# String Brand Loyalty?



## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

As I stated in the post regarding the Toronto Vintage Guitar Show, I bought a new set of electric strings there that were branded as "Jimi Hendrix" strings. The funny thing is, unlike a lot of guitarists, I don't really have any loyalties to a specific manufacturer. In my electric guitar string box I have strings made by Fender, Gibson, GHS, Dean Markley, D'Addario, DR, Ernie Ball and Elixir but when it comes to my acoustic guitar the only brand I ever buy are John Pearse strings as I prefer their sound over other strings I've tried in the past. So, are the people here brand loyal, do you just buy what's on sale or do you like to try a different brand once in a while? Oh here's a photo of the "Jimi Hendrix" strings I bought:


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

i've got a feeling that those are not authentic hendrix merchandise...dean markley has a deal with the hendrix estate...the supermullets look legit...

personally...i only use dean markley blue steel...they never break...!!!...


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I was wondering the same thing, however the strings mentioned above have a website based in Germany, and it is possible that the Hendrix estate has different deals with different parts of the world--they almost went ahead on a guitar project with Gibson, before that was scuttled. So who knows.

Of course it could be an unofficial string too.

But for the record--for electrics I mostly use GHS Boomers--but I have been known to try other brands at times-I keep coming back to Boomers.

For acoustic & bass I am more flexible.


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## Greenbacker (Mar 29, 2007)

I used Ernie Ball for a long time before I switched over to D'Addario. The difference was very noticeable. While on tour, I used to change strings before _every_ show but the EBs would still break maybe every 3rd or 4th show. I've never had a D'Addario break.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The poll wouldn't let me choose D'Addario *and* Other, so I didn't vote. Mostly D'Addario, though sometimes I'll try others just to stay current. I restring guitars for students with D'Addario strings (and a quickie set-up) all the time with no breakages that I would contribute to string function. Breakage is always a matter of abuse or misuse. I *never* break strings on my own guitars.

Frankly, the quality of strings these days is so good, it's rarely the string's fault for breaking but more a matter of technique, set-up, accidental damage, poor installation, or age.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I voted GHS, I use Nickel Rockers on my strat build. On my Pro tone Strat I use Fender super bullets. On my Acoustics, I usually go with Martin. I guess I am not brand loyal for strings.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

Snake Oil Strings without a doubt. I tried a set of Newtone strings ( electric masters) that were excellent as well. Pure nickel wound around a round core.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2010)

On my electrics I've used D'Addario EXL110s for...well...a while now. I've tried some other strings. I was all excited to try DRs in the same strange matching at Trey from Phish -- but they messed with my trem on my PRS and would have required a setup to get them to work, so I ditched them.

I guess you could say I use the D'Addarios because they sound fine, they feel nice, the manufacturing is really consistent (I don't think I've had a pack with a dud string in it in years now) and they never break (I can't remember the last time I broke a string). And I can buy them in bulk. I'll usually buy a 10-pack of them and replace them every few months on both my electrics. I'm not picky about new strings on my guitars at all times. In fact, I think I prefer a string that isn't so bright.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've used XL110s for several decades now for precisely the same reasons.

My experience with them is that they don't sound quite as bright as other brands, straight out of the envelope, but where other brands seem to lose their brightness fairly quickly, the D'Addarios hang onto the week 2-3 brightness other strings achieve, for a while longer than those other brands do, such that by the end of a month, they're brighter by comparison.

I, too, bought a pack of "Jimi Hendrix" strings, because they were in the delete bin. I'm pickier about the strings I use on my regular functioning guitars, but like to pick up cheap sets when I can for the "works in progress". When you have to put strings on and take them off a couple times on a weekend so you can adjust or line up bridges and pickups, or install pickguards, or whatever, the strings are so quickly compromised that paying attention to quality takes a back seat to mere price alone.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

For electric I've been using d'Aquisto for ages, becuase I bought a huge pile of them and am still going through them. Snake Oil are OK but not worth the extra money IMO, and I find them a little stiff. I just stocked up on a bunch of Curt Mangan strings for both acoustic and electric but haven't tried them yet.

