Do coated strings REALLY make difference for you in longevity?

[hayvis]

I'm always amazed, with all the truly fantastic string options out there, how many people say they love Elixir strings. To my ears they're just very average, fairly thin sounding coated strings. On top of that, the coating shreds and makes the strings look and feel awful after a few days.

DR and Pyramid make truly fantastic round core strings. JP phosphor bronze are great if you like hex cores. Then there's all the monel and nickel options if you want a harder wearing string. Curt Mangan and Santa Cruz, the list is endless for great string makers. But people just go for these generic average sounding Elixirs, and to a lesser extent D'Adarrio EXPs.... It baffles me.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by hayvis

I'm always amazed, with all the truly fantastic string options out there, how many people say they love Elixir strings. To my ears they're just very average, fairly thin sounding coated strings. On top of that, the coating shreds and makes the strings look and feel awful after a few days.

DR and Pyramid make truly fantastic round core strings. JP phosphor bronze are great if you like hex cores. Then there's all the monel and nickel options if you want a harder wearing string. Curt Mangan and Santa Cruz, the list is endless for great string makers. But people just go for these generic average sounding Elixirs, and to a lesser extent D'Adarrio EXPs.... It baffles me.

The coating on my Elixir Nanowebs takes at least three months to get to the state you suggest, as I mentioned earlier-and I play at least a couple of hours a day with both pick and nails.
I don't know why you're baffled; for me Elixirs present a great cost-effective alternative to buying an uncoated set every week because they die on me.
At £15 for three months for Elixirs (less if you buy a three-pack deal), and around £6 a week for uncoated strings, the economies are simple to understand. I also like the tone of Elixirs, and their consistency over months.

[hayvis]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

The coating on my Elixir Nanowebs takes at least three months to get to the state you suggest, as I mentioned earlier-and I play at least a couple of hours a day with both pick and nails.
I don't know why you're baffled; for me Elixirs present a great cost-effective alternative to buying an uncoated set every week because they die on me.
At £15 for three months for Elixirs and around £6 a week for uncoated strings, the economies are simple to understand. I also like the tone of Elixirs.

The baffling thing is the fact that to my ears they sound crap (and they shred after a few days of fingerpicking but I suppose if you play softer that's not in the equation). However I can understand that it's a subjective thing, and I suppose there are a couple of guitar makers that I won't mention that wouldn't sell any guitars if everybody had good taste. If it makes you happy, don't listen to me.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by hayvis

The baffling thing is the fact that to my ears they sound crap (and they shred after a few days of fingerpicking but I suppose if you play softer that's not in the equation). However I can understand that it's a subjective thing, and I suppose there are a couple of guitar makers that I won't mention that wouldn't sell any guitars if everybody had good taste. If it makes you happy, don't listen to me.

I bet the strings you played were Elixir Polyweb, in which case I agree 100%. The coating is much thicker than Nanoweb and does indeed begin to shed much quicker. They also sound and feel unpleasant to me in comparison to Nanoweb.

[hayvis]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

I bet the strings you played were Elixir Polyweb, in which case I agree 100%. The coating is much thicker than Nanoweb and does indeed begin to shed much quicker. They also sound and feel unpleasant to me in comparison to Nanoweb.

Could be. I much prefer round core strings these days, and you can't even get coated round cores. I might try the nanowebs on one of my guitars that I don't play very often just to see. I put coated strings on them as uncoated oxidise on guitars that sit around.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Three+ months (my average with Elixir), from an uncoated set? Forgive me if I suggest that's impossibly optimistic.

No need for forgiveness Andrew. I take a few extra steps that most won’t bother with, that I mentioned in my post and can easily get 3 months of playing time from my strings. I play an average of 3 hrs. per week, also.

At the end of the 3 mos. they (or my guitar) still sound(s) great.

If I got 6 months from a coated set I wouldn’t use them.

[pattste]

I bought several sets of coated D'Addario EXP16 in a buy-one-get-one-free sale. I've used a few sets by now, sometimes alternating with non-coated strings.

In my experience these coated strings don't last much longer (if at all) than regular non-coated strings. I would say they look like they're in better shape longer but don't really sound better.

I've been using Gibson Masterbuilt Premium Phosphore Bronze for many years. Ironically, I've mentioned them on this board repeatedly over the years, usually in complete indifference. Now that they've been discontinued every one seems to think they're the best strings money can buy. Their only downside as always been that they don't last. I will need to try the GHS. I find the non-coated D'Addario pretty good but not great.

I get about 3-4 weeks out of a set before I feel the need to change them. I like the sound of new strings.

[FrankHudson]

A lot of us are singing another chorus of the tune we always sing about coated strings. So why should I be different? Here's what I've observed, generally about Elixir nanoweb/polyweb strings (though I've used Martin Lifespans too). I have a number of guitars, and I play regularly, but not lengthy playing sessions. The number of "hours" on my acoustic strings per calendar interval is probably lower than others here. Some guitars fall out of the rotation or needs and may stay in a case for months.

I don't like zingy strings when they are first put on an acoustic. Elixirs seem to settle down like other PB strings and then stay that way for a long time, This is ideal for the guitars that may wait a few months to get called on, but are then needed to be ready to "come off the bench" right away.

Polywebs and to a lesser degree Nanowebs are a great string noise reducer. Not needed for every player and every kind of playing, but when you do need that, they are a great boon. Not a factor here, but I play solidbody electrics with MIDI pickups and those guitars have Elixirs. I also find that when I'm doing a lot of sliding up and down the wound strings playing legato passages that the coatings reduce the "rattail file" effect on my fretting fingertips.

