Strings and the price/longevity factor.

Devil#20

I usually use Ernie Ball regular slinkys or D'addario EXL110's which are both 10-46 and use them on Gibson or Fender (mainly because I got them in multi packs). Would I be better using a different gauge for different scale length.

I was also thinking about trying a different manufacturer. Is it worth paying extra to get a coated string that's going to stay brighter longer. My fingers don't tend to tarnish the strings particularly quickly but it's worth paying double for strings if they last 4 times as long. I know you can pay £30 for a set of cobalt coated strings but I'd baulk at that price. Be too scared or busting one. I think I'd be happy paying 10-15 quid for a set if they were recommended.

What do others use and what gauge on which guitar? What tone change would you expect from using a lighter/heavier gauge? It's all got a bit confusing with hybrid sets 'n that.

I'm sure this thread has been done many times before but there's quite a few new (at least to me) manufacturers in the game now. DR, SIT, Curt Mangan etc. 

crunchman

Some coated strings feel different to conventional strings.  The newer types aren't as bad as the original Elixirs (Polyweb?) which feel horrible.

Some coated strings also have a zingy top end I don't like.

With my body chemistry I'm not hard on strings, so I just go for conventional ones.  Fatigue life is dependent on number of cycles.  If coated ones did last 2 or 3 times as long, would I be getting into the area where strings would break through fatigue?  At the moment, it's years since I last broke a string.

The other problem with coated strings is that once they get a bit worn, the plastic coating starts to break down, and you get little bits of plastic hanging off the the strings - especially at frets where you bend a lot.

Some people do have corrosive sweat, so coated strings might make sense for them, but for me the negatives outweigh the positives.

Blueingreen

Different people seem to have different experiences but when I switched to Elixirs I found they cost maybe twice as much but lasted at least 4 times as long.  My main motive was changing strings less often, but there was a bonus in terms of cost saving as well.

munckee

Blueingreen said:

Different people seem to have different experiences but when I switched to Elixirs I found they cost maybe twice as much but lasted at least 4 times as long.  My main motive was changing strings less often, but there was a bonus in terms of cost saving as well.

Also after using coated strings non coated feel like cheese wire to me.  Much prefer Elixir's either Polyweb or Nanoweb.

more

Longer  the scale length the  more tension you will need to get the string in tune . Most Fender's are 648mm but most Gibson's  are 628mm . So if you used the same gauge strings and tuned the same.The Gibson would be slightly looser and easier to play  . The finder  would feel a bit  tighter and a bit harder to play .

Personally I don't like   coated strings , but it seems  many do .  It's a try them for your self and see what you think

The heavy strings do have a better tone and more volume , but are harder to  play .

When you compere manufactures ,, most are not that different . One of the differences is the gauges of  their  sets . It  has an effect on playability and tone ,  match that to your guitar and how you play it some will sound better than others. 

PonchoGreg

I'll recommend the elixir optiwebs again, as they get pretty close to non-coated strings in terms of feel but last literally months (and I have xenomorph sweat).

One thing though - they feel higher tension to me compared with a similar gauge of Ernie Ball or daddario. Quite nice on gibsons actually.

FelineGuitars

Devil#20 said:

I usually use Ernie Ball regular slinkys or D'addario EXL110's which are both 10-46 and use them on Gibson or Fender (mainly because I got them in multi packs). Would I be better using a different gauge for different scale length.

I was also thinking about trying a different manufacturer. Is it worth paying extra to get a coated string that's going to stay brighter longer. My fingers don't tend to tarnish the strings particularly quickly but it's worth paying double for strings if they last 4 times as long. I know you can pay £30 for a set of cobalt coated strings but I'd baulk at that price. Be too scared or busting one. I think I'd be happy paying 10-15 quid for a set if they were recommended.

What do others use and what gauge on which guitar? What tone change would you expect from using a lighter/heavier gauge? It's all got a bit confusing with hybrid sets 'n that.

I'm sure this thread has been done many times before but there's quite a few new (at least to me) manufacturers in the game now. DR, SIT, Curt Mangan etc. 

If you don't kill strings through body chemistry, then stick with regular strings and put up with the chore of restringing regularly.

Coated strings can be nice but they metal inside still fatigues at the same rate that normal strings do , and should be changed once they lose that zing and elasticity.

BahHumbug

About 12 years ago I bought an acoustic guitar that came with Elixir nanowebs.  I've stuck with them ever since and fit them to my acoustics and electrics.  I don't suffer many string breakages these days, so the thing that forces me to restring is when the tone and 'life' goes out of a set of strings.  The Elixirs retain their sparkle for ages, compared to uncoated strings that I've used previously.  Yes they cost more, but the value you get from them far outweighs the cost premium.

