what kind of guitar strings do you like?

[guitar junkie]

so as a musician we like to get tone from our guitars.... one way to do that is to use the right strings... in my band we have about 5 schools of thought on strings and it spans about 30 brands or so

what brand of string and or model do you like to use on your guitar and why?

[onceaguru_records]

I dig medium Martin SP's on my acoustics & ghs boomers on my electric.

I used to use ernie balls on the electric all the time - until I started breaking them on a very, very regular basis. I switched to the boomers & no longer have frequent problems.

[guitar junkie]

how come i did not put GHS on the list?

sheesh what was i thinking? they make some great strings!!!

sorry about that...

any way i use a bulk string that i get for about $1.78 a set and i just play them hard and throw them away when they are wasted... seem as good as Martin and they don't sound "tinny" like the Elixers do..

[onceaguru_records]

Yeah, I never liked the elixirs..seemed to really affect my sound.

I never trust bulk strings. They break faster than hell. Besides, the local music shop charges $3 per string. It's ridiculous. I ask them if they sleep ok at nite every time I'm forced to sell out to their business.

[PhilB]

D'Addario's are smooth and record well - I love them.

I used to use Martin's exclusively. Liked 'em bright. In my experience, once switched to D'Addarios, the D's sounded smooth but not so bright. Went back to Martin's - ouch. Bright equaled harsh. By the time they calmed down with a little playing -- just not as smooth or wonderful as the D's.

Test recordings really confirmed the difference - D's were great.

Musician's Friend had a great bulk deal on 'em - probably still do.

[heller_benjamin]

I use GHS for my acoustic and Ernie ball for my electric. Reason: price. I do really like the sound of elixers though.

[brandondrury]

I only have one rule for strings.... the must be new.

I never noticed a difference between brands.

Brandon

[Deng]

Hmmmm, I personally am a fan of Elixers...I guess they put crack in the coating cuz I can't seem to play anything else without cringing. I think D's and GHS sound better out of the pack but within a week or so dull out, whereas the Elixers keep up their sound for a long long time. I wouldn't use em if I were out gigging all the time, but...no such luck, so I go with Elixers .

-Deng

[brandondrury]

I've noticed the Elixers don't come off as strong when they are brand new, but stay pretty good for 10x as long. I'd put them on for regular use probably. I'm not sure if they would be my first choice for recording in most situations.

Brandon

[Smidgelton]

I chose Elixir. I've always trusted them on my bass, when I can afford them. I just got a guitar about a month ago and my first set of strings I bought were Elixir. I love the feel of them. My opinion is bias I suppose, for lack of experience with guitar string brands. But if they sound good and feel good and last long on two instruments, then they must be doing something right.