If you want your guitar to sound it’s best when you play it, you have to determine what type of strings you need to compliment your style of playing. Take your guitar in to have the intonation on your axe set by the best guitar technician possible in your area.

Intonation on a guitar is what we call the action on your guitar. This allows you to play/hit your strings effortlessly. Trust me, it’s worth the extra few bucks and time to get this done correctly. The better the intonation, the better the chance of your strings staying in tune longer. The less you have to bend the string, the less they lose their tension. That should speak volumes in itself.

I am forever fine tuning my guitars. People tell me that I make it look like an art form – or maybe they mean I’m being anal retentive!

When you go into a music store tell them what style of music you are playing, and how you want the guitar to react. I recommend kissing this person’s butt by going to see them on a Tuesday in the A.M. if possible.

Going there on weekends is like going to the lions den. There are always way too many kids and rookies in the store to drive them crazy. Monday is the day they try to remember what they were told to do and start off where they last ended. It can be the craziest part of their work week. Besides, who really does their best work on a Monday? Makes sense, huh?

Bringing a coffee can go a long way. Yes, I’m a kiss up artist too.

After you’re done kissing up, ask the techie what type of set-up they are putting on your guitar. This will help you in determining or narrowing down what type of string you should use. You can even ask him or her what type of strings they would recommend for your guitar and playing style.

Remember, a techie is the person who works on guitars. They are players themselves in their own right, but having said that, they also might not the ones to help make your final decision about your strings. NO disrespect intended to all you masters of guitar maintenance! The techie helping you might be biased towards certain types of equipment and or a certain type of sound. The more opinions the better, so ask around for further input. Remember, knowledge is power.

Keep on Jammin’