Big-G
So, lately I've been experimenting with strings on my electrics and acoustics, and thought it might be beneficial for others to share my findings. For the past 15 years, I've been using Elixir strings solely (with the exception of freebee strings here and there), but their price, whilst reasonable for what they are and how they perform, does become a little hard to swallow with so many guitars and basses to restring, so I thought I'd take a look at the competition and try a few other brands out. I have stuck to coated strings only, as I need that longevity that the Elixirs have shown before loosing their tone (in some cases up to a year!). Just a side note, that I have no affiliation with Elixir strings, although I'd happily have one! ?
For acoustics, I so far have only tried Phosphor Bronze, and Electrics and basses I only use Nickel coated, as I find stainless steel strings bland, droney and toneless.
So far I have tried the following....
D'Addario EXP phospor bronze acoustic strings (.11) - Fitted on my Crafter PG-Maho acoustic. I love their tone, and they feel good under the fingers. Great note definition, bright and clear but well rounded, and forgiving of my shoddy playing style, although they can be a little squeakish when changing chords and dragging your fingers across the strings as you change (sloppy technique I know, but more notable with these strings than the Elixirs). Can't comment on durability or longevity of tone yet, but so far so good, and reports seem to indicate that their coating does not de-laminate like the Elixirs do. Time will tell?
Wyres PTFE coated Electric strings (.10) - I hadn't heard of these until recently, but my Carparelli Ivory Tower came with them fitted, so I recently strung it with a fresh set. I have to say that they really impress me with their tone so far, and are clear yet warm sounding (exaggerated by the hollowbody of the Carparelli). Good note definition is also apparent. Again I have not yet had them on long enough to speak of their durability or longevity of tone, but when I got the Carparelli (ex-Demo), it was around 5 years old, and had some very old manky wyres on, which may well have been the originals? Whilst they were old, discoloured and manky, they still sounded pretty decent, and not too far off the tone of the fresh ones. With this in mind, it would seem that they have potential for great tonal longevity. They don't quite feel as nice under the fingers as the Elixirs or D'Addario's, but are not bad at all.
Rotosound Nexus nickel coated electric strings (.10) - Currently fitted to my Carparelli Slimm. They have some form of polymer coating on them, but I am not sure what type? Appearance is interesting as the three low strings E,A,D, are black in colour, whilst the top three (G (plain not wound),B,E) are gold with a kind of black hint to them. I absolutely love the tone out of these strings, and they are perfectly suited to the wonderful tones the Slimm produces. Full, rich balanced tone, with good note definition and attack when required. Smooth as butter, but can be hardened up if required. Black coating appears to shine up as the plec strums across it, so I am doubtful of the durability of the coating, but again time will tell, along with their tonal longevity. Feel under the fingers initially was great, but after a week, they do not feel as nice as the above mentioned strings, and feel a little sticky or dragish.
D'Addario EXP 'Reds' - For the bass players out there, I recently received a set of these to try out on my bass. They are stainless steel core, with nickel windings, then copper coated before applying the polymer 'EXP' coating. This is designed to still offer great magnetic response, whilst improving their acoustic properties for basses fitted with Piezo bridge's (as is the case with mine). These have only been on for a short while, so its early days, but I thought they were worth noting whilst talking about strings. I find them tonally to sound just as nice as the Elixir Stainless steels that were fitted before them (I normally only use Nickel Elixirs, but had the wrong strings delivered when ordered!). I tend to find the stainless bass strings dull and somewhat lacking in definition, despite most peoples comments that stainless are brighter sounding. So the Reds are sounding very similar to the stainless Elixirs, with perhaps a little more higher end note definition. Not as much definition as the Nickels, but still reasonable. I cannot yet comment on how the copper has affected the Piezo sound. I've always found the Piezo to be a little too boomy to be of any use, so thought that these strings may solve that issue for me? Again, time will tell. I will be trying this out over the weekend, so hopefully will have some news to report back on then?
Still to try D'Addario EXP electric strings. Cannot seem to find anywhere with stock for a reasonable price. The only place I have found them offers them for more than the Elixirs, which was the point of the exercise to reduce costs. ?
Also have a set of Rotosound Nexus phosphor bronze to try out on my Crafter GAE18n, so will report back once I have some findings on those.
So far my impression is that I will most likely continue using Elixirs, with the exception of the Carparelli Slimm, which I will use Nexus on, unless their stickyness becomes a longer term issue, or their longevity is not adequate?!
I will add more info as and when it becomes available, but one thing that should be noted is that I have not tried all string types on all guitars, so I could very well find that the Nexus would be totally awesome or completely naff on one of my other guitars, so please consider all that with the above findings. ?
Thanks for reading!
Regards
G!
DaFiz
Very interesting thank you Big G... For many years I've used only the d'Addario Phosphor Bronze on all my acoustic guitars while the electric guitars used basic d'Addario Nickel Would or Ernie Ball (regular slinky).
Recently I switched to Elixir for both guitars (the bass guitar aint being used much these days)
and was pleasantly surprised by the improvements.
