D'addario NYXL strings

[darkandrew]

Just tried my first set of D'addario NYXL strings and ... well I'm not really sure to be honest. I'd read that they were supposed to be brighter than the standard D'addario XL with more presence, so I thought I'd try them on my Crawler equipped ESP Eclipse in an attempt to tease a little more bite out of them but having changed the strings I'm left feeling a little underwhelmed - I'm not really noticing any more brightness or presence and in fact I think I've actually lost some string separation. Has anybody else tried these strings and had a better / similar experience?

[gwEm]

I bought a set of NYXLs once by mistake. I quite liked them, but honestly I didn't notice much of a difference either. Still, I like D'Addarios so I didn't feel too bad about it.

[darkandrew]

Just tried my first set of D'addario NYXL strings and ... well I'm not really sure to be honest. I'd read that they were supposed to be brighter than the standard D'addario XL with more presence, so I thought I'd try them on my Crawler equipped ESP Eclipse in an attempt to tease a little more bite out of them but having changed the strings I'm left feeling a little underwhelmed - I'm not really noticing any more brightness or presence and in fact I think I've actually lost some string separation. Has anybody else tried these strings and had a better / similar experience?

I gave them another play last night and, no, still not liking them. I've also noticed that although the string tension is supposed to be the same, they are quite a bit stiffer. So, it's going to be back to the old trusty XLs again.

[Telerocker]

I used to use D'addario's but playing EB now for a long time. Maybe I got better, but they seem to bend easier.

[darkandrew]

I've just put them on my Mule eqipped Eclipse and although they are a little less hairy at the top end, they do suit the Mules quite well - a little less bright at the extreme top end but a little bit more emphasis and "grind" in the mids. I've just ordered another set with the remainder of my points to try on my Nail Bomb equipped guitar and expect them to also be quite a good match.

Edit - have now strung my Nail Bombed Eclipse with these and they really work well together, with the NYXLs making the most of the Nail Bomb's gnarly character while also taming its hairyness.


Edit Edit - now changed my Nail Bomb equipped Eclipse back to standard EXLs, I found the NYXLs tamed the Nail Bombs too much and took off the "hairy sheen" that the NBs are infamous for. Now I'm back to EXLs and the NBs sound bright and hairy again! So, great for the Mules, not so great for Nail Bombs (unless you're trying to tame them a little) and Crawlers.

So, my first impressions of these new strings are that they have a little less output right at the top end of the frequency range but a little more in the mids and upper mids. As a result they seem to work well with bright pickups but less well with darker pickups that already have less output at the top end. It's also too early to tell how they will wear, so I'll continue playing them for a while before I consider this aspect.

[Brise-Fer]

I have used D'Addario's XL strings for years now and just found out about the NYXL last year and wondered what advantage were they giving?

[5F6-A]

I like them but they are like having a Greenback speaker hardwired to your pickups. They have those high mids that some people love and some hate. I stopped using them because of the price but I liked the sound and they stayed in tune like a champ. In the end, I went back to my usual GHS Boomers. Cheap, sound good and I like how they feel.