# Best Place To Buy Guitar Strings



## david henman

...i see that Strings and Beyond has some pretty good deals, and free shipping on orders over $35, but no discounts on boxes.

have you guys found any good sources for strings in canada, particularly in bulk?


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## Mooh

I used to use JustStrings.com - Strings for guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and other musical instruments but when the dollar got crazy I found it was cheaper to get them in bulk from Long & McQuade when they have their sales. The shop usually gives me a deal anyway when I buy $400 worth, about once a year. Mostly D'Addario, a mix of acoustic, electric, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and bass strings. I've tried The Stringman The Stringman Online Music Supply Store but they didn't have the selection I needed on hand, though they're nice folks who care.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Brennan

I get all my strings from WebStrings. They're great quality (I believe they come from the same manufacturer that make D'Addario), and you can't beat the price. I've been using them for 5 or 6 years now, with no problems.


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## Tarbender

+1 for Just Strings - Great service and competitive pricing (even shipped from the USA)


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## Chito

Tarbender said:


> +1 for Just Strings - Great service and competitive pricing (even shipped from the USA)


Same thing here, been exclusively dealing with Just Strings. They even send you a set of picks, guitar cleaning cloth together with your order. And they ship fast.


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## did291

+1 for Just Strings


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## bagpipe

Brennan said:


> I get all my strings from WebStrings. They're great quality (I believe they come from the same manufacturer that make D'Addario), and you can't beat the price. I've been using them for 5 or 6 years now, with no problems.



Same here. I've bought electric strings, bass strings and resonator strings from them. Happy with all of them.


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## mhammer

When we visited hamilton more regularly, I used to get mine from Pongettis on the mountain. They have these long tubular bins where the strings are in bulk. You pick the 6 you want, and that makes a set.


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## Rugburn

How many strings do you guys go through? I've always been happy to buy them at a music store in person. I guess I do like my strings to get old. They sound better when they mellow to my ears. I actually can't stand the "zing" of new strings.

Shawn.


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## david henman

Rugburn said:


> How many strings do you guys go through? I've always been happy to buy them at a music store in person. I guess I do like my strings to get old. They sound better when they mellow to my ears. I actually can't stand the "zing" of new strings.
> Shawn.


...mine break long before they achive "mellow" status. third night, actually.

so, i use elixirs, which seem to last forever.

years ago, when i could only afford one guitar, paying $3.50 for a set of long & mcquades made perfect sense.


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## Mooh

Rugburn said:


> How many strings do you guys go through? I've always been happy to buy them at a music store in person. I guess I do like my strings to get old. They sound better when they mellow to my ears. I actually can't stand the "zing" of new strings.
> 
> Shawn.


At least one set per month per instrument that's getting used regularly, which would be several. Sometimes extra changes for sessions, gigs, or trauma like wet festivals and such. Sometimes it sucks to be a guitar string.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Rugburn

I own three guitars. Elixir mediums on my acoustic that are roughly 8 months old. I play this guitar almost everyday. An Ibanez archtop with similarly old strings, and my Strat which needs strings changed a lot more often. The woodier (and hollower) the guitar, the older I like the strings to be. I just don't hear the roundness of the notes the same way when they're played on newer strings. Even fretting the strings makes those nasty squeaks that some people think sound so great. To each there own. Cheers

Shawn.


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## pattste

I order from JustStrings in the USA. I use three different models of strings (all Gibson) for my three guitars. My usual order is 5 sets of each, 15 sets total.


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## joey_capps

david henman said:


> ...mine break long before they achive "mellow" status. third night, actually.
> 
> so, i use elixirs, which seem to last forever.
> 
> years ago, when i could only afford one guitar, paying $3.50 for a set of long & mcquades made perfect sense.


I used to break strings regularly too. However, I found now that I get my guitars set up regularly (once a year) and use Nut Sauce when changing strings I rarely break them. I think it's been over a year since I last broke one.

