Guitar Strings

[stevie_bees]

Over the years I've tried many different things in the pursuit of getting my tone. I've tried swapping pickups, adjusting pickups, different wiring configurations, different amps/amp settings, pedals etc... but one thing I've never really experimented with, other than a gauge up/down, is guitar strings. I currently use Ernie Ball Slinkies. 9-42 on my G&L Legacy and homebuilt Tele and 10-46 on my Fret King Esprit and PRS McCarty. I use them because they're easily accessible for me here

I guess I'm just looking for opinions/anecdotes/eureka moments when it comes to strings. I'm not looking for a particular step change but intrigued as to what I may or may not be missing out on. Was there a particular brand/type/gauge change that made a massive difference to your tone/playability?

I don't have access to a great deal of choice out here in Gibraltar, so any purchases would have to come from online retailers.

This thread is brought to you by Killing Time on a Friday Productions...

 

[Hank-]

Re: Guitar Strings

Not a massive change per se but I do like a few different brands for various reasons ranging for longetivity to tone

EB slinky- short life, my body can rust these to red, tone & feel are nice
Daddario EXL- decent life, nice feel & tone
Rotosound- unpredictable life, great tone, not so great feel, too abrasive to my fretwires
Elixir- great life, good feel, tone is okay
Dean Markley Helix- great sound overall, good life, decent feel

My fav though for electric & acoustic but not classical
Daddario EXP- great sound, great life, feel good too

 

[Thundermtn]

Re: Guitar Strings

You should try a set of D'Addario NYXL's.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Guitar Strings

You should try a set of D'Addario NYXL's.

My favorite strings now.

I used Fender strings for a long time, then Elixir followed by a long stint with Ernie Ball.

I really liked the Ernie Ball Cobalts, but they do take an adjustment to get used to.

 

[Thundermtn]

Re: Guitar Strings

I switched 1/2 of my guitars to these, anything with a trem for sure. They hit tune faster and stayed there better than anything else I've ever used. To me they seem a little louder and have a more harmonic/musical tone than others I've tried.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Guitar Strings

Super Slinkies for life; reinforced plains, to be sure.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Guitar Strings

I've never settled on anything... For many years I had Slinkys with a dose of XLs thrown in on a whim. When my son was born I began using Elixirs to lengthen time between string changes, but tone is dull. I'm trying NYXLs now, and they last longer than Slinky/XLs, and have better tone than Elixirs, but still leaves a little to be desired, plus they are expensive. I'm kind of debating now if I want to buy bulk Slinky/XLs and just change string frequently or if outfitting them all with NYXLs is the way to go.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Guitar Strings

I always get regular D'Addario XLs...they are easily found (I use Ebay for no tax/free shipping) and I do change strings every show. Coated strings don't work for me- the acids in my hand break down the coating, and then I get white flecks all over my clothes.

 

[tc]

Re: Guitar Strings

I've used all brands that I can think of, and I don't think they make that much of a difference. Maybe Pyramid or Thomastik. I used to think nickel wound was the bomb-diggity, and used Gibson Vintage Reissue for some time, but in the end they're way too expensive for not that much of a difference. I started buying whichever bulk package was cheaper, which at the time was Dean Markley Vintage Reissue (maybe I just unconsciously buy anything that says "vintage" or "reissue" in it). Funny enough, at the time I thought I had randomly stumbled upon THE strings. Cheap, full and round, harmonic content or whatever BS term you want to add, those things had it for me. But then they discontinued them and now I just buy D'Addario XL. And honestly, the change wasn't that big of a deal. So my conclusion is, there's lots of Kool Aid to drink, but all you need is to try out several regular nickel steels that are affordable and see which one survives your finger-juice shower the longest.

 

[Diego]

Re: Guitar Strings

Quick impressions:

Regular Dunlop strings - Noticeably warm sounding compared to EBs or D'addarios. But not muddy at all. Just not as edgy as other new strings.
Very low tension as well, their 10-46 feels in between regular 9s and 10.

Ernie Ball Rock n Roll Pure Nickel strings - Even warmer/sweeter sounding for sure. Great for taming a bright Strat or something.
Very low tension as well, I used 11-49 and they felt almost like regular 10s to me.

DR Titefit - Brighter, tighter and attacking. Very good "overall" strings with no particular downs or ups.

Regular D'Addarios - Same as DR Titefit.

DR DDT Series - The full opposite of Dunlops and EB Rock n Roll strings. Bright, tight and snappy as hell. My current choice for low tunings.
Got a 11-54 set in my Jackson tuned to Drop C and it literally brought that guitar back to life. I was hating it!

Rotosounds - Similar in feel to Ernie Balls, very elastic tension.
However these carry an extra 1st string in the package and that makes them worthy straight away!