I like John Pearse or Newtones for acoustic.

So I guess I'm "other".


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I've been a loyal Ernie Ball user for a long time now. Except for a recent bad pack where I had the low E, G and A all snap on me within days of each other, I've generally found them to last a good long time and I like the tone and feel. These are my two go to packs:

For 24.75"









For 25.5"


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

I used to play GHS Boomers constantly on my heavy metal guitar, back in the 80's, but when I started getting back into guitars around 2007, those just weren't working for me.

I tried a set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys on a strat and never looked back.


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

D'Addarios for years. Only exception was in the mid 80s when I used Seymour Duncans.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

I like DR long life coated strings cause of the purty colors


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## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

I use Ernie Ball. I like them because they sound like they're two weeks old after 10 minutes of playing.


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## dwagar (Mar 6, 2006)

I'm a fan of Snake Oils too. But if I want to brighten up a guitar I'll toss a set of Blue Steels on it.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Sneaky said:


> For electric I've been using d'Aquisto for ages, becuase I bought a huge pile of them and am still going through them. *Snake Oil are OK but not worth the extra money IMO,* and I find them a little stiff. I just stocked up on a bunch of Curt Mangan strings for both acoustic and electric but haven't tried them yet.
> 
> I like John Pearse or Newtones for acoustic.
> 
> So I guess I'm "other".


LOL That's the definition of 'snake oil', isn't it? Perhaps they were too accurate in their name.


I used to use D'Addario for decades, but I got a few bad sets about 10 years ago. Broke a bunch in a row and had to start looking again. My guitar tech put on a set of DRs when I had a new nut installed in a guitar years ago and I noticed (or least seemed to notice) a difference right away. Been using them now for about 5 or 6 years.


Tried Elixirs on my acoustics a few years ago, and haven't used anything else since. In fact, I still have a couple sets of Martin strings I'm now using as spares. The Elixirs are expensive but they do provide long service before the die.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

High/Deaf said:


> Tried Elixirs on my acoustics a few years ago, and haven't used anything else since. In fact, I still have a couple sets of Martin strings I'm now using as spares. The Elixirs are expensive but they do provide long service before the die.


+1 to Elixirs for acoustics. Definitely worth the extra dough. They last forever, sounds great and don't squeak as much. 

I didn't really like Elixirs on an electric though.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

hollowbody said:


> +1 to Elixirs for acoustics. Definitely worth the extra dough. They last forever, sounds great and don't squeak as much.
> 
> I didn't really like Elixirs on an electric though.


Mangan have coated strings now too.


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have been using Thomastik Infeld Powerbrights for about a y ear and dont see changing to anything else.


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

D'Addario. I don't really notice/care about the slight change in tone when using other brands, as much as life. Ernie Ball wounds tend to go dead really quick for me, and Dean Markley plains rust within a week.


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## Guest (Jun 30, 2010)

jimihendrix said:


> personally...i only use dean markley blue steel...they never break...!!!...


last longer too. haven't found any better yet.

I use martins on my acoustics.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

I used Snake Oil Brand strings for a couple of years and loved them. But after a couple of orders not being fullfilled and having to file a PayPal dispute to get my money back, I decided to use something else.

I'm now using Gibson strings exclusively. Vintage Reissues go on my ES-335 Dot, Brite Wires go on my Les Paul Standard and Masterbuilt Premium go on my acoustic. I buy five sets of each at a time from Justrings.com, enough to last me a year or more. Great strings!


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

No brand loyalty. I keep trying different brands. However, I do prefer all nickel strings.


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

I used to use D'Addario exclusively until I came across WebStrings. Now all of my strings come from them.