I also use 10-46 on Gibson and Fender electrics.  I used 9s when I was younger, and I have tried 11s on Gibsons, but these days I find that 10-46 does the job nicely on both.

Cols

Optima Gold.  Not cheap, but they feel good and last for ages.

Devil#20

Well now is an opportune moment because I dug my G&L asat tele out at weekend and the strings definitely sound on the dull side. I think I'll try a set of these Elixir's out on the above recommendations and see how I get on with them. Which is better?Polyweb or Nanoweb? 

Blueingreen

Devil#20 said:

Well now is an opportune moment because I dug my G&L asat tele out at weekend and the strings definitely sound on the dull side. I think I'll try a set of these Elixir's out on the above recommendations and see how I get on with them. Which is better?Polyweb or Nanoweb? 

Never used Polyweb.

Optiweb are meant to feel more like conventional strings than Nanoweb, and they  do a bit, but as a long term Nanoweb user before Optiweb came on the market I'm happy with either.

ICBM

I don’t like the feel or sound of coated strings at all, but I have very dry skin and I also like the sound of played-in strings, so I get very long life from uncoated ones. Years, literally - but I know people who can kill strings in a couple of hours, so coated ones make more sense for them. If anything, coated strings might last *less* long for me because it’s the coating fraying that’s the limiting factor, and once it’s started the strings have to be changed immediately.

With different gauges, I find that heavier strings have a fuller sound with more bottom-end, tighter dynamics and longer life, but the sound difference is less noticeable with overdriven sounds so if you don’t play clean much it may not matter. I generally use 11s on everything, but I’ve recently gone down to 10s on my Strat-type guitar with no apparent loss of tone.

I use Newtone strings on my own guitars now, but also DRs and D’Addarios a lot in the past. DR Dragon Skin are the only coated ones I can stand.

Devil#20

Blueingreen said:

Never used Polyweb.

Optiweb are meant to feel more like conventional strings than Nanoweb, and they  do a bit, but as a long term Nanoweb user before Optiweb came on the market I'm happy with either.

I've ordered some optiweb. See how I get on with them. £12.35 on Amazon so not too bad. Probably about double what I pay for Ernie's. I wonder who buy's these cobalt strings at £30+ a pop though.

I've never changed the strings on my one and only bass guitar and they need doing too I think. No idea what I'm going to put on that. The strings look a bit discoloured and shitty but it's not obvious to me that they are passed their best. I can tell on a guitar easily enough but not sure with a bass. Also from just behind the nut to the tuning pegs the strings are wrapped in a red cotton type material. What's that about?

monquixote

My hands tend to kill regular strings in a few days.

Elixirs last for ages. 

I think my DGT has has the same strings for about 3 years and I'm thinking maybe I should change them

ThePrettyDamned

I sweat loads but my strings don't corrode rapidly at all.

Unless they're Ernie Ball strings. Those things go on and are too bright and zingy, and after about an hour they're corroding and sounding dull. 

I use daddario for now but want to try some of the UK made strings. Coated not needed for me thankfully as I find they feel a bit different. 

Milk

i prefer the sound and feel of strings after a week or so of playing as i don't like how bright sounding new strings are.

I use D'Addario and have for years and they last usually a month or 2 before they are gross feeling.

i hate re-stringing guitars and i am lazy and avoid doing it at all costs

skullfunkerry

I haven’t tried coated strings, but I have thought about it a few times. I have quite corrosive sweat, but since I’m only playing at home these days I’m not sweating while I play so much! Even when I was gigging though I’d wipe the strings down when I finished playing and they’d be good for two or three gigs.

I’ve been tuning to drop C for years, and I’ve found that 10s on Fender scale length and 11s on Gibson scale length feel about the same. I’ve recently started using 10-52s as I prefer the slightly tighter feel of the bottom strings (all my guitars now are 25.5” scale).

Soundwise I’ve not noticed any difference between gauges or brands, although that’s possibly due to running quite a lot of gain for a compressed modern metal sound. I do prefer the feel of D’addario compared to Ernie Ball, though. I have some (I think) Darco strings on my Ibanez at the moment which I bought from Strings Direct because they were cheap, and I’ve also used Feline Guitars strings a few times too, and they both felt fine too - apart from the multi-coloured ball ends, I don’t think I’d be able to tell them apart from D’addario.

rlw

I've fallen in live with Pyramid monel strings.  They feel nice and last forever.  Cheaper from Thomann.

http://pyramid-saiten.de/de/products/electric-monelsteel.php

Click on the Google translate tab....

Jeremiah

I normally use Elixirs - I can't say I notice a massive difference between Nanoweb and Optiweb, so at the moment I'm staying with Nanoweb as I've got quite a few sets I ordered from Thomann a while back and since they last so long I'm only going through them very slowly.