What kinds of strings do you use?

[Sean]

Why are they your faves?

[wideopenears]

R. Gould six string sets with taper-core B and E. But those are bass strings, eh?

[NogbadTheBad]

Shoe strings.

[Sean]

You rebel! Do you eat your parsley too?

[100423]

DR HiBeams in a custom guage they do for me. :cool

[everythingtoexcess]

For electrics I was a die hard Dean Markley guy for years. Just recently I tried D'Addario XL110's again for the first time in about 20 years. Either they're better or I'm different because I TOTALLY love them. and they're cheap... With 30 guitars, you just can't beat that.
For acoustics I have a theory that every guitar has a "right" set. I'm using 80/20 Elixir Nanos on my gigging Taylors (t-5 and 814ce) because they sound EXACTLY the same through the PA as any other strings and last 20 times longer. For recording and for my non-gigging acoustics (Taylor GS Limited and Takamine NP25C and 1970 square shoulder Gibson J45) I've been using (unbelieveably) Gibson acoustic strings.

[B D]

A few months ago I put DiAddario "Chromes" flatwound strings on my Rickenbacker 4001, after using Rotosound or GHS roundwounds for the previous 38 years, and it sounds MORE like a Rickenbacker than it EVER did with the roundwounds. The fundamental is much more clear and punchy, and the attack is even better than with roundwounds. On my various guitars I use all sorts of guages, the lightest are standard 10's and the heaviest are a custom set I use on my Gretsch G5127: 14-16-20-32-42-54.

[Jay G]

For electrics my boy prefers and always uses D'Addario. 9-42s on the 2 Super Strats and 2 Telecasters. 10-46s on the 2 Les Pauls and PRS. Uses Martin 12-14 sets on his Martin.

[Koreabruce]

Electric 6-string: D'Addario Electric Guitar Half Round Stainless Regular Lite, .010 - .046, EHR310
Electric 12-string: GHS Electric Guitar 12 String Boomers Roundwound Ex. Light, .009 - .040, GB-12XL
Acoustic 6-string: C.F. Martin Acoustic Guitar Six String 80/20 Bronze Light, .012 - .054, MSP-3100
Acoustic 12-string: Ernie Ball Twelve String Acoustic Guitar - Earthwood 12 String Light, .009 - .046, 2010

[Seven8]

Ernie Ball Super Slinky. I've never had a reason to change.

[Kim Olesen]

Rotosound 0.9 on guitars with regular tuning. (Fender strats). When downtuned i use rotosound 0.11 on my Parker Fly Deluxe and my Schecter Hellraiser.

[N_Singh]

Thomastik Enfeld (TI) Roundwound 14-55. Simply the best.

[Joe F.]

Ernie Ball Super Slinkys for 33 years and counting.

[Sean]

Me too!!

[Big Block 454 part 2]

Ernie Balls 10s.

[Canvas]

Dean Markley .009-.042's (Blue Steel or regular)

[progmatist]

On electric guitars: D'Addario 10s
On bass: Rotosound 66 Swing Bass

[ForeverAutumn]

I only play accoustic. I use Elixer Phosphor Bronze Nanowebs. I hate the sound that happens when you slide your fingers down the strings and these are the least noisy strings I could find. They are very easy to play and have a nice warm tone to them.

[Thomas]

I used to buy Dean Markley, but after DR Strings were introduced I changed to that brand. 10-52 is the gauges I have been using for 30 years.

[Farpoint Kevin]

I only play accoustic. I use Elixer Phosphor Bronze Nanowebs... They are very easy to play and have a nice warm tone to them.

This is mostly true of me as well, though I find myself playing more electric and bass these days. For acoustic I specifically used ony Elixir Nanoweb for years, although recently I have been torn between these and the Martin SPs. For bass I recently tried some DRs and man did they sound good! For electric I usually just go with basic Fenders, or sometimes Elixirs as well if I can afford them at the time. :)

[Mr. Grizzly Bear]

Really liking both Martin AND D'Addario phosphor bronze 80/20 acoustic strings, 0.10's, bright chimey tone, good longevity.

[No Pride]

D'Addario XL .10s. They're the only non-coated strings I've found that don't break. I was breaking E and B strings like mad before I discovered them. GHS, Fender, Dean Markleys, it didn't matter; I'd break 'em all, sometimes the same day I put new strings on. Since I discovered D'Addarios, I haven't broken a string in well over two years. I think it's because of the air-tight packaging. Strings that sit in those little paper envelopes that everybody else uses can become corroded before you ever put them on your guitar. AND the D'Addarios sound great!

[ForeverAutumn]

I was restringing my guitar on the weekend and broke a brand new Elixer string as I was tuning. :mad The only other strings I had were D'Addarios. So I now have a D'Addario G-string. |) But generally I don't like 'em. Too loud when I slide.

