# where are you buying strings?



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

ive always purchased strings at whatever mom and pop that was local.
just to be a sport really- support the little guy and all.
but, im often not getting the strings id prefer. (i like ghs nickle rockers on electric- havent seen a set in a store in 7 years)
when i needed strings for my baritone strat, i had to take an hour long bus ride,
and they had only 1 pack of electric baritone strings- no choice in the matter, and i would have liked to have gotten several sets anyway.
ive also never had the oppurtunity to try out different strings for my acoustic lap slides,
or my jazz box-
i dont expect a store front retailer in a small city like this to carry a huge selection, but there is the internet.
was thinking about ordering from juststrings.com.
has anybody had experience with them?
or is there a better solution for us in canada?
thanks!


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I get my electric strings locally--normally at L&M--they tend to have the best selection & price.

But they don't stock the classical strings I like--another store has them, but priced way too high, and ST John's music actually has them cheaper--so next time I need them, I'll go there.

Bass strings I like short scale--which aren't always easy to find, and I can't always find my preference for 12 string sets--so I'm trying out Martin strings from a L&M.

But it looks more & more like I'll be getting them online sometime soon, at least for bass & possibly 12 string & classical.

Can't advise on Just Strings though, as I haven't used them.

My bigger issue is picks.
Very few stores have individual picks of anything other than the normal ones, and sometimes they even don't have those.
I was making some double picks out of Tortex picks and have had trouble finding the larger triangle sized ones-even in a multipack.

I may wind up getting picks and strings online...


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

These guys are awesome. Free shipping if you spend $35 or more. I've used them a few times now - always been very satisfied:

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I think that we are SOL for something within Canada.

I've ordered from here - http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/, with pretty good success. 
Good selection of strings and picks.

Hey zontar, I picked up a bag of Tortex 60mm triangular picks years ago at an L&M in Winnipeg.
They were actually shipped to me by mistake, as I wanted the teardrop type.
There are still over thirty in the bag and they'll probably never see any use here.
If you're interested, give me a PM and we'll arrange shipping them out to you.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

yeah- ive never fussed much with picks- i can usually get the ones i like anywhere, but maybe thats just because ive always grabbed whatever i could find-
usually the dunlop tortex, or lately the max grip or big stubby.
but like with strings- if its not something that the average guy wants, then they wont bother stocking it.
the local shops around me wont even stock the strings they know i want and will buy- i guess they cant make any money unless they move hundreds of packs.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

stringsandbeyond looks promising, a quick browse turns up a few of the things im looking for-
i really dont expect to find a canadian site that will serve my needs- 
but id like to find one that is canadian friendly- as far as shipping and payment and all those hassles.
somehow, i figured this was a good place to ask lol.


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## Overt1 (Aug 31, 2009)

for smaller orders, stringsandbeyond. For larger orders, juststrings.com is cheaper. Well, for the stuff I buy


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

i order from juststrings.com all the time. great place.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

Sounds like you need quite the variety of strings. I get mine from Newtone Strings in the UK. They've got a fair amount of variety and they're handmade. They'll take about 4 to 6 weeks from the order to delivery but I find them well worth it.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I buy the D'Addario bulk boxes of 25 sets from a store nearby (link below). Generally I go through about 100-125 sets a year between myself and my customers. I used to get bulk boxes of 10 sets whenever L&M had them on sale, but I can get a good price anytime from http://www.pianovations.com/

Peace, Mooh.


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## FrankyNoTone (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm fortunate enough to have a lot of music stores to choose from (including 5 L&M's) and I find each store tends to have different inventory. One of them usually has what I need and strings are a great excuse to go to shops and look at candy. Price wise, getting that set of string(s) often entails me picking up some picks, maybe a gadget or two, etc. so strings are expensive for me wherever I go.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

That's why I like to buy them in bulk, so I'm not getting tempted everytime I enter the music shop.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

bagpipe said:


> These guys are awesome. Free shipping if you spend $35 or more. I've used them a few times now - always been very satisfied:
> 
> http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/


I started using them after I made 2 trips to L&M and they were out of the strings that I wanted. I thought that was ridiculous so I tried ordering and it was 'over X amount gets free shipping' so I ordered until I was over that amount. Strings end up being pretty inexpensive that way and it never got hit with a tax slip coming across the border so I was happy.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Has anyone tried http://www.webstrings.com/ ? pretty inexpensive. I have not tried them but was curious.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Jim DaddyO said:


> Has anyone tried http://www.webstrings.com/ ? pretty inexpensive. I have not tried them but was curious.


Yeah, I've used them before for electric strings. They sell their own generic brand which to me are very similar to D'Addarios. I was very happy with them. I only started using stringsandbeyond as I wanted Martin strings for my acoustic.


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## Macki (Jun 14, 2010)

I have just started using Strings and Beyond - very good in my opinion. The free shipping is awesome. I do use L&M + Spaceman too. I started to use SnB as I like their wide selection of strings - I am kind of in an experimental mood with strings and wanted to try a bunch of different types to see if there is a much of a difference.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

i use strings and beyond as well.

if you order a bunch of packs at a time you get free shipping.

