Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Slartibartfarst42 on September 30, 2012, 06:00:12 PM
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As I'm switching to using hybrid sets of strings, I thought this might be the time to also look at other brands and see what people's different experiences of them are. These are the ones I'm thinking about and I would love to hear from anyone with experience of them:
D'Addario EXL (By reputation these should be decent)
D'Addario EXP (Know nothing of these)
GHS Boomers (I've heard these have great tone but go off quickly)
GHS Sub-Zero Boomers (Know nothing of these)
GHS Coated Boomers (Know nothing of these)
Elixir (I imagine these are the best if I go coated)
DR Tite Fit (I use these now and they seem a good string)
DR Hi-Beam (I use these now and they seem a good string)
Thomastik Power Brights (Know nothing of these)
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I've used all of the these strings on the same guitar apart from the Thomastik Powerbrights, GHS Sub-Zeros and D'addario EXPs.
I hugely prefer Elixirs.
I started with D'addarios but then went to try out a pack of elixirs. I unfortunately broke the High-e string so i replaced it with a set of ernie balls because there were no elixirs in stock. I didn't like the feel of the ernie balls so next time I got Boomers which were good but they wore out very quickly and TBH the tone wasn't anything special. I heard a lot about DR Tite Fits and Hi-beams, I quite liked them so I carried on using them but recently I decided to try Elixirs again and... MAN THEY KILL!!
Most of the strings that I've used get worn out, and even rusty, within one month. These are still smooth as velvet after a month and they feel great, just the right "weight" to them and they sound pretty good. Definately gonna carry on using them. I woulda saved so much money had I stuck to elixirs!
Anyway, If i had to rank them, I would do it like this.
1)Elixir - Feel Great, last forever and sound pretty good.
2) DR Strings (Either set) - Sound pretty good and feel ok, could last longer.
3) GHS - A bit to heavy and warm sounding for me but overall ok, could also last longer.
4) D'addario - I honestly don't like D'addarios at all. They sound ok and feel ok... for 2 weeks... By then they're completely worn out and rusty.
Just my opinion
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i'm not the best person to talk to on strings (mainly because i try to avoid string changing if at all possible :lol: ), but from what i can remember, i wasn't too fussed on d'addario. i like rotosounds, out of what i've tried, but i do seem to like warmer-sounding strings (so bear that in mind). I think newtones have a good rep around here, and i picked a few sets up, but i haven't got round to trying them yet :oops:
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I've been using Pyramid for a while - they don't break the bank plus they feel great and last for ages.
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Strings that I use in order of preference.
DR Tite Fit
Dunlop
Elixir Nanoweb
Kerly Kues
Then everything else sounds cr@p or breaks too easily in my experience.
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DR's have been my string of choice since i was 17 (now 33), i felt they stay "alive" sounding longer, and took a while longer before they felt unresponsive.
Also i really feel the round core aspect of them adds some tonal weight beyond their stated guage.
However, as far as Itmar goes in his opinion of them, i agree, they don't seem to hold out as long, overall, as they used to. Still feel they last a decent amount of time though.
Everything else feels a little stiff to me, however ernie balls are my go to's in the absence of DR's. Maybe because they were all i used from 10 up to 17 and i'm just used to the feel of them. Didn't take to boomers, and i think the elixirs are a bit gimmicky considering the price. Absolutely never liked D'addarios
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1)Elixir - Feel Great, last forever and sound pretty good.
This. I can't use any other string brand anymore - besides saving lot of money. I have really aggressive sweat which eats up everything and Elixirs are the only ones that last and sound good for months.
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I've had a few favoured sets over the years.
I've always found that Ernie Balls went off too quickly
I liked D'addario and Dean Markley quite a bit.
I used to be mad for La Bella's Hard Rocking Steel strings.
I used to dislike Rotosound guitar strings , but they have done a lot of improvements in recent years, and using the ones that come with a set of BKPs has convinced me that they now have good strings.
I got into using Picato strings in the worshop for general repair work and was so impressed with them that I ended up having them make the Feline brand strings for us. I liked that the strings would be wound freshly for us when we placed an order rather than be sat on a warehouse shelf somewhere, as some brands from overseas used to arrive rusty before the advent of sealed or foil packets.
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I used EBs for years, but like Jonathon I found they went off too quickly.
I use D'Addario XLs now on everything as they're cheap to replace and easy to get hold of. They sound great to me, and I tend to swap them once a month on my two gigging guitars.
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D'adds for me too! Cheap, fairly decent and the only ones I can find in 11-52 sets.
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Personally I canŽt stand Ernie Balls, too loose, break easily, donŽt hold long...etc.
