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  • Anyone using/used D'addario NY XL's?

On either guitar or bass?

I've been dithering about new bass strings for a few months after a set of D'addario XL's lasted 10 weeks. They was cheap enough, but the way they died off irritated me - one day they was fine, next day all the treble and snap was gone.

So I've been humming and hawing - Elixir's were a option, but I'm not a fan after using them on my electric for a while. Ernie Ball's & Rotosounds are available too, but I'm not a big fan of either.

Eventually, I went off to Rockit distribution and trawled through their stock to see what I could find. It came down to what they had in the gauge I was looking for (95's - I'm not really a bassist :-[)...and they had the NY XL's.

First day impressions...They feel a little lighter than the XL170's I had on (also 95's) and sound a bit brighter, but not overly bright like them cheap stainless strings. Acoustically on the bass they sound very lively. Not sure if I'm imagining it, but they seem to be extremely stable, tuning wise.

The million dollar question is...will they last? It's a premium string (Elxir $!) and although D'addario say zip about durability the user reviews say they are long lasting with little drop off in treble.

Anyone care to share their thoughts on the NY XL's?

    I've been told that pure nickel strings last much longer (I'm guessing only the wound strings, the plains are the usual kind) than nickel plated ones. They start out less bright though. I go through a set per guitar in about 3 weeks (normal D'Addarion XL)
      The stock XL's (at least bass strings) arn't known for the longevity, 2-3mths is what people reckon. I'd agree, I noticed the lack of treble and they felt like they had lost a lot of tension (I was complaining about them feeling like sloppy rubber bands). Which is a pity because they felt great when new (and they were cheap!).

      It's still very early days for the NY XL's - by November I'll know if the $ was worth it.

      So far - Slick feel similar to the XL's, they settled in very quickly and tuning wise are very, very stable.
        Tried the guitar strings, they were nice enough, a little higher tension than the XL strings, very crisp. Got about a month and a half out of them on my main guitar, which actually isn't bad considering how fast I wear out most other strings.

        That being said they're not worth the price they're at, or even the discounted price I got them at, and I'll most likely not buy them again.

        Back to Dean Markley for me 8)
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