Members gusfinley Posted December 15, 2004 Members Posted December 15, 2004 At the close of another semester I made the hour plus drive to the "local" guitar shop. I found lots of awesome acoustics, but they had them strung up with Elixor strings and they totally killed the characteristics of the guitars!!! For example the Martin D-15? (The mahogany one) The Gibson J-45, and the Gibson Hummingbird. Why? It really degraded the tonal quality of the guitars....... Am I the only one that hates theses strings?
Members notgonnadoit Posted December 15, 2004 Members Posted December 15, 2004 IMO the shelf life makes them a good choice for the shops so that there is a better chance of older inventory sounding somewhat fresh if you are not willing or able to keep up with restringing. Aside from that, Iwouldn't want them on any of my guitars as I think they sound like crap
Members anselk Posted December 15, 2004 Members Posted December 15, 2004 I really know what you mean, and I couldn't agree more. Personally, I don't like Elixirs' since I have found other guitar strings on Larrivee L-09 sounds much better and shows its characteristics, IMO. At that time, 'Polyweb' Elixir was wound on the guitar though. I am definetely not a fan of Elixirs, but I admit some of their strings last longer than other non-coated strings. To my ear, I have a full list of better strings than Elixir's when it comes to 'not yet used up' strings sound.
Members woody b Posted December 15, 2004 Members Posted December 15, 2004 I don't hate elixirs but they make my ears bleed.
Members RainsongDR1000 Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Hey! Here's a riddle for ya! What do Ovation guitars, Fishman pickups and Elixir strings have in common? Everybody loves to hate them, yet for some reason they are still top sellers in their prospective fields!!! Geez, lighten up on Elixirs already, the thread has been done to death! Some people like them,(apparently A LOT since they are once again they're the #1 chosen string in acoustic guitar magazines player poll) and some people don't. I'm through playing around and trying to find "greener pastures". I like my nano's and I'M PROUD OF IT! So there!
Members TaylorFishin' Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I love Elixirs on warm sounding Cedar top guitars. Nano's only.They're easy on the fingers, great for recording or playing live (No string squeak). They last much longer than any uncoated string I've tried. They are the only coated strings that I buy. I like many types of uncoated strings but always seem to come back to the Elixir Nano's. Count me among the Ten or so Million that love Elixirs! Scott
Members pickinray Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I like Elixirs (polys) on my 12-string because they last longer and I don't have to change strings as often. I think they sound OK, too. I've also tried Elixir polys on my Taylor 310, but wasn't overly impressed with the sound. I also don't like the "shaggy" look you get when the coating starts to rub off. I think D'addario or Martin phosphor bronzes sound best on the Taylor, but I've never tried Elixir nanos, which are the OEM strings that Taylor now puts on their guitars (they used D'addarios when I bought my Taylor in 1999).
Members FingerBone Bill Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Anyone who makes blanket statements about "Elixirs" has probably only had limited exposure to them. Polywebs and Nanowebs are tonally about as far apart as two types of string can get! I think tonally they are both extreme - Polys extremely dull, Nano's extremely bright. Both types of extremes can be useful on certain guitars. And as was posted earlier the shelf life in shops makes them the string of choice for retailers. I hear that Elixir are going to be trying phosphor bronze strings intead of the 80/20 D'Addario strings they currently use. I'm optomistic that a phosphor bronze nano could be the best compromise between tone and longevity.
Members min7b5 Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I think they're the greatest thing since frets. Go figure.
Members seven7 Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Originally posted by min7b5 I think they're the greatest thing since frets. Go figure.
Members JasmineTea Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Nah, I don't like Elixers. I don't like DR either. Just plain, "normal" strings. I like switching around with different brands/metals...I hav'nt tried Nanos, I probly won't.
Members mister kyo Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 i highly prefer them on electrics, in the past ive noticed the acoustics ive tried that had them didnt sound too great.
Members DirtyBird Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Will using ELixirs get rid of string-squeek in electric guitar high gain situations you think?
Members ksargent Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 They are not my favorites - I'm a Newtone fan. But - if a player of the caliber of Richard Thompson likes them well enough to use, they certainly aren't terrible. Ken
Members geek_usa Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Elixirs work fine on Taylor guitars, because of their natural characteristic with Sitka Spruce tops. However on any other guitar I don't think I would want to put them on. I'd much rather opt for John Pearse or Martin SP Bronze.
