Martin MA535 Authentic Acoustic Superior Performance 11-52 Phosphor Bronze

Gauge refers to the diameter of a string. Gauges are described in thousandths of an inch and can be found listed on the back of a string pack.

Overall, string gauges are classified as:

• Extra light
• Custom light
• Light
• Medium
• Heavy

For purposes of this tutorial we’ll refer to anything from extra light to light as “lighter,” and anything from medium to heavy as “heavier.” While we want this article to be a comprehensive overview of string gauges for acoustic guitars, it is important to note that Martin does not recommend heavy gauge strings for any Martin guitars. We recommend using only extra light through medium gauge strings on our guitars. Heavy strings can cause too much tension on the top which may cause irreversible damage.