Favorite strings again...

[misterwhizzy]

I still have to go with Elixirs, although I am starting to come around to D'Addarios. Still not giant in the Cleartones camp, but they're climbing my list.

You? Any change since the last time we had this thread?

 

[ExplorersRock]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I'd like to try some coated strings, but not sure what to start with. At the moment, I'm still glued to my DRs. I like the sound and the feel.

 

[mrpinter]

Re: Favorite strings again...

Thomastik-Infeld all around. On my electrics: Blues Sliders, Jazz Swing, Jazz Bebop, Power Brights; on my flattop: Plectrum Acoustic.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Favorite strings again...

Tried a few new strings.

Boomers, Dean Markley High Gains, D'Addario XL's...

I just don't like em that much.

I'm still a EB Slinky disciple.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Favorite strings again...

D'Addarios: GAWDAWFUL...half the time you see a guitar that just doesnt sound like it should, you'll see those colour coded ball ends on there. Even applies to bass, too.

Ernie Balls: decent-ish mediocrity. Lock in badly, need to be prestretched pretty hard, changing tunings can make a hardtail feel like a floating trem the way they'll "bounce back". Low "real tension", but feel very hard on the fingers. Also, high Es veeeeery prone to breakage.

DR black packs: mild improvement over Ernies, suck at light gauges.

DR True Blues & DR DDTs: *****AWESOME*****.... Hi tension / soft on the fingers. 50s resonate like 60s / fret like 40s. Lock in dead on, stay fresh for ages, niiice bright ring to em, and that nickel sparkle look makes your guitars gleam and shine like postorgasmic afterglow. Niiiiiiice!


Fave sets:
DR DDT 11-54's : 24.75" scales
DR True Blues 11-50's: 25.5" scales
...Ernie Ball Reg Slinkies: OTHER PPLS GUITARS / guitars for flipping - save the hassle of messing with action, truss rods, trem settings etc. Slacker choice. Also, fit into the monthly "free" limit on GC String Club w/o going over....Wouldnt EVER put em on something I wanted to play myself, though

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I tried DR's Pure Blues again a few months back and still love the tone and feel but still hate the intonation issues so I still can't use them long term.

I have been using GHS Burnished Nickels for a while now. The ONLY downside for me is that I have to order them since no one carries them locally. I order in bulk and always try to have a few sets on hand....if I run out and need strings NOW I get balls...Ernie Balls, R-N-R (Pure Nickel) if I can. plain (nickel/steel) Slinkies if I can't and in a pinch I get the DR's and pray they tune up correctly!

Back to the GHS, They feel great, sound great, last a long time, don't cost too much...whats not to like?!

I will also add that I recently had an issue with a GHS string order and the place I ordered them from was no real help, GHS stepped up and handed my issues. They were very nice, very professional and took care of my problem and then some!

I love me some GHS strings!

 

[Grenade]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I'm sticking with SIT's. 10's on the electrics, 12's or 13's on the acoustics and resonators. They are a few hours from here and I can special order my lap steel strings.

 

[LReese]

Re: Favorite strings again...

D'Addario XL110's sound good to me and are inexpensive. I also like GHS burnished nickels when I want something a little more mellow.

Keep either of them clean (thoroughly wiped down after playing) and they last a long time.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I just upped my gauge on my acoustic to .013s Mediums using Martin Lifespan SP. They are the recommended strings for the guitar. It sounds much fuller in the bass but not quite the same sustain as before. (I think they were custom lights which are simply too light for a dread) That means I'm getting used to the higher tension still though! Once I play them for a few weeks I'll also try the D'Addario Phosphor Bronze in .013s as well, I've always loved them in the past, I'm curious to see how they sound on this guitar.

For electrics I'm still using good old Ernie Ball Slinky .010s on most. Exceptions are:
Tele: .011s
Clone 002: D'Addario .012s (D/Drop C)

 

[Adieu]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I tried DR's Pure Blues again a few months back and still love the tone and feel but still hate the intonation issues so I still can't use them long term.

I have been using GHS Burnished Nickels for a while now. The ONLY downside for me is that I have to order them since no one carries them locally. I order in bulk and always try to have a few sets on hand....if I run out and need strings NOW I get balls...Ernie Balls, R-N-R (Pure Nickel) if I can. plain (nickel/steel) Slinkies if I can't and in a pinch I get the DR's and pray they tune up correctly!

...intonation issues??! Whaaa/huh/what?

Did you not crimp them properly if you chopped off the bend and/or placed it somewhere other than between the tuners and the nut? Perhaps by wrongly loading DRs into a Floyd tip-forward, ball thru tuners (cant do that! rtfm). OR....are your saddles so hard and jagged that they cut through the nickel wind on the wrapped strings?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Favorite strings again...

...intonation issues??! Whaaa/huh/what?

Did you not crimp them properly if you chopped off the bend and/or placed it somewhere other than between the tuners and the nut? Perhaps by wrongly loading DRs into a Floyd tip-forward, ball thru tuners (cant do that! rtfm). OR....are your saddles so hard and jagged that they cut through the nickel wind on the wrapped strings?

Sorry brother, I am very familiar with how to install strings, even round core strings and I assure you it is not an issue with any of my guitars.

Intonation issues are VERY common with round core strings...that's why the industry went to hex core decades ago.