Members solitaire Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I cannot stand Elixirs, Polywebs and Nanos alike. As far as I'm concerned the only truly longlife string that sounds like a standard string is (I believe the only one non-polymer coated one) Dean Markley Alchemy series, like their tonality or not. As long as the string is wrapped or infused with polymer it will sacrifice its sound. Alchemies are shell coated and are tonaly correct beyond any polymer coated string. At the end of the day, It's personal preferences and likes that will decide which string to use, but as far as longevity is concerned few strings can match the lifespan of Alchies. They litterary go on for years.
Members AcousTronic Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I love the Nanos!!! I have tried many strings over the years, and there is no string that comes close to the Nanoweb Elixers!! The Polys sound horrible to me and the coating shreads the first day, but I have had no shreading with the Nanos, and if someone has a suggestion as to what string would sound better on a LV-09 or a D-03BW, I'm all ears... BTW, Alchemy's suck IMO... The tone dies after the first hour of playing, and mine pitted after a week... Nano's last me a month, but would probably last most people a lot longer as I play hard for many hours every day.
Members Andrewrg Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Elixirs are a godsend for me.My sweat is so corrosive I can kill a non-coated set in a day or a gig. I have had a set on my J40 for months and they still sound fresh.
Members notgonnadoit Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Originally posted by AcousTronic ...but I have had no shreading with the Nanos, and if someone has a suggestion as to what string would sound better on a LV-09 or a D-03BW, I'm all ears... If you haven't already, try Thomastik Infeld Spectrums and John Pearse PB. Regarding the previous post about blanket statements about Elixer's, this doesn't fit my experience. I've tried to like both the Poly's and the Nano's. I've put them on Mahogany/Spruce, Mahogony/Mahogony, Rosewood/Spruce, Carbon Fiber dreads and OMs as well as Mahogonay 12 strings and small bodied parlors (Larrivee and Taylor). Brands included Martin, Taylor, Larrivee, Gibson, and even Rainsong. In 100% of the cases, my ears told me that all of the Infelds, Pearse, Martin, EB Earthwound, etc... provided more natural bass tones on the wound strings. Just another opinon but not a blanket statement based on lack of exposure. I also noted that the unwound strings don't stay fresh any longer than uncoated strings and I replace the whole set once they start to go anyway.
Members jasevenny Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 Do elixirs have coated unwound strings now? Just asking because the unwound strings on my Guild 12 string are not tarnishing at all.
Members notgonnadoit Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 After searching the Elixerstrings.com site, I can't find any reference to coating on the plain strings, just the wound strings. Doesn't mean that they don't coat them, I just don't see anything that would indicate they do. It's been a year or so since I've tried Nano's and they were not coated then.
Members AcousTronic Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I believe they only coat the wound strings. The b and e are uncoated yet they last for a long time without pitting... longer than any others I have tried. To answer your earlier post, I Have not tried the John Pearse PB's, but have heard good things about them on other forums. I may need to give them a try. I just had my new D-03BW set-up, and the sales guy was saying that he really liked the EB Earthwoods, so I tried a set and loved them for the first 45 minutes, then they just lost all the high end crispness, and after a day, sounded like a guitar that has sat in the closet for a year.
Members notgonnadoit Posted December 16, 2004 Members Posted December 16, 2004 I agree on the lifespan of the EB Earthwounds. One thing that doesn't often get mentioned is individual gauge selection. The steps can have a huge effect on overall sound of a stringset.For example, I put the Pearse's on my Larrivee Parlor because they have a lighter bottom that fits better with the small body (12,16,24,32,42,53 which incedentally are the same gauges as the Elixer 12s). This set sounds a bit lacking in warm rich lows when strung up on my OMs and Dreads. The Infelds (12,16,25,35,44,54) just sound so much more balanced and provide the low end to match the highs on the full size boxes. I strongly encourage you to check out the TI's. They are hands down my favorite acoustic strings regardless of box size and tonewood. I rarely see them at shops but you can order them through just strings. Not cheap ($12 per set).
Members RainsongDR1000 Posted December 17, 2004 Members Posted December 17, 2004 A direct quote from Elixir's customer service response team:"In answer to your questions: We don't coat the unwound strings and we don't purchase our strings from D'addario. We only use and coat our ouwn strings.":)
Members FingerBone Bill Posted December 17, 2004 Members Posted December 17, 2004 Originally posted by RainsongDR1000 ....... and we don't purchase our strings from D'addario. We only use and coat our ouwn strings.":) That's interesting - everyone seems convinced they use D'Addario! Hmmmmm.......
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