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Picky about strings?


polara

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I've almost always played D'Addario XL 10s. Why? They're there, in any music store, and they function. The NYXLs last longer, so when they came out I switched to them. I did experiment briefly with 9s on longer scale guitars and 11s on shorter but life is easier if I just have a pile of strings and just put them on, no thinking.

I got a guitar pretty much purely to flip a couple weeks ago - a SPOTLESS Fender Am Pro Jaguar from a strip-mall shop for $850 w/case candy - and figured I'd restring it to play with it. D'oh! Out of strings. I can walk to a little guitar store and as usual their inventory on everything was low, so I got a couple sets of DR Pure Blues. Whatever, thinks I.

Google DR Pure Blues when I get home. Nickel. Round core... huh. Never thought about cores. Okay. Lots of complaints they come unraveled because of the round core, and DR says to not cut them until after you've strung them to tension, don't violently stretch them, if you DO cut them before you get them to pitch, make a hard crimp in the string to keep the nickel wrapping from unwrapping. I'm thinking this sounds like a headache but I plopped some Fender locking tuners on the Jag because I had them and I am lazy. Wind it up.

Well, it's not scientific but it is louder and has more boom on the low-end than with the strings it came with (same gauge I think but dunno the brand). I'm not going to do a lot of A-B-C testing and agonizing about this, but overall these DRs feel fine, nice and springy, stay in tune, and SEEM to have some "oomph.".

Are y'all picky about strings? Any broad (or specific) observations?

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Not so much on my electrics, but have recently found Santa Cruz Guitar Co Parabolic strings for my acoustics, they come in low and medium tension.  These are the first strings I've liked that are coated and they feel nice and supple, almost like electric strings, yet still sound like a good acoustic string should.  They are pricey, but as they're coated, they last a long time.  Mediums on my dreads, lows on my small bodied acoustics.

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24 minutes ago, polara said:

Are y'all picky about strings? Any broad (or specific) observations?

Xl10's is what I use most as well, as well as Ernie Ball. DR blues are okay, they do not last long due to the round core, but then I have a powerful heavy right hand.

I would refer D' Addario's as a gigging string set. You could count on them, consistently.

I have tried just about everything else over 40 years, there is only 3(?) (USA) string factories left... not much to defer.

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41 minutes ago, murkat said:

I have tried just about everything else over 40 years, there is only 3(?) (USA) string factories left... not much to defer.

  1. D'Addario
  2. DR
  3. Stringjoy swear on a stack of bibles they make their own
  4. Is GHS in their own factory?
  5. Ernie Ball, since they are the arch-competitor to D'Addario must have their own factory.

Or maybe one or more of the above are offshore... also I guess it depends on if you count the WIRE manufacturing. Can't be many companies taking the raw materials and drawing the metal out into wire. Perhaps there are a dozen string WINDERS (wrap this gauge of nickel this tightly around this core) using raw materials from The Very Large Corporation of China, Ltd.

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I've been playing DR Pure Blues 11s for over 25 years. I like the sound and feel, and have never had one unwrap on me. I use 10s on a couple guitars, usually the F-scale guitars, but generally dig 11s on my G-scale guitars. I also use their acoustic strings, sometimes Sunbeams, but never tried their coated offerings.

I also like supporting a small NJ business instead of a giant international, but tone is my ultimate concern. DRs for life!

ETA: Their "Rare" phosphor bronze strings are perfect for my Martin D35, and I switch between "Rare" and Sunbeams on my homemade walnut cutaway A/E.

I had one bad box of Pure Blues 10s several years ago that snapped two plain strings in a matter of hours, but never experienced any consistent drop in QC. 

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5 minutes ago, joshoowah said:

I've been playing DR Pure Blues 11s for over 25 years. I like the sound and feel, and have never had one unwrap on me. I use 10s on a couple guitars, usually the F-scale guitars, but generally dig 11s on my G-scale guitars. I also use their acoustic strings, sometimes Sunbeams, but never tried their coated offerings.

I also like supporting a small NJ business instead of a giant international, but tone is my ultimate concern. DRs for life!

Ditto

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I've played a bunch of brands over the years and I wouldn't have appreciated whatever they brought to the table in the way of attributes or distinctive qualities. Mostly, it was whatever I could afford at the time. DiAddario's, Fenders, Ernie Balls, DRs, etc. Once discretionary funds became more plentiful, it also coincided with me becoming a bit more cognizant of string characteristics and what worked. And while it was still about durability, as I tend to whammy pretty vigorously :P  only in the last 15  or so years have I become more discerning in string's sonic characteristics. That, and the feel of the strings. Coated do NOT work for me.

