Coated strings - yay or nay? - GuitarTalk Community

Coated strings - yay or nay?

Jack-Flash-Jr

Popped on a set of coated Elixir .10s yesterday and is it my imaginaiton or are they a little... slimy? Usually use D'addarios but they didn't have coated in stock soooo...
Since the prices have eally come down on these what's the verdict? Tone stays longer? Strings last longer? Cool to shower with guitar now?

Warren

Jack Flash Jr wrote: Popped on a set of coated Elixir .10s yesterday and is it my imaginaiton or are they a little... slimy? Usually use D'addarios but they didn't have coated in stock soooo...
Since the prices have eally come down on these what's the verdict? Tone stays longer? Strings last longer? Cool to shower with guitar now?

I use the .9s on my LP. I also find them quite slimy actually. The D'Addarios (EXP coated) on my acoustic feel a bit more "natural", and I'll maybe try them on the LP at some point.

You get used to them. Although when it's cold, I find that the callouses on my left hand fingertips get really hard, and the strings often slip out during bends. I imagine I've adjusted my technique to compensate, I'm not sure.

I'm not sure I'm that passionate about them either way. They do seem to last longer, and I quite like the reduced finger squeek on the acoustic (though there's still enough to add character), but if I have to use something else in a pinch I'm not too worried.

Ray

I have tried coated strings (both Elixir and D'Addario) and I dont like them. Donto know about slimy but I dont have a word for it but didnt feel great. Anyway using nickel D'addarios now on electric and acoustic .12's and .13's. I chnage strings about once a month or so as a ritual so I dont think the extra life of coateds will be a benfit to me anyway.

killafo

I got my LP with coated string and i didn't like them. I just didn't feel the same reaction and connection to the guitar as i do with regular strings. As far as tone and such i dunno, sisn't find anything special with coated strings...... :-/

Jack-Flash-Jr

Hmmm... leaning towards the nay myself. Not to mention that coated singles are not available?

Warren

zohn wrote: Yay to D'Addario EXP's, DR and Cleartone - their coating is around the wrapping wire and they feel "un-coated", whereas Elixir puts coating around the wrapped strings.
Not only do they feel slimy, the coating comes off after a while like a snake's skin....
Definite Nay to Elixir.

I believe that the "snake skin" thing is a bigger problem with Elixir's POLYWEB coating, which is quite thick, and that their NANOWEB stuff is a lot better in that regard.

I've had the NANOWEB strings on my LP for a while and haven't had that particular issue.

[deleted]

Coated singles are unavailable? Depends on the clubs you frequent...

Call me a traditionalist, but I'm against that skin-shedding thing. It just feels wrong. Nay.

(And just to be completely anal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yea)

AlanRatcliffe

Warren wrote: I believe that the "snake skin" thing is a bigger problem with Elixir's POLYWEB coating, which is quite thick, and that their NANOWEB stuff is a lot better in that regard.

+1. Exactly. The Nanos feel smoother than regular strings, but not as slippery as the polys and you soon get used to it. Less finger squeak too. I like them on acoustic, but not on electric (because they are not electrically conductive).

I don't play my steel string often these days and get six months out of a set (three months if played a lot). I usually only get a month out of a normal uncoated set, played or not, so they are well worth it.

If you break an unwound, just replace with a normal uncoated - there is not much difference there. Most shops don't stock the singles, but I suspect if you ask Andy for them (they are the importers), they may well have. Always worth having a packet of third strings around...

Renesongs

I bought Erni Ball coated when they first came out for both my acoustic and my electric Then they were 3 times the price of the uncoated. The G string broke after 3 days on the electric so I replaced it with a regular IMo the uncoated G always sounded brighter that the rest of the strings. The blurb on the pack said that they would last 3 times as long as normal strings so I kept them on for 3 months at the end of which they were sounding putrid the uncoated G still sounded a tad brighter. IMO coated strings or at least Erni Ball coated are b*ll sh*t. I still use Erni Ball uncoated though and I am quite happy with them.

