Acoustic guitar strings names are essential to remember items for every guitarist. Naming acoustic guitar strings isn’t an easy task. Acoustic guitar strings have all sorts of names, from numbers to Latin terms to just simple words.

And thankfully, there isn’t one standard way to name acoustic guitar strings all manufacturers can give their own strings whatever names they please. So let’s take a look at the wide world of acoustic guitar strings’ names and numbers.

Acoustic Guitar Strings: What Are They?

Acoustic guitar strings are those used on acoustic instruments. They produce a bright, ringing sound when plucked and are often made of steel or nylon.

Acoustic guitar strings come in a variety of different sizes and gauges, which determine the size of the string and its thickness. Gauge numbers are larger as they indicate thinner strings.

The most common acoustic guitar string gauges range from .010 to .047 inches, though there are many other gauges available for those who want heavier or lighter strings.

Why Are The Strings On A Guitar Numbered?

Acoustic guitar strings are numbered. This is the only type of string that has numbers on it. The reason for this is that the size of the string determines how many times you can bend it before it breaks and how much tension it can withstand.

The main factors that determine how strong a string will be are:

1) The material used to make the string (brass, bronze, and steel alloys)

2) The thickness of the string

3) The size of the wire that was used in the string’s making

4) How tightly wound each individual coil is around its core wire

The first two factors are pretty straightforward. The third factor is determined by how tight each individual coil is wound around its core wire. The tighter a coil is wound around its core wire, the more pressure it can withstand before breaking or losing tone quality due to stretching and loosening up over time (this is called “stretch”).

Acoustic Guitar String in Order

There are many different types of acoustic guitar strings but only one answer to the question “how many strings does an acoustic guitar have?“.

Standard acoustic guitars have a total of six strings. Five of these are played by the fingers, while the sixth is played with a plectrum, which is held between the thumb and forefinger. The top two strings are called treble or first strings, while the bottom four strings are called bass or second strings.

String Order

The order of strings on an acoustic guitar is the same as on a classical guitar. The strings are numbered 1 through 6 from top to bottom, with the thinnest string being the top string and the thickest string being the bottom string.

The Guitar String Names

The names of the strings are E, A, D, G, and B. These are also known as “sixpences” because they’re worth sixpence in a shilling and six shillings in a pound – which was a lot of money back in the day.

How Do You Name Each String?

The most common types of acoustic guitar strings names are as follows, from lightest to heaviest:

E-string: The thinnest and highest-pitched of all the strings. It’s typically made of stainless steel, nickel-plated brass, or pure nickel. Nickel-plated brass is most common on high-quality acoustic guitars because it’s more durable than pure nickel but less brittle than stainless steel. It is called ” Nylons” or “Nickelwounds”.

A-string: This is the second-thinnest string on an acoustic guitar. It’s typically made from a copper core wrapped with a thin layer of silver plating, though some manufacturers also use aluminum for this string.

D-string: The D-string is often voiced with a nylon core wrapped in bronze alloy wire or stainless steel. It’s usually the second heaviest string on an acoustic guitar after the G string due to its lower pitch range and higher tension requirement (more tension means more volume).

G-string: This thickest string is usually made from silver-plated copper alloy with a stainless steel wrap that gives it its distinctive twangy sound — perfect for country music.

Acoustic Guitar Strings Names

Acoustic guitar strings have names that are a little different than electric guitar strings. E strings are the most popular sounding strings on acoustic guitars.

The G, D, and B strings are typically notated with Roman numerals (I, II, and III) instead of letters. This is because it was common for people to tune their guitars in fourths (G-D-A-E), which makes it easier to remember which string is which if you don’t want to look at a chart.

When you’re looking at acoustic guitar strings’ names and numbers, you’ll also see some additional numbers and symbols printed on the package or around the string itself. These refer to the gauge (thickness) of the string and its composition:

Thin 0.009″ – 0.042″ (0.23 mm – 1.07 mm)

Medium 0.010″ – 0.046″ (0.25 mm – 1.17 mm)

Heavy 0.011″ – 0.056″ (0.28 mm – 1.42 mm)

How to memorize Acoustic Guitar Strings Names and Number

The acoustic guitar string’s letters are a bit more complex than on electric guitars. It’s not just numbers from 1 to 6, but letters and numbers.

The first letter tells you whether the string is an E or an A. If it’s an E, it has two sides: wound and unwound. If it is an A, there is only one side: unwound. The second number tells you the gauge of the string—how thick it is (the higher the number, the thicker). For example, on my guitar E6 means that I have two wound strings that are both 12s in gauge (thickness).

Bottom line 

In the world of guitar playing, nothing is more confusing than having to deal with acoustic guitar strings names. While this process might seem simple at first, it becomes quite complex and confusing once you have to replace or change the strings on your instrument. 

This process is particularly complicated when dealing with 4-string and 6-string guitars because replacement strings are not usually sold in standard sets. If you’re new to guitar playing and want to know more about acoustic guitar strings letter, read on for some helpful tips.