#1
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Coated Strings versus changing them often
I was looking at the thread on the strings in the Taylor forum and it got me thinking. With the cost of coated strings....are we any better off with coated strings or are you better off buying 3-4 sets or cheap strings and change them often. Just strings has the Darco 80/20 bronze strings on sale for $2.49 a set. At that price...I can change them four or five times for the cost of one set of coaated strings. I have never warmed up to coated strings. Am I the only one who feels this way? Nothing sonds like a new set of strings.
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#2
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Better off changing them often if you are the type that can swap your strings out quickly and dont mind. I do not believe that any coated string sounds better than an uncoated string. One item that was pointed out to me by a sting clinician for one of the two majors is that coated strings do not reduce string wear from playing. They reduce corrosion, in if you dont clean your strings can help reduce gunk. But no coating stops the strings from developing tone robbing dents that come from be fretted. Those dents and the reduction of tension over time are what kill well played strings. So go with coated if your guitar is not played often, go with uncoated if its a daily player. I keep coated on my GA4 as it does not get much love, and uncoated on my Custom GS, and before it the Spring Ltd. 716ce.
For some the advantage of reduced string squeak is a benefit with the Elixers.
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2019 Taylor Summer Ltd. GA Redwood/ Ovangkol |
#3
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Yeah I have never thought coated strings were produced to sound better than non-coated. They were made to resist corrosion and they tried to get a non-coated sound out of them. When they first came out people complained that the coating was too thick and the sound was funky. They have worked on thining the coating over the years for sure. And have done a good job IMO-both Elixer and D'Addario.
I really have no need to use coated strings. My hands and fingers don't put out the oils and grease that some do. I had a guy in my old band who went through a set of strings in a day or two b/c of what gunk came out of his fingers. In 2 days his strings would be green. To this day I have never seen anything like it. I can play with the same set on my beaters for 3 years and never get a gunky build up and my strings will never turn green. I don't have to wipe down my strings or anything. I use $7 D'Addarios and switch them out about once a month or longer.
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I'm into acoustic guitars, MM & PRS, my kids, Technics decks, Titleist, Reggae music, KY Bourbon, fine rum and chrome pans from Trini. |
#4
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Different strokes for different folks. I'm a couch picker and my fingers ooze that mysterious string - killer stuff.
One of my guitars might sit unused for weeks or months. With Elixirs, when I pull it out of the case it is ready to go. With uncoated strings, after months of inactivity it would need a string change before use. True, comparing new sets, the coated strings don't have all the good tone of uncoateds, but comparing month-old sets or 6 month old sets, the nod goes to the coateds.
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2009 CA Cargo Raw, 2006 Collings OM-1 SS light build, 2004 Taylor 714ce, 2000 Taylor 310K, 1991 Martin HD-28, 1971 Martin 0-18, 1967 Guild F-30 2006 Ovation Legend 6756LX 12 string, 2004 Taylor 354ce 12 string, 1976 Guild G312-NT 12 string (dreadnaught shape) 1966 Martin T-15 tiple, Mele koa ukulele |
#5
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Use both. If I'm gigging I'll use d'addario uncoated which are half the price of coated exp's. If im at home working on stuff for a while I use the exp's. I like them a lot too. They last long and they actually sound better to me after a week or so when the uncoated would be dead already. I say both.
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#6
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I like to use coated strings on a 12 string guitar.
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#7
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I tend not to use coated strings. The uncoated ones last long enough for me and sound better. The only coated strings I've liked so far have been EXP 80/20s.
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#8
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Up to last year, I've used uncoated strings. Then when I got 614ce, I liked what it came with (Elixir nanos) and stuck with Elixirs.
It depends on guitars. Some sound terrible with Elixirs, other sound great.
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'97 Taylor 414 |
#9
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Perhaps coated are better in a humid environment, but on my 12 string, I prefer uncoated PBs in both the Bay Area and the dry air of Idaho.
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2007 Taylor 854ce 12 string 1979 Ovation Custom Balladeer 1112 2004 Rivera Sedona Lite (55 tube watts ) 1905 Steinway 7ft. Grand, Model B (the wife's) 2008 Epi BB King Lucille/Vox AD50VT I miss my: (purchased new) 1973 Takamine F360S (Martin lawsuit special) and 1977 Takamine F400S 12 string |
#10
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Elixrs all the way, baby.
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#11
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Elixirs hands down for me. My needs are not that finicky and they look the same when I open the case as they did when I closed it regardless if it was an hour, a day, or a month. Plus as a company Elixir has gone out of their way to keep me as a customer.
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2005 710ce (Eng/EIRose) 2007 GS4e-Ltd (Sitka/Glossed Taz) 2012 HD-35 2017 814ce GS Mini |
#12
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Now you have me wanting to try elixirs. One of the things I have hated about them in the past was the slippery plastic feel. Are any of the newer strings any better in their feel?
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#13
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Bill, the nanoweb elixirs feel quite different than the original polyweb. You oughta try a set.
That said, I enjoy trying lots of different string brands just to see what I like. I often settle on D'Addario P-B strings (both coated and uncoated). The Elixir coating is applied differently than other string brands, though. I think they're very good and worth a try.
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Guild: 2006 F-512 (Tacoma), 2007 GSR F-412 (Tacoma), 2010 F-212XL STD (New Hartford), 2013 Orpheum SHRW 12-string (New Hartford), 2013 GSR F-40 Taylor: 1984 655 (Lemon Grove) Martin: 1970 D-12-20 (Nazareth) Ibanez: 1980 AW-75 (Owari Asahi), 1982 M310 Maple series, 2012 AWS1000ECE Artwood Studio (MIC) Favilla: ~1960 C-5 classical (NYC) |
#14
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Every time I've tried a set of Elixirs (as recently as a year ago) I've been disappointed. They sound fine, maybe the same as the Daddario EXPs I normally use, but they BREAK for me. I know there was an issue some time ago especially with their G strings breaking, but even after they "fixed" that problem I couldn't keep a set on without breakage. I don't have that problem with the EXPs.
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Martin D-15 Mahogany Recording King RAJ-122 Sitka/Mahogany Gibson L-00 Sitka/Walnut Taylor GA8 Sitka/EIR Reverend '21 Charger 290 Gibson '03 Les Paul Studio Swamp Ash Fender '94 American Std Strat Squier Classic Vibe Baritone Telecaster Many are gone but not forgotten...some are just forgotten |
#15
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I have no idea how long any coated strings last. They all sound mediocre going on so I take them off and put good sounding strings on. J. Pearse strings last a good 3-4 weeks (and sometimes more). A long time at mediocre is no value to me.
Ed |