I love plain old D'Adarrio XL strings , but......

Don O said:
I have corosive sweat and can rust a set of strings with heavy playing in a few weeks. I starting using Elixir’s a few years ago and have been very pleased with them.
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A few weeks? How long do you leave your strings on? I waste a set of new strings in 5-6 hours of playing, feel like I am constantly changing them out.
 
I have strings that have been on 5-6 months.........on guitars--
I have strings over a year old oin the T-40 and T-45 ....probably going on 2 years on PEavey Unity Bass.....

You must beat the TAR outta your guitars--- or you sweat a lot --friend of mine does that his strings last about a week--
 
gball said:
A few weeks? How long do you leave your strings on? I waste a set of new strings in 5-6 hours of playing, feel like I am constantly changing them out.
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String changes are usually based on amount of play and that sweat factor mentioned. Some of us can go for months without a string change!

Add in the # of guitars factor and you can go even longer.
 
gball said:
A few weeks? How long do you leave your strings on? I waste a set of new strings in 5-6 hours of playing, feel like I am constantly changing them out.
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Well that depends. :hmmm: I made a couple dozen of these "fret savers" made from poster board and a piece of stick on foam about 20 years ago that slides under the strings all the way up the fret board and is held in place with the foam. Factor in X guitars, when I wear a set out I'll put one of these on it, set it aside and pick up another guitar and then repeat. Maybe once a year I do a string changing Saturday and knock a bunch out.


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It's really just that at about 5-6 hours I can feel and hear the difference. They aren't as elastic any more, and the 'punch' is diminished from the wound strings. Also, by that time they are starting to get flat spots and the intonation can get spotty. For under 4 bucks and 10 minutes' time I can have a new set on there and it makes my playing better, so I keep a 6-pack of strings on hand at all time.
 
The Slime came with strings I played for a while, then put D'addario's on it when I changed the bridge out. The bridge had a wobbly saddle, so I bought another one, thru it in the drawer with the whole idea of putting it on when I changed the strings. I just changed them out about a week ago. I do believe it's the first time I've had a set of strings on a guitar for abot a year - lol. No, I'm not trying to say D'addario's only need to be changed once a year, but - they still sounded good, still intonated/sounded true, weren't rusty/discolored, etc. Not that I left them on that long on purpose, I just never seemed to remember to change them every time I remembered I needed to change them - lol. I've just gotta quit letting my tone secrets out of the bag, man...
 
jtcnj said:
Tonight I had yet another ball end pull out on the high e string; where the string keeps going flat as the wind at the ball end fails.

One or two were on fairly new sets and I had extra high e to replace.
This and another were on sets that had been on a while but were still clean and serviceable with no divots at the frets yet.

Out of maybe 10 or so sets of 10-46 I bought as 3-packs in 2015 maybe, I think this is the 4th one. I had one instance of the stock strings that came on a new guitar so I dont know if I am lumping that one in.

This could be related to that particular lot / production run.
I emailed the company and told them I support the product but just wanted to report my experience.

Have you experienced this with these or other strings?

I also use Martin Darco plain old electrics and are very satisfied with them as well.
They both fit the "cheap but good" place I mostly operate in.
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I've had the same thing happen to me with a few packs of Throbak strings. Never with anything else. I've used Ernie Ball Slinkys for over 30 years, and never had a problem with a single set.
 
jtcnj said:
Tonight I had yet another ball end pull out on the high e string; where the string keeps going flat as the wind at the ball end fails.

One or two were on fairly new sets and I had extra high e to replace.
This and another were on sets that had been on a while but were still clean and serviceable with no divots at the frets yet.

Out of maybe 10 or so sets of 10-46 I bought as 3-packs in 2015 maybe, I think this is the 4th one. I had one instance of the stock strings that came on a new guitar so I dont know if I am lumping that one in.

This could be related to that particular lot / production run.
I emailed the company and told them I support the product but just wanted to report my experience.

Have you experienced this with these or other strings?

I also use Martin Darco plain old electrics and are very satisfied with them as well.
They both fit the "cheap but good" place I mostly operate in.
Click to expand...

I’ve had this happen to me with D’ Addario, too.

My favorite strings are Tomastik-Infeld Blues Sliders, made in Austria. But Tomastik doesn’t make sets with a wound third string, which disappoints me.

The Blues Sliders are about $20.00 a pack, but they really outlast a lot of others.
 
I cant really hear the difference if my strings are degrading, as far as tone or punchiness.
Maybe because it is slowly over time.
But I dont notice switching between guitars.

The biggest sign for me is divots under the frets, the stretchy ness may seem off, and things start to drift out of tune, mainly on B and G.
The tuning drift I hear.
I get very little rust because I am so anal about wiping them down and washing my hands.
 
I have been playing for 5 years 2 hours a day plus the odd gig and have never had a string break. I am at times a hard picker and strummer. I change my strings faithfully every 3 months or when I hear the strings lose their brightness. I will keep using D"Addario Nickel Wound 10-46s. They give me great service.
 
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Is that Sammy's Three-Lock Box???
 
I love Symphony bars from Hersheys
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Ive been to Hershey Pa. whole town smells like chocolate-- and he city light poles are hershey kisses---- and I think its where Oompah Loompahs live......
 
UPDATE:
I have been playing the GHS 10-46 boomers on 2 guitars:
1. The 25" scale BWG P90 DC that I have been floundering for good P90 tone.
The only thing is I get a harmonic ring out on the G string I never had after muting the strings entirely with my palm, on the release.

2. The AXL LP I have some noise unresolved issue I still have to get sorted.
No complaints on the strings.

I like these strings fine, we will see how they age.
I will add these to my list of approved gear to stock up on if the right deal appears.
 
I am a fan of D'Addarios. They sound good and aren't expensive.

I use the light gauge regular stuff, even lighter than the OP's, and naver had any problems.

But I do change strings quite regularly. Until recently, I gigged at least once or twice a month, and I hate string breakage, so I'd change strings before each gig, so I could play with fresh strings each time.

Elixirs are good, but to be honest, I never really noticed a difference in tone and they're VERY expensive here, so I stick with D'Addarios.
 
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