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## Overt1 (Aug 31, 2009)

+1 on webstrings. too bad they wouldn't mark a package as a gift, so i wasn't able to order a large volume of strings


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## crashaholic (Mar 3, 2010)

Thre isn't an option for 'no loyalty', but I'll buy the same strings for a guitar for awhile, but not necessarily the same strings for all the guitars.
Gibson, Erinie Ball, Dean Markley, D'A and GHS are bouhgt often.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Oddly enough, I voted Ernie Ball a couple weeks ago, but have given up on them. At least for now. I ran into a few bad batches and kept snapping strings left, right and centre. And it was strange too, like the high E, then the G, then the A. Seriously, who here has ever broken an A string?!??!

Anywho, for now I'm on D'Addarios.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

right now i am using d'addario's because that's all anyone seems to carry around here if you don't want ernie balls, which have always been junk imo. if i had my druthers, i'd be using gibson vintage re-issues, because to me, they are the best all-around string.


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## Bobby (May 27, 2010)

i voted Fender because i think the "bullets" are a great innovation. once their patent on it expires you can bet every other company is going to use them.

if anyone else mentionned all this,sorry,i didnt read through the thread.

but i tend to buy Dean Markley i forget the exact kind,they come in the blue pack.,because im in a small town with one store:S and i use 11-54 strings so i have to take the decent ones i can get,and they give and extra 3rd,which i think is neat.

before the bullets,i used to use GHS boomers.

way before that,when i first started playing i used whatever i could get in 8-38 because i wanted the smallest strings cause my guitar was horrible and i needed to make it at least slightly playable.

its a very "non-guitarist" thing to say,but new strings sound like new strings to me. ive never noticed a big difference between brands.

in short,i have no loyalty. if i could get Fender bullets in 11-54 thats what id get,im sure i could.but id have to order them online or go out of town. eff that. so for now its Dean Markley.

Bobby


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I've used GHS in the past and tried D'Addarios, but always go back to Ernie Balls.

I change them often and never break them. I found that using lesser known brands can be a problem if you're on tour somewhere and run out. It's good to use something that you can get anywhere.

On most electric guitars I like regular slinkys (10 ~ 46). On Teles I like an 11 set (power Slinkys).


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

I've used everything on the list and some 'other' as well but I always end up back with D'Addario


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## Bobby (May 27, 2010)

didnt no where else to put this,it seems to fit here.

i noticed,i didnt buy them but i noticed a brand had this type of "nano-coating" i think they called it. it was like this blue shit over the strings. they cost like 10$ more,and i figure with the amount i sweat,itll be gone by the time ive tuned them. but has anyone else come across this? and if so,does it make any improvement on sound,etc?

Bobby


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## John Watt (Aug 24, 2010)

Loyalty? What's that? In the late sixties, most rock guitarists outside of California
were using banjo strings for the high E and if into just the noise, B strings too,
and then tossing the bass string or strings from packs of Fender or Gibson.
It wasn't so much brand loyalty as wanting to bend strings with weak fingers.
And then Ernie Ball came out everywhere with rock gauges.
Fenders were tighter and stayed the same, until they started losing it.
Ernie Balls were softer right away and stayed that way until you broke it.
But then, I always pull the string up over the pickup and move my hand up and down it on the neck,
breaking it in, so I can stay in tune all night right away with less stretched string over the pickups.

I was jumping off a three foot stage in Thunder Bay playing with my teeth,
and when I hit the floor I yanked the guitar and the E string broke, firing off and slicing both sides of my lips.
That took weeks to heal, and the keyboardist riffed off that, saying I had stereo herpes. 
If I didn't change my strings after three days, I was breaking one for sure.
And just when I finished a redefinition of my guitar, and was thinking of trying other "unbreakable" strings, 1992,
I used Graph Tech bridge pieces, nut and string retainers, and I stopped breaking them,
and finally found out what Ernie Balls sound like after they've been on a while.

But my latest version is now small-scale, and has "accelerated acoustics", more harmonics, tone and volume,
and I tried twelves and elevens but went back to tens, seeing small scale as freeing them up a little more,
with just a slightly easier bend.