For me, EB Cobalt Slinkys 9-42 seem to have the right mix of durability, sonic and tactile quality. They last reasonably well, they sound pretty damn good and I can get a grip on them but they don't rip the top layer of epidermis from the ol' digit tips.

Short story about DR's, a (actual) luthier turned me on to DR Hi Beams and for a while they were my go-to strings; nice combination of good sonic cut and nice tactile quality. Then a year or so after using them exclusively, they started breaking 3 or so weeks after being put on. The next time I dropped off a guitar with this luthier dude, I voiced my dissatisfaction and he said that it was an across-the-board lessening of quality at DR and that I was not alone. I was bummed because I used to pick up my DRs at the nearby Guitar Expo shows at their table.  I'd buy them in box sets of 10 or a dozen (?) and it was a bargain!   It was that event that caused me to come back to EB Slinkys.

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I've used Ernie Ball slinky 9 gauge for years, the only brand that didn't pop on me while bending. After my first Hamer purchase, read somewhere that they were strung standard with D'Addario 10's so used them for about a year or so. Recently switched to DR Blues, like the tone I'm gettin', so far so good.

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I'm not very picky when it comes to electrics but I mostly use Ernie Ball or GHS Boomers.  I steer well clear of D'Addario as they go dead on me almost immediately.  I've tried them dozens of times and it happens every time.  

For acoustic I generally go with Elixir or Martin but I look forward to trying a set of the Santa Cruz parabolics.

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The first product line I secured when I opened my shop was D'Addario. No brainer ... they make great strings, they make strings for anything and everything fretted, they are affordable and they are readily available. I obviously love XLs and I really, really love their new XT micro-coated series. Never been a fan of NYXLs but a lot of guys swear by them so they can't be all that bad.

The next string line I got was DR Strings. I got them strictly for the Pure Blues line (best string ever for any and all single coils IMHO) and I really like their bass strings, particularly the Nickel Lo-Riders. Their DDTs are cool for the detuned crowd.

I picked up SIT Strings last year. ESP and G&L and some Reverend guitars ship with them, that was my intro to them years ago. Great string like D'Addario, I can sell them a little cheaper, and you get little perks with each pack. 9s and 10s come with an extra B and high E string. 11s come with both a plain AND a wound G string so the player can use his or her preference. Definitely worth trying a set if you haven't before.

I also picked up Elixirs last year because a lot of my clients would bring their own. The buy-in was steep for my small shop, the demand wasn't there and then they had serious back-order issues last year amid COVID, even among their best sellers. And oh yeah, I'm personally not impressed by their products either, even the best sellers. So I won't carry them when my current stash runs out.

I like Ernie Balls, I used Slinkies all through the 90s and early 2000s and loved them. I just don't carry them simply because I have plenty enough string lines for a non-retail pure repair shop. 

The whole thing with strings, I tell my clients, is there is NO good/better/best string for everyone, there is a good/better/best for you and specifically your metabolism. Some people's acids and sweats eat some string maker's alloys faster. What's good for me might not be good for you and vice versa, and it's your body chemistry as much as it is your guitar, amp, effects, whatever. A great example for me personally is GHS Boomers. I love the tone and feel for rock but my hands will eat a brand new set like a fat kid on brownies in just a few days. Practical if I'm recording and want what I think is a great tone, but not a great everyday string for me. I remember back when I was a poor college kid, Dean Markleys in the yellow pack weren't the best soundings strings but they kept their okay tone a helluva lot longer than anything else I used at the time. So they were my choice when I was broke. D'Addarios seem to straddle the great sounding AND long lasting tests among most of my clients, so they are my flagship line.

The moral is don't put a lotta weight into what you read, especially on message boards and social media. Try everything to find what's best for you tonally, what's best for you life-span wise, and what's the best middle ground.

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D'Addario XL's here, the nice spot between tone and longevity.  Available everywhere, reasonably priced.  I've tried just about everything, even Pyramid flatwounds on certain instruments but keep coming back to the XL's.  I like the NYXL's, but they're a little rougher on the fingers and the difference in tone isn't worth the difference in price -to me.

Two sets that I'd use but they seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs:  Kaman Performers.  Stainless wound, odd individual string gauges but on one particular guitar (an uber-rare Mrtin solidbody) they just shine.  I've hoarded a couple of sets, but when they're gone...

The other is a DR 12 string set that they made up for Greg Platzer that were even labeled as such.  They were intended for use on Eclipse 12's.  They hit the string to string balance just right.  If they were good enough for Steve Damn Clay (and I have his Eclipse 12 now) they're good enough for me.  Wish I could find a few more.  Greg says they're long gone byebye.

