Elixir Electric Guitar Strings- With Nanoweb Technology!

Price:$11.99-$14.00 (!)
Pros:
Will last a lifetime. Not the lifetime of your guitar, but probably your lifetime.
Strings probably strong enough to garrote a hippo with, without breaking.
The tone will never change, no matter how long you have them. FOREVER.
Cons:
Incredibly expensive.
Not very bright in tone.
Slippery!

Review:
I was moved to write a review on these strings partly because in all the threads posted on the boards here, I've yet to see any mention of the type of strings the players use.

I first encountered Elixirs when I bought a Brian Moore guitar a few years ago. Even the low end Brian Moores are high end in price- around $900 retail for their cheapest guitar. There was an Elixir tag hanging from the tuning gears, so I figure, "good enough for Brian Moore, surely good enough for me."

OK. Flashforward. I have 9-10 guitars, and I was getting confused on what strings and what gauges I used on each particular guitar. I settled on D'Addarios, I found them bright in tone, affordable- within the price range of the Fenders or Ernie Balls I was used to buying, and probably for the color-coding on the tail end. I can't count how many times I've strung one of my Strats using the B string in place of the E or vice versa. So the color coding made stringing my guitars idiot proof. I often buy the D'Addarios in 10 packs on sale. My last purchase of a 10 pack was the wrong gauge, so I headed back to Guitar Center to exchange them for the gauge I wanted. Out of stock. As were the Fenders, Ernie Balls and other brands I'm used to in the gauge I wanted (.10's). I could have gotten a refund, but I don't like not having a few packs of strings on hand. So I ask the salesman what he'd recommend (now's the time to call me stupid.) He HIGHLY recommended the Elixirs. So I ask for 5 packs, thinking it would be an even trade. Much to my surprise, I had to pay more. When I did the math, it came to around $14+ a pack! I needed new strings on a Strat I bought on Ebay (review of that to come).

Anxious to string the Strat, I quickly strung it up. This Strat is a 1996 made in Mexico, modded with noiseless pickups. Mint. I tune up, plug in and expect magic. No. I immediately don't hear what I expect. The sound was dull, sustain barely existent, despite having a compressor/sustainer pedal. Initially, I'm thinking it's the guitar and pups. But the more I play, the more uncomfortable I feel with the feel of the strings. Very slippery, and they're simply not resonating. The callouses on my fretting hand are almost tough enough to sand wood with, but they were still slipping and sliding on the strings.

I pull out the Brian Moore, which has been in the case for over 2 years w/out a string change. Thing sounds exactly the same as it did when I first got it. It was then that I remembered, "I HAVE to change these strings!"

Summary:
If you want strings that will last forever, these are for you. That's if you want to trade-off tone and brightness for longevity. Guess that's why they're so expensive. Right on the box it states, "Created to extend the life of plain steel strings 3-5 times." I'd say 30-50 times. So I headed off to my local mom and pop music store run by a couple of old hippies that always give me the straight dope. These guys always try to make their customers happy, and NEVER try to push a product to make a few extra bucks. So I ask them about the Elixirs. They hate them. They tell me a lot of big stores string their guitars with 'em because the "nano-coating" is what give these strings such long shelf life. Just as a test, I restrung another one of my Strats with the Elixirs to see what type of sound I'd get. Same thing. For all intents and purposes, a dead sound. I hate these strings. Wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy.

I also did a little further research, and these strings are made by the same company that makes gore-tex, the stuff that makes thin clothing warm. Fine for clothes, lousy for guitar strings.

I know there's fans of these strings, but I personally can't say anything redeeming about them except for their long shelf life. In short, they suck.

P.S. I'm adding here a few things to try to give a more balanced review. I should add that these strings hold up well if you're near the ocean, as the coating is more resistant to salt. Also, Elixirs come in two varieties- polyweb and nanoweb. The polys supposedly have a slightly thinner coating, but have a tendency to fray where you pick (according to what I've read). The nanos wont fray, but have a heavier coating, still, I believe this coating is what prevents the strings from truly ringing. I've read that many who love these strings love them for its ability to resist the elements. Still, for the price, I'd rather go through numerous string changes with another brand and get the sound I want, rather than have what I perceive dead out of the box strings for the sake of longevity.

I had a similar though different experience with Elixirs. I play a lot of jazzy/bluesy stuff as you may have noticed, so I like having a slightly duller string tone to start with but what I did hear when I strung my strat with Elixirs for the first time was a magical sounding resonance to the strings. I can't describe the sound other than that.. they definitely sound different to every other brand of strings I have played.. almost to the point of you wondering whether there is something wrong with your guitar. I didn't have too much of the sustain issues you were talking about though.

So while I agree with you to some extent about the "dullness" they are definitely far from the dull sound you would hear on a 3 month old set of standard strings.. but yes I understand what you mean. I also agree with you that if you want that clean, bright tone that you would be better off buying the strings that are approximately half the price and changing them twice as often etc..

However.. if you are looking for some really great quality jazz-blues strings that will sound the same for 1 or 2 months (provided you keep them clean) or even longer if you're lucky, then Elixirs are definitely worth a try. Though they definitely sound different to "normal" strings as I commented about earlier.

EDIT: Oh yes.. I forgot about the slippery feeling.. yeh.. I don't like that either.. but then, I get the same slipperiness immediately after cleaning any strings.

hey, light,
Instead of getting off the computer as I planned about 10 hrs. ago, I've spent practically the whole day here, lol.

Well, to each his own. I know there are fans of Elixirs. On my Strat, on more bluesy kinds of stuff, it's not that terrible on the neck pickup. But then when I switch to the bridge, and want a more...some people call it the Strat-quack sound, like Knopfler, it just isn't there, and I just don't get the sustain I want. I really, really don't like the slippery kind of feel to them.

For April Fool's Day I wanted to do a review on my guitar pick, lol. Why not? That's not a subject talked about too often. Picking is often discussed, but not picks per se. I use the small, tear-drop shaped "jazz" pick. They don't put the gauge on them anymore, and they're hard to get in "Guitar Malls". I have to go to my mom and pop music store to get them, and usually buy up their whole stock, as I tend to lose 'em all the time, lol.

Hrmm I can't find those tear drop ones ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!! grrr.. I lost my last one about 6 months back and I have gone to every music shop, big and small, trying to find even a single one. They are just not available in Australia anymore it would seem. Not sure how I would pay you but I would love to get my hands on a bunch of them. ;)

What gauge do you like? I tend to like the Fender mediums, and often use the hard for practice. I also use the Gibsons, but find their mediums a bit harder than the Fenders. Just PM with where you want me to mail them- I'm sure I can find about 5 or 6 I can part with until I restock.