As for string: 

I use Rickenbacker No. 95403 (compressed, round wound, medium) on my two Ricks. I usually order these directly from Rickenbacker or Pick of the Ricks.

I use D'Addarios on my other guitars. I usually buy these at Long & McQuade.

I change strings about once a month on the guitars I use most often. I'd probably change them more often except for two things--time & money.

Along these lines, I've just read this article about The Edge's setup. Apparently, he has the strings changed on all the guitars he uses before every show. Considering that he is using 17+ guitars for a show, that's almost a new set of strings for every song.


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## Jeflou

www.globalstrings.com. I get all my strings here. small company now but growing. They are a Canadian site.


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## Mooh

I recently switched to buying D'Addario EJ16 and EXL110 by bulk boxes of 25 sets. Way cheaper. There's a little piano shop in Blyth Ontario that gave me a good deal. I'll be going back. Pianovations

Peace, Mooh.


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## david henman

Jeflou said:


> Global Strings | Home. I get all my strings here. small company now but growing. They are a Canadian site.


...took a look. the prices are good, but not great - roughly the same as long & mcquade, i think.

i do understand that, living in fergus, whatever store is near you probably charges a lot.

the local store in bolton, music 21, charges almost triple what i'm used to paying.


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## Swervin55

I noticed on JustStrings site that they won't ship Elixir's into Canada (if I'm reading correctly). Perhaps Elixir protects their Canadian distributor?


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## Jim DaddyO

I usually just go to L&M for my strings...the Squier I use super bullets .010 -.048? The S&P and Yamaha acoustics I usually get what ever light bronze wound I see, usually Martins. The Heartbreaker, I have set it up for GHS Boomers .011 -.050 (I can't find Nickel Rockers). I don't change them often, I think I have only ever broken 3 strings in my life playing. I kinda like them old and grungy too.


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## rollingdam

This US company ships strings and other items at no cost to Canada.

They were one of the first on line stores.

Shoreline Music • Handcrafted Guitars • Acoustic Pickups • Unbeatable String Prices


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## Bronco

I created a solution to the problem of buying guitar strings online in Canada. No long waits for shipments from the US, no expensive shipping charges. Just guitar strings in your mailbox, faster and cheaper than any competitor.

http://www.buyguitarstringsonline.ca


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## Greg Ellis

I'm on my second 10-pack of D'Addarios from Strings and Beyond. Their "special" price of $44, and free shipping, makes it a pretty attractive deal.


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## cboutilier

This is a good thread. I've recently switched to a gauge that isn't stocked in any stores around me, so I need to acquire a stockpile of them


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## Lord-Humongous

Vander said:


> There is lot of live stores for electric and acoustic guitar as well their tools, but I'll recommend you this xxxxxxx. cheapest and reliable store, because they are offering 10% flat discount for new and old customers, that's why it Don't forget your coupon for next order


Admin - obvious spam/click bait/malware or something of the sort. 

<I have also clicked the 'report' button>


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## Lord-Humongous

cboutilier said:


> This is a good thread. I've recently switched to a gauge that isn't stocked in any stores around me, so I need to acquire a stockpile of them


Strings & Beyond has free shipping to Canada on orders above $35. And somewhat regularly they have a promo with free shipping on any size order. I've had good luck ordering from them, but it does take two weeks or so to get an order in Canada. Interestingly, if I ship to my place in Florida, it takes only two days.


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## SurfGreenStrat

I find it incredible how many players prefer old strings for their "tone" (I'd call it a lack of tone though, lol). Have any of you guys ever tried flatwounds on guitar? I feel like, by the time the strings sound "old" they're sticky, grimy and they have dents from the frets which leads to not-so-perfect tuning or intonation. Flatwounds will give you the old broken in string tone, but without the dents or any crap on the strings. 

