What strings do you use?

[iamthe_eggman]

I know this subject has been tossed around many times before, but I have actually tried several of the suggestions I read in the previous threads, and so I am looking for more suggestions.

So far, for electric I have tried D'Addario, GHS Boomers, Blue Steel and some others I have now forgotten. For acoustic, I have tried John Pearse (my favourite), Elixir, Thomastik (disappointed to some extent), D'Addario, and again, others which I now forget.

What is your favourite brand, and why? Do you prefer warmth or brightness? Would you sacrifice either of those for durability/playability? For example, I bought Elixir's, which have a special coating that makes them last twice as long as normal strings. However, they were not nearly as bright/loud as I normally like or am used to. THey did last much longer than usual strings, though.

[hendrix_jimi]

I like Dean Markley for acoustic, very bright and loud, and Elixirs are cool too. For electric, I like to use d'addario's.

[ibanezdude]

d'addarios r the way to go for electrics!!!
they give a nice sound and r pretty durable...

[shredgod]

fender bullets
and for classical guitar definetly la bella,,,,,, those are the best strings i have ever used in acoustic

[fendermonkey77]

I have tried every type and brand of string I've come across and I always go back to these two. Play what feels good to you.
Elixir's for Acoustic: Warmth, ease of play, string life, and #1: Tone.
Ernie Ball for Electric: Clean, fast, string life, tonal range that can be achieved (I play blues, jazz, country, and rock FYI). Like I said...I've tried them all and this is what I've come back to. I HIGHLY recommend trying as many brand of strings as you can get your hands on....then you'll know what kind you like.

[Edited by fendermonkey77 on 08-15-2001 at 09:35 AM]

[Raskolnikov]

For my fretted basses I use rotosound swing bass 66 strings: Tone, Feel, and Durrability. They actually sound good right up until they break.

I haven't decided on a brand of flatwounds for my fretless yet... I have fenders on it, but I'm going to ditch them sometime soon.

On my guitars I use GHS Boomers .012-.05something w/ a wound G string. They last a long time and sound great.

[Dave How]

I use D'addarios for both electric and acoustic. 9's for the electric and 10's for the acoustic. They have a good sound, warmer than some I've tried. Dean Markleys are too bright for my taste. I did like those ones with the gold coating cos they looked nice and sounded OK (forgotten the name now) but my local shop stopped stocking them, that's when I moved to D'Addario's. String life isn't a real problem as I'm not gigging and haven't for some time. I change strings when I'm bored.

[Strat rock]

I use GHS boomers I just like the how thick they are it gives a better sound for rock guitar players

[Dimebag_69!]

if you want a hudge low-end chunk use erine ball

this is my custom set... (if you want a set like this buy a pack of 10 gauges and skinny top heavy bottom pack.)
the numbers are the six strings
1=52. bottom
2=46.
3=36.
4=26
5=13.
6=13. top



hope this helps.

[Flying V]

I like d'addario, too, especially for my electric. I don't really like Fender strings, they don't last as long as others as,d break quite easily, opposed to other string brands. I like Dean Markley for acoustic playing.

[Kevin Taylor]

I've been using Dean Markley Custom Lights for years. Mainly cause they're light on top and heavy on the bottom.
9,11,16,26,36,46
...I use the same numbers for lotto tickets too, that way I never forget em :)

[metalisbest]

I used to use D'addario for both, but experimented. I now use GHS boomers for electric, and a guy recommended to me Ernie Ball Power Slinkies but I haven't put them on yet. For acoustic, I use Martin or Blue Steels.

[SLY]

I've been playing D'addarios for years now, nice warm tone (I use .010-.046) and very smooth for bends and playing..
and i was very disappointed by fender (only treid them once & I won't do it ever again) bec. they are just the opposite of what I've mentioned.

[MikeP.]

I use GHS 11's and use Blue Steels When I record. I would use Elixir's but the music store closest to my house doen't carry 11's :-(

I Use Elixir's on my Acoustic

[ButcherKnifeTotin'Annie]

don't sacrifice tone for durability. if your strings break you can put on new ones, but if you buy strings only because they last longer, you might be stuck with a bad tone forever. IMNSHO (in-my-not-so-humble-opinion) tone is most important.
I use Ernie Ball strings for electric (.010), they have a clean, bright tone. I had been using Dean Markley .009s before,
but couldn't bend them and cut my fingers (ouch).
Fenders sound awful. don't waste your money on that.
I use la bella for classical. haven't tried elixir's yet, mainly
because I couldn't find them in any music store i've been to.

p.s.: I play blues. (in case you wanted to know)

[MikeP.]

Blue Steels (Dean Markley), and Elixirs last way longer...and both have incredible tone. I love GHS (What I use mostly) and it also has great tone but it's tone only lasts about 20 mins or so.

[Pat M]

I play a Gibson Les Paul and the stings i found best were elixirs. They last long, they have a lot of playability and they are good for changing from jamming around heavy chords and soloing. They also require less cleaning due to the polyweb/nanoweb coating which keeps the oil and dirt out from bewtween the coils. If the strings are too bright then try buy the next highest guage. I use superlights and they are perfect but i also like doing a lot of soloing. If you are looking for more tone then try buy lights to mediums