Re: NY XL D'Addario Strings
Good topic, glad I found this.
I had been saving my player points for just about 25 years.... I don't know if the new points system was fair with my old points packaging or not, but was happy to read that D'addario was now letting you get strings with your points rather than pint glasses that the logo comes off 1st run through the dishwasher, irregular sized t-shirts, stools poorly painted, etc.
However, I was thoroughly irritated when found that I could only get NYXL's , not the XL's I have been using exclusively since 1983.
Months after getting my points , I inquired about using them for XL's and was told by a players circle service rep,sit tight, that they were "thinking" about opening the program up to whatever strings you want [makes sense right] which never happened , and when I re-inquired same guy said he never told me that . Whatever....
So rather than have 21,000 pts sitting, I took the NYXL's not knowing they were also 3 times the cost... I thought 13 sets of strings was a little lean for 20 years of saving the stupid packaging .
I hope the 10+ pounds of strings I am gonna send them will be worth my while
Anyway, my NYXL findings are as follows:
The strings do indeed last longer than the XL's. I'm in the mid west and the weather swings from humid to bone dry and everything in between , my guitars travel with me as well.
Having a a collection of guitars ranging from 35-60 at any one given time , I'd certainly like to extend the life of strings on guitars that seldom see daylight or are rarely played, so as not to have to change crusty strings on guitars I never touched over a year or two span.
The strings are definitely louder unplugged/acoustically than the XL's , and the overall timbre or tone is not as metallic , they seem more balanced, but
they do have a pronounced mid spike amplified which I do not care for, especially while playing clean.
Under gain through my '76-78 Master Volume Marshalls they seem to cancel the presence out , Mesa F50 they accentuate the bad mids, I use an F50 because they don't have that typical Mesa mid hump , in my Vintage Fender amps, be it Super Reverb or Concert they pull up the mids a little too much for my liking.
The tuning hype is nonsense, If you have a guitar with tuning problems, you will always have tuning problems until you rectify the cause.
I installed a set on a modded '85 Jackson Soloist Custom back in November, that came factory with a Kahler, but was later modded to Floyd, no lock nut mod. I have the trem blocked and use it as my house hard tail guitar for ease of tuning. This guitar has an issue with the D string nut slot, and NYXL's or not, tuning there is no better, and overall only marginal improvement with regard to string stretch/slippage.
However, 2 months later they still sound brand new to me, and I really play this guitar.
If you have a Floyd equipped guitar that is properly set up, AND STRETCH YOUR STRINGS, you should have no tuning issues period... 90% of my guitars carry a Floyd, none newer than 1986 and I have ZERO tuning issues. I tune between gig sets whether the guitar needs it or not, I want my fine tuners in the same spot each time I pick up the guitar and the guitars that sit on stands most of the night go through periods of hot and cold depending on the lights, and strings will expand and contract, go out of tune from that alone.
I had no idea these were balanced tension strings until I read this posting. I did find the feel a bit different than my XL's , not that I was subconsciously playing the guitar differently , the lower strings just seemed, no different when bending than the high ones, which again I like and dislike depending on what I am playing or how aggressive I am soloing, etc. I think this might be the biggest draw for me as I sat comparing this guitar to another '85 Jackson Soloist with Regular XL's. The wound strings also have a different feel from the XL's which I honestly don't mind at all.
Is it enough to make me buy them after the last of the players circle sets are gone ?? Will I even keep the last 12 sets ?
I'm gonna say at $12.99 a set, a resounding no...and a likely not, as why mess with something new that you are on the fence about or have to dink around with your guitar , which is set perfectly after hundreds of XL's have been on it. ??
I've tweaked the rod on my main guitar maybe 4 times since 1985, the guitar is rock solid, so why muck it up.
While touring during the 80's , I changed my strings after every single show on my main, every 3rd on my backups , whether they got used or not, so longevity is not an issue.
I like the sound of the XL's, they are a bit jangly metallic sounding when new, no note jumps out more than another unless I make it so,and they are fairly transparent, I want no added coloration period.
Downside is that the XL's strings do degrade after a couple weeks and everything you like is lost until you install a new set.
Now, I have heard that the XL's were re-formulated at some point over the past 18 years ? Is this true ? Different core shape or material ?
I have noticed what I believe to be a different wind feel at times , but this could be my man-o-pause kicking in !!
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The feedback I would really like to hear is from Roland Guitar Synth users, as to whether the perceivable loudness of the string makes any difference on how well the GK pickup triggers notes or picks up the signal ??
If there was some tangible evidence to support that, I would more than likely keep the strings I have and switch that guitar over permanently as that is all it is used for.
Anyone ?
I guess I like have differing tension as you'd expect from strings of different sizes, and NYXLs could be a little brighter. I like strings that really BITE in the upper register when you are going for it. It sounded like they were already broken in, and the "new string zing" was already gone, although they did sound very good and quickly became stable. I had intended to automatically put NYXLs on my co-#1 Charvel 650 today, but I am going to hold off for now....