On the topic of sticky strings, after using GHS Fast Fret (it's basically just mineral oil on a handy applicator) on my strings, any guitar off the wall in a music store feels awful. Not even if they're rusty, just the sticky grime they get from being handled/played a bit. It only takes a few days (at least here in humid Ottawa) without the mineral oil applied, to get that sticky feeling. Legato feelsbadman.


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## zontar

I normally go to L&M for strings--but they don't stock tapewounds for bass (& I'd like to try some) and rarely have shortscale bass strings.
So those will be online.
They don' always have a great selection of acoustic 12 either.
Electric strings are good there--as I use Boomers.
But I will probably have to be going on line for bass strings & possibly for my 12 string.


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## colchar

A bit of a necrothread but.......................

A few months ago I switched to using Vinci Strings and simply cannot recommend them highly enough. They were the company that invented the modern string making machines but Washburn bought them out at some point. They have been resurrected and I love their products. Gerry Garcia used them, Tony Iommi used them for a while, as did Carlos Santana. Jerry Rice still uses them as does the bass player from Parliament Funk.

Their electric strings are currently on sale for less than $4 per pack. Even with the exchange rate and shipping ($16.50 via USPS for my last couple of orders) I am getting strings for $6 per pack or less. I haven't tried their acoustic strings but they threw a couple of freebie packs into the order that I placed yesterday so I will try them as soon as they arrive. I can't speak to their bass strings.

I have to get ready to head out to work but, in case anyone is interested, I will comment more about their strings and their sensational customer service when I get home.

In the meantime, here is a link to their website:

https://www.thomasvincistrings.com/


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## greco

colchar said:


> I haven't tried their acoustic strings but they threw a couple of freebie packs into the order that I placed yesterday so I will try them as soon as they arrive.
> 
> I will comment more about their strings and their sensational customer service when I get home.
> 
> In the meantime, here is a link to their website:
> 
> https://www.thomasvincistrings.com/


Looking forward to your comments re: the acoustic strings (assuming the freebies were acoustic packs??)


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## colchar

greco said:


> Looking forward to your comments re: the acoustic strings (assuming the freebies were acoustic packs??)



Yes, the freebies are acoustic strings.

But I've been using their electric strings for a few months and love them.

When trying to find some 9.5-44 gauge strings a few months ago I stumbled across Thomas Vinci Strings. I never thought I would buy boutique strings but decided to check them out and I couldn't be happier that I did.

Anyway, I had never heard of them but checked out their website. After doing so I sent them an email asking for info and they replied promptly. I had been asking them about pure nickel strings and, although they don't currently offer those, they are in the works and they offered to send me some free samples of those once they have them available. But in the meantime, they offered to send me some free sets of their normal nickel wound strings so that I could try them out. When we were discussing their regular sets I mentioned that I was interested in a particular set for my SG which is set up for slide, but thought that the third string should be a different gauge than the one offered in their set. They replied that that was no problem, they would happily make up a custom set for me to try, which they subsequently did. So in the end they sent me a couple of 9.5-44 gauge sets for my Tele and a couple of sets of heavier strings for my SG, all for free (shipping was free as well).

When I got the strings and put them on my Tele I absolutely loved them! They feel great, sound awesome, stay in tune, and last longer than other strings I have tried. So I didn’t even bother waiting for the pure nickels, I just ordered a bunch of sets - mostly for my Tele but a couple for the SG as well.

Not only are their strings great, their customer service is second to none. How many string companies do you know who would offer free sets for you to try out? And not only that, they offered to buy me a competitor's strings to compare them to! What happened was that some friends had recommended D'Addario NYXLs and I happened to mention to the guy from Vinci that I was going to try those too. When I did, he offered to buy them for me so that I could compare them – that is how confident they are in their products. Since I had already bought the NYXLs I didn't take him up on the offer but him making the offer goes above and beyond. And for the record, I like the NYXLs well enough, but I like the Vinci strings a _lot_ more.