And as far as answering "who ever broke a B string?", I used to break a B and E together half the time.
One bassist nicknamed me "the B&E artist".
If there's one thing about strings that still interests me, it's northern Ontario and all the little brands I forgot.
And if you ever hear about a guitarist who gets injured by a railroad track, trying to flatten wire stolen from the Bell museum
and an original Niagara Falls generator, into string gauges, you'll know it's me.

Jimi Hendrix strings? They better be tens at least. Jimi set up his Strats "jazz style". Higher action, heavier gauge, easier to play.

Bobby! Are you wiping your strings and neck off after you play? Soft suede is nice.
Too bad electric bassists are the only ones who can boil strings to refresh them.


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## Bobby (May 27, 2010)

John Watt said:


> Loyalty? What's that? In the late sixties, most rock guitarists outside of California
> were using banjo strings for the high E and if into just the noise, B strings too,
> and then tossing the bass string or strings from packs of Fender or Gibson.
> It wasn't so much brand loyalty as wanting to bend strings with weak fingers.
> ...


first of all,that was post of the year,good sir. the "stereo herpes " bit should earn you some kind of award in and of itself,if the world was fair. you sound like the kind of musician i admire,you know,the kind who plays music,not spending his time calculating how much he will make. we are a dying breed.

second,i sweat alot and i am a fat mother****er. so since i practice alot,still about 8-10 hours a day,if i put any kind of fancy new strings on my axe,i better be ready to go now. i could wipe it off all the time,but at some point im just wiping dirt,ya know?

Bobby


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Interesting thread.

I started out using Dean Markley for years and years. Last couple years though I switched to D'Addario - I find they're not as "steely" sounding as the Markleys, but tend to fall off less as they age.

I actually bought a set of Ernie Ball "Skinny Top, Heavy Bottom" just today. I've got two of my guitars strung 5-string in open G and these will heavy up the A and D strings. Also, Keith Richards uses Ernie Ball and these will get me to almost the same gauges he's using too.


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## monson (Sep 27, 2010)

Martin SP
D'dario
slinkeys


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## MaxWedge (Feb 24, 2006)

D'Addario. Just for laughs I've kept the same set on my guitar for the last three years. I easily play it two hours daily. And I might add I tend to play aggressively. Oh and yeah, I have mountains of crap building up on the fret board. At this point tuning can be a bitch. But hey it's part of the fun.


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2010)

I stick with Dean Markley because I like their Medium gauge, the 11-52. Plus, they're cheaper than almost any other brand. Plus, you get plain and wound G strings with that gauge so you can fool around with that once in a while. A wound G is great for rhythm playing, it's essential for that beefy Malcolm tone.

I was given a set of the DM Hendrix strings, the pure nickel ones, in medium gauge. Very nice strings, but not nice enough to be twice the price of the regular Markleys.

Speed


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

Years ago(yes I am old) I read Hendrix used Fender strings gauged 10 to 38 as he liked the funky sound of the lighter wound strings.


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## six-string (Oct 7, 2009)

Bobby said:


> didnt no where else to put this,it seems to fit here.
> 
> i noticed,i didnt buy them but i noticed a brand had this type of "nano-coating" i think they called it. it was like this blue shit over the strings. they cost like 10$ more,and i figure with the amount i sweat,itll be gone by the time ive tuned them. but has anyone else come across this? and if so,does it make any improvement on sound,etc?
> 
> Bobby


these are Elixer brand strings and yes they are more expensive than other strings.
the coating does seem to make the strings last longer, at least for me.
although i don't know if they last twice as long as other brands.
i know some players swear by them.
are they 'worth it'? 
try em and see for yourself.


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## Decibel Guitars (Oct 14, 2010)

Back when i started playing, i tried a lot of different strings, and once i tried GHS Boomers, i had found the tone and feel i loved. I used those exclusively for about 20 years, but then started finding they were sounding less vibrant and less consistent from package to package, so i started trying strings again. I finally tried Elixirs, and once again, have found a tone and feel that i love, with longevity to boot.


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