7 Best Guitar Strings for Metal and Hard Rock

The visual differences in guitar string sets are usually subtle and difficult to notice, apart from the packaging. But when you get into their design and functionality, there's a ton of variation to consider, especially concerning the intended stylistic niche of each type of string. Most musical styles have their own optimal string gauge, tone and go-to brands. This makes it helpful to shop for guitar strings within a particular musical style.

In this article, we're focusing on the best guitar strings for metal and modern rock, paying attention to features that make strings more ideal for those genres.

Namely, the following:

• Thicker gauges (at least .052 on the low E - bigger the lower you tune)
• Nickel wound or plated (used in most electric strings - typically gives you a warmer sound)
• Coated or treated (longer lifespan)
• Light top and heavy bottom
• High sustain

When you're talking about metal, we've found that brand is surprisingly less of an issue, and that the gauge of each string set is something you really need to keep an eye on. Of the eight packs we tested on electric guitars, Elixir and Ernie Ball sets had the best results.

We'd be comfortable recommending most of the heavier Elixir electric string sets for metal, though the nickel plated steel sets with a light/heavy balance are our favorites. 

They have what's called an OPTIWEB coating, which gives you a punchier tone that sounds a lot better on a distorted signal. It's also the warmest of the three Elixir coating types (OPTIWEB, NANOWEB, POLYWEB), which we like better for lower tunings and thick metal-style distortion.

As you would expect from Elixir strings, the coating keeps them fresh and helps them last a lot longer, usually months beyond what an uncoated string would last. It also gives them a smoother feel, almost like you're using Fast Fret.

It's true that nothing about Elixir's marketing is metal-esque, but it doesn't really matter in this case. Their strings sound great, feel great and last forever. Any of their thicker gauges in the electric sets get our first vote.

Ernie Ball tends to specialize in lighter strings, but their "Not Even" Slinky is intentionally designed for low tunings and heavier tones. They're also nearly impossible to beat in the pricing department, while still giving you high-quality tone.

The Not Even Slinky bumps up string size for all six strings, putting the low E at .056 and the high E at .012. This is one of the heaviest six-string sets available, without getting into 7-string or baritone designated gauge arrangements.

Many of those we've referred to for testing have said that corrosion isn't a major issue with Ernie Ball strings and that their tone is comparable to the more expensive coated string options.

Still, it's hard not to miss the coating that makes Elixir strings sound and feel so nice.

We found that this Ernie Ball set sounded exceptionally good with high-gain and heavy distortion, producing thick, booming power chords and a lot of sustain in the drop D and C tunings. For the price, it's worth giving them a try. Even if you have to replace them after a few months, the price makes that really easy and low risk.

Ernie Ball's baritone set is essentially a 7-string pack without the high E. It's significantly thicker than the "Not Even" gauges, making it ideal for tuning down any lower than C. Drop B or drop A tunings, both common in metal, are best-served by a baritone string set, like this one.

Bobby used these strings to cover "Thoughtless" by Korn, a song that uses drop A, one of Brian Welch and James Shaffer's most common 7-string tunings.

Like other Ernie Ball sets, this one is wound with nickel which gives it a warmer tone putting less emphasis on the treble in your EQ. It does a great job of picking up the low-end thud and punch of power chords, which you can hear pretty clearly in the above video.

The primary feature is that they sound great with lower tunings and are thick enough to handle them without feeling flimsy.

We'd recommend it for players who use a lot of distortion and even more so if the low A and B tunings are a common part of your playing.

Admittedly, we've become a little bit of an Ernie Ball fan club when it comes to metal tone. While the gauge in this pack isn't nearly as thick as the previous two Ernie Ball sets, the low E gets us to .052 and it's the same gauge arrangement that we liked on the Elixirs. For those into hard rock or metal that might lean more to the lead guitar and melody side of playing, this set will give you those thick, heavy power chords but also leave room for quicker high-register movement.

Predictably this set sounded less heavy, especially compared to the Not Even Slinky and Baritone Slinky sets. We still got a pretty chunky sound from palm-muted power chords, while the high G, B and E had a bit more chime and natural ring to them.

Compared to the Elixir .052s, the Elixirs definitely sounded a little more full and smooth. They were the heavier set if you're comparing the two.

In that regard, the lower Ernie Ball price could be something to consider. 

At half the price of Elixir, you can buy in bulk and replace them more often if you need to.

The NYXL series from D'Addario has a ton of different gauges, many of which give you a low E that's gauged over .052. We'd recommend the "Extra Heavy 12-60" set which gives you .060 on the low E, and is about as thick as you can go without getting into baritone or 7-string territory.

Like the Ernie Ball strings and Elixir OPTIWEBs, these are wound with nickel which warms up the tone and gives them a little more bass. Their sound gives off a brighter high end yet with lots of punch on the thicker strings. Sustain and clarity were good, both on clean and distorted signals.

The thickness of the sixth string alone can get you down to a drop C tuning, which the D'Addario packaging notes.