But in addition to their great products and outstanding service, their prices are phenomenal. They have a sale on right now and their electric strings are available for $3.15US per set, with their acoustic sets costing about $1 more. At those prices they are well worth giving a try for anyone who might be interested. I have also seen them on sale for as low as $2.50US per set. Shipping can be expensive but they charge USPS rates so they don’t have any control over that. I find that if you order a dozen sets or less you get them for $16.50 shipping. Even with the exchange rate and shipping costs it still works out to be about $6 per pack of strings which is cheaper than most strings at L&M, and to my mind the feel, tone, and quality far surpass most other strings that I've tried.

I had been considering ordering some of their acoustic strings for my new acoustic but had held off as I was concerned about being stuck with them if I didn't like them (that was kind of stupid of me considering how much I like their electric strings). But this week I decided to put a new nut on my SG and to use it for standard playing, rather than slide, for a while so I ordered some .10 gauge electric strings from them. While doing so I decided to add a couple of packs of acoustics strings to the order since I was already paying shipping for the electric strings anyway. But as it turned out, they were out of stock on their .12 gauge acoustic strings.

After placing my order I sent them an email asking them to let me know when those .12 gauge acoustic strings were back in stock so that I could order some to try out. Well earlier today I received the shipping confirmation email for the electric string order that I placed last night, and two minutes later I received an email from someone at the company to say that they had added a couple of freebie packs of their .12 gauge acoustic strings to my order so that I could try them out before deciding whether to buy more.

So, once again, I've received great customer service from this company. The level of personal attention and care I've experienced from them makes me feel like an endorsed artist rather than the basement playing hack that I am. It is very clear to me that this company appreciates my patronage and I am more than happy to support a company like that through repeat business. From now on I will happily give them my money and won't even think about buying other strings. I am also happy to recommend them to others based on my positive experiences with them. As mentioned above, I cannot recommend them highly enough and encourage everyone else here to give their strings a try.


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## Guest

colchar said:


> Yes, the freebies are acoustic strings.
> 
> But I've been using their electric strings for a few months and love them.
> 
> When trying to find some 9.5-44 gauge strings a few months ago I stumbled across Thomas Vinci Strings. I never thought I would buy boutique strings but decided to check them out and I couldn't be happier that I did.
> 
> Anyway, I had never heard of them but checked out their website. After doing so I sent them an email asking for info and they replied promptly. I had been asking them about pure nickel strings and, although they don't currently offer those, they are in the works and they offered to send me some free samples of those once they have them available. But in the meantime, they offered to send me some free sets of their normal nickel wound strings so that I could try them out. When we were discussing their regular sets I mentioned that I was interested in a particular set for my SG which is set up for slide, but thought that the third string should be a different gauge than the one offered in their set. They replied that that was no problem, they would happily make up a custom set for me to try, which they subsequently did. So in the end they sent me a couple of 9.5-44 gauge sets for my Tele and a couple of sets of heavier strings for my SG, all for free (shipping was free as well).
> 
> When I got the strings and put them on my Tele I absolutely loved them! They feel great, sound awesome, stay in tune, and last longer than other strings I have tried. So I didn’t even bother waiting for the pure nickels, I just ordered a bunch of sets - mostly for my Tele but a couple for the SG as well.
> 
> Not only are their strings great, their customer service is second to none. How many string companies do you know who would offer free sets for you to try out? And not only that, they offered to buy me a competitor's strings to compare them to! What happened was that some friends had recommended D'Addario NYXLs and I happened to mention to the guy from Vinci that I was going to try those too. When I did, he offered to buy them for me so that I could compare them – that is how confident they are in their products. Since I had already bought the NYXLs I didn't take him up on the offer but him making the offer goes above and beyond. And for the record, I like the NYXLs well enough, but I like the Vinci strings a _lot_ more.
> 
> But in addition to their great products and outstanding service, their prices are phenomenal. They have a sale on right now and their electric strings are available for $3.15US per set, with their acoustic sets costing about $1 more. At those prices they are well worth giving a try for anyone who might be interested. I have also seen them on sale for as low as $2.50US per set. Shipping can be expensive but they charge USPS rates so they don’t have any control over that. I find that if you order a dozen sets or less you get them for $16.50 shipping. Even with the exchange rate and shipping costs it still works out to be about $6 per pack of strings which is cheaper than most strings at L&M, and to my mind the feel, tone, and quality far surpass most other strings that I've tried.
> 
> I had been considering ordering some of their acoustic strings for my new acoustic but had held off as I was concerned about being stuck with them if I didn't like them (that was kind of stupid of me considering how much I like their electric strings). But this week I decided to put a new nut on my SG and to use it for standard playing, rather than slide, for a while so I ordered some .10 gauge electric strings from them. While doing so I decided to add a couple of packs of acoustics strings to the order since I was already paying shipping for the electric strings anyway. But as it turned out, they were out of stock on their .12 gauge acoustic strings.
> 
> After placing my order I sent them an email asking them to let me know when those .12 gauge acoustic strings were back in stock so that I could order some to try out. Well earlier today I received the shipping confirmation email for the electric string order that I placed last night, and two minutes later I received an email from someone at the company to say that they had added a couple of freebie packs of their .12 gauge acoustic strings to my order so that I could try them out before deciding whether to buy more.
> 
> So, once again, I've received great customer service from this company. The level of personal attention and care I've experienced from them makes me feel like an endorsed artist rather than the basement playing hack that I am. It is very clear to me that this company appreciates my patronage and I am more than happy to support a company like that through repeat business. From now on I will happily give them my money and won't even think about buying other strings. I am also happy to recommend them to others based on my positive experiences with them. As mentioned above, I cannot recommend them highly enough and encourage everyone else here to give their strings a try.


