Strings & Things

[Chudallica]

Hey all,

 

 Every now and then I brake the routine and try different makes of strings and gauges,

I've tried Dean Markley and D'addario but always go back to a good old packet of pinks (Ernie Ball Super Slinky's).

 

So I was wondering what strings you use ? what gauges ? and also what gauge picks ?

 

Are string types really that important for different music genres ?

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Chudallica

[ezbass]

I always seem to always go back to D’Addario XLs 10-42. Pick wise, despite trying numerous ones, all of which offer something different, I seem to go back to Dunlop Jazz 3s.

[Chudallica]

Hey all,

 

Has anyone tried Elixir strings ? If so, what's your thoughts ?

 

Discuss !!!

[ezbass]

I went through a spate of using them on electric, they were OK, but I went to to D’Addario XLs as ever, can’t remember why. I had a set on my Epiphone EJ200, they sounded nice, but the tension was a bit high for what I wanted and they started to go a bit ratty from strumming.

[Chudallica]

Thanks for the input, I try different strings and always go back to what I know.

It's always a gamble trying something new especially when it's a ball-ache if they're crap !! 

 

I might try them on a back of the cupboard guitar sometime.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Chudallica

[T-Bay]

D’addario for acoustic and slinky 10s on electric. Tried a few others but always go back to these.

[EdwardMarlowe]

For electric, the first strings I bought were Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, but I learned over time I could never get on with nines - always snapped the high E. Spent several years playing nines with the high E switched out for a ten, before moving on to tens where I have stuck ever since. Ernie ball for years, though I've also bought D'addario, Rotosound, and a few no-names as and where price was better. 

On acoustic, I can't honestly remember what I bought last - I think it was D'addario? I bought Dean Markleys for the first few years, but some time in the... I think it was the late 90s? - they had a whole string of pretty sexist to outright misogynist ads they ran in the guitar press, particularly the US mags (the absolute nadir being one romanticising a rock and roll guy cheating on his wife on the road), which was enough to put me right off buying them again. 

In truth, I've never found any difference in my sound - or had any significant difference from brand to brand in terms of quality. Tuned in and stretched, they're all much of a muchness to me. I did like it when some had different coloured beads to distinguish which string was which at a glance; D'Addario I remember combining this with putting all the strings in a single baggie and a cardboard outer package, selling it as greener, alongside not acid-washing their strings. I think that was first seen in their ad campaign sometime in the late 90s, shortly predating the Gibson 'Smartwood' series, if memory serves.  The big deciding factor for me with strings remains price. Typically go back to the EB all other things being equal, habit, I suppose, but there's nothing I'd pay more for. I also don't change my strings unless I break 'em or have had to remove them to give the guitar a good clean. At some point over the next couple of months my CIJ Tele 71RI is due a damn good clean, and that could well include changing the strings for the first time since I bought it in 2006.... My Squier bass still has its original strings that were on there when I bought it in 2001. In fact, of my three basses, I've never changed a string on any of them.... not even so much as bought a spare set. That would be different if I played out now, I'm sure, but my punk rock and roll band never happened, and I'm too old now to do more than regret the death of my rock star dreams. Bah humbug. 


As to whether string gauge makes a difference, I chanced across this video some time ago and found the experiment fascinating - not least after all these years of the received wisdom being that the heavier your strings are, the better your "tone". (Which seems to belong to the same set of mythologies that wank on forever about the tonal effect of the wood type in a Strat body, yet pay zero attention to the, uhm, plastic scratchplate which is the only thing the pick-ups are in direct contact with....): 
 

 

For those of us who play clean or with only a touch of traditional overdrive, I lean to the view that playing comfort is the most important thing; for those who like BRUTALZ METAL DIZTORSHUN, this could be a game changer in terms of having that bit of clarity in the sound. 

[police squad]

Rotosound yellows for the past 15 or so years, they have been really good.

Currently using Dean Markely Signature strings. Absolutely fine too.

[Matt P]

i tried a few different brands when i first started playing (rotosound, dean markley, ernie ball and a couple of others) but then swapped over to D'addario fairly early on, XL's in 10's and the phosphor 11's for acoustic. when internet shopping became a thing i went over to DR for both acoustic and electric but the prices went up and ordering in bulk wasn't always an option when I was a poor student so i went back to D'addario (it helps that the D'addario distribution centre for the uk is about 5 miles from my house and every shop around here stocks them and they were usually the cheapest option of the big names)

 

for the last 15 years though i've been using Newtone for my acoustics, (heritage 12's and 13's) the combination of the balanced and lighter tensions as well as the longer than average life really suits me, i've also got a few friends using them so we put in bulk orders every so often. For my electric i've started just buying whatever Strings direct have the best deal on, the last lot were Fender which i believe are made by Daddario, i couldn't tell the difference to the XL's i took off.

 

in my experience the difference between brands tone is far more apparent on acoustic instruments so that's where i pay more attention (and money) 

 

For my basses i started out using stainless DR';s (the Marcus miller signature ones) but then i was introduced toi flatwounds and have them on every one of my basses, (interestingly no 2 basses have the same brand strings, i have Daddaio chromes, La bella, status, ernie ball and ghs as well as innovations on the upright)

 

Matt