ch2os7
New member
MY 2 cents
Elixirs on the Takamine were thin and bright - put D'Add's on and love 'em
They were OK on the Martin ; I put the Martin SP extended life on and it sounded way better.
The Martin SP extended life strings were more "pricey" than elixers.
I think the next time I'll try the D'Add's on the Martin too.
Just my 2 cents.
Elixirs on the Takamine were thin and bright - put D'Add's on and love 'em
They were OK on the Martin ; I put the Martin SP extended life on and it sounded way better.
The Martin SP extended life strings were more "pricey" than elixers.
I think the next time I'll try the D'Add's on the Martin too.
Just my 2 cents.
muttley600
Banned
No, "experienced or qualified" people generally do not like them. Most of the respected luthiers and repair guys I know don't like them nor do many of the busier gigging players I meet, a few do. They aren't wildly against them they just know that they do not sound as natural or are as dynamically versatile as other strings. That isn't to say they are bad strings. As you rightly point out. If you like them use them.
Shops sell them with a high markup and some put them on display models because they homogenize the sound and last longer, supposedly.
I can't see anything wrong with the question, several people have posted opinions or qualified experiences of them. Its up to everyone to draw their own conclusions on this based on whatever works for them. I guess thats what you were saying in any case, just like others had suggested.
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
IIRC, it was a comment of yours, Muttley that triggered my original post. So thanks for chiming in. You and Light and few others seem both very knowledgeable and helpful--so when you mentioned them in passing elsewhere, it piqued my interest.
Light
New member
As a rule, I don't recommend strings. It's a three part equation - the strings, the guitar, and the player. I'm not part of it. Bright bronze (80/20) tend to be a little brighter, but Phosphor bronze tend to last a little longer. I like the sound of phosphor bronze, and they are by far the most popular strings in my shop (D'Addario EJ-16s out sell every other string we sell, if you take out the EJ-17s). Try a bunch of different things and see what you like. Different brands can sometimes feel a little different as they will use different core sizes in their strings, and in electric strings different manufacturers will use slightly different alloys for the wraps on the wound strings which will sound slightly different.
One little secret though, 95% of the brands on the market are manufactured by either D'Addario or GHS. There are other manufacturers (Ernie Ball, Fender, Gibson, and I believe Martin is still making their own strings, and a few others), but a lot of the smaller manufacturers have pretty serious consistency problems, which makes me pretty leary of using them.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
S
sajs
New member
I have no allegiance to any of the string companies and try to be objective. I've tried the Elixirs on several of my acoustics. I thought they sounded pretty bad, really dead sounding. I have Martin SP's on now and I think they sound great.
cellardweller
New member
Funny you should mention....
In my revolving guitar policy, I recently temporarily put away my Schecter and got out the ol' Ibanez, and could not for the life of me figure out why the strings sounded so...lifeless. I knew I changed them before storing my guitar in a temp/humidity controlled room.
Not like old dead strings, mind you...but for anything heavy, there is that nasty raspy nasal quality previously mentioned.
It borders on being tolerable at times, but overall...I'm pretty sure I'll stick to my GHS's.
In my revolving guitar policy, I recently temporarily put away my Schecter and got out the ol' Ibanez, and could not for the life of me figure out why the strings sounded so...lifeless. I knew I changed them before storing my guitar in a temp/humidity controlled room.
Not like old dead strings, mind you...but for anything heavy, there is that nasty raspy nasal quality previously mentioned.
It borders on being tolerable at times, but overall...I'm pretty sure I'll stick to my GHS's.
muttley600
Banned
Was it? I don't recall mentioning them but hey I ramble sometimes.
The reason Light and myself seem knowledgeable about this stuff is because if we didn't get it right we don't get paid, don't eat etc.. We know what we know because we've made, repaired, strung up and played a lot of guitars and I mean A LOT. To a large very degree we learn by doing and my experience of the strings in question is that they will not bring the best out of the vast majority of acoustic instruments.
In this this case we've both stated that it's our opinion on them and YMMV. Thats fine, but we do seem to be of the same opinion.
One thing for certain you'll not mess your guitar up by changing between brands of strings so if you find you like something else go with it.
T
Topcat53
New member
I would absolutely second that!!