For me a couple of small bodied guitars really responded to Polywebs, producing a timbral balance that I like. I think those Polywebs are 80/20 formulation.

To my ears (I'm no golden ear*) the Polywebs do reduce some higher end harmonics. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on the guitar, the player and the expectation/need. I don't notice this with Nanowebs.

Perhaps because my guitars' "hours" vs. calendar interval situation is not typical and because I don't have a golden ear I have sets of Elxirs on guitars for up to a year and I don't mind. Maybe I should? I have not noted Pitar's phenomenon that strings cannot hold pitch after being tuned up to concert pitch for a few months. Unlike questions of timbre this is objectively measurable and yet Pitar's argument wasn't made on empirical grounds. This could be another "hours" vs. calendar interval confusion.

I like to fool around and I like different sounds (rather than having a singular "ideal sound" that I seek to always maintain). For this reason I don't use Elixir strings on most of my acoustic guitars. I have round-core Sunbeam PB on my workhorse Seagull Folk (Like the feel, OK with the sound). I have a silk and steel set on a parlor (I needed it to step in for my nylon string when it was in the shop, and I kind I found I liked the sound and feel). I have John Pearse PB on my hog/spruce dread. Martin Retro Monel on my 00-15 (I don't know if I'll ever use anything else on that guitar!). Polywebs on an old small-bodied Japanese-made rosewood/spruce guitar. Elixir Nanowebs on my two "real" 12-strings, but one is going to get a Retro Monel trial soon. Nanowebs PB my rosewood/spruce dread, but I'm thinking of trying something different soon. My old laminated Cortez 12-string which is played with a DeArmond mag soundhole pickup and is in Tibbets tuning (some octave strings replaced with unison strings) has a set of Martin Lifespans I made up from two packs of strings. I forget what's on my resonator, maybe Pearse PB?

I'm glad there are coated strings as an option. I take that option when it suits me. I think yes, you do get longer life with a more stable "middle age" and that they are ideal for your "taxi squad" that you need to be ready when called on.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Rusty fingers - that's a VERY interesting observation. It would seem that the acidity of body chemistry is very mush "a thing."

Wouldn't it be interesting if we had somebody here who could explain this phenomenon to us.

Is it diet?, genetics? environment? I know three people who have this, and they don't get to play my guitars!

The average pH of skin is 5.5, which is slightly acidic. However, individual skin chemistries can range from 4.5 to 6.5, even without the use of skin products that can affect the pH levels. Natural levels of skin acidity can be affected by moisture and sweat, as well as age. And--yes--genetics is a factor.

As to the "why" question, the slight acidity of our skin provides an antimicrobial defense. It's good for health, but bad for strings.

[ChrisE]

I like coated strings. I play outdoor, salt air gigs all summer and coated strings can last me a month or more in those conditions.

Indoors, coated strings can last me 6 months or more, easily.

[Ed66]

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

No need for forgiveness Andrew. I take a few extra steps that most won’t bother with, that I mentioned in my post and can easily get 3 months of playing time from my strings. I play an average of 3 hrs. per week, also.

At the end of the 3 mos. they (or my guitar) still sound(s) great.

If I got 6 months from a coated set I wouldn’t use them.

I get the same (using D'Addario EJ16's) and likely without as much care (I'm not particular about washing my hands every time/don't wipe when I'm done -- guitar that is). Generally I find that my most frequently played guitars are about ready for a change after 3 months, but I do tend to enjoy the new string sound.

[GuitarLuva]

As much as I wanted to NOT like Elixir strings I find it funny that I end up coming back to them. I like the feel of the nanowebs and they certainly last a lot longer than normal strings (for me). However, I'm currently enjoying D'addario nickel bronze strings. I find them to have a more neutral sound once they break in compared to 80/20 or phosphor bronze. For me they've been lasting somewhere in between normal strings and coated strings. For some reason I just really like the look of nickel strings on an acoustic guitar. This is also the longest that I've been away from Elixir strings.

[Lost in Sound]

I've just recently switched over from D'addario EJ16's to Elixir nanowebs. I liked the initial tone of the EJ16's, but found they would sound very dull after only 2 gigs. After doing 5 gigs now with the Elixir's, they still sound like new, feel great and have a lovely balanced sound through the PA. So far I'm very impressed!

[MikeBmusic]

As an addendum to my poll choices:

'Back in the day' when I had just 2 guitars (old Epi acoustic and tele), I first got the Cleartone coated strings from someone who worked for Everly, and I was enamored of them. Longevity, feel (no squeak), good tone.
Unfortunately, the Cleartone source dried up for me. Switching back to D'Addario and Martin uncoated strings, I was not happy with them, they would go dead (and lost intonation and tuning ability) so much quicker.
As I acquired more guitars I tried Martin Lifespan, which Cleartone was doing the coating on - YAY, the longevity and feel were back.
When Martin started doing the coating themselves, the change was minor, but noticeable, but I continued to use Lifespans.
When I got my Taylor 310ce, it was NOS, and the Elixers on it were easily a year old, so I figured the lackluster sound was due to them, put a new set of Elixers on it. Nope. Sound was still not good, and I did not like the feel of the Elixer coating, and after a few weeks, it was shedding.
I put Lifespans on it, and right away it sounded better. Tried EXps, and Martin Retros at times. Didn't like the EXPs, took them off after a week.
Retros were more metallic to my ear, acoustically. Others I asked said they sounded good when I was plugged in. But being uncoated, I found that tuning and intonation fell off in about 3 weeks. Lifespans - even the newer 'Authentic' ones, which I do not like as well, last 2X longer.

[Yrksman]

Hate ‘em

Should have been that choice too