I'm still on my batch from before christmas.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

thanks all, very much appreciated.
seems like both companies are cool.



> Sounds like you need quite the variety of strings. I get mine from Newtone Strings in the UK


this was all brought about because of that baritone strat.
i put a squier bridge on it at first- it has a smaller string spacing than im used to. and those are pretty fat strings.
so i decided to put an avri trem on it.
i had it sitting here- shouldve done it to begin with but i didnt.

so those strings are now all wonky.
installed, intonated, removed, straightened, then re-installed and re-intonated.
lifes too short for this shit lol- 

i only have the one set of baritone strings- the store only had the one, and im not going to go bussing all over town looking for another-
besides, all the stores shut before i can get there after work. so it would have to wait till next saturday.
i do stock up on strings- local stores usually give me a good deal, and ive got probably 20 packs of various things here- just not what i needed
in this case.
im pretty sure this is really the only time ive hit a wall when looking for strings.
but it made me think- 

newtone makes some strings for acoustic lap slide ive always wanted to check out. ive always just used regular acoustic sets for this-
but, perhaps thats a compromise. if i were to cast my net further, then i can stop compromising.

ok- i wont stop compromising when it comes to beer and/or women. 
but thats kind of a given.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I've checked out the websites.

Fortunately I mostly use GHS Boomers, which are easy to find--it's bass, 12 string & classical that are the issue.
And for picks--I have enough to last me a while.
But I was looking to try a bit thinner gauge for a double pick (88 as opposed to the 1 and 1.14 ones)

Thanks for all the info.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

I like John Pearse strings for acoustic and this place ships free to Canada-though it can take weeks thanks to Canada Customs

http://www.shorelinemusic.com/accessories/johnpearse.shtml


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

I support this gal (forget her name). All Canadian. Great service.

http://www.globalstrings.com/


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I may have to try this outfit to avoid the long shipping delays and the border.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

Swervin55 said:


> I support this gal (forget her name). All Canadian. Great service.
> 
> http://www.globalstrings.com/


hey- nice link, thanks.
ill try them in the future, but i couldnt find any baritone strings on the site, and thats my current pressing issue.
so i placed an order at stringsandbeyond.
grabbed a set for my bari uke as well- never saw strings for that around here, and it needs them bad.
got 5 packs of strings, then some picks to get above $35.
thanks for all the help guys!


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

Another big +1 for StringsandBeyond. They regularly have 10% off deals as well as other promos; sign up for their newsletter. Easy shipping via USPS/Canada Post, and as others have said, free for $35+ orders!


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## Cary (May 11, 2011)

Could swear i posted this already but i guess not.

I really like guitarfetish.com's xaviere brand strings. They are some of the cheapest stings you can buy (1 case of 12 packs nickel round wound 10-46 comes to $29.10 including shipping to winnipeg.) but they don't have a lot of the characteristics of a cheap string. These things are tough and silky and don't really corrode quickly, and to my ears sound excellent, give me the snap I like on my tele and strat and work well on the les paul as well.

I switched from d'addarios to these strings about 6 months ago and don't intend to go back. I'm paying less than half the price for equal quality. They also sell stainless steel, pure nickel, bass and acoustic strings, though I've only tried the one type.

YMMV , but i'm a pretty big fan.


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## Cinch (Nov 30, 2009)

NB_Terry said:


> i order from juststrings.com all the time. great place.


Tried them for the first time couple months ago - will never buy strings anywhere but from there now  - ordered 10 sets... even after shipping it was almost half price what I normally would pay... and I didn't even have to pick them up.... love it..


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

bagpipe said:


> These guys are awesome. Free shipping if you spend $35 or more. I've used them a few times now - always been very satisfied:
> 
> Guitar Strings and Beyond - Buy Guitar Strings Online and Save!


I just ordered some from them, see how it goes


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## Canadian Charlie (Apr 30, 2008)

I used to get them locally but noticed that I could get them cheaper on eBay


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2012)

Long and McQuade is very cheap...


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/

1 week shipping to my door (Ontario). I was pretty impressed with their service.

D'Addario 3 Pack - $14.99 Select Gauge = EJ16 Light 12-53 Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings

D'Addario 3 Pack - $10.99 Select Gauge = EXL110 Regular Light Electric Guitar Strings 10-46 with FREE 4th Set (bought 2 sets of 3+1)

Subtotal 36.97
Free Shipping over $35 to Canada
Total 36.97


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

Jim DaddyO said:


> Has anyone tried Webstrings Home - Guitar Strings - Electric Guitar Strings - Acoustic Guitar Strings -Bass Strings - Mandolin Strings - Banjo Strings ? pretty inexpensive. I have not tried them but was curious.


I've been buying most of my strings from webstrings.com for quite a few years now. As bagpipe hinted at, they are non-branded D'Addarios without the colourful ball ends (same factory). There are some things they don't offer, like coated strings, but for everything else you can't beat the price. I usually do about 50 sets an order, which works out to under $3 a set after shipping.


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