strings that don't rust or go dull

[mbengs1]

is there such a thing? i think that would be an excellent innovation.

[gardo]

is there such a thing? i think that would be an excellent innovation.

 

Wouldn't the string companies be putting themselves out of business?

[sammyreynolds01]

 

Wouldn't the string companies be putting themselves out of business?

 

Exactly

[Grant Harding]

That's the way Elixirs work for me. The metal fatigue eventually gets them, but they sound good throughout. It's usually high humidity here and I used to eat strings.

[steve_man]

Elixirs or EXP strings are the closest thing, IMO.

[soundcreation]

Yep.....Elixers are the best I've found. I live with 70% + humidity almost every day. I can put a fresh set of any normal brand strings on my guitar, not touch it AT ALL....and they will start to show corrosion in about 1 week on the stand. Literally not a finger on them. Played combined with my toxic sweat I get maybe 3 weeks to a month out of normal strings....and YES that's with wiping down after playing. And NO WD40 or that "fast fret" garbage does not work.

 

And I tried EB coated and they sucked. Coating flaked off like crazy and the high strings corroded almost as fast as their regular line.

 

Elixers last at least double the time under the same conditions. Usually even longer than that. Yes they are pricey, and yes they don't sound quite as nice as other regular strings....if EB slinky's lasted longer I'd be using them for sure....but Elixer Nano's hold the tone they do have longer than regular strings and honestly they sound good enough to me.

[Emory]

Ditto to soundcreation post on Elixirs anti rust. I live at beach in Thailand so have heat, humidity and salt in the air. Killer combination. And I too have toxic sweat. I like their sound and have no problem, either electrics or acoustics. I got some slinky's and they had rust spots inside the sealed bags!

[WRGKMC]

You can wipe WD40 on strings and let it dry to prevent rust and corrosion. It was originally made for military weapons for doing just that.

I use nickel coated strings so they don't rust on me, but they do tarnish if you leave them on too long. Cleaning the strings after each session prevents buildup too.

 

I'd be curious to know how long the OP goes without changing his strings however and whether he cleans his strings after each session. If you leave all the finger gunk on there then I doubt you'd get more then a month out of any set.

 

I know Emory lives on the shore which I'm very familiar with. I grew up on the Jersey shore 3 blocks from the Atlantic. The salt would corrode everything if you left it in the open. It doesn't happen over night however and since I'd change strings every couple of weeks, I never had issues with them going bad. I did get batches from local stores close to the shore with rust spots, but that was a shelf life issue. If the batches set around too long they'd get the salt air in them and go bad.

 

I've also had strings that were just manufactured poorly. If the manufacturer coats wire that already has rust beginning they will rot from the inside out. The raw steel under any coating needs to be finished with what ever coating they use.

 

I haven't had new strings with rust spots in over 10 years or more from any of the on line places I buy strings. They don't want to take a chance on loosing customers over stale strings plus they turn over inventory quickly. Guitar store in comparison can easily be selling stuff that sat in their storeroom for decades. Many manufacturers have also switched to sealed bags which seems to work well at preventing corrosion. It also prevents places from doing the old switch-er-roo of sticking cheap budget strings inside more expensive string sleeves. Had that happen to me on several occasions.

[badpenguin]

No such things exists M, nor will they. I am in the minority here, but I despise Elixers, and coated strings in general. The best I found were Optima, I think they were called. They were covered in gold, and lasted damn near forever. but you can keep any set of strings alive if you clean them after playing each time, and wash your hands before picking up a guitar.

 

Which reminds me... Did you ever get that damn Ibanez fixed, and what was the issue?

[Bucksstudent]

Elixir Polywebs are the king of coated strings, IMO, but the nanowebs are more favored by players because they sound more natural. I like the sound of the Polywebs on some guitars. Lately, I've been using Ernie Balls again, and they last a while if you wipe them down after playing.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Most of my electrics are strung up with Elixir nanowebs. I HAVE to use coated / treated strings or my toxic sweat kills them too quickly. With the coated strings, I can go anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months (depending on the season and how much I'm playing) without having to worry about changing strings. I'm always willing to try whatever is new, but I'd never want to go back to using uncoated strings.

[DeepEnd]

. . . The best I found were Optima' date=' I think they were called. They were covered in gold, and lasted damn near forever. . . .[/quote']

They're still around, although not cheap as you'd expect: http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=optima+guitar+strings&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=4968080353&hvqmt=b&hvbmt=bb&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_6tl4xpheat_b. Just over $38 a set, shipped. That said, the plating won't prevent metal fatigue so they'll still go dull eventually.

