Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

[arellanon]

.....

I have 7 guitars but my two Carvins get 90% of the playtime. So I have my TL60 with D'Addario XLs in 09-42 gauge strung to Eb while my ST300 is running on Ernie Ball 08-38s and strung to standard.

I somehow feel the Ernies with higher tension than the D'Addarios; I have much more control with bends and vibrato using the D'Addarios.

I would imagine that the tension for the two would be almost identical but I feel they are not.

Are D'Addarios more "slinky" than Ernie Ball "slinkies" for any given gauge is my question.....

[tnvol]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

I use both of them and they feel the same to me. I will buy which ever one is cheapest but I usually stick with those two for whatever reason. I did pick up a bunch of GHS Boomers really cheap at Walmart a while back and some of the strings were corroded so I don't buy them anymore. I used to stress over strings and would only use slinkys but these days I don't really care. As long as they are 10s I'm fine.

[astrozombie]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

strings are a very overlooked factor when it comes to tone. some people just use whatever is the cheapest... and their tone reflects that.

I've been an Ernie Ball user for about 5 years, they just do it for me. its the right tone.

I think the difference you're seeing is there because maybe you want it to be.

I've played both brands and they seem the same.


...whoops


you said it yourself: the ernie balls are strung to standard while the daddarios are half step down... you arent going to feel a difference between .9 and .8 with such little difference in tuning. try .10 on the Eb guitar, or .11 if you arent still afraid of the boogieman.

[super rad stuff]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

i find ernie ball slinkies to be less slinky than tite fits. there. i said it. science says it's because ernie balls are hex core and DR tite fits are round core, but who know

[arellanon]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

strings are a very overlooked factor when it comes to tone. some people just use whatever is the cheapest... and their tone reflects that.

I've been an Ernie Ball user for about 5 years, they just do it for me. its the right tone.

I think the difference you're seeing is there because maybe you want it to be.

I've played both brands and they seem the same.


...whoops


you said it yourself: the ernie balls are strung to standard while the daddarios are half step down... you arent going to feel a difference between .9 and .8 with such little difference in tuning. try .10 on the Eb guitar, or .11 if you arent still afraid of the boogieman.

I have indeed tried 10's for Eb but I can't control the strings the I way I like with that gauge, I use way too much vibrato to be playing anything heavier than 9s. I barely ever play rhythm so I can get away with lighter strings. I tried 11s back in 2001 and they were way too heavy.

I do agree on the tone not being much different from manufacturer to manufacturer but what I also consider is the comfort factor, lol.

[eschoendorff]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

D'Addario here. Cost-effective and the string tension works for me. Tone's good too. No complaints.

[Dirtyking]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

I go between 11-48 power slinkys and 11-49 d'addarios with a wound 3rd. I like how a wound G string feels in my SG's.

[Wattage]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

Well years ago D'Addario used to send an awful lot of wire to EB. I am pretty sure they were already strings when sent out, not sure if that is still the case.

[FuseG4]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

I used to be an avid fan of hybrid slinkies.

Until I got some elixir nanoweb 10's. My hands sweat a lot, and EB's sound broken in after about an hour, sound perfect through about 2 or 3 days of playing, sound good for 3 more weeks, then quit.
Elixers, for me, sound broken in after about 2 hours, sound perfect for about 3 weeks to a month, and then sound good for at least another month or two depending on how often I clean them. I think I changed strings about 5 or 6 weeks ago and I can't say i feel the need to change them. And I hate dead strings.
The polywebs feel a little weird, but not the nanos.

[J Moose]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

You can't really compare different gauges & tunings when comparing brands... its not even close.

I use EB & Dean Markley's a lot now... used D'Addario for a long time & I still have a few sets left but I've had some problems with plain strings unwinding at the ball, and between that & the recent color change on the ball ends (where they all got darker) combined with the crappy packaging that's enough to put me off 'em.

There's no real difference in feel between EB, DM & Dad's that I notice using 10-46. The .11's are a different story since not all brands have the same gauges for some reason.

Some tonal & longevity differences between brands... sure... but feel? Not so much.

I somewhat recently bought the Markley Blue Steels for the first time in ages and they felt WAY tighter then any other strings I've tried.

[CTN]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

11-52 D'addarios here, in D standard (ie everything a full step down) tuning.

I used to use Ernie Balls exclusively and I'd always flip flop between the power slinkies and the hybrid slinkies, and could never decide that I liked either of them.

my ideal set would be 11-54, for a nice tight, rock solid rhythm/bass end with a more flexible top end for soloing/bending. Haven't yet found one though.

I have no idea why, but my guitars flat out refuse to let me string them with GHS Boomers, or Dean Markleys. I've tried a number of times, but every single time, strings just randomly break before I've even got the whole set tuned up. It's very peculiar. This has happened on different guitars, at different times, and has nothing to do with burrs on my hardware, because after having strings break on me, I've gone and put a set of EB's, D'addarios or Fender strings on, without a single problem.


edit: Sorry, I just realized I didn't answer the OP's question at all haha. are D'addarios more slinky than slinkies? I don't know, but I know that I like the feel of both EB and D'addario equally. The only reason I'm sticking to D'addario right now is cuz I can get a really good set of gauges for the tuning I most commonly use. I'm also really happy with the tone, the feel and the tension of these medium top/heavy bottom sets. If I could get the same with Ernie Ball, i don't see why I wouldn't use them as well if I couldn't find D'addario sets.

And I see the Beefy Slinky set is exactly what I've been looking for (11-54). hmm, I might have to go find a set...

[arellanon]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

You can't really compare different gauges & tunings when comparing brands... its not even close.

I use EB & Dean Markley's a lot now... used D'Addario for a long time & I still have a few sets left but I've had some problems with plain strings unwinding at the ball, and between that & the recent color change on the ball ends (where they all got darker) combined with the crappy packaging that's enough to put me off 'em.

There's no real difference in feel between EB, DM & Dad's that I notice using 10-46. The .11's are a different story since not all brands have the same gauges for some reason.

Some tonal & longevity differences between brands... sure... but feel? Not so much.

I somewhat recently bought the Markley Blue Steels for the first time in ages and they felt WAY tighter then any other strings I've tried.

Hmmm, so what you are saying is that the string gauges are just a ballpark number to give people an idea of the tension of the string? In other words, all strings, regardless of manufacturer, do not follow a certain standard?

[FrankyBoy]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

I use to use swap between EB 11-48 and D'addario 11-49, I think I liked the d'addario better, but the EB packaging was for appealing. Anyway now i'm using Elixir 'cause D'addario were pissing me off when the plain strings rusted on me after few days. Elixir is not quite the best tone, but they Feel good.

[chassless]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

i have a not even slinky set (12-56) on standard tuning. it's pretty tight but not enough for bends ... i mean, it is a bit hard to do a whole step bend, true.

[ex-250]

Re: Ernie Ball/D'Addario users.....

11-49 d'addarios with a wound 3rd. I like how a wound G string feels in my SG's.

YES! that is my favorite set of strings out there at the moment