About Change Your Strings
Change Your Strings is a database of knowledge about guitar strings, who uses what, and what they recommend. We believe the faster we can help get the right strings under your fingers and on your fret boards, the faster you can get to making the music you want. Change Your Strings' goal is to educate you and get the right gear in your rig, faster than any other option.
Who runs it
Change Your Strings is run by Austin Pilarski. He owns the site and decides what gets published. He's now testing the most popular sets by hand, and every page he's tested will say so, with his notes and photos.
Want to reach him? Email hello@changeyourstrings.com.
How it's made
We research and draft pages with AI tools, then check every claim against a source. That comes with four rules:
- Every artist claim links to where it came from: the brand's own artist page, a rig rundown, or an interview.
- If we can't source a gauge, the page says so. We never guess.
- Specs come from the maker's own catalog, not a store listing.
- A page isn't called a review, and a set doesn't get a score, until a person has played it.
How we source
Every artist claim gets one of two labels:
- Endorsed: the artist has a documented relationship with the brand, like a signature set, a String Theory profile or the brand's own artist roster. We link to it.
- Verified use: the strings were documented on the artist's guitar in a rig rundown, interview or live footage. We cite it.
A guessed gauge is the difference between strings that match a record you love and strings that don't, so when we can't find a source, we say "unconfirmed" and point you to the closest documented reference.
How rankings work
The string finder ranks sets by how well they fit what you picked (instrument, genre and tuning), then by how many documented players use them. No brand pays for placement, and no brand gets a boost. The "CYS Likes" badge marks an editorial pick, and it's always labeled.
How we make money
Affiliate links. If you buy a set through a link here, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We don't run sponsored content and we don't accept paid placement. When a brand has paid an artist we cover, the artist page says Endorsed and cites it.
Found a mistake?
Tell us at hello@changeyourstrings.com. We fix errors quickly, and if a correction changes a claim, the page gets updated with the new source.
Affiliate disclosure
Heads up: ChangeYourStrings.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page may be affiliate links. We only recommend strings we would actually put on our own guitars. We don’t ship or handle any products ourselves and are intended to be a database to help get the right strings on the right guitars for guitar players. The strings you play matter.
Frequently asked questions
What is Change Your Strings?
An encyclopedia of guitar and bass strings, the players who use them, and the gear around them. Every artist claim links to its source. We earn money through affiliate links, never sponsored posts.
What is the mission?
Change Your Strings is a database of knowledge about guitar strings, who uses what, and what they recommend. We believe the faster we can help get the right strings under your fingers and on your fret boards, the faster you can get to making the music you want. Change Your Strings' goal is to educate you and get the right gear in your rig, faster than any other option.
Who runs Change Your Strings?
Austin Pilarski owns and runs the site. Pages are researched and drafted with AI tools and checked against their sources. Austin is testing the most popular sets by hand, and pages he's tested say so.
Is this site written by AI?
Partly, yes. We use AI to research and draft, and every spec and artist claim links to a source you can check. We don't call a page a review, or score a set, until a person has actually played it.
How do you decide what an artist uses?
Every artist claim is labeled either endorsed (a documented relationship with the brand, like a signature set or the brand's own artist page) or verified use (cited from an interview, rig rundown or on-camera session). If a gauge can't be sourced, the page says so and links to the closest documented reference. We never guess a gauge.
How do you make money?
Affiliate links. When you buy through a link on this site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We don't accept paid placements, sponsored reviews or pay-for-ranking.
Does any brand pay for better rankings?
No. The string finder ranks sets by how well they fit your instrument, genre and tuning, then by how many documented players use them. No brand pays for placement, and no brand gets a boost.
Where to go next
- Use the string finder: pick your instrument, genre and tuning.
- Browse the full string catalog by brand.
- Check the tuning guides for gauges that hold tension.
- See what your favorite players use.