[mightcould Tim]

I usually put Elixir Nanowebs on my acoustic. I find they sound great and (usually) last a very long time. I'd been using light gauge for years, but lately, I've used mediums. As backup (cheaper) strings, I use D'Addarios. As for my electric (which I don't play as much), I usually just use plain D'Addario XL's, but I'm much less brand loyal to those.

[rapidfirerob]

GHS Brite Flats on my basses.

[spknoevl]

I go back and forth between D'addario 9-42s and 10-46s. I've also been experimenting with Elixir Nanowebs. My basses are all string with Rotosound medium roundwounds.

[Jay G]

I keep hearing great things about DR strings so I just picked up a couple packs of Neon Yellow 9-42s for my sons XMAS stocking. I think these things will look just awesome against the Kandy Blue Charvel.

[AdventAlan]

Greetings,

I generally use Gibson "Brite Wires" 009-042s on my electrics (all solid-bodies at this point), GHS "White Bronze" light-gauge strings on my 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, D'Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon on my classical guitar, and what is now considered medium gauge Stick strings from Stick Enterprises. My highest priority is tone in all cases, but longevity is also another factor.

Cheers,


Alan

[Mikhael]

I use cheap strings on my electrics. The tonal difference between a lot of these brands is very hard to discern, and the fact is that many brands are re-named from the same manufacturers. That said, my favourites were Dean Markleys, but they broke a lot more often than others. After chopping the tip of my index finger off a few years back, I went to .009s, and found that amp settings were capable of changing the tone anyway.

I don't tend to like brand new strings on my guitars. I like them to have been on for about a week before I use them in any critical (live/studio) situation. The tone is stable, and so's the tuning...

[Pekka]

D'Addario EXL. Relatively cheap and very consistent. They're available as 8- and 12-string sets which is a plus.

[kid_runningfox]

Elixir Nanowebs 11-52 on 6-string acoustic
D'Addario Phosphor-Bronze on 12-string acoustic (10s)
D'Addario EXL120s (9-42) on electric guitar.

No idea on the basses, as I haven't changed their strings in some time!

[Azol]

I might as well consider trying Elixir Nanowebs, reading all the posts of Nanoweb love :)
D'Addario Phosphor Bronze 11-52 on acoustic
Fender Nickel-plated Steel 9-46 on electric, though considering moving to D'Addario as well.

[No Pride]

All you guys who use 9s to 42s, I'm politely nudging you to try moving up a gauge, only because I eventually did and I think it was beneficial. I always used 10s on Gibson scale length guitars, but when I moved to a Fender scale length, I thought they were too hard to bend. The quandry was that 9s sounded thinner and plinkier, especially above the 12th fret on the high E string. I started using 9.5s for a while and even that tiny bit of extra thickness helped the tone noticeably. Eventually, I thought, "heck, if I can satisfactorally bend these 9.5s on a Fender scale length, I bet I can do the same with 10s." And I can! It took some getting used to, but it was just a matter of pushing those finger muscles a little harder. At first I couldn't do those Albert King style major third bends on the high E and B strings, but in less than a week I could! A week of struggle isn't much and at least for me, it was way worth it, because the thicker the string, the more tone you're going to get!

DISCLAIMER: Some guitar players I dig like Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor use really light strings and still manage to get a great sound. I don't understand how, but they do! But in general, I think it's easier to get better tone out of a thicker string gauge. Try it; you might like it!

[sonic]

La Bella double balls ;) for my Steiny. I wish there was more choice...

[Robbue]

Elixir Nanoweb 10's on my electrics. Tone outlasts anything I've ever tried and the coating also makes playing less abrasive.

[Mikhael]

All you guys who use 9s to 42s, I'm politely nudging you to try moving up a gauge, only because I eventually did and I think it was beneficial. I always used 10s on Gibson scale length guitars, but when I moved to a Fender scale length, I thought they were too hard to bend. The quandry was that 9s sounded thinner and plinkier, especially above the 12th fret on the high E string. I started using 9.5s for a while and even that tiny bit of extra thickness helped the tone noticeably. Eventually, I thought, "heck, if I can satisfactorally bend these 9.5s on a Fender scale length, I bet I can do the same with 10s." And I can! It took some getting used to, but it was just a matter of pushing those finger muscles a little harder. At first I couldn't do those Albert King style major third bends on the high E and B strings, but in less than a week I could! A week of struggle isn't much and at least for me, it was way worth it, because the thicker the string, the more tone you're going to get!

DISCLAIMER: Some guitar players I dig like Allan Holdsworth and Ty Tabor use really light strings and still manage to get a great sound. I don't understand how, but they do! But in general, I think it's easier to get better tone out of a thicker string gauge. Try it; you might like it!

