sbpark Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 (edited) Never been a fan of coated strings. My go to have been EJ16's and EJ17's for most guitars (D-18, J45, AJ, Epiphone USA Frontier, etc) and Martin Monels on smaller body mahogany guitars like offerings from Waterloo and a Martin 000-15). Was given a set of D'Addario XS strings (12-53) and put them on the Epiphone Frontier I recently picked up. All I can say is they did not sound good. Low end was robbed, they sounded brash ad metallic and made the guitar sound really tinny and awful. Even after giving them a couple days to settle they still sounded horrible on this guitar. Put a set of EJ16's on and all is right with the world again. The EJ16's are also noticeably louder than the XS. Sounded like someone turned down the volume with the XS strings. The one thing I did like about the XS strings was the slickness. They did feel great and no finger noise, but no way were those plusses worth it given the way these strings seem dto rob the guitar of it's inherently good tone! Edited February 14, 2022 by sbpark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 You just missed the greatest D'Addario strings by one letter. Swap out the S for a T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted February 14, 2022 Author Share Posted February 14, 2022 (edited) 3 minutes ago, jedzep said: You just missed the greatest D'Addario strings by one letter. Swap out the S for a T. What makes the XT's better? What are the differences in tone, etc., between the XT's when compared to the XS and EJ's? EJ's are pretty much what I use as my starting point/gold standard. If a guitar doesn't sound good with EJ's the guitar simply doesn't sound good. Edited February 14, 2022 by sbpark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I love the new ones in the white pack. I have monels on my 00-28 right now and can't wait till they wear out. They were the only decent set the store had when I broke a string. I tried the XT's and didn't like them. I was never a D'ad guy till the XS's. I used Martin strings for a long time and got sick of the squeak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimousso Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I recently tried the XT, didn't like them at all. But sorry, can't describe them... I think the XS should be like Elixir nanoweb and need more than 2 days to settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 Haven’t tried D’Addario coated. I put a set of Elixir Nano 13-56 on my D-28 in 2018 and they’re still on there, fuzzy and black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I'ma couplea months into a very scientific test of Elixirs on three of my electrics, since there are three kinds of Webs. So far so good. I don't love them, I'm not mad at them. I don't know that I'll continue putting them on. I haven't found much difference at all between the three kinds. My acoustics have those brassy-bronzey looking kinds of strings on them that you kids use these days. I don't know what they are. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard McCoy Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 The XS are advertised as relatively bright strings by D'Addario, on their scale anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 (edited) yea,, I did try the XT strings, a bit too bright for me tried the XS strings, and thems was better.. and so I found a new "go to" string. True story.. Edited February 14, 2022 by kidblast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olie Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 The theme continues - each to his own. It's like the question - "what's a hen weigh?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 I didn’t like the XS at all. Made my SJ200 sound like a banjo. The XTs on the other hand, WOW. Amazing tone, feel, intonation and longevity. I won’t use anything else on my SJ200 and Maple AJ. Incredible strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egoidealmusic Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 Jinder can you tell me which XTs you're using? I've been using Sunbeams on my J-45 of late and really like them but would like something that last a bit longer if it's worth it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Z Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 I use XT on my maples (SJ-200 and Dove), XS on the rest. We all seem to have very different ears as to mine the XS strings sound bighter than XTs. But I have old, wornout ears with a tinnitus plugin. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 20 hours ago, egoidealmusic said: Jinder can you tell me which XTs you're using? I've been using Sunbeams on my J-45 of late and really like them but would like something that last a bit longer if it's worth it. I’m using 80/20 XTs, currently 13-56 tuned down to Eb. Absolutely love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted February 15, 2022 Share Posted February 15, 2022 13 hours ago, Peter Z said: I use XT on my maples (SJ-200 and Dove), XS on the rest. We all seem to have very different ears as to mine the XS strings sound bighter than XTs. But I have old, wornout ears with a tinnitus plugin. 🙂 I absolutely agree, the XTs are a warmer string. I didn’t get on with the XS but all my main players (SJ200, Dove and Maple AJ) are Maple, which may well account for the excess of brightness at play with the XS. The XTs have a wonderful chime and bloom to them though, my absolute favourites currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jricc Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 (edited) On 2/14/2022 at 10:11 AM, Sgt. Pepper said: I love the new ones in the white pack. I have monels on my 00-28 right now and can't wait till they wear out. They were the only decent set the store had when I broke a string. I tried the XT's and didn't like them. I was never a D'ad guy till the XS's. I used Martin strings for a long time and got sick of the squeak. I love the monels, have them on my Rainsong and my G-00. They sound good, they feel great. I got a pack of XS free and just put them on the G-00 and it's like a different guitar, the bass has tightened up and the upper mids are fuller. Ive gigged them twice and they have settled in. It also seems like the XS strings drive the top more. I really like them. Edited February 16, 2022 by jricc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, jricc said: I love the monels, have them on my Rainsong and my G-00. They sound good, they feel great. I got a pack of XS free and just put them on the G-00 and it's like a different guitar, the bass has tightened up and the upper mids are fuller. Ive gigged them twice and they have settled in. It also seems like the XS strings drive the top more. I really like them. Yeah I’m sticking with them. They last too. Edited February 16, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.