String Brands ???????

[EQ79]

Ok so i sat down today to order some strings and realized that i use alot of different brands. Am i alone in using different brands on different guitars? Here's what i use Gibson vintage reissue's on my Gold top reissue and G-400 , Gretsch strings on my 5120 , DR pure blues on my tele , Fender bullets on my strat and D'Addario EXP15 on my acoustic. Not sure what i am going to use on my P93 just got it a few days ago. Is this normal or do you guys find a brand and stick with them.

[Ron G]

Yes

[midiman56]

I'm very consistant. I use the Elixer Nanoweb lights on every guitar I own ... although I am thinking of going up to 11's on my Gretsch 5120. I love these strings ... great sound and they last and last! I play nightly (well, five nights a week, anyway), so I am always on the look-out for a reliable, great sounding string.

 

Elixer 12052 Light: .010 .013 .017 .026w .036w .046w

 

Jim

[Steven Lister]

Is this normal or do you guys find a brand and stick with them.

5 brands on 5 guitars isn't abnormal -- you're beyond the pale' date=' brother. lol

Strings are to most guitar players what cigarettes are to puffers. Brand loyal to the death -- or at least until a new gig/pal comes along and someone twists your arm until you try his or her brand.

 

I switched to DR Pure Blues last year after 13 yrs. w/Ernies. My acoustic still has Ernies on her but I'm so thrilled with the DRs (over Ernies) that she's next up for a change.

 

Hit every BLUE NOTE baaaby..., I'm going to play on:-"

[wedgeSG]

I use Cleartone 10's on everything and I plan on trying a set of their light top/heavy bottoms soon

as well. That said, I recently discovered a small local shop that stocks SIT strings. I've heard some

pretty good remarks on 'em and the guy at the shop was a huge fan of them as well. Priced in line

or below with E. Balls they have one feature that makes them really attractive (IMHO)... they come

in packs of eight strings - they throw in an extra B and high E with every set. According to the shop-

keeper they are one of the few remaining string companies that are still using specified high quality

American steels in the production of strings. (Cleartone also does this) I haven't researched this to

any degree, (the steel origins), but plan on trying the SIT strings just due to the bonus replacements.

Seems breaking a high E has caused me more string changes than any other factor. True enough, if

one goes they probably all due for a change: but stretchin' that a tad and stockpiling extras is still a

good thing. Has anybody here tried the SIT stuff???

 

Wedgie

[tulsaslim]

I'm a GHS man myself, although I use several different kinds.

[Dave]

I keep coming back to D'addario XL10. I've tried EB, DR, SIT, and a half a dozen other manufacturers. I just like the D'addarios.

 

DR Pure Blues sound great and feel great, but I had to adjust my truss rod to stop the buzzing when I installed them. With SIT, EB, and the other 10's I didn't. There's something about the DR's that creates lower tension in the same guages.

[MichaelE]

I like EB Slinkies on the LP, but I use GHS White Bronze on the acoustics.

 

My new guitar will come with Thomastik, but I've never used these before so I don't really know what to expect.

[RobinTheHood]

I was using D'Addarios on all of my guitars because they are cheap and I was playing ALOT and changing them every week. I am switching over to Elixer Nanowebs now because I spend more time on bass and the Elixers seem to hold up better in the humidity when not being played.

Incidently, I have had a set of Elixers on my Kramer for about a year (electronic problems - doesnt get played right now) and the only string that has corroded it the high E.

 

As far as bass, at $30+ a set, I use whatever is cheapest or available without having to drive ten miles to Guitar Center. I dont even remember what brand I put on it.

[matiac]

D'Aquisto 10's. I play pretty regularly, and have had the same set on my blue guitar for almost 2 years, and they're finally beginning to crap out, before those I was a GHS (Boomer .009's) guy, but they didn't last too long. Waaaay back in the day I used to use Fender Super Bullets, and liked 'em well enough, but again, they'd crap out after about 4 or 5 months. Techy turned me on to the D'Aquisto strings.

[clarkuss]

I use Elixir strings on all my guitars but different gauges for different guitars. I'm thinking of venturing into flatwounds for two of my guitars though

[IntelligentAl]

I've tried a couple of different brands, but I always go back to Ernie Ball Super Slinkys.

 

They have great tone...

[byrds1965]

You are not alone.

 

Each guitar seems to like different things. My HB electrics all take Markley 11s with the Strat, Tele, and G400s 10s.

 

My acoustics take all different kinds and as some like some things and others like others.

[sledge57]

I've been using Dean Markleys Blue Steel Custom Lights (Hi E, B and G strings are the same gauge as 9's and the Lo E, A & D are the same gauge as 10's, gives a fatter bass sound and still bends easy) on my junk, but I think I'll try those Elixer Nanoweb lights next time.

 

Strings are cheap, I like to experiment :D

[Lord Summerisle]

Solid bodies:

 

 

 

 

Semis:

 

 

 

 

Acoustics:

 

[RSDx]

EB 10s on the LP, D'Addario acoustic 11s on the AJ. I should probably try something different on the electric - been using Ernie Balls since '70's

[bill67]

I use Gretsch flat wound on all my electrics,And Dr and Gibsons on my acoustics.