They are great sounding strings. Only negative is that they are a little short in the life dept. Here's my string scenario. I absolutely can't stand the sound of the regular Elixers, but the EXP's I find not too bad. If I'm gigging regularly it's John Pearse all the way and I'm changing strings every week. If I'm not, which has been more the case in the last few years, I'll sometimes put the EXP's on just so I don't have to change strings so often. The JP's just won't go more than 2 weeks for me even if I'm not playing regularly. I also have found that the duller sound of the EXP's doesn't translate through that much if you're plugged in, but unless I just get a call where I have to grab my guitar and go, I try to get the JP's on before I play a gig.
philboyd studge
New member
45 years ago I remember there were only four actual string makers as well, and we've come a long way from Black Diamond, Blue Bell, and Criterion.....a string so crappy they gave you 8 to set. One thing that has stayed the same is that those few companies manufacture to the requests of the client, so the product coming out door vary greatly in alloy, the way they're wound, and quality. Black Diamond made good strings but they wern't Black Diamonds. Actually, I think it was the National String Company or something like that.
Anyway, it'll take at least a dozen or so sets of different string makes to find the best set for a peticular guitar, and even then you're tastes may change down the line and something else will sound better. Most certainly the best sounding string for your guitar will not be Elixirs, they are a compromise. Another thing about them is that they take a few days to maximize tone....I suppose thats the Goretex getting squished against the saddle. Other factors for me besides long life are lack of resistance from the winding and fret noise. So for me, Elixirs almost always work best.
Buck62
噛んでくれ
After nearly 30 years of trying almost every brand of strings out there, I finally spent the extra dough and bought Elixir Nanowebs for my old Yamaha FG-335 acoustic.
These strings are, hands down, the BEST strings I ever heard on my FG. Maybe it's because my FG has a mahogany back and sides that has a lot to do with it. Everything else I tried was either too mellow and dull or too brittle and sterile. The Elixirs bring out the perfect balance of smooth, yet defined tone I've been trying to nail for years.
It's easy to paint a product with a broad brush, but there are guitars out there that the Elixirs sound wonderful with. Mine just happens to be one of them.
T
tdukex
Man of the Muse
The bottom line muttley600, is that it is still just opinions.
If the OP wants to take the opinion of the two most "qualified, respected, knowledeable, etc." guit persons on this Board, then he should just use what strings you and Light tell him to use and be done with it.
Otherwise, whether he likes my attitude or not, he should take my advice:Ya gotta just try 'em and decide for yourself.
Peace to all strummers and pickers (except those who play Elixers).
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
The bottom line muttley600, is that it is still just opinions.
If the OP wants to take the opinion of the two most "qualified, respected, knowledeable, etc." guit persons on this Board, then he should just use what strings you and Light tell him to use and be done with it.
Otherwise, whether he likes my attitude or not, he should take my advice:Ya gotta just try 'em and decide for yourself.
Peace to all strummers and pickers (except those who play Elixers).
Believe it or not the OP agrees with you! I've got to try 'em for myself. Does that mean I can't ask what others think? What is so difficult about that?
I will in all likelihood try a half dozen or more just to see for myself how they mix with my guitar and playing--and thanks to some suggestions I've gotten here, I'll have some ideas for where to start.
Oh the horror...
T
tdukex
Man of the Muse
Thank you.
Thank you.
(takes a bow)
Want some more opinions? Lots of them? Go ask here:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi
They will wear you out, if they don't instead decide to kill you for asking the dreaded "Elixer" question...again.
Knowledge is power.
Buck62
噛んでくれ
I'll take those Elixirs if you don't want 'em.
It's the least you could do for stealing my old sig picture to use for your avatar!
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
I'll take those Elixirs if you don't want 'em.
It's the least you could do for stealing my old sig picture to use for your avatar!
Buck--2 things:
1) PM me your address and I'll mail you the Elixirs
2) Is that really your ald sig picture?? I'm a web/graphic designer in my "real" life, and I dug that out of a collection of humorous/vintage stock art I had. That's bizarre...
Buck62
噛んでくれ
I'm kidding... I got extra strings.
But yeah, that was one of my two signature pics for the past two years until Dragon went nuts and canned everybody's signature because of the big ez_willis blowout.
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
Man, that's too funny!
Light
New member
Otherwise, whether he likes my attitude or not, he should take my advice:Ya gotta just try 'em and decide for yourself.
Except of course, that is EXACTLY what Muttley and I said. The OP asked why we didn't like Elixirs, and we told him, but then we both said it was just our opinion, and you should use whatever floats your boat. Personally, I NEVER tell people what strings to use. I'll tell them what I like, I'll tell them what is popular, and I'll tell them what I don't like; but I will not tell them what they should be using.
(Though back in high school I did tell the kid I was showing around the school that he shouldn't use 0.008s and tune his guitar down to D, but that's a whole other issue.)
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
JCH
El Nacho
Has anyone tried the John Pearse pure nickle acoustic strings. I'm mounting a mini HB on an old Harmony archtop, and was thinking of these as an option.