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June 2004
Posts: 3
Location: Longwood, FL | Someone was raving to me awhile back about how awesome elixir strings are...I went out and bought some yesterday.
I have a Celebrity...and I have to say...I really dislike them. I've been trying to do my research this morning, and now I am thoroughly confused. People either seem to love them or hate them, and I don't know if I just need to give them a chance or what. I know this topic has been so overdone, but if I could just bring it up one more time...I'm so tempted right now to just go buy a pack of D'adarios and let the experiment be over, but if the sound really does change after a few days...who knows.
However, a friend and I are playing at an open mic night later this week before I leave (with the guitar) to Germany for three weeks. So any help/advice would be appreciated, thanks so much... :)
sara d. |
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December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Sara, don't laugh and welcome! You got the love/hate thing right. I do prefer the DAddarios and the Adamas strings. For me - the Elixirs rub raw.
Have a wonderful tour in Germany and keep us posted.
Peace |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Elixirs are like Howard Stern . . . you either love 'em or hate 'em. I happen to love Howard and hate Elixirs.
I may have missed something in the veritable plethora of posts/threads on this subject, but I honestly (and may be wrong) don't remember anyone saying that Elixirs' sound got "better with age" . . . they just sounded "good" (if you like/want that particular sound) and do so LONGER.
I personally like the sound of D'Add PhosBronz. They sound great and turn to shit rapidly (at least when I play 'em). Elixirs (again, to me), sound like shit and stay that way until I can't take it anymore. I always opt for the former . . . |
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Posts: 15684
Location: SoCal | Cliff and I are opposites on this. I hate Howard Stern and like Elixirs. Can't say I love them, but I like them a lot.
Reasons:
1. They do last a long time. I can go thru a set of non coated strings in a week. I hate changing strings. Elixirs last me 3-4 months. They look ugly before they sound ugly.
2. To my ear, Elixirs tend to sound like most other strings after about a week of playing. They sound like something that's lost the crispness, and are now getting to the warm spot. I don't know how else to describe it.
3. Even tho' Elixirs cost more, they save me money (hey, it's important -- I have a wife, 2 kids, 2 dogs, and a mortgage I can't afford!). They cost twice as much and last three times as long.
Strings are a very personal thing. There's no overall right or wrong answer, just what's right or wrong for each individual player. The best we can do is not just say I like 'em or I hate 'em, but try to articulate why.
Whatever the hell articulate means. |
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August 2002
Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | From a pure "sound" point of view, I'd still prefer the Adamas 1818 for ALL of my steel string O's and Martins. However, the Elixirs do stay in very good shape for a very long time. The Elixirs do not have the bright crunchy bite that I like about the Adamas strings. However, I have a set of Elixirs on the M-42 for a few months now, and it's still sound like the first day I put on it. The resonant response is excellent. The bottom line is, I'd put on a new set of Adamas for a gig, and leave the rest of the bunch here with Elixirs. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | but . . . . WAS there a post from someone (or IS there some validity to) that the Elixir "sound" changes (improves?) after time?
I think that's the question that Sara's asking . . .
I get the impression that she's not overtly with the sound of 'em NEW . . . . do they get better??
Hey, Moody!! . . . . . . . . "BabaBooeey!!" :p |
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Posts: 15684
Location: SoCal | Boy, is Michael taking the middle ground here or what??
Actually, what he's saying makes a lot of sense. It depends upon what your needs are for each instrument. |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | . . . but whaddif ya' only got ONE???? |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | To me, they sound like any other strings that have been on the guitar for 3 or 4 weeks. In other words, DEAD. I like the sound of Phosphor Bronze strings after a day or so on the guitar. I've been buying from an on-line store, Stringthis.com and buing in bulk so I can change strings every 2 weeks or so. |
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May 2004
Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | I bought some EXP strings, which are coated for longevity, so I assume they're similar to Elixirs. I'd never tried anything like them before; the salesman said not to expect that bright sound you get from a new set of uncoated Phosphor Bronzes, and that they sound like strings that have been played for about a week. He did say that they would keep that same sound for a long time.
I prefer the brighter sound of the uncoated, but the coated ones aren't too bad, and I'm not recording - just composing and practising - so they suit my purposes. |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Michael
I heard you are now trying the dean markley strings?
any comments? |
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April 2004
Posts: 71
Location: Charlotte NC | I first tried Elixir Polywebs, and was not a big fan. They were just too slick feeling and did not have enough brightness for me. I really like the newer Nanoweb coated ones now though. They have a lighter coating, feel more like uncoated strings, sound great IMO, and seem to last and last. The stock strings on my LX were great too, but seemed to burn out pretty quickly.
In summary for me: Elixir Polyweb = Thumbs down.
Elixir Nanoweb = Thumbs up! |
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June 2004
Posts: 3
Location: Longwood, FL | thanks so much guys!
yeah, i was really curious about the validity of the wait-a-week-or-two claim...i think i will give it a week but also pick up some adamas or daddarios before i leave, maybe borrow a friend's guitar for the open-mic night...i really like this board, thanks again :D
sara d. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | OK here's my experience. I put a set of elxrs on my collings and it sounded dead. After a month it started to sound better and after 2 months they were fine. I don't wear out strings quickly and these lasted about 6 months. Normally I get a month from a set. All that said I don't like elixers. They feel smoover, no question but I like the sound of the Ad 1818 or D'ad j16 better.