[Notes_Norton]

I wrote to Elixir and asked them. They said their coating is on the wound strings, and the unwound strings were not coated any differently from non-Elixir strings. That straight from the manufacturer.

 

I've been playing a weekly gig on a dock over a salt water lagoon for going on 8 years now. I too have toxic sweat (it kills saxophone lacquer) and the non-wound strings rust out much faster than the wound strings. So I think for my situation Elixirs would be a waste of money.

 

I won't put WD40 on the strings because petroleum distillates are toxic and carcinogenic. I wonder about the coating on Elixirs for that as well. Is it safe to put your hands on every day?

 

Besides, I really like the bright sound of brand new strings, and since I do this for a living, why should I sacrifice sound for perhaps a longer string life?

 

I get D'addario XL/Nickel strings. The recyclable plastic pouch keeps them from rusting before I put them on, And to my ears, they sound great.

 

So I change them once a month or more, depending on how many gigs I do (more in the winter, less in the summer).

 

Of course, as always YMMV. What works best for me, might not for you.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[Chordite]

I just fitted some Ernies. Rusty out of the pack, which is nice because you don't have to wait.

:-/

[WRGKMC]

Elixer sent me some free samples when they first came out. I tried them and really wasn't impressed. They didn't last me any longer with the hours I put in playing and like someone said, the first three strings are the ones that corrode the fastest and wear out just as quickly as any other set does. You wind up with three dead strings instead of 6. The plastic coating made them sound dull to me too.

 

I may try a set of those neon's just for the fun of it one of these days. I think they coat all 6 strings with plastic.

 

I used to use the gold strings too. They don't last any longer then normal strings either. The gold rubs off quickly and they tarnish up just as fast as any other strings. They did look cool on my gold trim Les Paul but within a week they loose their color 3/4 up the neck where you play the most.

 

I wear my strings out before they can get corroded so its a non issue for me.

Its the wrapped strings that get worn at the frets which makes them sound dead. It creates tuning and intonation issues too.

I check them often by running my finger along the bottom of the strings.

If its got notches its not doing the sound, my frets or my playing any good.

I can feel the extra drag bending strings too which is a dead give away.

 

Changing strings on a regular basis is simply curse of the instrument. If you cant afford to buy strings then you may be better off playing a trumpet or Electric Keyboard. If you don't change them then you'll wind up paying for more fret work down the road. Clean polished strings create minimize friction and therefore less fret wear. Anything you can do to minimize that wear is where you want to satay focused.

It sounds better too.

[Into Nation]

I wrote to Elixir and asked them. They said their coating is on the wound strings' date=' and the unwound strings were not coated any differently from non-Elixir strings. That straight from the manufacturer.[/b']

 

I've been playing a weekly gig on a dock over a salt water lagoon for going on 8 years now. I too have toxic sweat (it kills saxophone lacquer) and the non-wound strings rust out much faster than the wound strings. So I think for my situation Elixirs would be a waste of money.

 

I won't put WD40 on the strings because petroleum distillates are toxic and carcinogenic. I wonder about the coating on Elixirs for that as well. Is it safe to put your hands on every day?

 

Besides, I really like the bright sound of brand new strings, and since I do this for a living, why should I sacrifice sound for perhaps a longer string life?

 

I get D'addario XL/Nickel strings. The recyclable plastic pouch keeps them from rusting before I put them on, And to my ears, they sound great.

 

So I change them once a month or more, depending on how many gigs I do (more in the winter, less in the summer).

 

Of course, as always YMMV. What works best for me, might not for you.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

 

Not sure when you wrote to them, but the plain strings are also treated. I had to check after reading your post because the plain strings are the ones for me that go south the fastest on non elixirs. Anyway from the website:

 

 

As you know, sets are made up of wound and plain steel strings. In addition to the NANOWEB and POLYWEB Coatings that protect all wound strings, Elixir Plain Steel Strings feature an innovative Anti-Rust Plating that prevents rust and corrosion and extends the life of plain steel strings.

 

 

http://www.elixirstrings.com/support...rings-faq.html

[Mikeo]

Elixir Polywebs are the king of coated strings' date=' IMO, but the nanowebs are more favored by players because they sound more natural. I like the sound of the Polywebs on some guitars. Lately, I've been using Ernie Balls again, and they last a while if you wipe them down after playing.[/quote']

 

I once kept a set of polywebs on an acoustic I played on a regular bases for almost a year. Some of the string just frayed away and unrevealed, so I replaced em.

 

They didn't imo sound good from the get go, but really never got worse.

 

 

I just run dAddarios on my electrics and buy in bulks ( 10 sets). It brings it down to about $3.30 a pack.

