adamg67 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 After sticking with EB Slinkys for a long time for no particular reason, I'm looking for other strings to try. As I try them I'm recording them when they're just played in, so I don't think the new ones are always better than the old ones. I've got two guitars to find my favourite strings for, a PRS Custom 24 and a Tele with Texas Special pups. I'm mostly into blues / rock stuff, and I like 10s. I'm currently trying D'Addario NYXLs on one and Thomastik Power Brights on the other. Any suggestions for things to try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 (edited) I bought some DR Pure Blues for my Thinline Tele a while back. https://www.drstrings.com/electric-pure-blues Overall I was impressed, they've stayed bright and I like the sound and feel. I would say that the 10s I got seem noticeably higher tension than most 10 gauge sets I've tried, bending them lower down the neck seems to require a bit more effort, I'll probably try the 9s next time. Edited September 19, 2018 by Cato 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkandrew Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 I've tried quite a few brands and lines over the years but keep coming back to D'addario for their feel and tone. I find the EXL range gives a nice, harmonically bright tone while the newer NYXL range are fuller and purer but have less high frequency harmonics and so are great for taming and giving more richness and body to bright guitars or pickups (e.g. they sound great on my ESP Eclipse with Bare Knuckle "Mule" pickups). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted September 22, 2018 Share Posted September 22, 2018 I’ve been using D’Addario EXLs for donkey’s years, I’ve tried others but always come back to these. Nice feel, good tone and not expensive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 D'Addario all the way for me, on bass, guitar and mandolin. I'll be sticking with them and have stopped looking elsewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkandrew Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 (edited) 14 hours ago, gary mac said: D'Addario all the way for me, on bass, guitar and mandolin. I'll be sticking with them and have stopped looking elsewhere. The odd thing is that although D'addario are my first choice for guitar strings, I've never really been won over by them for the bass where I prefer DR Silver Stars / Black Beauties coated strings (except for my EBMM Sterling which has EB Slinkies on it because I couldn't get the coated strings to grip onto the tuning posts). Edited September 23, 2018 by darkandrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 If I’m using roundwounds on bass, it’ll be D’Addarios too. However, I’ve recently been won over by EB cobalt flats for my low end rumblings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Funny, I've always used Ernie Balls (with the exception of the jazz guitar, for which I used D'addario flats IIRC - been a while so I could be wrong about the make). Never found a reason to change TBH. Elixirs on the acoustics. I don't gig any more so don't go through them like I used to, but I've never been much of an experimenter with strings: life's too short to worry about such stuff IMHO. Once I've found something I'm happy with the job is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg67 Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, leftybassman392 said: Funny, I've always used Ernie Balls (with the exception of the jazz guitar, for which I used D'addario flats IIRC - been a while so I could be wrong about the make). Never found a reason to change TBH. Elixirs on the acoustics. I don't gig any more so don't go through them like I used to, but I've never been much of an experimenter with strings: life's too short to worry about such stuff IMHO. Once I've found something I'm happy with the job is done. I think playing about with gear, even just strings, is more of a fun thing than a worry for some of us Edited September 24, 2018 by adamg67 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg67 Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 22 hours ago, darkandrew said: The odd thing is that although D'addario are my first choice for guitar strings, I've never really been won over by them for the bass where I prefer DR Silver Stars / Black Beauties coated strings (except for my EBMM Sterling which has EB Slinkies on it because I couldn't get the coated strings to grip onto the tuning posts). I've got some D'Addario NYXLs on my "rock" bass at the moment and they're working really well for playing with a pick. Right, back to talking about guitars... I'm liking the sound of the Thomastik Power Brights on my Tele, but then I have new pickups in it and they're the first strings on there so I don't have anything else to compare them to, I might just be liking the sound of the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 hour ago, adamg67 said: I think playing about with gear, even just strings, is more of a fun thing than a worry for some of us Not a worry. Just don't see the point is all. I played and taught professionally for around 15 years, and apart from putting Elixirs on my Takamine acoustic for the first time string changing was just another routine for me. I did enjoy the ritual of cleaning the guitar, polishing the frets and oiling the board every time I changed strings, but with very few exceptions the strings themselves are - or at least were - much of a muchness. Last time I looked the vast majority of the world's guitar strings were made in one of about three (I think it was three) factories, so unless the strings had something specific that actually made them notably different from all the others (Elixirs being a case in point) I never felt the need to experiment. I sense a bit of snake oil thinking here. I sense a search for that magic tone and feel. I sense a distraction from what the strings are actually there to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg67 Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) 11 hours ago, leftybassman392 said: I sense a bit of snake oil thinking here. I sense a search for that magic tone and feel. I sense a distraction from what the strings are actually there to do. This is why I'm recording each set as I fit them, to see what (if any) difference it really makes. If it's none, I can use whatever I'm happy with and save a few bob as well. If it's enough difference to pay more for something then at least I'll know why I'm doing it. I play through my laptop at home anyway, so doing a quick recording of each set of strings once they're played in will take me literally the time it takes to press "record". After a while, I'll know for sure whether string choice makes a difference for me, which will be a nice feeling whichever way it turns out. Edited September 25, 2018 by adamg67 speling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, adamg67 said: This is why I'm recording each set as I fit them, to see what (if any) difference it really makes. If it's none, I can use whatever I'm happy with and save a few bob as well. If it's enough difference to pay more for something then at least I'll know why I'm doing it. I play through my laptop at home anyway, so doing a quick recording of each set of strings once they're played in will take me literally the time it takes to press "record". After a while, I'll know for sure whether string choice makes a difference for me, which will be a nice feeling whichever way it turns out. Fairy nuff. I remain to be convinced that I'll discover much that I don't already know, but it's a free country... sort of... Edited September 25, 2018 by leftybassman392 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vantagepointrocks Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 I use D'addario strings have always found them to be fine, so I haven't gone out and tried too many others to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 When I was gigging on guitar about 20 years ago, I liked Dean Markley strings a lot and never broke them. Don't see them much these days. It's mainly d'Addario as they're everywhere nowadays. They are fine too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 I've never been particularly fussy (though I found quite early on that I wasn't too keen on Ernies) - usually I've stuck to Rotosound and D'Addario, and sometimes Martin for acoustic strings. (One limitation has been finding companies who make a .16 set for the resonator!) Though recently, I did give a set of Martin Monel strings a punt on my regular acoustic - a very different feel from most modern phosphor bronze sets, and I have to admit I've found myself warming to the sound of them (no pun intended). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Ernie Ball 2221, 2222 and 2223. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardMarlowe Posted October 14, 2018 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Started off with nines, later realised I preferred 10s (on electric, at least- heavier on acoustic). Largely agnostic about brand - one set of strings are much the same as the next to me. Used Ernie Balls a lot over the years, also D'Addario at one time (I liked their environmentally friendly packaging, with the strings all in one baggie and then colour-coded on the bead; later stopped buying them as I didn't care for what I saw as their overly misogynist advertising), Rotosound, or whatever was cheap. Would like to try flatwounds on guitar as I love them on bass, but so far the prices I've seen are very 'you WHAT now??'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg67 Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share Posted October 14, 2018 6 hours ago, EdwardMarlowe said: Would like to try flatwounds on guitar as I love them on bass, but so far the prices I've seen are very 'you WHAT now??'. Same here, but I need another guitar I've got the PRS and a Tele all set up how I like them, I do have my old Washburn Wing waiting for a new pot (I broke one trying to push a reluctant knob onto it after carefully rewiring the whole thing, d'oh!), so maybe that will be the test bed for flats - I was planning to sell it but I'm thinking that is handy to have a guitar that can be messed about with. The pups are some old DiMarzios that sound great, but the frets have had their last dressing I think, still fairly flat though. Hmmm, I think I need to get that pot fixed and start hunting for some flats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg67 Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 On 14/10/2018 at 15:48, EdwardMarlowe said: Would like to try flatwounds on guitar as I love them on bass, but so far the prices I've seen are very 'you WHAT now??'. I had a quick look and yeah, they’re not cheap. For just trying them out it seems steep, but if I’m assuming they’re like the bas versions and last for ever? not sure about the plain strings in a set though, do plain steel strings go off? I’ve never noticed a huge difference between how the plain and round wound strings age in a “normal” set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardMarlowe Posted October 17, 2018 Share Posted October 17, 2018 TBh, I don't know... I've never been a one for replacing strings all that regularly. Mostly just when they break or when the guitar needs the sort of good clean and gonig over that requires taking the existing ones off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killstarz Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 I'm D'addario all the way on bass, but for guitar I keep coming back to the Ernie Ball Skinny top, heavy bottoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted November 30, 2018 Share Posted November 30, 2018 I've tried them all and with a nickel allergy have settled with Ernie Ball Stainless Steel for most purposes, including acoustic... Flats, I've been using D'addario chromes lately or Thomastik swings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
