Gibson Nickel

What stings should I buy to replace my old ones on my Gibson Les Paul?

I’ve had my Gibson Les Paul Standard for a couple years now, and really haven’t ever replaced the strings. I’m thinking of going into a store to have it done, because I don’t want to mess up anything on such a guitar. I assume I want to get the highest quality strings you can get, but don’t know which ones, or what kind to ask for.

Les Paul’s normally ship with 9-42 strings from the factory. I immediately switch ‘em to 10-46…they stay in tune a lot better.

As to which strings…there are lots of good ones out there. Someone else already mentioned Ernie Balls (haven’t tried the cobalt ones yet, so I can’t comment on ‘em). I’ve been using D’addario XL110 Nickel Wounds on all of my electrics for the last 15 years. For me at least, they hold up the best.

I’ve just put some Dunlop bass strings on one of my stage instruments, and really like ‘em so far. I’m going to try their guitar strings next.

The best strings for you are the ones you like the best, so you may have to try a few different sets to find something you like.

If you change guages, you’ll likely need the string height and truss rod adjusted slightly. If you’ve never done it before, then pay someone to do it and have ‘em show you how. You should be able to restring your own instruments. Not being able to do that is like owning a car and not know how to put gas in it.

BTW, cost is not an indicator of string quality…I found that out the hard way. I put a set $30 guitar strings on my 1970 Les Paul Custom. They were absolute garbage…they didn’t ring true and wouldn’t intonate for anything. They came off in less than an hour and a $5 set D’addario’s replaced them.

Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX
Ken

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