Weird D'addario String Behavior:

What i found really strange was that gauge for gauge, the D'addario's took much greater tension at an equal pitch...so much so that the Floyd needed resetting.
That is strange though.

Only thing I can think is possibly the metals used could cause that? I dunno.
 
weird..can't remember breaking a guitar string but have flung 2 E strings in a bass..all amped up in the metal days,,,thats a nasty event..lol

alternate pick a lot tho. think that takes a whack out of the attack & also how the arc being a subtle approach angle vs strait on..when you flick or flutter the movement comes a lil further & a flat plane of attack is happening vs so downward with pressue..prob have learned this on clean amp set only to break up with string attack..
 
A few years ago there was an issue with companies making fake D'Addarios and selling them cheap on eBay

If the strings seemed very different from previous sets you have used I would say you've been burnt.

I have been using D'Addario EXL117 strings for nearly five years now and they have been totally consistent, no problems whatsoever.
 
I'm generally very consistent. I use only EB's from the plant in Coachella, California, or my local Guitar Sinner, and red tortoise Fender medium picks from my local Guitar Sinner.

I've had problems with D'addario's from Guitar Sinner before on a client's instrument. Mostly tuning instability, which wasn't horrible, but went away when we switched to Ernie Balls.

I have D'addario's on my 12 string, tuned to E-flat, and they've been fine, but i only play two songs on the 12 string...
 
Had a few sets of XL's on hand and decided to use them on my Schecter C1-FR before Sunday's marathon rehearsal. They were EXL-120 .009 x .042's and - as always- i mic'd them to confirm diameters.

I put them on and dropped the guitar to Eb, then leveled the bridge and adjusted the relief.

I played it a few days before locking the nut and took it to rehearsal. I was playing rhythm, so i didn't even have my bar installed.

Right away, i noticed the strings felt heavier, the guitar sounded darker and my tuning just wasn't stable as it was before. I just ignored it.

Last night, i went back to the Ernie Ball Cobalt .009 x .046's that i have always used and tuned it right back to Eb, which is where all our guitars are for this project.

Immediately i noticed the guitar came to pitch much faster, but that's when i saw the bridge- which was dead-level with the XL .009 x .042's - was now pulled back to where the rear edge of the bridge was below the body cutout.

It took almost a full turn of the claw screws to return the bridge to level. The D'addario's, despite being a lighter gauge, took more tension to reach pitch.

The guitar felt lighter and had a brighter tone, but stretched in really quickly, which is how they always seem to me.

Now, when i looked at the D'addario's i took off, i noticed the wrap was opening where the string bent over the saddle radius. Not sure if this even matters, but i noticed it.

View attachment 38342

Hmmmmm....

Robert
I think what's happened is that you bought counterfeit knock-off strings.
 
after this thread...can not believe the dif in the E strings on the last 2 orders, not a real tech guy but very sensitive to the ears & feel with tone..

the E on last batch is thicker & will not flex much in comparison..crazy thing is..like em both cause there was someting new & dif to hear & used that already on a passage
 
Robert
I think what's happened is that you bought counterfeit knock-off strings.

Could be...

These were given to me by a client, so the origin is unknown...but, i have seen the bridge anomaly before with D'addario's bought from Guitar Sinner.

EB .010's and the bridge is level.

D'addario .010's and the bridge is raised and needs more spring tension to pull it level
 
I've used maybe ten or more sets of D'Addario EXL117 strings over the last couple of years since my Gotoh GE1996T was set up and haven't had to adjust the claw once.

I think you have seen some counterfeit strings. They were quite common here a few years back, to the point that D'Addario sales really dropped
 
I will say that I have experienced a couple of odd things with D’Addario over the years.

I’ve had the winding come unwound at the ball end. I’ve also had the core wire actually spilt one of the colored ball ends in half. The colored ball ends are plastic, not metal.
 
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