String Experience

[Slartibartfarst42]

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)

[itamar101]

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

[dave_mc]

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:

[HTH AMPS]

I've been using Pyramid for a while - they don't break the bank plus they feel great and last for ages.

[Toe-Knee]

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.

[tekbow]

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

[GuitarIv]

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.

[FELINEGUITARS]

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.

[Twinfan]

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.

[bucketshred]

D'adds for me too! Cheap, fairly decent and the only ones I can find in 11-52 sets.

[Kiichi]

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.

[Telerocker]

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.

[Slartibartfarst42]

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?

[BigB]

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...

[Alex]

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.