Dig it! Master Guitar FAQ #7 - Strings!

http://www.webstrings.com/

Electric: 10-46 nickel plated steel for just $2.99/set.

Acoustic: 10-48 phosphor bronze for just $3.24/set. I like my acoustic to feel and bend like an electric. I don't miss the 12's, and with a dreadnought, volume reduction is not an issue.

I also like to try various manufacturers (D'Addario, Dunlop, Ernie Ball), and coated (Nanoweb, Polyweb), etc.
 
voodoothatido13 said:
Will be giving these a shot....
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I've used them for the last 2 years with great success. I don't mind changing strings as frequently since they don't kill the wallet, but they last quite a while for me. Most strings are made in the same factory, which isn't to say they are all the same, just not always all that different.
 
Tig said:
Most strings are made in the same factory, which isn't to say they are all the same, just not always all that different.
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i used to believe this, but now i don't. all of the major manufacturers make their own strings. it's the off brands like Danelectro or Elderly that have other companies make them.
 
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My electrics are all 9-42s. Tried different strings when I started playing but every time I found something I liked it became unavailable. When I was gigging two to four times a week I had two main gigging guitars and was changing strings on one or the other every weekend alternating between them. At that point it became a price issue and ever since I've just use whatever's cheapest in the shop when I need to get some. I find that I'm fairly light on strings these days and until I had a sort out day and restrung everything a month or so ago had some guitars that had strings that were a couple of years old or more and still playable.

Acoustic has always been very much a secondary thing for me so I have always strung it as light as possible (10-52s phosphor bronze I think).
 
Reeves and Jetstream 290- D Adarrio XL 10s

Hinson and Sixgun- D Addario XL 11s

Gretsch- D Addario XL 12s
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
i used to believe this, but now i don't. all of the major manufacturers make their own strings. it's the off brands like Danelectro or Elderly that have other companies make them.
Click to expand...

I meant to say,
"Most strings are made in the same few factories."
 
Tig said:
I meant to say,
"Most strings are made in the same few factories."
Click to expand...

so we've got:

D'Addario
Martin
Ernie Ball
Dunlop
DR
Curt Mangan
La Bella
TI

i'm not sure who makes Fender or Gibson strings, but that's the vast majority of the market.
 
I use whatever 10-46 set that's least expensive. I usually buy in bulk when they are on sale. I recently picked up 25 sets of D'Addario for $53. So I will play those for a while. I really don't notice a difference between string brands. But I'll only use name brand strings. No generics.
 
I've been using Dean Markley Blue Steel for years.
They sound good to me
I also have a few sets of D'Addarios laying around.
The D'Add's were bought in bulk.
10's for both brands.
 
D'Addario XL ultra-light gauge, the thinnest ones they've got.


(Weird to see this thread resurrected after so long. Even weirder to read through a John Watt response. Even now, I still have no idea what that dude was talking about....)
 
I'll elaborate more later....at work....

But I am extremely picky about strings, MOSTLY string gauges.
Nothing off the shelf works... I calculate and every guitar that I own has a custom gauged set..
Driven by tensions so that the strings are smooth across the neck, no speed bumps.

For acoustic I'm sold on Mangan strings. And two electric guitars I have the electric wound strings, not the tops as I find their plains to be too stiff. But I do love the tigher wound strings (compression wound) to sound really nice and new, they stay in tune right away. Not nearly as much stretching needed.
NOTE: Acoustics are drop tuned to C# and these strings are really nice down there.

For flats, Thomastiks, on my jazz boxes... Again, custom gauges... And I use Thomastik plains on these. ALTHOUGH I do something unusual here, G is round wound. It breaks up the chords nicer. Still by tension. I find that changing the note on the G can sometimes get lost in the mix. When progressing, most strings hold their own, G...not so much when flats. Round, it comes out nicely...,

For my fusion shred/lead axes, not picky on the brand, just gauges like all the others. Very thin, .007s or .008s for the high E.

I will sometimes, change the sets out on a guitar for a given recording purpose. May go heavier on the bottoms, still calculated for smoothness, just more beef. Sometimes, go way lighter for some extreme low end bending.

Yes, I'm more insane than most, but it keeps it interesting :)
 
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I think a lot of people steer clear of Thomastik Infeld because of the price. I've been using them for years and I love them. They stretch in quick and then last for ages.
I first tried them when I was experimenting with flats but I quickly switched to their rounds and I've been using them ever since.
 
On my electrics I use D'Addario EXL14o sets. They're Nickle Wound gauge .010, .013, .017, .030, .042, .052

The extra beef on the low strings makes more sense than any other set. I've never understood the 12 and 13 sets that still have the flabby bottom strings. What the hell... all that does is make the high strings tougher to bend and the low strings flubby.

I use D'Addario Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings. If I had a true acoustic, I'd probably use the 12-56 set, but on my Taylor the 11-52 set balances very nicely with my electric sets.

I see a lot of Elixers listed above... different strokes... I can't stand them. They stay at a consistant sound for a long time, but to my ears that sound is "half dead". Half dead out of the package and half dead a month later. I buy my strings by the dozen and change them about every other gig. Considering coated strings are more expensive, and I get a good price buying them in bulk, I'd rather have fresher sounding strings that I change more frequently.
 
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