I do like the feel and tone of round core strings better but it got a point where at least one string out of 3 or 4 sets per box of the DR's would not intonate and that's just too much for me to deal with.

The GHS Burnished Nickels sound 95% as good and feel as good despite having a bit more tension (higher string tension is a by product of hex core strings) and thus far every set I have used (and I've used a lot!) have been the best of quality.

 

[mrpinter]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I do like the feel and tone of round core strings better but it got a point where at least one string out of 3 or 4 sets per box of the DR's would not intonate and that's just too much for me to deal with.

If you prefer round core strings but don't like intonation issues you might want to try Thomastik-Infeld Blues Sliders or Jazz Bebops. Kind of expensive, but they're great strings and last a long time.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Favorite strings again...

D'Addarios: GAWDAWFUL...half the time you see a guitar that just doesnt sound like it should, you'll see those colour coded ball ends on there. Even applies to bass, too.

Ernie Balls: decent-ish mediocrity. Lock in badly, need to be prestretched pretty hard, changing tunings can make a hardtail feel like a floating trem the way they'll "bounce back". Low "real tension", but feel very hard on the fingers. Also, high Es veeeeery prone to breakage.

Fave sets:
DR DDT 11-54's : 24.75" scales
DR True Blues 11-50's: 25.5" scales
...Ernie Ball Reg Slinkies: OTHER PPLS GUITARS / guitars for flipping - save the hassle of messing with action, truss rods, trem settings etc. Slacker choice. Also, fit into the monthly "free" limit on GC String Club w/o going over....Wouldnt EVER put em on something I wanted to play myself, though

I really like the D'Addario acoustics, I've only used the XLs for the big down tuned guitar, do you use the DRs in standard tuning?

What pure nickels do you guys like? (I've always used nickel plated, I think I'd like to give a set of pure nickel a shot with my November GC string club)


Also for the record, I was not a fan of the EB Cobalts. Didn't like the feel compared to good old slinkies, and part of the reason I like Slinkies is for the economy! The Cobalts were $10 a pop I think.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Favorite strings again...

If you prefer round core strings but don't like intonation issues you might want to try Thomastik-Infeld Blues Sliders or Jazz Bebops. Kind of expensive, but they're great strings and last a long time.

I've wanted to try them for a while now but the gauges are funky...I like a standard 10-46 or 11-48...their gauges are just funky plus the $20+ a set is just too much for a single set of strings.

As many sets of strings as I go through in a month I'd go broke!

 

[mrpinter]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I've wanted to try them for a while now but the gauges are funky...I like a standard 10-46 or 11-48...their gauges are just funky plus the $20+ a set is just too much for a single set of strings.

I just made up a custom set of Jazz Bebops for my new Warmoth Soloist - .010, .014, .018 plain, .026, .034, .047. (Substituting the jazz friendly .011, .015 and .019, which are a little heavy for a "rock" guitar). Except for their flatwounds, this is probably their longest lasting string set. I don't change them very often at all. They'd probably last you a couple of months, if you're a heavy user. I'll get off my soapbox now, but I'm really somewhat of an evangelist for these strings - they're almost like a different product class compared to most other brands.

 

[Kac]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I've been using nothing by DR coated strings since the last thread and am seriously thinking about trying some elixers.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Favorite strings again...

Sorry brother, I am very familiar with how to install strings, even round core strings and I assure you it is not an issue with any of my guitars.

Intonation issues are VERY common with round core strings...that's why the industry went to hex core decades ago.

I do like the feel and tone of round core strings better but it got a point where at least one string out of 3 or 4 sets per box of the DR's would not intonate and that's just too much for me to deal with.

The GHS Burnished Nickels sound 95% as good and feel as good despite having a bit more tension (higher string tension is a by product of hex core strings) and thus far every set I have used (and I've used a lot!) have been the best of quality.

Whaaaaa? DRs have FAAAR higher tension than Ernies, for example. Going 10-46 EB >> 10-46 DR on a floyd WILL require moving/addong springs or majorly screwing down the trem sprung holder thingie

 

[Adieu]

Re: Favorite strings again...

I really like the D'Addario acoustics, I've only used the XLs for the big down tuned guitar, do you use the DRs in standard tuning?

What pure nickels do you guys like? (I've always used nickel plated, I think I'd like to give a set of pure nickel a shot with my November GC string club)


Also for the record, I was not a fan of the EB Cobalts. Didn't like the feel compared to good old slinkies, and part of the reason I like Slinkies is for the economy! The Cobalts were $10 a pop I think.

11-54 DR DDTs (24.75") / 11-50 DR True Blues (25.5") used for mainly Estd/DropD, w/ occasional experiments into DropC

 

[JeffB]

Re: Favorite strings again...

Goto brands..ErnieB, DeanM, GHS

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Favorite strings again...

Whaaaaa? DRs have FAAAR higher tension than Ernies, for example. Going 10-46 EB >> 10-46 DR on a floyd WILL require moving/addong springs or majorly screwing down the trem sprung holder thingie

Your statement doesn't have enough info...Which DR's and which EB's???

If you have 2 sets of strings...both with pure nickel wrap and both the same gagues...let's say 10/13/17/26/36/46 for examaple and one set has a hex core (let's say EB Rock-n-Rolls) and one has round core (DR Pure Blues) the DR's will have less tension.

When string makers went to hex core strings decades ago one of the biggest complains industry wide was the added string tension.