Elixirs - Amazing durability, high tension compared to others, but I don't like their brightness. It's not that they're too bright, they just sound weird in the high-end to me.
Used to dig them a lot, but not anymore.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Guitar Strings

Every few years I'll get the string itch and get different brands, try the latest and greatest new thing.

Always go back to Ernie ball slinkys. 9s and 10s
I think they sound "best" for the music I play.

I think they last a good long time. I seem to have a gift for breaking strings. And in my experience, EB has consistently great strings for really pretty cheap.

I've found the dunlop brands to be generally brittle.
I've found the elixirs to lack brightness and bite.
I've found the SIT strings to be very brittle and yake long time to break in.
I've found the DR brand to lack balls and sound flat.
I've found the GHS boomers to break as soon as i get them tuned up.

Daddario can be a distant second place for me, I like them, but I dont love them.

Badass strings I really liked at first, but they dont sound as good tonally to my music.

Having said all that i have 2 guitars, strangely enough both are V's that sound flat and dead with any brand of 9's.... But once I changed them to 10's, they were astoundingly different machines! (Gibson and Dean) night and day difference.

My humble 2 cents worth.

 

[Diego]

Re: Guitar Strings

I've found the GHS boomers to break as soon as i get them tuned up.

A big, fat +1 on this. I'd totally forgot about them. Apparently they don't like Floyd Roses.
Tried them in my RG and I broke TWO OF THEM that day.

 

[metlking]

Re: Guitar Strings

I normally use D'Addario XL's 9-42 or 9-46, or if tuned down a whole step I use 10-46. I use NYXL's if I need the guitar for multiple shows over a period of time, IE: mini-tour. When there's a big sale on something else I buy a bunch. I have several sets of Dunlop strings which are good and I recently bought 30 sets of Rotosound Pinks that were on closeout for 1.10 a set! So far they seem fine too....I don't hear a lot of difference in tone from one good brand to another. The only strings I have found less than desirable are the Ernie Ball Slinkys. They sound fine but go dead for me in about 2 weeks. YMMV.......

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Guitar Strings

The Daddario NYXL's are really good. I've never had good luck with any set of EB's I bought (10 sets and 1 of them lasted any amount of time). Dunlops are my go to's. I've been liking the super brights lately for my sevens.

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Guitar Strings

You should try a set of D'Addario NYXL's.

I bought some of those for my #1's next string change based on good reviews, although I haven't needed them yet. Could be revolutionary!

OP, I would try S.I.T. strings 10-46. They are my standard and are very good in all areas (including all-important stability!), although I use other strings for individual guitars when they seem to respond really well to them.

Coated strings generally seem to lack the ideal high end response to me, so I haven't used them in years.

 

[VinceT]

Guitar Strings

I used Ball Power Slinkys for years, but about 8 years ago, my guitar tech suggested I try D'Addario XLs. I prefer them for several reasons:

They very rarely break.

They don't seem to corrode at all.

They hold their tone for as long as I have them on the guitars (sometimes a LONG time).

They work well on all my guitars, regardless of bridge, scale length, etc. I use 11-49 on everything electric.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Godin15]

Re: Guitar Strings

D Addario XL Nickel wound that's all I use now. Haven't had any breaks. I use 10-46s on 2 axes and 9-42s on 1 axe.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Guitar Strings

You should try a set of D'Addario NYXL's.

Used them for a while, liked them a lot. I switched to Curt Mangans lately, because there's a shop in finland who sells them in customs sets for half of the price of NYXLs. Great strings, take a bit time to break in (NYXLs were good pretty much out of the package), and won't last that long, but definitely sound better for the time.

Ernie Balls I've find to sound just bad with my strat. Dunlops were better but a bit dull sounding.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Guitar Strings

On your Legacy, try Fender Bullets if you have the DF Vibrato. The Super Bullets have nickel-plated steel wrap, Originals are Pure Nickel and there is a Stainless Steel set too. I typically use Supers, in 9-42 gauge on all my G&Ls. The Bullet end seems to give improved tuning stability on guitars with a vibrato block, as advertised. Try all three and pick the tone you like.

All my other guitars get D'Addario XL. I clean them often with the Dunlop 65 String Cleaner.

Acoustics get either Martin or D'Addario, always phosphor bronze. Depending on how I'm using the guitar helps me determine whether to use coated or non-coated strings.

Bill

 

[dave74]

Re: Guitar Strings

My prestiges and RGT really like EB. (juststrings.com bulks)
They're all three very midrange-dominant guitars w/rosewood boards, although the RGT(maple/walnut/mahogany) is much more "rigid and thunky", while the prestiges are the typical warm and spongy basswood-tone.

Regular Boomers are my choice for most guitars with ebony boards and/or guitars with actives.
The round-cores have a richer/fuller midrange that really compliment the more scooped and crisp nature of ebony and/or most classic-model active pickups.