String brands you don't jive with.

[v8stang289]

A long time ago I started using Dean Markley Blue Steel strings. I liked them a lot, they lasted a while, and felt/sounded right to me.
About 3-4 years ago I had trouble finding them. Not sure what was going on but the availability was weird,
so I decided to try Ernie Ball Slinky's since they were readily available, and a ton of people play them.
I could not get used to the way they felt and sounded. It felt like I was out of tune when I wasn't.
I ended up switching out to D'addario XL's, and everything was good again. They became my strings of choice since they sounded good to me, lasted a while, and are relatively cheap.

I bring this up because I bought a guitar last week, and the PO had Slinky's on it. I played it for a few days, and loved the guitar. But it still seems like it wasn't quite right. Tonight I swapped the strings to XL's, and all is right in the world.

Not sure if it's just me, or if the tension or some other characteristic is just not right for me, but I don't like Ernie Ball Slinky's. I know a ton of people sound great with them, but I can' get along with them.

Anybody else have brands of strings that just don't work for you?

 

[ICTGoober]

Thomastik-Infeld. Super high tension, and they look like they're heat treated. Also - expensive as hell.

 

[Mincer]

Traditional Elixers...the acid in my hands eats off the coating leaving white dandruff all over my clothes and guitar case. And they feel sticky to me.

 

[beaubrummels]

Funny, the ones I don't jive with were among the first couple mentioned; Blue Steel and Elixers. To a lesser degree, don't dig DRs as much either. I can use them, but they don't sound the best to me and they feel like dry powder to my fingers, whether they are nickel or coasted.

 

[dave74]

Traditional Elixers...the acid in my hands eats off the coating leaving white dandruff all over my clothes and guitar case. And they feel sticky to me.

That was my experience also with them. They also sounded duller IMO, compared to the standard nickel-plated steel wraps like Slinky, XL. Boomers, ect.

 

[Securb]

I love the Thomastik-Infeld strings but as Chris said they are super expensive. I was finding them on Amazon for a while at $30 - $40 for a 10 pack but have not seen them at that price for years. I tend to stick to Boomers I have been using them for decades successfully. If I see a good deal I will grab XLs or Ernie Ball I have had great experiences with both brands. I gravitate towards Martin for the acoustic instruments.

The only strings I avoid are Fender Bullets I have never had a good experience with that brand. They seem to die and go dull quickly. I have also had a lot of breakage with Fender strings, typically I do not break a lot of guitar strings. I also avoid anything coated, I just do not like the feel especially once the coating starts to wear down.

 

[Gtrjunior]

I love the Slinky’s. Been using them forever.
I can’t jive with D’addario XL. I did buy a 12 pack when they were on sale so I will use them. But they aren’t my string of choice.

 

[solspirit]

D'adarrio XL is pretty much all I use

 

[treyhaislip]

I feel the same way about Elixirs–just can't jive with them on acoustics or electrics. D'Addario are my go to for all strings (acoustic and electric.) I have had good luck with the DM Blue Steels–seem to be able to find them on eBay (they are my dad's favorite strings.)

 

[NegativeEase]

DRs and any "handwound" string are hit or miss for me... I avoid just because often you get a set that is vastly different in tone

 

[Artie]

I'm in exactly the same camp as the OP. Don't care for Slinky's, and love XL's.

 

[LRS]

Elixirs for acoustic, D’addario for electric. Point is that Elixir play and sound fine too initially, but the coating isn’t very sturdy. So in my electrics, which het played quite regularly, the coating comes off after about three or four band rehearsals. That’s about the same interval my plain D’addarios last, and those are about one third of the price. My acoustics get played way less so here it lasts longer, hence the coating does what it should: prevent corrosion.

 

[dave74]

I love the Slinky’s. Been using them forever.
I can’t jive with D’addario XL. I did buy a 12 pack when they were on sale so I will use them. But they aren’t my string of choice.

I also prefer Slinky over XL. My only complaint with the XLs is that they just never have offered the gauges I prefer as prepackaged sets, and EB does.
There are many more Slinky sets that fall within the light-top/heavy-bottom realm, like the Turbo 9.5/12/16/26/36/46(Eb),,,and Ultra 10/13/17/28/38/48(D)

 

[GuitarStv]

Any uncoated string. My sweat rusts uncoated strings in an hour or two of playing. I've tried a lot of different coated strings (DR, Martin lifespans, D'addario exp, etc.) but Elixirs sound and play best for me. I've been using them on my electrics and acoustics pretty regularly for more than twenty years, and they'll last about 30 hrs of playtime for me before sounding dead.

 

[NegativeEase]

I'm D'addario %100 right now on all my gigging guitars (like 6-7 regulars), i like EB slinkys, but Ive always had string breakage issues with them -I don't trust them to play on stage.

Ive done a lot of Dean Markley Jazz 12s too -especially in the 90s.

As far as electric -I go D'Addario Phosphor Bronze.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

DR's ..not sure which one's I've tried but I've tried a few different ones and they always seemed to have too much tension for comfort and lack some brightness on top.

I stick to regular D'addario's these day's. Also some chinese strings I bought a bunch of a couple of years ago for about a dollar a set which are decent "beater" strings and sound decent for daily use..

 

[nexion218]

Ernie Balls are not crossing the door in this house. I used to hate Elixirs for the above mentioned reasons, but my luthier is an official dealer and talked me into trying the Optiweb version. Almost no flakes and absolutely not sticky. Wont be my go to, but definitely better then their regulars. I used to like Thomastik, but they're indeed a pretty penny despite the fact that they are made in the neighboring EU country (Austria). I can only imagine their price in the US after all the import taxes ..

 

[Ascension]

Exlixers on an electric. Dull and lifeless. Slinkies for some reason will break over the saddle for me. Don't know why never break strings with other brands so??

 

[baritone]

In my early days, Dean Markley was my brand of choice - especially Blue Steel. Then I went through a phase of trying out lots of different types. I found every string brand to be a huge step down from Dean Markley, except for Ernie Ball. Now I play Ernie Ball exclusively. D'Addario was the brand which felt all wrong for me.

 

[Mincer]

I've yet to find a coated string that can last through a 4 set outdoor Florida gig in the summer. Either the coating comes off or they get sticky. Not worth paying 3x the price of uncoated strings if I gotta change them after a show anyway.