Rotosound and DŽaddario I can use, the are very decent strings I would not complain about using them.
DRs are long favorites, Tight Fit and Pure Blues, donßt like the Hibeam so much. I wanne try their coated strings sometime, as I hear good things about them (and Elixirs, while lasting long, have a similar feel to Ernie Balls to me).
DRs feel great, sound great and are with the roundwound...well you get more put into that little package of string.
Newtones are my new favorite though, love those things. Nickel-roundwound with increased core strength makes me so happy. Feel great last long....only custom orders take a shiteload of time. If I donŽt have newtones around and need strings I still go to DR though.
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I'm using Ernie Balls for a while and I like the feel of them, but as others mentioned they don't last that long and they break easily. I might go back to DŽaddario.
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At the moment I see no reason to move away from the DR strings I've been using for the last year or so but I am curious about the DR Pure Blues. In the past I've always used either Tite Fits or HiBeams. I notice that the Pure Blues use pure nickel rather than nickel plated wire but what difference does that make tonally?
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I use:
- BKP Rotosound on my semi-hollow Hofner Verithin (BTW does anyone know what's the "official" rotosound name for these sets ?)
- GHS Gilmour "F" sets on my Tele and Strat
- D'addario Blue Steel on my Gibson and Vox
Blue Steel have the brightness and thightness I like for higher gain stuff and they are so far the only strings I found that last me more than a week of daily abuse and weekly rehearsal / gig, so no surprise I use them on my two main guitars.
Rotosound's warmth works fine with the natural brightness of the Hofner and RiffRaff set and for the kind of tones I use this
guitar for (mostly bluesy / classic rock stuff).
GHS Gilmour just feel better than anything else on 25'' scales and they do sound good with F-like single-coils - fuller and rounder than Blue Steels while still bright enough, and the slightly higher gauge on the low strings brings back some of the low ends oomph and growl I often find missing on F-guitars.
Just my 0.02 cents...
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I use different string brands on my guitars. I haven't noticed big differences, but I like the Dunlop strings a lot. If I don't use those, I usually go for GHS, Rotosound, Daddario or Ernie Ball, depending on what is cheaper.
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I notice that the Pure Blues use pure nickel rather than nickel plated wire but what difference does that make tonally?
Short version: They are to the tite fits what the tite fits are to the hi beams.
Of the 3 electric guitar winding materials (Ernie Balls Cobalt left out of the picture) steel is he brightest and hardest in sound and feel.
Nickel plated mellows it out a bit and is most commonly used. When in doubt always good.
Pure nickel are mostly highly regarded among blues, classic rock and jazz players as they further mellow the tone, giving a very clear, round and warm tone. Somewhat vintage too. These characteristics make them go very well with BKPs imho. Also they feel softer at the same tension.
What I discovered I really like is nickel acoustic strings (acoustic strings are always bronze, phosphor bronze or sometimes steel). DonŽt know if anyone sides Newtone does them, but I tried theirs and my Ibanez JSA loves them more than any other string. So a really rare thing to do, but it sounds brilliant to me. So bright, alive and defined with round and shimmering highs...god I love them. And they keep their tone very long.
Can only recommend to try em, they sound like no other acoustic string I have tried.
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As I'm the sole Pyramid String user (so it seems) I would encourage people to try them. They're a small German company with a long history in string making by hand. Their pricing is comparable to D'Addario and everyone I've turned onto them has moved over to them permanently.
Thomann sell them and tend to do the best deals; unless you happen to be a dealer (cough).
http://pyramidstrings.com/
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Different guitar can pop up a different tone!
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As I'm the sole Pyramid String user (so it seems) I would encourage people to try them. They're a small German company with a long history in string making by hand. Their pricing is comparable to D'Addario and everyone I've turned onto them has moved over to them permanently.
Ah yes, forgot them. My father really likes them and I can see why. I would definetly be ok with using their strings, good stuff there. Now if I could get my father to change strings more often than every few years...(or when they break...which is about the same for him).
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EB: Sound cr@p, Rot if you look at them funny, sound goes from tinny to muddy in, oh, an hour or so.
Rotosound: Sound and life are fine, but they break under a strong wind
DR tites: OK but a bit dark sounding
GHS Boomers: Sound fine, last not long enough
Dunlop Heavy core: Sound good, last a bit longer than EB
Newtone: Excellent strings, could have made them from base ore by the time they arrive.
Diaddario: can be harsh, but overall best off the shelf strings on the market when tone, strength, feel and lifetime are all taken into account
Kerly Sinisters: Good strings, maybe better than diaddario, but I dont like them because the countrys been out of stock of the gauge I want to use for about 2 years.
