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Coated Strings

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(@mhart252)
Active Member
Joined: 13 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

Greetings,

I am getting back to the guitar after a long lay-off. I an intrigued by coated guitar strings. What are guys using? Any recommendations? I know this is a personal choice. Probably safer to talk about religion or politics. But it could be interesting if everyone plays nice. :-)

Thanks,

QuietMan


   
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(@musenfreund)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5108
 

I use Elixirs and like them. The coating on the wrapped strings supposedly gives the strings a longer life. That does seem to be the case.

Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon


   
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(@hyperborea)
Prominent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 827
 

I like the D'Addario EXP. I've used them on my acoustic for a few years now. They recently came out with an EXP set for electrics. I picked up a set of them and put them on one of my electrics at the beginning of the year as a test. It worked out pretty great. I didn't find any real difference in feel. They did have a small drop in brightness compared to regular D'Addario strings but it was more the difference between brand new and played for an hour or so.

After that it stayed roughly the same for about 3 1/2 months before the real end decline started to happen. That's somewhere between 50% and 100% longer than normal. Since it was an experiment I let them go longer still until they really were completely dead. That took another 1 month for a total of about 4 1/2 months. I then replaced them with another set of the same. As each of my guitars comes up for restringing I'm going to use the EXPs.

I did try the Elixirs first before I used the EXPs on the acoustic but they seemed too slippery for me.

Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

I've used Elixirs on acoustics for probably 5 years now. +1 on the slight drop in brightness - they strike me as slightly warmer in tone. The sound is consistent for longer than uncoated IMO. Before that I used Martin SP+ for about 4 years; I stopped using them when I noticed my string changes were consistently becoming more frequent (I keep a log of string changes and my impressions of them)

I've tried coated strings on electrics, but never used any brand twice - I just didn't like them. We have a student who swears by Ernie Ball Titanium, but I'm just not fond of his sound. Your mileage may vary.

Last year I went back to uncoated strings - I'm currently using Thomastik-Infeld Plectrum. I made that switch because another student tried them, and I liked his sound (he didn't, and no longer uses them - mileage and all that). But I'm going to switch again soon, as I have a friend who just started making his own strings, and I told him I'd give them a go.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@blue-jay)
Noble Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1630
 

I have used Elixir Polywebs and Nanowebs and agree with the slight loss of brightness, or addition of warmth from the onset, which is not really what I'm looking for. +1 on the slipperiness of the coating too, that can just feel weird, but is acceptable.

They are good because they stay cleaner and their tone is more consistent than uncoated, which can get dirty or corroded as the metallic coating wears off, and then they are just plain dead, and yucky. Other people will tell me when my strings are dead, because to me, it just happens gradually. Do you see what I'm saying? :shock: I clean my strings by wiping them dry and have on occasion used rubbing alcohol until they squeak to try to make them last longer. Using alcohol makes the rag turn black, so it is doing something?

So, I use D'Addario XL's most of the time on acoustics, and have some more Martin strings now, which I used almost exclusively on my Martins and Yamahas years ago, until a friend turned me on to D'Addario. I also use John Pearse and Thomastik Infeld - they have a heavy cost up front and a short life - I can't justify it, really.

On electrics it is D'Addario and Dean Markley for Telecasters, D'Addario or Gibson on Gibsons, Ernie Ball and Fender Bullets on Strats, except for one which is Aztec gold with gold hardware, so it gets treated to gold strings.

Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.


   
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(@moonrider)
Noble Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 1305
 

Greetings,

I am getting back to the guitar after a long lay-off. I an intrigued by coated guitar strings. What are guys using? Any recommendations? I know this is a personal choice. Probably safer to talk about religion or politics. But it could be interesting if everyone plays nice. :-)

Thanks,

QuietMan

Depends. Some people love 'em, some people hate 'em. I think it really depends on how hard you play. If you're a very dynamic player and have a picking hand like sledgehammer at times ( like me ), you may not see a huge boost in string life.

For me, a set of normal strings will be OK for about two performances, or about 8 hours of performance level playing. Coated strings gave me another 2 to 3 hours beyond that when I tried them. It WAS pretty funny watching the coating shred off and fly everywhere all through that last set though.

Considering I buy strings in bulk ( 7 guitars ), it wouldn't be worth it for me to pay up to three times the cost for such a small improvement in string life.

Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.

Moondawgs on Reverbnation


   
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(@moonrider)
Noble Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 1305
 

On electrics it is D'Addario and Dean Markley for Telecasters

I'm really likin' the Dean Markley Vintage 1973 for my Teles right now. Good sounding, durable strings at a nice price if you buy the 12-packs.

Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.

Moondawgs on Reverbnation


   
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(@snwbrdnegtrst)
Trusted Member
Joined: 13 years ago
Posts: 39
 

I have some Cleartone (with EMP, oohlala! :wink: ) on my acoustic and they just refuse to die! I saw a perfect description of them on a thread a while back... "they start out sounding like a string that is a few weeks old, but they hold that sound for much, much longer". They have a really good feel, not too slippery.
I found these at GC, I just asked all the guys behind the counter what their favorites where and bought a pack of each, so far for the coated these are my favorites

All the world's a stage, but the play is poorly cast


   
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(@neztok)
Estimable Member
Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 152
 

I got tired of replacing stings and started using Elixirs on all my guitars a couple years ago.


   
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(@nicktorres)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 5381
 

I think one of our own coats his in gun stock oil, or olive oil, perhaps mineral oil, ehh, short term memory, I miss it.

I wonder if mobil one would work?


   
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(@blue-jay)
Noble Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 1630
 

That's funny, makes me wonder if synthetic oil would be better? Mobil One - endorsed by NASCAR, it must be good and fast.

Then there's Finger Ease for another can of horsepower! :lol:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--CBR2074

Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.


   
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