Strings? Are they worth the cost?

[Brucebubs]

Most Expensive 12-string; Thomastik - Infeld Plectrum - beautifully made, soft-feel, superb tone.


Least Expensive 12-string; Alice - poorly made, rough feel, no tone.


Plenty of good strings priced in between theses 2 .. but at the end of the day .. you get what you pay for.

[frankmcr]

Thomastik-Infeld spectrum bronze medium lights.

I like how they sound, plus they last longer than other strings, so: worth it to me, not necessarily to anybody else.

[justonwo]

I don’t feel strings are worth the cost so I’ve gone stringless on many of my guitars and couldn’t be happier.

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by justonwo

I don’t feel strings are worth the cost so I’ve gone stringless on many of my guitars and couldn’t be happier.

Does that work better with Mahogany or Maple guitars?

[vindibona1]

IN MY OPINION, in general coated strings aren't worth the extra money. But the key word is "in general". Some folks find that coated strings elongate the time they can keep them on their guitars. And of course it varies from brand to brand. If you don't have acidic pH the longevity of coated strings shrinks, sometimes drastically. The beautiful thing about capitalism is that you can sell a product for whatever you can get for it. Imagine being in a position of a string manufacturer to spend a few extra pennies to coat a set of strings and be able to double the price. Margin, baby. But is it truly worth it? It's up to the individual.

Personally I don't mind changing strings and would prefer to change strings every couple of weeks to keep the guitars sounding fresh. I'd rather have two or three $7 sets rather than one $16-$20 set that may or may only a few weeks longer than a typical 3-4 week lifespan. And it's not that I never buy coated strings. I like Elixirs on two of my guitars (Taylors, as a matter of fact) but usually wait until end of the year sales where we often can buy the 3-packs discounted for under $10/set.

To coin a phrase... Value is in the mind of the credit-card-holder. ymmv

[Oldguy64]

Strings are a very subjective thing.
I also like D’addario Strings. I’m currently playing Nickel Bronze. They are not as cheap as I like. But I sure like those strings.
I’ve found Martin Retros are also very good. They are also cheaper.

[islandguitar]

Well, IMO, yes they are!! At my advanced age, I figure the least I can do is treat myself to good sound when I pick up a guitar.
The guitars are expensive and high quality.....they deserve to sound the best they can with strings which I change about every 4-6 or 8 weeks or so......more if I'm recording.
Presently, I've got two guitars John Pearse PB lights.......one guitar with DR Rares custom lights, and one guitar with GHS PB lights, and the 12 string gets Elixers Nano web.

[jim1960]

Strings sound different on different guitars. Try various sets until you find a set that work for your ears. Are strings worth the cost ...absolutely! ...since a guitar without strings is little more than an expensive canoe paddle.

[slooky]

I can kill strings in half an hour if they are non coated. Exilers are the real deal. I love them.

[TBman]

Strings are a interesting subject. The reality is that all we can do here is give each other suggestions.

I have found, (from a hobbyist's point of view) that with the exception of monels and Silk & Steel strings, most strings of the same gauge end up sounding very similar after a couple, maybe three weeks of steady playing.

Not all strings feel the same though.

Many people here play professionally and change strings before every gig.

I have used and continue to use the following:

D'Addario mediums and true mediums
D'Addario Nickel Bronze
Pierre Bensusan's Signature "DADGAD" mediums made by Wyres (coated)
Newtone Masterclass double wound and round wound mediums
GHS True Mediums
Santa Cruz low tension parabolics
Martin Monels
Martin Flexible cores.

Right now I have the following installed....

Avalon - D'Addario XT mediums
Larrivee - Pierre Bensusan's DADGAD strings
Guild D-120 - Pierre Bensusan's DADGAD strings
Gibson J-45 - Martin Flexible Core lights
Martin D-16 - Pyramid PB Roundcore lights

I have also used and liked Thomastik Infeld Spectrums, Curt Mangan roundcore mediums, Martin Authentics and Marquis PB.

One of these days I'll get around to Elixirs mediums, lol.

[brencat]

Every guitar I own now wears either Santa Cruz mid or low tension PBs. I'm so glad I decided to give these strings another chance after a bad experience 2 years ago. Expensive at $18 a set, but my guitars have never played or sounded better... seriously.

[flaggerphil]

I put Elixir PBs on most of my guitars. I like the way they sound, I like the way they feel, and they last forever. I've been using them for years.

[JTFoote]

Personally, I don't really care if a string is coated or not. I pay attention to how a set feels and sounds. If I ever run across a coated set that satisfies me, I'll happily buy them in bulk, and get ready to enjoy the extra longevity. The closest I've come so far has been D'addario EXP strings. However, admittedly, that's been a while, and I haven't given too many other new brands a try. Primarily ...

Because I get exactly what I want out of set of John Pearse strings. I buy different gauge sets, sometimes phosphor-bronze, or 80/20s, or nickel, based on my guitars, but I stick with John Pearse. They are high-quality, have a particular feel and flex that I prefer, and settle down quickly. I like the level of tension, they don't have much squeak, hold tune well, and have a balanced tonality across the fretboard. I like the resonance of the guitars with these, and the strings give a nice mid-range warmth to chords, with a sweet treble and articulate bass. They finger-pick and strum equally well.

I recall that about ten years ago, I went on a string hunt. No, not a snipe hunt, a string hunt. I tried about a dozen kinds of strings per each guitar, taking note of what I liked ... and didn't. I quickly discovered that certain brands had more tension than others, and some were very dark, and others exceptionally bright, even if all aspects were similar, such as materials and gauge. Round core vs hex core. Some strings out of balance with each other. Etc, etc. It was educational.

The final tally had the JP strings in first place, and I haven't really wanted to try anything else since. The only drawback is the life-span. I'd like just a little more time between changes. I wish John Pearse would attempt a coated string; I'd certainly be excited at the prospect. I get about 48 hours out of set, but that last 12 hours, I know that they are on their way out

That may be an odd way to look at it, but I play about 24 hours a week, two days a week, writing songs. After the fourth day, I change sets.

... JT

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Most Expensive 12-string; Thomastik - Infeld Plectrum - beautifully made, soft-feel, superb tone.

I agree regarding Plectrums also for 6 strings. I always seem to get +4 months out of a set which justifies the $22 cost. What I like the most about Plectrums is they seem to have the least amount of string squeak.

A set I tried recently that was impressive also were D”Addario Nickel Bronze.

[raysachs]

Finding the best strings is definitely worth the cost (not sure about Martin Titaniums at $40, but that's an outlier), but it's not as simple the best strings are the best strings and it's DEFINITELY not as simple as the most expensive strings are the best strings.

It's really down to what strings sound best to a given player for a given guitar. One set of strings might sound awesome on an all hog parlor to ME and sound awful to YOU. And those same strings on a rosewood back and sides might sound awful to me, even if I loved them on the parlor. That said, for every decent and better guitar that I've owned, I've usually tried at least 5-6 sets of strings, that'll usually narrow it down to a couple I like best and then I may play each of those back and forth with each string change for a few months to see if a favorite emerges. Sometimes it does, sometimes I love 'em both and just continue to use both depending on my mood when it's time to change strings.

I don't personally beat strings up that much and I like to change them reasonably often anyway, so I don't go for coated strings. I played Elixrs a lot for a while, the nano webs were OK, but the polywebs grew hair or fuzz after a while and even though they still sounded fine, I hated playing them once the coating started coming off like that. I've played some Martin Lifespans that I liked a lot more, but I was just as happy with the non-coated version for half the price...

-Ray