I should get 2 dozen free packs for getting through the small amount of this post I read.


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## colchar

Player99 said:


> I should get 2 dozen free packs for getting through the small amount of this post I read.



Nobody forced you to read it.


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## Guest

colchar said:


> Nobody forced you to read it.


After I realized it was an info commercial I stopped.


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## colchar

Player99 said:


> After I realized it was an info commercial I stopped.



So giving other members the details of a great experience with a business equates to an infomercial (the proper term, by the way)? Should we reserve our comments about businesses to bad ones or something?


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## Guest

colchar said:


> So giving other members the details of a great experience with a business equates to an infomercial (the proper term, by the way)? Should we reserve our comments about businesses to bad ones or something?


Sorry man, I was just messin' with ya.


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## colchar

Player99 said:


> Sorry man, I was just messin' with ya.



Ah, OK. Fair enough then. I might have caught that if I wasn't feeling like crap fighting a throat infection and cold.


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## Daniel Grenier

Having been in the military for 25+ years, I have a nationalistic mind set about being/acting Canadian (no, not the "alt-right" kind, just to confirm) so I simply buy all my strings thru my local dealer. He can get all I want/need for my Strat, classical, bouzouki, 12 string, banjo etc... (ditto everything else musical I need). OK, it might cost me a few bucks more but so what: My money stays here, helps keep a few locals gainfully employed - which elevates prosperity/well being of the community as a whole. You should try it. Feels good!


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## zontar

Daniel Grenier said:


> Having been in the military for 25+ years, I have a nationalistic mind set about being/acting Canadian (no, not the "alt-right" kind, just to confirm) so I simply buy all my strings thru my local dealer. He can get all I want/need for my Strat, classical, bouzouki, 12 string, banjo etc... (ditto everything else musical I need). OK, it might cost me a few bucks more but so what: My money stays here, helps keep a few locals gainfully employed - which elevates prosperity/well being of the community as a whole. You should try it. Feels good!


I do prefer to buy my strings locally--but I can't fin the ones I like for my bass--and have even asked at different stores, no success with that.