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Round core nickel, isn't that what the Snake Oils strings were all about? Had some sets some years ago and liked them. So I started buying Pyramid all nickel strings. The same thing. Liked them too so I used them for some time. Then I realised they are great for recording and playing at home. But when I am in the band good ole' D'Addarios works just fine. I can't hear the difference in a band situation.

I am just about to order new strings. I used to play 9's. Then went to 10's perhaps 15 years ago. Now I am thinking about going back to 9's. But then I found these D'Darrio 9.5 set that I think I will try out. Supposedly they sound like 10s but feel like 9s. And for the fun of it I think I will order a set of 8's too. Angus uses 8's. Would be fun to hear what they sound like through my amps with my guitar. Havent' played 8's since the 80's. And I think I will try a couple of 9 sets too. Just because.

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45 minutes ago, Disturber said:

Round core nickel, isn't that what the Snake Oils strings were all about? Had some sets some years ago and liked them. So I started buying Pyramid all nickel strings. The same thing. Liked them too so I used them for some time. Then I realised they are great for recording and playing at home. But when I am in the band good ole' D'Addarios works just fine. I can't hear the difference in a band situation.

I am just about to order new strings. I used to play 9's. Then went to 10's perhaps 15 years ago. Now I am thinking about going back to 9's. But then I found these D'Darrio 9.5 set that I think I will try out. Supposedly they sound like 10s but feel like 9s. And for the fun of it I think I will order a set of 8's too. Angus uses 8's. Would be fun to hear what they sound like through my amps with my guitar. Havent' played 8's since the 80's. And I think I will try a couple of 9 sets too. Just because.

I can’t hear the difference on stage either, but for some reason the local shop sells the DR Pure Blues really cheap, so if they last I might just stay with these. 

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NYXL on my Shishkov and regular XLs on everything else....once I use up my stash, I will use NYXL on everything except my 12 string.

The NYXL last a long time and consistently sound great for me.

When I had my Strat I did love DRPure Blues. I use EB Cobalt Flats on my CruiseBass.

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Like LucSulla, I've grown comfortable with .0095 sets, mostly on my 25.5 scale guitars. That said, I still might revert back to. 009 XLs on those and set up my 24.75 scale guitars with the .0095 sets. As I get older, I don't see the point in making playing any harder.

On a related topic:  Anyone here ever tried Daddario balanced tension sets?  If so, what's your experience with them?

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Strangely enough, as I have gotten older, I have tended towards longer scale guitars AND a heavier gauge. When a 25.5" scale guitar is set up right, I like the 11-49s best for tone. Not that I lean toward the "jazz" thing, but I find little of the expected issues, even being an unapologetic string bender. I tend toward D'Addario, but am fairly eclectic. For some reason, Elixir seems to have been inclined to provide me with freebies over the years, so they are in regular rotation as well.

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16 hours ago, Biz Prof said:

Like LucSulla, I've grown comfortable with .0095 sets, mostly on my 25.5 scale guitars. That said, I still might revert back to. 009 XLs on those and set up my 24.75 scale guitars with the .0095 sets. As I get older, I don't see the point in making playing any harder.

On a related topic:  Anyone here ever tried Daddario balanced tension sets?  If so, what's your experience with them?

I like 9s in 25.5 and 10s on 24.75, but what I like even more is just buying one type of string for everything.  Since I have a Jackson Fusion, not even all my floating trem stuff is 25.5.  So while I do like different gauges a bit more, it's worth an ever so slight reduction in comfort to just have everything ready for the same gauge in the event of a string break.  Also, I like not having to keep up with which packs I'm low on.  Low on strings, just buy a bunch more.  Easy peasy. 

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12 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

I like 9s in 25.5 and 10s on 24.75, but what I like even more is just buying one type of string for everything.

Amen to that, and I used to put XL 120s on everything I owned, but it always felt kind of wimpy on my P-90 special.  And while the .009 gauge feels too slinky to me on shorter scale guitars, I just don't like fighting the tension of .010 gauge on my 25.5" guitars when playing leads.  With my past history of weapons-grade tendonitis, I'd rather those bends up the fretboard not feel like a tug of war.  That leads to overbending, wonky vibrato, and more clumsly string transitions.  As such, I've been trying out .0095 sets on my 25.5 scale guitars as an experiment.  Not as comfy as .009s, but feasible for what I'm playing now.  Interestingly, my PRS is 25" scale and the .0095 set on it makes the easiest guitar to play out of everything I own.  Perhaps that says more about my comfort with that particualar scale versus string gauges.

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