What kind of Guitar Strings do you recommend?
 

I have a Yamaha acoustic that I am learning on.

I've heard about "Elixir" strings that have a coating which is designed to prevent foreign matter from getting in between the coils of wire, reducing oxidation.

Does anyone use these? Do they perform as advertised? What is the effect on tone?

Thanks in advance.

I use Elixir on my Guild and Takamine (both 12 string) and my Taylor (6 string). On my Ovation (6 string) they don't sound good (perhaps due to the composite body). On that I use some of the good old phosphor bronze ones in a very light gauge (I forget the brand).

As to durability and lack of oxidation, not sure what to say. They last quite a long time and IMHO sound better after a month or so of maturing.

IMHO the Elixirs do not chirp as much as the others which is good.

For my acoustic I use D'Addario's. As I recall they were pretty cheap (used to play a lot more and change a lot more often) and the sound was good enough for my purposes. I used to use extra lights, but went for lights last time. The color coding made it easy to figure out what went where when restringing.

I'm sure others will have better reasons for their choices based on semi-important things like "tone" and "sound".

:D


PS: I never cared to much about oxidation - which usually only took a couple of days. Once that brassy finish went away, genrally so did the brassy new string sound.

What model Yamaha do you have? Is it acoustic or electric?

I"ve never used the Elixer strings so I can't say if they work or not. A new set is only $6 here locally, so they get changed whenever they feel a little crusty.

I would think the bigger consideration would be the gauge of the strings you put on. I just put a set with an unwould "G" string and I like how it feels and sounds.

Martin Marquis.
Wipe them down after you play.

I use Dean Markley Blue Steels on my Yamaha SA2000

I second that.

The guitar is a Yamaha FG-412S.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1097592830.jpg

steel !

Nice Guitar!

If you're just learning, pick up the Martins and a can of finger ease. The Martins are bronze-wound and stay bright for a long time. Finger ease is a dry lube that you can spray on the strings, and the neck to redice friction, noise and pain while you're learning.

I used to swear by Guild Phosphor Bronze strings for my old Martin 00-21, but its been years since I had an acoustic around, so I'm not up on the latest stuff. I hear the Elixirs are nice, especially for recording since they cut down a bit on finger noise.

On electric, D'Addario XL110 are the only things I use (although I used to use XL120+ which are hard to find...they have 0.0095 and 0.0115 E and B instead of either 0.009/0.011 or 0.010/0.012...its amazing that you can feel the difference).

Elixirs will last longer than standard strings, but the coating does deaden the string somewhat. They'll be better longer, but won't match the performance of a nice set of standard phosphor-bronze strings that have been on a nice acoustic a short time. Also, they tend to make guitars sound less brilliant, a problem if you have say, a vintage Gibson LGO (small body acoustic with a mellow tone), a B-25 or something. I currently have them on my Norman ST-40, a hand-made Taylor copy with a cedar top and they sound OK, but don't thrill me. I've also heard them on about 50 other guitars and was equally meh.

Martin and D'Addario are my choices for strings usually, Martin for acoustic only, D'Addario for both, but mostly electric.

Jason

Martin or Markley. Just change them out when the start to sound dead.

I've always used the Martins for my acoustics and D'A for electrics, too. When I'm feeling nutty I swap out the wound "G" for an unwound one on the acoustic.

Gentlemen: THANKS for the sound advice.

I went with the Elixirs. I dropped the guitar off at 30th Street Guitars, they are going to give it a "setup"- adjust the neck, polish the frets, lower the action and generally buff it out. This is a serious guitar place, with all kinds of vintage guitars all the way up to the ceiling and literally hundreds of vintage effects.

Noah, this is just one of my many secrets. . . :)

This will help far more than the strings... Good thinking, John. It's surprising how many guitar players, even professionals come in to the studio with their guitars in poor intonation or other stupid problems.

Good luck with it.

Jason

Just dropped off an SG and a Les Paul for a "test and tune". $50 each. Can't beat it...

I've been to 30th street guitars before. That is one hell of a guitar shop...

IMO....Elixirs are crap. They dont sound good, they are very slippery and for someone who has strong hands such as myself, and with my style of playing (fingerstyle jazz as well as rock soloing).... I need that element of control over the string, without them slipping out of my fingers like Elixirs tend to do.

I endorse DR strings for both my acoustic and electic work. They last a good while, sound great and are very accurate in fingering and feel.

Here is a link:

http://www.drstrings.com/