I know this is heresy, but I discovered something. To preface this, I should tell you that a couple of years ago I shaved the end of my left index finger off (I'm a lefty who plays righty). Although it's grown back, it's still very sensitive, and probably always will be. So .009s are about as heavy as I can stand anymore.

The discovery? It's an ELECTRIC guitar. Not an ACOUSTIC. So, my amp has preamp and master volume knobs on it, as well as tone knobs (and the mid is semi-parametric; it's a Pearce). With very little knob twiddling, I brought back the tone I was missing from having gone to lighter strings. My only problem was to develop a lighter touch, with chording or lead work, in order to not push the strings out-of-tune.

On an acoustic guitar, going with lighter string gauges does cause thinner tone and less volume, and there's not much you can do about it (except at the board when recording/amplifying, and even then, excitation of the top of the guitar is a problem). But with an electric, the tone is such a subjective matter, and the possibilities for adjustment are so great, that I don't believe the lighter strings cause any problem that's insurmountable. As you mentioned, many guitarists use lighter strings with good results. Heck, everyone seems to like Malmsteen's tone, and the silly bugger uses .008s...

[everythingtoexcess]

I keep hearing great things about DR strings so I just picked up a couple packs of Neon Yellow 9-42s for my sons XMAS stocking. I think these things will look just awesome against the Kandy Blue Charvel.

I had never tried DRs until this summer at NEARfest. Einar, The guitarist from Gosta Berlings Saga, had me put a set on his guitar. I've restrung guitars many thousands of times and I'm at least adequate at it. I got them all on there and the intonation on the D and A strings was MILES out. The A was so far out that I couldn't adjust the bridge far enough to put it back in. I stuck a couple D'addarios that I had in my truck (they'd been in there for YEARS, by the way) on there and it was perfect. I had never run across that before and I don't know for sure if it was the strings or not, but the strings were the only variable, so.... Anyone else ever have that problem with DRs or any other strings?

[Mikhael]

Yep. I've had some where the windings holding the ball were too long and caused that problem. Others weren't a constant diameter for the length of the string, and caused that.

[Iszil]

Ernie Ball 0.10 for bout acoustic and electric guitars, all the way!

[llanwydd]

Same as above. Ernie Ball nylon strings. Much longer lasting than D'addario.

[Jimmy Giant]

ARP Solina emulation and Mellotron mostly my strings of choice!

But the Acoustic gets D'Addario EXP light (I think - I don't really play, but have a Takamine handy)
Great sound.

[kid_runningfox]

Ernie Ball 0.10 for bout acoustic and electric guitars, all the way!

On the recommendation of a friend I fitted some of Ernie Ball's hyper-expensive coated to strings to my 6-string acoustic just before Christmas. God, they were horrible - really dull sounding, and they had the rough, 'unfinished' feel that I usually associate with Rotosound bass strings. In fact so nasty did they feel to play that I actually struggled to play pieces that I'd usually breeze through. Not nice at all, and I went back to Elixirs absolutely asap.

[B D]

I am still really loving these DiAdarrio "Chromes" flatwound strings I put on my old Rickenbacker 4001 bass a few months ago, after having used roundwounds on it (GHS or occasionally Rotosounds) for the past 38 years. Here's what it sounds like:
http://soundcloud.com/b-d-1/going-nowhere-2013

I played the bass part twice, though my trusty old Kustom 250 (bought in 1972) and a 60's Fender Bassman (both amps at the same time)
Bob
www.bdrak.com

[Iszil]

I don't use hyper-expensive strings; just standard price. For the acoustic I'm using Ernie Ball's Earthwood Extra Light and they sound great. Maybe you should go cheaper and try those.

[everythingtoexcess]

For the acoustic I'm using Ernie Ball's Earthwood Extra Light and they sound great. Maybe you should go cheaper and try those.
I used Earthwoods for years. They were fantastic and cheap, but then they started to get REALLY inconsistent. I started breaking G and D strings at least once per gig (they would unwind from around the ball end...?), and I would sometimes open a pack to find that the B and E strings were already tarnished. I wrote and complained and they sent me a pack of the strings I was complaining about. Yay. I switched to Martins and Dean Markleys after that and then on to Elixirs, but I never liked them as much as when the Earthwoods were good. It's been...eeeek...12 years since I tried the Earthwoods. Maybe I should give them another shot.

[Jubal]

I use Adamas Phosphor Bronze light guage on my Augustino acoustic. I believe Will Ackerman uses them. They have a nice shimmery tone.

[Davey Dee]

After using D'addario 10-46 for over 20 years I've started experimenting with brands & gauges. Been using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky 9-46, kinda like a 9 set on top and a 10 set on the bottom. Really pleased with them. Also the same gauge in the new cobalt series, although I cant justify spending 10 bucks for a set and not really hearing much difference.