Tried Ernie Ball Strings for the 1st time in a decade

DrBob · July 2020

Yesterday.

The high E broke in the trem block whilst tuning up.

I now remember why I switched to D’Addario all those years ago

markslade07 · July 2020

^Wis

DB1 · July 2020

Wow, that's a bit of a shame. I only use Ernie Ball strings (apart from flatwounds) and have put them on well over 100 guitars in the past four years (so probably 200-250 sets) and have never had that happen.

DrBob · July 2020

DB1 said:

Wow, that's a bit of a shame. I only use Ernie Ball strings (apart from flatwounds) and have put them on well over 100 guitars in the past four years (so probably 200-250 sets) and have never had that happen.

They sell millions of packs a year so I’m sure they’re doing something right but for me I’ve found D’Addario rarely/ever seem to break when compared to EB’s and they don’t seem to “go off” anywhere near as fast as the Ernie Balls do

jpttaylor · July 2020

They're ideal emergency strings if one breaks, since they're wrapped individually, but that's about IMO. D'addario's just sound better to me.

Philly_Q · July 2020

I used to use Ernie Balls when I had a Kahler tremolo, because their RPS strings were the only ones which didn't break after about 5 seconds' "whammy bar action". But I switched to D'Addarios - I think just because I thought the colour-coded ball ends were a neat idea - and haven't bought anything else for about 30 years.

andyp · July 2020

I bought a couple of packs of EB's to try them out (I have only really ever used D'Addario NYXL or the regular XL) and really notice them to be quite poor in comparison. The EB's don't last very long at all, and I just play at home. They discolour quickly, don't feel as good and don't sound as good to me either. Ok, they're cheaper, but to me it's a false economy.

I thought they were basically the industry standard strings, but they're not for me.

monquixote · July 2020

I have the same experience.

Also Rotosound which just feel completely wrong to me.

PolarityMan · July 2020

I use EB's and have found them fine. D'Addarios are fine too.

Brize · July 2020

Can't stand D’Addarios - EBs for me.

crunchman · July 2020

andyp said:

I bought a couple of packs of EB's to try them out (I have only really ever used D'Addario NYXL or the regular XL) and really notice them to be quite poor in comparison. The EB's don't last very long at all, and I just play at home. They discolour quickly, don't feel as good and don't sound as good to me either. Ok, they're cheaper, but to me it's a false economy.

I thought they were basically the industry standard strings, but they're not for me.

They were the industry standard strings, but that was from a long time ago when there wasn't much else. In the late 60's no-one else was making the gauges we all use today.

Things change. In the late 60's, we didn't have Japanese car reliability, but it changed the car industry for better. Ernie Ball is Ford or GM, if you like, but you are far better off buying something Japanese or German these days. It's the same with strings. There are better options available now.

I guess they are in a tricky situation, as if they improved them, they would upset those who have been using them for the last 40 years who think they are an integral part of their tone.

guitargeek62 · July 2020

EBs have been my preferred strings pretty much since day 1. I had a fling with Elixir for a while, and dabbled with D'addario for a bit, but always found the latter to be higher tension than the same gauge EBs.

I can't say I've ever had a problem with EBs breaking at all (unlike rotosounds, which are sh*t), plus they last very well for me at least, YMMV!

Philly_Q · July 2020

crunchman said:
I guess they are in a tricky situation, as if they improved them, they would upset those who have been using them for the last 40 years who think they are an integral part of their tone.

Would they actually need to tell anyone if they improved them? It's not like changing McDonalds Special Sauce or The Colonel's Secret Recipe. Of course if they didn't advertise them as "new and improved" they might not get any new customers...

RandallFlagg · July 2020

As others, I have used Ernie Ball strings since the early 80s and like them, never had much trouble with breakages. I tried D'Addario a few years ago but didn't really find them any different to the EBs, they last me about the same amount of time and feel the same.

bbill335 · July 2020

i stopped using EB when i found other brands did not come pitted with little holes on the plain strings. then i also found i preferred the sound and feel of daddarios! i would like to try newtone's electric strings but they seem to always be out of stock and i have a small hoard of daddario packs now, so i'm unlikely to experiment any time soon.

kennedydream1980 · July 2020

EB strings feel and sound fine to me, the problem I have is they start to corrode really quickly. They just don't agree with me. D'addarios last a long time for me and sound and feel as good so that's what I use as a rule.

I recently bought a few packs of Curt Mangan strings to try and I'm really liking those as well.

Modulus_Amps · July 2020

I tried D' Addarios many years ago and exaclty the same thing happened, so I just kept using Ernie balls as they never broke out the pack.

I do mostly use D'Addario string now though, for different reasons

Adi · July 2020

D'Addarios for me too, there is a noticable difference under the fingers which is kind of hard to describe , just feel more pleasant

Lestratcaster · July 2020

Been an EB user for nearly 15 years, very rarely break strings when restringing. Started with D'Addarios but once I switched I never went back. They sound brighter to me esp when first put on in the first 2 weeks. Made occasional switches back to DD but just didn't like them.