Elixir gunk covering edition: weird high end, hate them.
Elixir nanoweb: sound better, but feel weird. Too slippery.
That about covers what I remember.
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Newtone: Excellent strings, could have made them from base ore by the time they arrive.
That is also a good description. Have been waiting on my current order for 2 months and 2 weeks now. I knew what I was getting into though and made it a big order.
But really when one order arrives, immediatly make the next one.
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Currently, I have been experimenting with a return to types / brands of light gauge strings, and been very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Dunlop Billy Gibbons sets ( 7s and 8s) . They sound fat for the gauge , and survive bending, de-stringing, restringing and all manner of general physical abuse without complaint, where the D'addario ( my previous brand of choice ) - would have snapped at the ball end in no time. This may be the general quality of Dunlop strings merely repackaged in appealing gauges, but I have no prior knowledge of standard Dunlop strings.
My main 'project' is chord melody - for which I swear by Thomastik Jazz Swing flatwounds ( for tactile quality , tone and intelligent tapering of the bass string tensions, without losing any sonic balance ). However, I wanted to revise some previous playing styles - and having a somewhat light touch, thought it might be fun to also revise on some of those 1970s type strings.
Where I wanted 9s, I tried the Fender 150 ( pure Nickel wound ) 9 - 40 ; largely due to the 9-11-15-24-32-40 combination . Again, I was very happy with what I found.
The interesting thing being ( for me ) that it was all the time I had spent playing Thomastik 12- 50 , that made me want the sort of perceived tension / taper - in a much lighter set , I.e that now, 8-10-12 seemed much better than 8-11-14 ; and 9-11-15 felt much better than 9-11-16 e.t.c.
I had recently been flirting with George L's 9s on My Baja Telecaster due to the 9-12-15 top ( somewhat redolent of the original 10-13-15 top of a 70s Telecaster set) - and I liked the sound ; but concluded that I actually like a rollerwound / slightly tenser set of bass strings, so I can use lighter gauges, without obvious fret rattle . Fender did the roller wound and fetish gauges, so they eventually won the battle of the 9 gauge. The Dunlop Billy Gibbons also managed a nice combination of easily playable - yet not too slack , but how they manage this, is less obvious ; I can only guess it was a combination of alloy used - combined with slightly rollered bass strings.
I had also tried the excellent 'Newtone' strings for Jazz, but in the final analysis , prefered the Thomastik feel / gauge choices for both flat and roundwound Jazz strings.
I have fond memories of GHS Burnished Nickel for the warm but tighter feeling sets , but as previously mentioned - Dunlop and Fender won on being able to provide specifically gauged sets.
When last gigging ( a long time ago now ) - I used Ernie Ball, but now wanted something with a "A bit more snap in the Celery" . :)
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Elixir Nanoweb is what I've been using for a while. They last forever. I wanna try the Ernie Ball Cobalts though.
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D'Addario EXL as they always felt less tight than other makes i.e they feel a guage lighter. I am sure I read they use a thinner core and thicker windings than other makes and this is why.
Andy
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Usually D'addraios for me, prefer DR HiBeams but can't get them in the right sizes.
Currently trying a set of elixirs at the moment as I tend to only change strings when the rust has rust on it, really like to give EB cobalts a go
Want change my gauges now as I seem to have a thing for more clarity and brightness which as lead me to using "lighter" picks
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D'addario all the way.
I'd always liked them, but was sold when the guitar tech I go to told me he prefers them because (apparently) their winding is far more consistent across each individual set than other brands, so you always know what you're getting.
I have no idea how true this is, or how much it would really matter but I do prefer them regardless.
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I like Rotosound- they are inexpensive and seem to last reasonably. Other than that, DR Blues- I have a large amount of them from an American friend who gave me loads of packs.
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I'm recording a band at the moment whos guitarist is using rotosounds. My first experience of them in several years, and perhaps I should revise my opinion. They sound good, are lasting well, and hes been battering the guitar with no breaks.
I just got some d'addarrios again, because I'm sick of newtone waiting time and they've always been my second choice and what I use in E and D. Hopefully I'll get on with them in drop A#. We shall see.
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I just ordered a few sets of strings on the strength of some of the replies here:
1 X DR Tite Fit Nickel Plated Electric Guitar Strings - 10-56 Jeff Healey Signature Gauge
1 X Elixir Nanoweb Coated Electric Guitar Strings - Gauge 12-68 Baritone
1 X Ernie Ball 6-String Baritone Slinky Guitar Strings - 13-72
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I just got a bunch of daddarios to try again, because I'm sick of newtone waiting times. Kiichi has it exactly right: if you want them, order however many you'll need in 2 -3 months, and place the next order as soon as the previous one arrives. Screw that.
