D'Addario Reorgs Bass String Lineup

It was a matter of looking at D'Addario's popular bass strings packages a bit more logically. While each brand had its own good package style, there was a lack of consistency across the line, so an initiative was undertaken to freshen up and modernize the D'Addario image, without sacrificing core brand/product equities.

The biggest change to D'Addario's bass strings is that all non-coated electric bass strings will now become a part of the XL brand, each with its own sub-brand. For example, Chromes bass strings will now be XL Chromes bass strings. Since XL strings are D'Addario's best-selling, flagship strings, the new branding will be instantly recognizable to consumers and retailers. The sub-brands are: XL ProSteels (exclusive steel alloy round wound), XL Nickel (traditional nickel-plated steel round wound), XL Half Rounds (pure nickel ground semi-flat wound), and XL Chromes (traditional flatwound).

Each sub-brand features a unique, stylized font and its own packaging color for easy identification. All gauges have universal gauge colors between sub-brands, and gauge descriptions have been updated and unified. Tone/feel descriptors have been added to the front of all packages to improve product explanation, identify key attributes, and offer instant comparisons between sub-brands. New tone and feel graphs on the package backs allow for easy visual comparison of sounds between sub-brands, and string gauges have been made more bold and clear for quick and easy visualization and identification.

Due to increased production efficiencies, the retail price for all new XL strings has been lowered. Sets now retail for between $32.99 (long scale 4-string sets) to $52.99.