound, nothing twangy or shrill. But I do need all six. I can’t remember the last time I broke a B string, and they really shouldn’t go when you’re just putting them on.

Having worked in the Guitar string industry I know that most of the strings out there come from just a handful of factories and the hype on the packaging means very little. What’s in a name? I bought an acoustic after years of devotion to my electrics.

I am loving it. STock strings sounded great but were too heavy for these old fingers so I got a set of these LaBella lights at the local shop because they were the cheapest. They sound better than the Prominent brand name strings that came on the guitar.

At this price and with the high playing hours they’ll get in my hands (at least one 6 hour session per week plus practice time) any set will wear out fairly quickly, so there’s no better deal that a great sounding cheap set of strings.

These strings were purchased at MF as a trial. I have not used Labella strings for a long time. These were installed on my Takamine EF341 for a three hour show. My strings are replaced every show due to my heavier playing style and sweating.

The 7PGCLs 11 gauge held up perfectly. The sound stayed consistent, no breakage and no loss of tone. This gauge of strings was easy on the fingertips and wrist. I also like the fact that they’re manufactured in the USA.

A thumbs up!!.

I usually just buy D’Addario Phosphor Bronzes but decided to give these a try because I use LaBella Classical strings on my other guitar and really like them. I like these better than D’Addario’s. They have great tone and are a bit more flexible.

Quality is first rate. I’ll be sticking with these.

I’ve preferred Martin strings for my Martin guitar since purchasing it 9 years ago. These strings have proven durable, rarely breaking during a gig. They sound great on my recordings, in my YouTube videos and my live streaming concerts.

The Marquis maintains its tone and quality longer than the original line. I can play about 4 hour-long streaming concerts before needing to change them.

I fitted these to my Martin OO, replacing the factory supplied 12-54s. Bright, bendier and a little bit easier to play. I really like them. I should change strings more often – it’s more rejuvenating that a washed car and a tank full of petrol.

Martin makes great stuff. These Authentic Acoustic Marquis are great sounding strings. The best I ever played. There are 3 string sets in the Authentic Acoustic line up. I plan to try all 3. There is no better place to buy then AMS.

I like the attention AMS gives to its fast shipping,,,,it’s as if they care about how anxious we are about getting our stuff. I have done 19 orders with AMS. I have used the pay as you play installment purchases many times.

I have paid off all my installment agreements always on time. My favorite thing to do is to get another package on its way from AMS.

I’ve been getting back into acoustic for the last couple of years after a long hiatus from it. It’s been tough as I’ve been fighting tennis elbow in my left elbow for over a year (sucks getting old!!!), plus I have mild arthritis in both hands.

The hand doctor said that I should keep playing as it’s keeping the arthritis from getting worse. So, I’ve just been forging on. I’ve tried many different brands of acoustic strings (all 80/20, 12 gauge and none of them coated).

I love a jangley, bright acoustic sound and although all of the strings I’ve tried have been decent, I just strung my Andrew White Freya with GHS Bright Bronze. What a big difference they’re making. Among other strings I’ve tried are D’Addario which sounded good and kept it’s tone a little longer than most.

Curt Mangan 12’s are also very good. But the GHS Bright Bronze really make a difference. It has noticeably improved my tone. I’ve got a few other brands to try but right now I’m really digging these strings.

The wound strings in particular are giving me that twang that I’ve been after while maintaining a good bass response. Of course this is all subjective, but I seldom give products reviews unless I’m blown away!!!! I should probably go ice my elbow now!!!!!.

For me, these strings bridge the difference between phosphor bronze and silk and steel. On my guitars and through my ears, these silk and bronze strings are less “bright and chimey” than phosphor bronze and less mellow and warm than silk and steel strings.

They are softer and more “silky” feeling on my fretting fingers than phosphor bronze but less so than silk and steel. The key for me though, is the gauge difference, particularly on the 4th string. My D28 and my D41 both are prone to buzzing with D strings lighter than.

030″ and these are. 032″. Overall, great sound, especially for my finger picking style and smooth, easy playability. Unfortunately there is a price penalty when compared to either of my usual choices, but the strings are worth it for my style of play in my opinion.

I definitely recommend trying them next time you change your strings.

Over the 60 odd years that I have fiddled around with guitars I have found GHS strings to be relatively consistent from a quality standpoint. There were times when they were my favorites and times when they weren’t but I would rate them as one of the best and especially cost efficient if you keep them clean.

I have been using SIT’s for 25 years. I sat out to find a string that really does stay in tune. I used a Floyd Rose on my Carvin V220, but couldn’t keep it in tune and I wondered if it was my strings.

I found out about a string company that called theirself ‘Stay In Tune’. I had to try them. They DID stay in tune MUCH better than the other major brands and I found the tone to my liking as well, I have been using them ever since.

I’ve used other brands over the years, but keep coming back to S. I. T. My local music store doesn’t carry them, so I bought my last set from Musician’s Friend. My styles: Metal, Rock, Classical, (some Easy Listening strumming, picking type stuff.

) **I like that they are Made In USA Also: CANNOT BEAT THE PRICE! I hope this review helps.

Very high quality strings! Good balance of frequencies and excellent bright tone! I recommend to everyone!!!

I’m from Akron, OH, where SIT strings were born and where Virgil Lay began working on guitars and making strings. I get my guitar repaired at his old shop (although V. Lay has since retired and the shop has been passed to one of his former workers).

I think those details matter–there is a real, physical place that has its good name attached to these products. I use them quite a bit, and I always find them to be superior to anything in the price range.

If I had money to blow, I’d play Elixers I guess all the time, but these strings are better than some other brands and will last longer. And they do STAY IN TUNE. Great gauge set–I like the gauges of strings they offer in this set a lot.

As good as two sets of another low priced brands strings–.

I bought a Martin HD-28 and the sales person recommended the Retro 11s and a grabbed a pack. Boom. I was hooked and for three years have kept my HD strung up with Retro 11s. Recently, my PRS SE acoustic needed some strings and I was out of my D’addario Phosphor Bronze 12s, so out of desperation, I threw a set of Martin Retro 12s on it and BOOM! What the heck? The Retros are not just for Martins! Okay, game on.

I ran to the store last night and grabbed a pack of Retro 13s for my small McPherson Touring. They come with and recommend Elixer Nanoweb and I have liked them but again. I like the Retros more. Now, it might be my personal taste and ear but I really like the sound and feel of the Retros.

Easy of my fingers and my ears. Try one pack and see for yourself. If you are like me, you enjoy experimenting with strings to see what happens. The one guitar that I have that I do not like them on is my Yamaha.

I prefer Ernie Ball Phosphor Bronze.