[fenrirlupus]

Ok so i sat down today to order some strings and realized that i use alot of different brands. Am i alone in using different brands on different guitars? Here's what i use Gibson vintage reissue's on my Gold top reissue and G-400 ' date=' Gretsch strings on my 5120 , DR pure blues on my tele , Fender bullets on my strat and D'Addario EXP15 on my acoustic. Not sure what i am going to use on my P93 just got it a few days ago. Is this normal or do you guys find a brand and stick with them.[/quote']

well, i've only got one guitar... but at first i was using ernie ball slinky strings, but those were too expensive at the music store in town for me to keep using them... so i tried d'addario... BIG mistake. they died very quickly. so i bought ernie ball slinkys from music123... this time the pure nickel kind... and that's what i've been using ever since. (cheaper on amazon.com though)

 

i'd like to try some steel GHS flatwound strings next...

 

and does anyone have any experience with pyramid strings? i've only seen poor quality pictures of the packages online, and they're only available from a few dealers... :

[Dennis G]

I'm not an anal type, but I finally had to set up a spreadsheet so I could keep track of what strings are on what guitar and when they were last changed. :P

 

My acoustic/elec's have D'Addario EXP16 12's. I like the crisp sound I get on the Ovations.

My Gretsch 5122 has D'Addario EXP115, Jazz/Blues/Rock, 11'as

My PRS SE Custom came factory setup with 9's, & I've tolerated them about as long as I can. I'm going to upgrade the p/u's at some point and have it setup for 10's.

I have 10's on my other 4 elec's,

 

I've been using Cleartones for close to a year and like them a lot, although I recently bought a couple of sets of Elixer Nanowebs to compare. Just put them on a couple weeks ago, but so far I'm finding them pretty comparable to the CT's in sound. We'll see who lasts longer LOL. I just had some work done on my Strat & they didn't have either of the strings I'm using, so I had them put some Ernie's on to try. They're ok, but I'm not sure I'll try them again. We'll see.

[Sjael]

I do loves me my Everly B-52 lights, but I find they don't typically last long enough so I usually use some D'Addario EXL110s and bust out the Everlys for gigging and recording. :P

[captmidnight]

EB 10s on the LP Studio and the peavey reactor (I have been using EBs for years)....the WildKat has elixir nanoweb 11s, they play and bend as easy as the EB 10s and sound just as good (if not better), and even with the Bigsby (which I don't use alot but enough) they stay in tune and last twice as long, if not longer than the EBs.

On the acoustic I have GHS 12s and even tho they sound good they play like barbed wire...lol

 

I still like the EBs alot and when the Elixirs have out lasted 3 sets of ernie balls and I can see it being worth while to spend that much on them, I may change everything over to Elixirs...they feel a little funny to start with, so needed some getting use to for me anyway, but when you do they play and sound great. 12 plus bucks for a set of strings tho just doesn't set right with me, but they are damn nice.

 

Capt

[bvarsel]

I've been using Dean Markleys Blue Steel Custom Lights (Hi E' date=' B and G strings are the same gauge as 9's and the Lo E, A & D are the same gauge as 10's, gives a fatter bass sound and still bends easy) on my junk, but I think I'll try those Elixer Nanoweb lights next time.

 

Strings are cheap, I like to experiment [/quote']

 

+1 Sledge. I really like the Blue Steel Custom Lights on my LP. Also thinking of trying the Elixers. So many good things said about them.

[Notes_Norton]

I use D'Addario's for a few reasons:

 

1) They are inexpensive, I change strings often and I play music to make a profit

 

2) They come in corrosion resistant packaging - in Florida a set of DRs can rust in the box in a month

 

3) They come in environmental packaging, one envelope for all 6 strings, and all the package is recyclable

 

4) Most important of all, I like the way they sound on my guitar(s).

 

Notes

[Doth]

This is a very interesting question.

 

A few years ago I took an impromptu of a Dean Markley distributor. I was there on a sales call, and told him I played guitar, one thing led to another and he showed me the back office. I don't know if he was full of BS, but he told me that the vast majority of strings are not manufactured by the names we know. There are only a couple of companies that make strings. The String companies simply coat and then package the wire. Take it for what it is worth, but it seemed reasonable when I thought about it.

 

On all my electrics, I play GHS boomers (10's), just cause I like the string size matching and the sound. They seem to last fine for me. I have tried Elixars, but it was many years ago when they first came out, and I would break them quite frequently.

 

On my acoustics, especially my 12 string I go with D'Addario. If you have ever restrung an acoustic 12 string, you would appreciate the color matching of the ball ends. On my Ovation Legacy LX, there are not bridge pins, the strings pass through the bridge (if you have an ovation or ever looked at the bridge you would know what I mean), so the color coating helps from getting mixed up when you are changing 12 strings of multiple varying gauges that are very close to other strings. Plus, they actually sound very nice and seem to last a reasonable amount of time in my humidity.

 

Doth

[lpfan]

Solid bodies:

 

 

 

 

Acoustics:

 

 

I have been pretty happy with this combo so far.