Strings

[WezV]

I have been using d'addarios for ages and also find EB's to be pretty useless.

At the moment i am finishing up one of my basses and the client brought me a set of La bella strings for it - they seem very nice so i want to try some guitar ones at some point

I have also had some of Feline's and they where quite nice

[Ted]

I use earnie ball power slinkys on my Tele. Their ok but I fancy a change.

My friend at work has some nice 11's on an epiphone, they feel great to use and have diff coloured ball/ring bits at the end of each string. are these D'addario's as i seem to remember him saying something about them?

yup try them they are loads better. strings direct have a good deal on their 3D packs.

i like 11's on my paul an 10's on everything else, although, I'm keen to experiment with some bigger gauges soon.

I bought a set of Feline legs 11 and I must say, so far so good.

[Kilby]

I switched to D'addario a while back as I had to borrow a set from a friend (it was 2 days before payday :( ). I'm currently using them on both 6 & 12 string.

M facourite strings are the Rickenbacker compressed roundwound, but theyre hard to get.

I have grown to intensely dislike EB strings (they go dead on me within 2 hours of stringing up on the 12 and 4 hours on the 6 string).

Rob...

[MDV]

I'm a GHS boomers man, though I'll use Dean Markley Tites and Dadarios if the need  arrises.

The boomers sound good to me, corrode slowly and I've only ever broken one. And I tried to. I hit that string pretty bloody hard. Several times. I put a rotosound on it to replace it (a 52), and it broke the next day with normal playing.

[Doadman]

Lots of good ideas but sadly nobody seems to have tried the Optima Gold or Skull strings  :( . I'm also getting conflicting advice on the need to reset. So far half the advice I've receieved says I will need the trem reset and half says thaat as long as they're the same guage it won't matter. Very confusing for a non technical person like me  :?

[Peter Antal]

I'm also getting conflicting advice on the need to reset. So far half the advice I've receieved says I will need the trem reset and half says thaat as long as they're the same guage it won't matter. Very confusing for a non technical person like me  :?

IMO, it's difficult to predict whether the new set of strings will have the same tension as the old one. Materials, core-to-wrap ratio and core shape might vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

[Johnny Mac]

Lots of good ideas but sadly nobody seems to have tried the Optima Gold or Skull strings  :( . I'm also getting conflicting advice on the need to reset. So far half the advice I've receieved says I will need the trem reset and half says thaat as long as they're the same guage it won't matter. Very confusing for a non technical person like me  :?

Your trem should be ok, i've switched brands before and had no problems.
It should be level once the strings are in tune. If not raise the tension of the springs inside.

Anyone know the brand Clapton uses? They're supposed to be really good.

[Afghan Dave]

Anyone know the brand Clapton uses? They're supposed to be really good.

Johnny, I think it's gonna take more than the same brand of strings to make you sound like Clapton...  PDT_008

[Johnny Mac]

Anyone know the brand Clapton uses? They're supposed to be really good.

Johnny, I think it's gonna take more than the same brand of strings to make you sound like Clapton...  PDT_008

 :lol: I remember reading something about them once and he was raving about them. I don't like his tone much these days though, that cream reunion, he sounded too weak. Not like the days when he was playing a LP throught two Marshall stacks.

[Colin Johnston]

Clapton uses Ernie Balls - has done for years.  I've used EB's for 20 years and love them.  10's on Fenders, 11's on Gibsons.  I like the tone, tension and durability.  Seems I'm not alone - we sell many more packets of EB's than D'Addario's, Rotosound, etc..

[noodleplugerine]

Clapton uses Ernie Balls - has done for years.  I've used EB's for 20 years and love them.  10's on Fenders, 11's on Gibsons.  I like the tone, tension and durability.  Seems I'm not alone - we sell many more packets of EB's than D'Addario's, Rotosound, etc..

I think most people use Ernie Ball untill they try ANY other brand - I know that whenever I needed any strings I allways got EB then I tried some Rotosound and realised that EB really weren't that great - From then I started comparing and landed on D'addario - Which imo really are the best I've used.

[plastercaster]

I've only tried EB, D'addario, Dean Markleys, and feline strings in the same gauge, but here are my thoughts. (I'm not a tone konnnasuuur (if it were gonna be spelt wrong, it were gonna be spelt wrong proper) and my amps not so great so they're mainly based on the life of the string and whether I liked the tone rather than what I thought of the EQ)
EB are below average- not atrocious, but just dissapointing in every area you care to mention, except for the first 5 minutes you play them.
I bought some DMs cos they were on offer, and although they weren't bad... they are the only brand I have ever had A string break on my Tokai. sounded nicer than the EBs, but not by a great deal.
I keep going back to D'addarios because they sound good for Ages: my hands sweat loads. I've never had one break, and I'll typically get a month of reasonable play out a set.
The Feline strings were covered in rust in 2 days... I can't understand This as I've never heard any bad said of them. I'm considering testing d'addarios, SIT, and the other brands mentioned on this page in a group test at some point, and I haven't written them off, as that isn't the norm surely?
WezV, I heard LaBella mentioned somewhere else, where do I get them? I couldn't find them (in the UK at least) when I looked.

EDIT: when I first started I used elixir for A while.... Can't remeber how they sounded, but they certainly lasted ages with no rust, but not 3 months, and they cost 3x as much as d'addarios.

[dave_mc]

i like rotosound...

I use them too, but what attracted me was the free extra E string you get with every packet  :lol:  :oops:

Bought 5 packs for about £15 on ebay ages ago and I still have 2 packs left. Never snapped on me either.

haven't broken a high e in ages, lol.

[FELINEGUITARS]

The Feline strings were covered in rust in 2 days... I can't understand This as I've never heard any bad said of them.

Hmm - that sounds odd - wonder if you somehow got a duff set

It is true that some people can rust strings faster than others - to do with sweat & body chemistry, but to be duff in 2 days - most odd.
Always worth wiping down strings after use - no matter what your tendency for rusting stuff

Give me a shout and I'll send you another set to try if you wish.
It may be that you don't get on with them for some reason , but I'd hate it to have been down to a dodgy set for some reason

[38thBeatle]

here is a Feline set on my Tele at the moment(Steve's borrowed it-he's has posted a great track of it in use in the players section in case anyone has not heard it). They sounded and felt great. When I was in the USA recently I took advantage of the rate of exchange and bought loads of sets of strings but I would certainly get more Feline strings-the packaging is the coolest too.