Havent found out if the gauges will work in the tunings I'm in, or if I prefer the sound or not, but I'll recommend Stringbusters while I'm here. About as cheap as it gets and the service is great.
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Mark you tried the EB cobalts yet? The stats and "sciencey" marketing buff made me think you'd like them
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No, no interest in them really. I rate normal EBs as the worst big brand on the market, and AB clips I've heard show basicaly no difference. Hype and marketing.
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Started using Dunlop Heavy Core, find them great for Drop D tuning
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Mark you tried the EB cobalts yet? The stats and "sciencey" marketing buff made me think you'd like them
I tried them, didn't really like them. They felt super the first 2-3 days, but went dead very very quickly. No wonder all the stars endorse them, they probably get fresh strings each gig! That and the $$$$...
Also got me a pack of Pyramids, as I've heard alot of good things about them, and they were definitely an improvement over my previous strings. Also have a pack of La Bella strings coming in as I've heard great things about them too.
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Aaaaaaand back to daddario for me.
12 - 16 - 20p - 32 - 44 - 56 doing great in A#
No more waiting, and the sound is if anything better. Low end is a little tubbier, but nothing I cant dial out or control with playing, high end has more bite and extension Vs the newtone thick cored, and they sound 'bigger', for want of a better word.
I think the downside of the thick cored strings is clarity of high end overtones. I'm pretty sure the thicker core inhibits them, and makes them...weird. The low end dynamics can be controlled with technique, overtones not so much.
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I don't even bother with strings anymore and everyone's been saying that my playing has improved tremendously.
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I've been using 10-52 in Eb tuning for years now. I regularly used DR Tite Fits and they I liked them. The shop I regularly used just ran out of them..so I've used GHS Boomers for a while now. They're OK.
I have to bring up Skull strings, they're actually the only brand I remember where I immediately thought that
'these don't work'. They had something nasty going on in the upper frequencies that I could not get rid of.
Having used 10-52 for years, I now might go to a thinner gauge. I like the tension, but especially on a big and warm sounding guitar, the low string tone can feel a bit..tubby. Thinner strings have a leaner, brighter tone, and also add a certain spongy thing to the tone when you know how to use it. Which I came across again when I got a (great!) -91 Tokai LP on loan from a friend. Equipped with 10-46 Elixirs. Practically plays itself :)
-Zaned
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Zaned, I'm increasingly a fan of thinner strings. Theres a certain trade off that has to be made for mass; too little and your tone is unredeemably thin, and theres not a hell of a lot you can do about it further down the chain. Too much mass and theres bloat you cant get rid of and overtones suffer as they're weaker and fewer on the thicker string.
There is the matter, crucially to me, of tightness. Its natural to think that tightness in tone comes from physical tightness in the string. Thats one way, but tightness can be controlled and imparted with good playing. Clear ringing overtones cant, if the strings thickness is fighting them.
I used to use a 66 on the A# (still to a 12 on the high C). I'm down to 56 now. I think thats about right. For E to D I use 10s on 25.5 or 10-48 on 24.75.
The other factor in (comparatively) thinner strings, is you've got somewhere to go if you dig in. Hit a thick string weakly and it responds poorly, you have to batter it to get it to respond. But hit em harder and dig in more and they dont really give any more. Tight, more controlled and lighter playing on a thinner string can get the same tightness that hammering a heavier string gives you, but you can still get huge sounds digging in hard. It gives the guitar more dynamic range.
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Oh, and with regard to my previous newtones, my 3 main guitars that I keep setup for me (as opposed to for clients use in E or close) were all supposed to be 12 - 56. I measured em. the '56' was 1.32mm on all the guitars.
Thats closer to a 52.
The things you take on faith, eh?
Didnt bother with the others. Didnt care, had seen enough.
The daddarios I've just got measure 1.43mm. 0.0562". Much better.
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The other factor in (comparatively) thinner strings, is you've got somewhere to go if you dig in. Hit a thick string weakly and it responds poorly, you have to batter it to get it to respond. But hit em harder and dig in more and they dont really give any more. Tight, more controlled and lighter playing on a thinner string can get the same tightness that hammering a heavier string gives you, but you can still get huge sounds digging in hard. It gives the guitar more dynamic range.
Yeah, right now I feel like I can get more variation from them, both tonewise and dynamically. And if you want, you can use more bottom on the amp, as the string tone is leaner. Which in turn leads to fuller tone on upper strings, and still hefty tone when you dig in on those low strings.
-Zaned