Guitar strings

Danuda

Senior Member
Messages
407
I am looking for any recommendations for guitar strings.  I have used Ernie Ball Slinkys since I started playing guitar, but lately I have had nothing but problems with them.  The balls at the end of the unwound strings seem to slip slowly over time until it falls off and the string pops out of the bridge.  I have had this with 4-5 sets of Ernie Ball strings now.  The most recent was just 30 minutes ago on a set of strings I had on for less than a month.  The string doesn't break, the wind at the end just comes undone.  It is also has a tendency to make the string go flat as it slowly slips so end up constantly tuning the guitar.  The problem seems to happen randomly.  Sometimes I will have a set that lasts until the strings wear and I replace them.  Then maybe the next two sets have issues.  Its driving me nuts.
 
I've always had good luck with D'Addario XL strings. Sometimes I'll throw on a set of Fender stainless steel strings, just for fun or to brighten things up a bit.
 
I use Fender 150s....had the same issue about 5 years ago.  Then it all was good again
 
I'm a fan of Elixir nanoweb coated strings.  I usually change 'em once or twice a year.
 
AutoBat said:
I'm a fan of Elixir nanoweb coated strings.  I usually change 'em once or twice a year.

+1

Once you try these, it's hard to use any other set of strings ever again.
 
I've used nothing but Ernie Balls for the past 20 years and have never had that problem.

Dean Markley Blue Steel is a very good choice.
 
The last time I used Elixirs I hated them. They would get fuzzy. That's dumb. I really like the DR Silverstars for coated strings. The Dimebag sets are nice too. Ya can't go wrong with DR's.
 
I keep Ernie Ball .010's on my Strats and .009's on my Music Man. When I play a gig I switch to DR's
MULLY
 
I use both, Ernie Ball Slinky and Fender Super Bullets. On both Trem and hard tail guitars.
All are 10's -- 46's
No drama's with either  :icon_thumright:

Been meaning to try those Elixir nanoweb coated strings. Shall grab some next time.
 
Elixir nanowebs  :hello2:
yes, do eventually get fuzzy ...but takes months for me. i change them about every 6-8 months (playing pretty much daily...er nightly)
 
I've never had that problem with EB either, in decades of use.

You could try the Ernie Ball RPS strings. They have a reinforced wrap which might help.

The only other strings I use are GHS Boomers, on my Gilmour strat. They do a signature gauge set.
 
On closer inspection my last string did not unwind at the back, it broke at the back.  I wish I had one of the strings that the wind at the back unraveled so I could take a picture of it unraveled.


 
Doughboy said:
AutoBat said:
I'm a fan of Elixir nanoweb coated strings.  I usually change 'em once or twice a year.

+1

Once you try these, it's hard to use any other set of strings ever again.

Yup, made the switch about 10 years ago, I use them on everything now.  You can order 7 string sets through www.juststrings.com, as well as baritone sets, so it's kind of a one stop shop for all your strings.

I only experienced the breakage near the ball area for a brief time about 30 years ago when I had a Kahler trem.  Then D'Addario started selling sets with this area soldered for re-inforcement.  Once I made the switch from the Kahler to a Floyd & standard trem, I never had any issues.  Ernie Balls were very consistent for me for 20+ years, but since I was rehearsing and gigging so much I found it to get quite expensive changing strings on 3 or 4 guitars once or twice every week.  With the Elixr's, I only have to a few times a year, but then again, I don't gig out like I used to either.
 
Danuda said:
I am looking for any recommendations for guitar strings.  I have used Ernie Ball Slinkys since I started playing guitar, but lately I have had nothing but problems with them.  The balls at the end of the unwound strings seem to slip slowly over time until it falls off and the string pops out of the bridge.  I have had this with 4-5 sets of Ernie Ball strings now.  The most recent was just 30 minutes ago on a set of strings I had on for less than a month.  The string doesn't break, the wind at the end just comes undone.  It is also has a tendency to make the string go flat as it slowly slips so end up constantly tuning the guitar.  The problem seems to happen randomly.  Sometimes I will have a set that lasts until the strings wear and I replace them.  Then maybe the next two sets have issues.  Its driving me nuts.

I've had good luck with DR's "Pure Blues."  They have a nice "snap" to them and have lasted me a long time.  No complaints about them here...
 
I love my Elixirs.  I have very low pH hands, stainless steel frets on my Strat, and a pretty light touch, so they tend to last forever on that guitar and slightly less than forever on my other guitars. I don't have any problems with mine getting fuzzy when I use the Nanoweb, especially on the Strat, but sometimes when I use the Polyweb on my acoustics they do after a while.

But you know what?  Even when they do get a little fuzzy - it takes months to get that way, it doesn't affect the feel or sound (for me anyways), and I usually change them shortly after that happens anyways.  Non-issue for me. 

I will say though, a lot of it depends on the player.  I used to change my boss's guitar strings, and even when using Elixirs, I had to change them kind of a lot because that guy somehow just gunked them up and broke them so fast.  I remember telling him that if he washed his hands before playing and just went a little gentler on the strings instead of slamming them all the time, I wouldn't have to change them so much, but I guess when you ONLY play when you're totally stoned, it's hard to remember.  I don't know how you break strings that often without trying to though.  I've broken maybe 3 in my entire guitar playing life, and I think 2 of those were when I was tuning or re-stringing. 

I did get some Ernie Ball Coated strings at NAMM, so I'm going to try those out soon.  I probably won't end up changing from the Elixirs in the long run, but I thought I'd give the new ones a shot. 
 
I got a free couple of sets of Cleartones once, they were ok, nothing to complain about, but not as much clarity as the Elixr's in my opinion.

I haven't tried any of the other coated strings yet.  Some of them are more expensive than Elixr's, which of all places that I've found them, the cheapest is actually BEST BUY, same with Ernie Ball Slinky's.
 
Daze of October said:
Danuda said:
I am looking for any recommendations for guitar strings.  I have used Ernie Ball Slinkys since I started playing guitar, but lately I have had nothing but problems with them.  The balls at the end of the unwound strings seem to slip slowly over time until it falls off and the string pops out of the bridge.  I have had this with 4-5 sets of Ernie Ball strings now.  The most recent was just 30 minutes ago on a set of strings I had on for less than a month.  The string doesn't break, the wind at the end just comes undone.  It is also has a tendency to make the string go flat as it slowly slips so end up constantly tuning the guitar.  The problem seems to happen randomly.  Sometimes I will have a set that lasts until the strings wear and I replace them.  Then maybe the next two sets have issues.  Its driving me nuts.

I've had good luck with DR's "Pure Blues."  They have a nice "snap" to them and have lasted me a long time.  No complaints about them here...

I too really like the DR Pure Blues for my electrics.  I really like the sound, but I have had an occasional string failure with them.  However not enough to make me switch brands.
For acoustic, I love the DR Rare and a close runner up the DR Sunbeam.  I have found no other acoustic strings that come close to those for sound. 
:rock-on:
 
TonyFlyingSquirrel said:
I got a free couple of sets of Cleartones once, they were ok, nothing to complain about, but not as much clarity as the Elixr's in my opinion.

I felt the same way.  I was looking for Elixirs somewhere and they were out, so the guy at the shop talked me into trying the Cleartones.  I went back the the Elixirs. 
 
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