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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 23
Location: Perth Amboy, NJ | Went to the nearby GC last night and picked up new strings for my 1115 Pacemaker. It is always an ordeal to change 12 stings in a slotheaded guitar so I decided to go ahead and use some of those new-fangled coated strings. They had Elixir's but they were $25! - for 1 set! Yikes ... they also had D'Addario EXP's for $19 so I decided to try them instead. Well, I must say that I impressed with the tone. They sound very similar to the Phosphor Bronze's I had on it before (uncoated). And, as a bonus my wife said 'they look pretty' ;-) Even the B & E pairs are coated (unlike the Elixir's) and have a nice golden sheen. They seem to stay in tune fine (after a mild stretching) ... I just hope they last twice as long as uncoated strings. (They packaging says 3 or 4 times but I'm a skeptic). Anyone else use them? Do they last? Or is it marketing hype ... |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6194
Location: Phoenix AZ | I use EXPs on all my acoustics and am very happy with them. From my experience, I woulds say the life is more like 2x, but there are many factors that come into play here. Dave |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | OK here's a question. I tried elixers and they are smoother. Has anyone had the experience that they slide on the string posts more than regular strings? Or do I need to go to the factory and learn how to install strings again? We didn't do too much stringing back at the fillin' station in Florida. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | I've used Elixirs for several years now. No sliding on the posts and they do last 3-4 times as long as uncoated strings. Cost twice as much, last 3x as long. That's a good deal in my book. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Elixirs are great, especially the Nanowebs, which dont fray where you hit'em. When I can buy a set of Elixirs wholesale for less than 3 sets of regular strings I'll be convinced. Right now I pay less than 3 bucks a set for name-brand USA-made phosphor-bronze and change'em every gig, so screw Elixir and £12 a set |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | One thing I've noticed with coated strings is that the coating is non-conductive. So you tend to have more hum (on an electric) when you're only touching the wound strings. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Paul M. convinced me to try Elixirs last month. I put a set of 12's on my 175 & immediately ordered some for my Elite 12 string. (Which is what I had planned to buy anyway, but they didn't have any.) When they came in at the music store they were lighter than I planned on using (10's), but I like 'em a lot on both guitars.
I can't say how long they'll last at this point. The ones on the 175 have been on there 3 weeks today & the ones on the Elite have been on a week today. I play both of them pretty much every day & so far they're fine. They seem to stay in tune well. As far as I'm concerned, even if they only last twice as long, the extra six or seven bucks a set is worth it to me. I love my 12 string, but changing strings on a 12 string is a pain in the ass. Come to think of it, changing strings is a pain in the ass, period. I don't like doing it any more often than I have to & I'm more than willing to pay the price to only have to do it half as often. (Come to think of it, that's the same reason I buy nothing but TOYO tires :) ) Money well spent, imo.
I'm not a working musician & I tend to be fussy careful not to scratch anything when doing this necessary drudgery. I put a small scratch in the finish of the headstock on a brand new guitar once with the errant tag end of a string the very first time I changed strings on it. It's pretty well polished away now, but I'm still pissed at myself for it.
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Nils
Everything you say is fine, but lighten up on scratches etc., guitars are not furniture, if a scratch shows up here or there, that is what happens with musicians. I will again use the example of Willie's guitar (I've worn out this example, but my brain is dead).
Bailey |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I put a set of elixers on my Weissenborn and there is alot less slide noise, a big plus. |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 181
Location: North Carolina | I use Elixir polys and don't have any problem with them sliding as they stay in tune pretty well. To me, one big advantage of Elixirs is they give a very consistent tone over a several week period. I am recording for a CD right now and that consistency has become very important, as it will take a couple of weeks to get the recording done. I don't to worry about the strings changing tone every couple of days like my ole Daddario EJ17's did. Makes my life a lot easier. That alone is worth the price of admission. BTW, I used to change the Daddarios every week, and I can go 3-4 weeks with the Elixirs.
Franklin |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | The hype on the coated exp's is correct. At least for me. They last three times longer than regular phospher bronze. They do take about twice as long to stretch and settle in. (About 3 hours of playing versus 1.5 hours of playing) Here's the rub. A set of exps costs from 12 to 15 dollars. A set of three phosper bronze costs 10 to 15. So you gotta do the math to see if it's worth your while. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | If I could get a set of strings to last through just one gig, I'd be happy! |
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So I Re-strung my Pacemaker 12 Last Night ...