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## Guest

Daniel Grenier said:


> Having been in the military for 25+ years, I have a nationalistic mind set about being/acting Canadian (no, not the "alt-right" kind, just to confirm) so I simply buy all my strings thru my local dealer. He can get all I want/need for my Strat, classical, bouzouki, 12 string, banjo etc... (ditto everything else musical I need). OK, it might cost me a few bucks more but so what: My money stays here, helps keep a few locals gainfully employed - which elevates prosperity/well being of the community as a whole. You should try it. Feels good!


My local guy wants $3-$4 per pack more than L & M. If I buy 12 packs online I can save around $21 compared to L & M. They don't need my money more than me...


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## Guncho

3 pack of D'Addario strings from Amazon is always on my Christmas/Birthday list so I never really have to buy my own strings.


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## Guest

Guncho said:


> 3 pack of D'Addario strings from Amazon is always on my Christmas/Birthday list so I never really have to buy my own strings.


I have something like 11 guitars so I can go through strings.


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## colchar

Daniel Grenier said:


> Having been in the military for 25+ years, I have a nationalistic mind set about being/acting Canadian (no, not the "alt-right" kind, just to confirm) so I simply buy all my strings thru my local dealer. He can get all I want/need for my Strat, classical, bouzouki, 12 string, banjo etc... (ditto everything else musical I need). OK, it might cost me a few bucks more but so what: My money stays here, helps keep a few locals gainfully employed - which elevates prosperity/well being of the community as a whole. You should try it. Feels good!



I understand the impulse, but while you might be helping to keep a handful of retail employees employed, none of the strings you buy are Canadian made.

Since it seems that Vinci strings might be going through some sort of transition at the moment (I received an order the other day, and they included some freebies for me to try, but now their website is down so I have no idea what is going on) I will return to using Rotosound strings once my supply of Vinci strings runs out. Being British, I will be supporting a British company.


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## bzrkrage

Any updates on where to buy? Strings and Beyond don't ship to Canada free anymore, I'm running low........


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## Dazza

bzrkrage said:


> Any updates on where to buy? Strings and Beyond don't ship to Canada free anymore, I'm running low........


If you're buying 10+ sets then S&B is still the best deal - depending on what it is you're buying. I use DR Blues and S&B Canadian postage - which is cheaper than anyone else, adds about $1 / set. Still cheaper than buying in Canada. I typically wait for their seasonal/holiday sales and stock up. With sealed packaging I'm not concerned about long term storage.

Daz


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## laristotle

Dazza said:


> I typically wait for their seasonal/holiday sales and stock up


Stating a 10% off sale right now. Code; Shamrock.




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Guitar Strings and Beyond - Buy Guitar Strings Online and Save!


The world's largest online store for Guitar Strings and Accessories with fast, friendly service and FREE shipping on all orders to US over $35! 1-877-830-0722.




www.stringsandbeyond.com


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## Doug B

Strings by Mail





__





Guitar Strings, Accessories, Sheet Music, Violin Strings and MORE


Strings By Mail is your online source for Classical, Flamenco, Acoustic and Electric Guitars. We also carry Violin, Cello, Viola, Bass, Sheet Music, Books, CDs and DVDs.




www.stringsbymail.com


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## SWLABR

I second the "3-Pack from Amazon" thing.


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## nman

I support my local shops. Bonus: Gets me out of the house, checking out real gear in person.


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## numb41

I just bought a bulk of Darko 10's (25 sets) from Strings and Beyond. $44.99USD.


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## terminalvertigo

numb41 said:


> I just bought a bulk of Darko 10's (25 sets) from Strings and Beyond. $44.99USD.


Link?


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## MetalTele79

terminalvertigo said:


> Link?


Link to Darco bulk sets 

I've never tried them. Any good?


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## numb41

MetalTele79 said:


> Link to Darco bulk sets
> 
> I've never tried them. Any good?


So far so good. I would fail the Pepsi Challenge on strings though. They're nickel, and make a sound when I put them on. Good enough


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