BTW if you are on tight budget and you want your strings to last a little longer wipe the stings down with a dry fluffless cotton cloth everyday preferable after each time you play. Wiping your stings down with a little Squatter brandy (Meths) also brightens them up but be careful of your rosewood fretboard though because Alan will come bite you.

chris77

On my acoustics I kinda like older strings. New strings are no good, too jangly. There is about 3-4 months in a set of strings to me before they are too dead and I change them. Will coated strings take 3 times longer to reach the regular strings loss of tone over 3-4 months, or is that a bit too much to ask? I always wash my hands before I play and I do not really sweat much so the regular strings dont really take a lot of shots when I play.

AlanRatcliffe

chris77 wrote: On my acoustics I kinda like older strings. New strings are no good, too jangly. There is about 3-4 months in a set of strings to me before they are too dead and I change them. Will coated strings take 3 times longer to reach the regular strings loss of tone over 3-4 months, or is that a bit too much to ask? I always wash my hands before I play and I do not really sweat much so the regular strings dont really take a lot of shots when I play.

Elixir Nanos usually sound like a broken in set of strings from the start - with none of the harsh-edged jangle you get with a brand new set of strings, rather sounding like a week-old set (bearing in mind I get a month out of a normal set). Then they stay exactly like that for ages and then eventually go dead relatively quickly. If you're getting three months out of a normal set, you'll get probably three times that from coated.

aja

chris77 wrote: On my acoustics I kinda like older strings. New strings are no good, too jangly.

I like the jangly. Wanna buy my strings after I am done with them? ?

Jack-Flash-Jr

Stratisfear wrote: Coated singles are unavailable? Depends on the clubs you frequent...

Call me a traditionalist, but I'm against that skin-shedding thing. It just feels wrong. Nay.

(And just to be completely anal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yea)

No man. Yay. As in in YAY MY STRINGS ARE COOL!

[deleted]

Jack Flash Jr wrote:
Stratisfear wrote: Coated singles are unavailable? Depends on the clubs you frequent...

Call me a traditionalist, but I'm against that skin-shedding thing. It just feels wrong. Nay.

(And just to be completely anal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yea)
No man. Yay. As in in YAY MY STRINGS ARE COOL!

Hahahahahahaha :roflmao: ?

Warren

chris77 wrote: On my acoustics I kinda like older strings. New strings are no good, too jangly. There is about 3-4 months in a set of strings to me before they are too dead and I change them. Will coated strings take 3 times longer to reach the regular strings loss of tone over 3-4 months, or is that a bit too much to ask? I always wash my hands before I play and I do not really sweat much so the regular strings dont really take a lot of shots when I play.

Also depends on the type of string you go for. I tried some Elixir 80/20 acoustic strings, and I HATED them. They were horribly, horribly bright. Their phosphor/bronze strings are a lot more mellow.

Interesting on the hand-washing. Unless my hands are really filthy, I don't wash them before playing because it softens my skin too much and my fingers hurt a lot more.

I used to wipe strings down after playing, but just couldn't be bothered these days. ?

chris77

@aja - or I could pay for them, charge you a two week usage fee and have you ship them back to me when you're done ?
@ warren - I just dont like dirty hands. I wash them maybe 5-10 times a day, depending on what I am doing. I have never noticed them going too soft to play, but then I nowadays rarely get to play for longer than 30min at a time.

string_slinger

I'm with Alan - Coated on acoustic, not electric.

I tend to swing between the 80/20 Elixir's and the phosphor bronze D'Addario EXP's depending where my taste is at that time. The EXP's are darker and dryer, and I like that for blues and finger style. That said, if I'm playing in a full band, the Elixir's just bring the guitar out in the mix. Don't like the phosphor bronze Elixir's, found them too bright - but to be fair I have a 214e which is a bright guitar to start with.

I DO NOT LIKE the Ernie Ball coated strings, they just don't sound nice. For the money anyway the EXP's & Elixir's kick them...

VetGat

this is a good topic but coated strings are just not for me on an electric. maybe its only my guitars but the tone just dulls out compared to raw uncoated strings

Ray

Naked on acoustic and electric please.

Renesongs

Strings are like a ~~women~~ salad, they best left undressed. ?