In my experience strings do more to change the tonal character of a guitar aside from the guitar itself. I also disagree that all strings regardless of manufacturer are essentially the same. An apples-to-apples comparison of phosphor bronze strings are going to give me different results on the same guitar; some are brighter, some louder, some are darker, have a favorable feel, or have more or less sustain, etc. And it isn't just alloy, it's gauge too. You have to find out what works for all your personal variables; what style, nails, fingerpicks, thumpicks, flesh only, top woods, b/s woods, body sizes, the signature flavor of the builder, etc.
I have had guitars that sound good with nearly anything I put on it, while others I've needed to hunt down the best pairing and stick with it. I had a guitar once that was the pickiest ever when it came to strings- Martin Retros were by far better than anything else I tried and I spent hundreds of dollars trying to find the best by recording them and writing down my thoughts so I wouldn't forget what I thought of them. Then again, good chance it just wasn't a great sounding guitar too.
In my opinion strings make a significant difference, especially on carbon fiber.
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