I've said this before and will repeat, elixers on slide guitars are great. Really quiets the slide noise. I have a set on my Weissenborn and wouldn't use anything else there. However on my Nationals I go the 1818/J16 route since I mostly play fretted stuff. |
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Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | I've been quiet for a while, so I'll chime in (and in doing so, sound the death knell for this thread...hahaha).
When I bought my O, it had an old, crusty set of what I think were phosphor-bronze strings. They sounded warm and lush (to me). The salesman had thrown in a set of Elixir polywebs, though. So, off with the old strings and on with the new. I didn't like them. They just didn't/don't sound warm to me. Here's my take on Polywebs:
Pros:
* Very slippery; easy on the calluses, not so much string noise when sliding
* They sound the same six weeks after I put them on as the day I strung them up
Cons:
* I have effectively worn the coating through in the usual positions (uh, ok, cowboy chords are fun) ;) and it looks terrible
* I have worn through the coating in the (finger)picking area as well. Now I have poly-fur hanging from the strings. Which probably reduces sustain (or accelerates decay, you choose), but what do I know.
* I now wonder if I'll tear up my fingers going back to uncoated strings. :)
Oh, and the first and second strings (plain, not wound) were shiny white-silver when new. They've turned a funky gunmetal blue color where I normally play. Just a cosmetic thing, though.
Do I love them? No. Do I hate them? No. Would I buy another set? No, probably not. Besides those coppery looking phosphor-bronze jobs just go so much better with the natural top on my O. :)
YMMV. HTH. HAND.
:cool: |
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Posts: 3
Location: Longwood, FL | haha, death knell, w00t...
yeah, i tried to "break them in" some more, and i can already see the little poly-fuzz on the strings...it's ridiculous, hasn't even been 24 hours.
went by sam ash today and explained all of this to the nice people...and was eventually persuaded to go with martins. the people there said they should have a nice warm sound...heheh i'm going to restring later tonight. :p although i do always know i can trust the adamas and d'addarios.
sara d. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Elixer nano-web strings are by far the best strings I have ever used. The poly-web Elixers do not have the nice bright sound of the nano-webs. I like them because they last a long time and sound great. I keep after the local stores to stock them as they sell out here rather quickly. |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | I do not like Elixir strings.
In fact, I don't like Phosphor Bronze strings and have not used them for years.
I have been using the D'Addario Nickel Wound Jazz sets, EJ20 and EJ21 and they sound great on all my acoustic steel string guitars.
I kill a set of Phosphor Bronze strings in less than an hour. After 20 minutes the brightness that they had turn into a dead string with no tone.
With the Nickel Wound you don't have that sharp brightness, but the string lasts a lot longer sounding very good, with a definive tone, not to mention they feel great, look nice and don't turn green in your hands.
Many guitarists like Norman Blake, Tony Rice and Mike Marshall, among many others are using Nickel Wound strings exclusively on their acoustic guitars these days.
Serge
www.sergiolara.com ;) |
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Posts: 15684
Location: SoCal | Sounds like something interesting to try. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Elixir is a brand name created by the Gore-Tex company. http://www.gore.com/ They do not manufacture strings, they bulk purchase D'Addario strings and apply their proprietary polymer coating. I bought a couple of boxes of D'addario EXP's a while ago and I much prefer Elixir.
The diversity of the Gore company is incredible, guitar srtings are not their only musical venture, they are also involved in bagpipes.
I personally don't mind the sound of coated strings, to me they sound like strings that are played-in rather than dead and sound pretty consistent over several weeks. The Nanoweb Elixirs tend to fray less under agressive playing, fingerpicks & heavy flatpicks.
As a professional musician with a lot of instruments and body chemistry that can destroy a new set of strings in less than 20 minutes, I find the cost of coated strings, even as someone who can buy at trade price, to be prohibitive. I can bulk-buy regular strings, which sound better than coated strings for the short period they're on the guitar, for way less than the wholesale cost of coated, so I'd rather deal with the ball-ache of constant string-changing than have the tonal compromises of coated strings.
I've been sent a few samples of the Dean Markley "Alchemy" coated strings to try. I'm on tour over the next 3 weeks so I going to see how they hold up. I'll let you know.
I find nickel strings to be no more resistant than bronze to my nasty acidic sweat and I hate the tone, except on the one guitar on which I use a magnetic pickup, which of course makes nickel strings essential.
Stringlife liquid polymer coating is a reasonable alternative to coated strings. I've used this stuff for a few years now and it at least doubles the life of my strings. 40 minutes.......fuckin' whoopee.
www.stringlife.com |
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March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | HELPFUL HINT FROM HELOISE:
Dear Mr. Templeman;
If your ball hurt when changing string, perhaps it'd be best if wore PANTS when perform this task. (I'm sure that your neighbors would appreciate it, likewise). |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Your "working" pretty late Cliff! |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Looky here, if I'm prepared to go on stage without my pants, changing a few sets of strings is nothing. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15684
Location: SoCal | The thought of you on stage without your pants just makes me want to heave every meal I've had for the last 6 months. Better that you go on stage with women's underwear on your head. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | that'll be tomorrow night |
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Elixir strings (sorry guys...)