We found that even lower drops sounded and felt okay on this set, since .060 is a pretty big gauge. 

The only complaint we really have is that this string set is oddly expensive, especially for electric strings that don't have any kind of coating or string treatment. Part of that is because of the heavier gauge, but it's still one of the pricier electric string sets.

A lot of professional players use GHS Boomers and swear by them. In our experience they're an "okay" string set and certainly one of the better metal options. At the same time, we should point out that they test a lot better for metal lead than metal rhythm. The primary reason is that they're just brighter-sounding and seem to do a lot better on the higher end of the EQ spectrum. 

Boomers do have a nice attack and edginess to them, but in our tests they didn't do as good of a job competing with Elixir and Ernie Ball for tonal thickness, despite using a similar nickel winding (they call it "nickel plated").

They're good strings and they do get used in a lot of metal scenarios by some great guitar players, which makes them worthy of consideration.

We just liked the other sets better.

The M-Steel string set is designed to produce a higher magnetic output and more aggressive tone. It also uses a Cobalt winding, making it one of Ernie Ball's more unique string sets. We could tell a major difference in sustain and overall aggression between other Ernie Ball strings we tested and these ones. They sound really heavy, almost like your pickups are a lot closer to the strings.

We'd love to see this version of Ernie Ball strings in a thicker gauge. They give you the skinny top-heavy bottom arrangement, but for metal heads, a low .056 would really cement the M-Steel's design. 

One of the simplest ways to identify the best guitar strings for metal is to focus on thicker gauges. Anything that has the low E at 52 or bigger could feasibly fit the bill. We also looked for a percussive-sounding strings with a lot of low end "thud" and some decent bass in the EQ.

On a more practical note, we also bought and tested the strings ourselves:

• String Coating or Treatment: Usually found on Elixir electric guitar strings, this is an age-resistant coating that preserves the life and tone of the strings
• Nickel Wound: Commonly used on wrapped electric strings, which gives them a warmer, fuller sound
• Steel Core: Most guitar strings start with a high-carbon steel core
• String Gauge: The size of the string, usually given for each one in a pack
• Bright EQ: Strings will respond better to the mid and treble end of the EQ spectrum
• Low EQ: Strings will respond better to the bass end of the EQ spectrum

• Heavier Tone: The best guitar strings for metal will sound thicker and have a tone that's much lower with less emphasis on the brightness of notes. These strings should have a lot of bass and sustain to accommodate the powerful metal style of guitar playing.
• Coating or Age-Prevention: Some of the electric guitar strings on today's market come with a coating or treatment, which helps to preserve the life of the string and improve the string's tone.
• Thicker Gauge: Since metal guitar players often tune much lower than a standard tuning, the strings they use need to be gauged thicker to accommodate those lower tunings. We look for at least .052 or larger on the low E.

Through most of our personal experience and testing, we've continually kept returning to Elixir and Ernie Ball strings when it comes to heavier styles. By a wide margin they provided the most quality and best tone, even given the wide discrepancy in price between the two brands.

We think it's a safe bet to limit your search to these two brands. From there, you can go by string size and price.

If you want to do a little more research, we've covered some additional FAQ-type topics in the following paragraphs.

We'd say metal guitarists will be less likely to know the difference between a coated and uncoated string from strictly a tone perspective.

Hence the large number of Ernie Ball recommendations in this article.

In this case, it's mostly a matter of whether you want the longer lasting string. For metal players, the coating is great, but not nearly as important.

Within the more aggressive playing styles of modern rock and metal, uncoated guitar strings can be expected to last about three months before needing changed.

Coated strings can double that lifespan, getting you to six months (or longer) before showing signs of corrosion. 

If you're a beginner and you're already into metal, we'd recommend going with one of the gauges that puts your sixth string (the low E) at .052. That's a larger size, but not so large that it's going to make it hard for you to learn the basics. As your fingers strengthen, you can move up to the .056 gauges - if you want - and go from there.

You'll notice that on most electric guitar string sets, the G, B and E are unwound, left to only the steel core in its varying size. This is a normal aspect of guitar string construction which winds the low E, A and D strings, but leaves the other three unwound to more easily achieve the balance of size and tone between the six strings.

In thicker electric guitar strings, you might notice some discoloring and corrosion right above the fret separators, especially on the wound strings.

When this happens, you should be on alert for a reduction in tone quality.

This could mean less definition, less clarity, or maybe just a "tinny" and hollow sound that doesn't seem to be the string's optimal performance. When this happens, changing your strings is a safe bet.

• Reverb.com, Guitar String Materials & Construction, Article
• ErnieBall.com, Company String Page, Manufacturer Website
• ElixirStrings.com, Company Home Page, Manufacturer Website
• D'Addario, How to Change Electric Guitar Strings, Instructional Video
• Amazon.com, Musical Instrument Best-Seller List, Review Source
• YouTube.com, Bobby's Cover of "Thoughtless" by Korn, Demo Video