I think I'll give the EXP a try next as you're quite right, the Elixir costs are kind of steep ☹
Big-G
Thanks for the reply bud!
Yer, I used to use Ernies or Warwick Red label bass strings when I first started playing, especially before I first tried Elixirs. Normally I got them cheap or heavily reduced when buying other more expensive bits of kit, and in some cases picked up end of stock clearance pricing. I quite liked the Warwicks on my bass, but always found the ernies to have great initial tone (possibly one of the best tones IMO) but lose their tone after a week or two, and they chewed through my finger tips in a way no other string ever has! This had been my experience with both bass and electrics or acoustics. A year or two back, I acquired a set of Ernie Cobalts for bass, and fitted them to my other bass, and found the exact same symptom of rough and harsh finger chewing action from these strings, so I know I have definitely ruled out Ernies from my list of string suppliers. Shame really as I was quite intrigued by their titanium coated strings.
I first started playing Elixirs after they came on one of the basses I bought (an Ibanez SR 400 if I remember correctly?) and loved the tone straight out the bag, and the fact that the tone stayed longer than a week or two, and even up to a year! They always remained comfortable under the finger tips too, and where great for sliding on, especially when your fingers get a bit clammy or moist under extreme stage lighting! ?
Since that day, as mentioned, I'd solely used Elixirs on everything, with the exception of the odd freebee pack etc, and deemed their price worth the extra when compared to uncoated strings. Expensive in the short run, especially for bass, but more than paid for themselves in the long run!
Only in the past decade or so have other companies really bought in to the coated string industry, and made an effort to compete against Elixir, and after noticing a fair few manufacturers, and seeing my string budget rapidly expanding, I decided to make an experimental challenge to try some out and see what 'data' came out the research tunnel! ?
Anyway, enough waffling! I'm falling asleep at the keyboard here, so rambling on!
More to share soon!
Regards
G!
DaFiz
I fitted Elixirs to my Tele for the first time a while back and it went to a couple of gigs.
On the last gig I got a bit exited during a boogie and snapped the high E.
I replaced it with a plain spare 0.10 from my crate and carried on with the next set, no problem.
Now at band practice Mike (on lead guitar) comes to my place by bike and uses my Tele,
and has pointed out the difference in brightness on that string. He first suggested that the pick-up might be the problem, but I believe the un-coated string is the cause.
I have another set of Elixirs to fit but it'll have to wait until we do another gig. :-\
Big-G
So I have some more findings to report....
Rotosound Nexus coated Phosphor bronze acoustic strings - Had these on my Crafter GAE18N for around three weeks now, and initially I was impressed with the tone. The main issue I have had with these strings is that with both this set and the electric nexus set, I snapped the high E string on tuning up. I have never in my entire life snapped any strings on tuning. I also have experienced severe tuning instability. These are slightly lighter than the usual gauge I tend to use, as these are .10's, and I normally use .11's, so that could account for some of it, but I don't think its the entire story.
So far my findings are leading me back towards Elixirs, but I'm still giving these strings a good chance yet.
Regards
G!
Jayhell
I'm too scared to try Elixirs, what if I can't go back! I've been playing D'Addario EXL Nickel wound .009's since I started, and I know what I'm getting. I have tried various other brands (especially on promo or freebies) just to be disappointed. And I change strings too much, maybe that's a good motivation to try something else, when I play one guitar I need to change the strings every month, otherwise I lose 'that' sound. But luckily I have more than one these days! What does a set of Elixirs go for these days?
studmissile
I've had too many Elixirs break on me (prematurely) too buy any more, EXP's rather. Read there was a dodgy patch of Elixirs.
Although I still prefer trusty old D'Addario XL', and Phosphor Bronze. Always sound good and feel great.
Also a big fan of Dean Markley Blue Steels and recently for my 52 reissue I got a set of Fender Bullets and also very very impressed buy sustain, tone and life. Definitely will get another set.
AlanRatcliffe
I've run into duds from every manufacturer. It happens.
DaFiz
Interesting observation... I've had two E's on my Takamine (0.11) snap during practice and I also had a 0.10 snap on my Tele (on stage)... I asked about EXP's at the guitar shop and was told the Elixirs were better (who am I to argue). They about R200 a set now, so I expect they would last longer.
Maybe I'm leaving them on too long ?
Big-G
Yer, I've had strings snap after a while from over playing or ageing, but these snapped as I was tuning up to pitch as I was fitting them. I hadn't even gotten within 3 semitones of pitch before they snapped, and that was with both the electric set on my Carparelli Slimm, and on this acoustic. I've never experienced this with any other set of strings whilst fitting them.
Regards
G!
studmissile
No these elixirs snapped literally within a few minutes of putting them on, went through two G or E strings. Never had that with EXP, Blue Steels or XL's or Phosphor Bronze. I mean no string lasts but I do expect them to last a little longer that a few minutes or a few days.
It just left a rather bitter taste and never went back.