 

 

 

[DeepEnd]

Not sure when you wrote to them, but the plain strings are also treated. I had to check after reading your post because the plain strings are the ones for me that go south the fastest on non elixirs. Anyway from the website:

 

 

As you know, sets are made up of wound and plain steel strings. In addition to the NANOWEB and POLYWEB Coatings that protect all wound strings, Elixir Plain Steel Strings feature an innovative Anti-Rust Plating that prevents rust and corrosion and extends the life of plain steel strings.

 

 

http://www.elixirstrings.com/support...rings-faq.html

Plating isn't the same thing as coating. Most plain strings are plated--the older term is "silvered"--but coating is something else. "Coated" strings are covered with something similar to Teflon (http://www.professorstring.com/archives/coated_guitar_strings.php). That's what Notes was talking about.

[Into Nation]

Plating isn't the same thing as coating. Most plain strings are plated--the older term is "silvered"--but coating is something else. "Coated" strings are covered with something similar to Teflon (http://www.professorstring.com/archives/coated_guitar_strings.php). That's what Notes was talking about.

 

I understand... What I'm saying though is that whatever Elixir uses for the plating is different from at least DiAddarios. I make the plain strings black in no time, the Elixirs don't do it at all.

[soundcreation]

I wrote to Elixir and asked them. They said their coating is on the wound strings, and the unwound strings were not coated any differently from non-Elixir strings. That straight from the manufacturer.

 

I've been playing a weekly gig on a dock over a salt water lagoon for going on 8 years now. I too have toxic sweat (it kills saxophone lacquer) and the non-wound strings rust out much faster than the wound strings. So I think for my situation Elixirs would be a waste of money.

 

I won't put WD40 on the strings because petroleum distillates are toxic and carcinogenic. I wonder about the coating on Elixirs for that as well. Is it safe to put your hands on every day?

 

Besides, I really like the bright sound of brand new strings, and since I do this for a living, why should I sacrifice sound for perhaps a longer string life?

 

I get D'addario XL/Nickel strings. The recyclable plastic pouch keeps them from rusting before I put them on, And to my ears, they sound great.

 

So I change them once a month or more, depending on how many gigs I do (more in the winter, less in the summer).

 

Of course, as always YMMV. What works best for me, might not for you.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

 

Uggh....this same nonsense comes up in every thread about elixers....

 

from their website FAQ....

 

 

"What makes your anti-rust strings special?

 

As you know, sets are made up of wound and plain steel strings. In addition to the NANOWEB and POLYWEB Coatings that protect all wound strings, Elixir Plain Steel Strings feature an innovative Anti-Rust Plating that prevents rust and corrosion and extends the life of plain steel strings."

 

 

So yes they are different from "non elixer strings". Can you show us the email where they said to you "the unwound strings were not coated any differently from non-Elixir strings"?

 

You may "think" elixers are a waste of your money but I use them in conditions of 70% + humidity daily in a house with no insulation and they do last longer.

 

I hate sounding like I'm plugging a product that gives me nothing in return but I do find it strange when people like you, who basically admit you have zero experience with the product, say things that are totally false. Maybe you should try them first and then comment about the results.

 

Their unwound strings DO have "anti rust plating" on them that makes them last longer. They say it on their site and I live it by using them.

[soundcreation]

Plating isn't the same thing as coating. Most plain strings are plated--the older term is "silvered"--but coating is something else. "Coated" strings are covered with something similar to Teflon (http://www.professorstring.com/archi...ar_strings.php). That's what Notes was talking about.

 

OK....but their plain strings last longer and they say their plain strings are "anti rust plated". Whatever it is, it works because I've tried every regular string I could find from the major brands, EB's GHS, all kinds of D'addario, .....they all suck and wear out way faster than elixer plain strings.

 

And that website you listed says nothing about the process of the unwound strings.

[Grant Harding]

I agree about the plain strings. I'll go one better and say that I like the sound and feel of Elixirs on my electric better than any other strings I've tried. That's 35 years of D'Addario, Dean Markley, Ernie Ball, DR, Maxima, Tomastik, etc, etc.

[1001gear]

V strings by Roland. Around $800 a set.

 

I use Elixirs if I'm not going to be fiddling with the internals. Loosening the wounds just once to get under the hood renders them completely dead. I keep the steels clean with Isopropyl alcohol on a small square of paper towel. Hook around the string and wipe up and down the length If the string squeaks, that's enough pressure. This will keep the steels alive - maybe indefinitely but certainly far longer than the first bendy session which will irretrievably distort their intonation properties.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

You should try some Thomastik Infeld Power Brights, then come back and report in a year, or maybe 18 months

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Two years if you like