Guitar strings

I recently bought a nice guitar so I changed the strings. I use D'Addario XL140 10-52 tuned at A440. I thought that the D'Addario's sound was good until I put the new strings on, it could be that the old string were a different gauge, but the new D'Addarios sounded way bad. What strings are the best in your opinion? I'm going to buy several different sets today to test out because whatever was on the guitar when I bought it sound so much clearer than the D'Addarios.

I like D'Addarios myself. Maybe the previous strings were steel on steel, not nickel on steel?

Could be steel on steel, all I know is I liked the sound of the old strings more, they were consideribly clearer, not brighter, but they seemed louder and sustained longer without being harder to play.

Steel on steel will definitely be brighter.

I use Ernie Balls because they sound best to me; however, they do wear out very quickly if you don't clean them regularly.

I use D'Addario EXP110s. Best strings I've ever used.

D'Addario EXL110. Buy them by the 10 pack every three months. I cycle four guitars between the weekly gigs (cover band), rehearsal and teaching guitar. The gigs kill strings on an average in 3-4 weeks each guitar. That's with bringing 3 different guitars w different tunings/sound to each gig. I need cheap and consistent. :lol:

I prefer Dean Markley Regular, but it works out to be 3-4 packs of extra strings throughout the year if I use D'Addario. :mrgreen:

It is unusual to buy a guitar with 0.010s. Probably it had 0.009, which would sound brighter.

I have used D'Addario XL for 30 years and have been really happy with them. I've never gotten a dead-sounding set. Always very consistent. I've tried other brands and didn't hear a significant difference.

Like the OP, I use D'Addario XL140s also. I've played around with a few different brands, but I always came back to the XL140s and have been using them for 30 years on various solid and semi-hollow bodied guitars, all with 'buckers. Everybody is different, so just experiment and find what suits you best.

Anybody use pure Nickel strings?
The are supposed to sound amazing.

I also use D'Addarios. They never break on me and they outlast EB's by 3X.

I'm a big Ernie Ball fan. When my band is playing a lot though, I'm throwing a new set on every week. They wear out fast! Pretty cheap though so it's not a huge deal. I've been trying out their Cobalt strings recently and they seem to last a lot longer.

I think I initially started off with plain old fender strings, eventually tried some Ernie ball, D'Addarios, etc... But eventually I realized why most of the artists I love, let alone work with use DR strings.

Put a fresh set of DR's on and compare it to any other string, DR will destroy the competition. That's my experience, nothing short of amazing.

EB Cobalts are awesome. I put a new set on every week before gigging, and don't mind paying the price at all. I don't like the standard EBs, didn't like D'Addarios, and liked the feel and longevity of Elixer nanowebs, but the action was too stiff and the tone was kinda "meh".

I like the sound and bite of the Cobalts so well that I have no interest in even trying out their new M-Steels.

gts said:

Anybody use pure Nickel strings?
The are supposed to sound amazing.

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I use Snake Oil Brand strings, which are pure nickel core and wrap. To my ears, they are the best sounding strings I have ever used. On top of that, they last at least 3 times as long as any other string I've tried. In a pinch, I will use Fender pure nickels, which aren't as good, but close...and much cheaper. Pyramid strings are supposed to be pure nickel, too, but I didn't care for their tone at all.

I am a simple guy, ernie ball - 10-52 for at least the last 10-15 years. 8)