Easy-Play Acoustic Strings
A smoother coated feel, less string bite, and a warm balanced tone rather than a thin one. Fits most steel-string acoustics and acoustic-electrics.
$36
Buy a set
If your fingertips give out before the song does, the strings are the first thing to change. They are the only part of the guitar you touch every single second.
Zager Easy-Play strings are made by the same workshop as the guitars, for players dealing with sore fingertips, arthritis, stiffness or plain hand fatigue. A smoother coated feel means less string bite; the tone stays warm and balanced rather than thin. They fit most steel-string acoustics and acoustic-electrics, not only Zagers.
Something to play with
Six strings, standard tuning
Run your cursor across the fretboard to hear standard tuning, low E to high E. The notes are generated by your browser rather than recorded in the workshop, so treat this as a pitch reference — useful for tuning by ear — not as a sample of how a Zager set sounds.
Click once for sound, then run your cursor across the strings. On a phone, tap once and swipe.
Strings are the cheapest thing to change, and for a lot of players they are enough. They are also only one of three things making a guitar hard to press.
The other two are the instrument itself: how far the strings sit off the fretboard, and how the neck fills your hand. A light set on a guitar with high action still fights you. So if you have already put lighter strings on and your hand still aches ten minutes in, the strings were never the problem — and the rest of this page is about what was.
Why a set of Zager strings is different
Strings are the only part of the guitar you are touching every second you play. These are built around that.
Less bite under the fingers
A smoother coated feel, so the string presses into your fingertip less. That is the whole point of the set.
Warm, not thin
Lighter-feeling sets often go thin and brittle. These keep a warm, balanced tone across all six.
They fit your guitar
Most steel-string acoustics and acoustic-electrics, not only Zagers. You do not need to own one of ours.
Wound in Lincoln since 1969
Made by the same workshop that builds and sets up the guitars, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Easy-Play set
Wound and packed in Lincoln, built for one thing: less pressure under your fingers. Fits most steel-string acoustics, not only Zagers.
Everything else about strings
Four short guides: which gauge to pick, what the six strings are called, how to put a new set on, and when to bother.
The Zager difference
Built so your hand works less
A factory guitar is built to a price and set up to a schedule. Denny spent ten years rebuilding instruments to work out why beginners quit, then changed the things that were causing it: the action, the neck profile and the string spacing. Every guitar gets that setup by hand.
- Low action and a slim neck, set by hand before it ships
- Built and set up in Lincoln, Nebraska
- Custom string spacing for cleaner chords and fewer rattles
- 100% money back with shipping paid both ways
Played by people who could own anything
Zager has been building in Lincoln since 1969. These are working players who chose one — their stories are on the site, in their words.
Grand Ole Opry legend, and one of the most recorded voices in country music.
Johnny Cash's bass player for the last decade of his career, and a Nashville session fixture.
Ranked among the finest fingerstyle players in the world, and a Chet Atkins collaborator.
This month only
Buy three sets, get the fourth free
Stock up while you are here. The cheapest set comes off at checkout, no code needed.
Ends 31 October 2026 · One free set per order · Applies to Zager acoustic sets only · Cannot be combined with the BOGO guitar offer
Keep going
Next steps that pair well with a fresh set of strings.
How to change acoustic strings without nicking the bridge
The ten-minute version, with the two mistakes that cost people a saddle. No special tools beyond a winder.
Four chords, one week: G, C, D and E minor
Denny's starting four. Enough to play a few hundred songs, and the fastest way to prove to yourself that this is going to work.
Playing guitar with arthritis
What helps, what does not, and the three setup changes worth making before you give up on the instrument.
String questions we get every week
How often should I change my strings?
If you play most days, every four to six weeks. If you play a couple of times a week, every three months is fine. The real tell is tone, not time: when chords start sounding dull and the strings feel grubby under your fingers, they are done.
Will lighter strings damage my guitar?
No. Lighter strings put less pull on the neck, not more. What can happen is that the neck relaxes slightly over the first week and the action drops, which occasionally causes a light buzz. A small truss rod adjustment fixes it in minutes.
Do Zager strings fit guitars that are not Zagers?
Yes. They are standard-length steel acoustic strings with ball ends, so they fit any steel-string acoustic — dreadnought, parlor, concert, jumbo or twelve-string. They are not for classical guitars, which need nylon.
I have arthritis. Which set should I start with?
Easy-Play strings were designed around exactly this: sore fingertips, arthritis, stiffness and hand fatigue. The coating gives a smoother feel with less string bite. If chords still feel like hard work after two weeks, the guitar's action is usually the next thing to look at rather than the strings.
What if I pick the wrong gauge?
Play them for thirty days. If the set is not right, tell us which gauge you want instead and we will send it. You do not need to post the old strings back.
Free, no catch
Get the gauge chart and Denny's first lesson
One email. A printable chart matching every common body size to a string gauge, plus the first lesson from the Zager library — the four chords most songs are built on.
We send about two emails a month and you can unsubscribe from any of them. We never sell your address.
Still not sure which gauge?
Tell us what you play and how it feels under your hand. We have been setting up guitars in Lincoln since 1969 and we will pick the set for you.
30-day guarantee · Free shipping · Wound and shipped from Nebraska