9-11-16-26W-36-46 Length: 43 inches. Nickel-Plated Steel wound strings were introduced in the late Sixties and have become the most popular alloy for electric guitars and bass. Nickel-plated steel tends to offer the most balanced tone. It took several years of trial and error to develop a proprietary string coating that resists tarnish and corrosion without compromising tonal quality.