J74's vrs EXP74's

[GBG]

Do they sound different, last longer, or just cost more ?

[mandopete]

Well I used to use J-75's, but I switched to EXP-75's about a year ago and I love 'em! I find these strings stay nice for about 2 months in my usage as opposed to about 1 month for the J-75's. They retain a nice feeling and don't get so tarnished.

But the real plus (for me anyway) is that they sound great right out of the package. Not as bright and "tinny" as new J-75's.

[GBG]

I know someone who switched from J74's to EXP74's. He said they had a darker tone and were smoother to play ?

[Paul Hostetter]

That's a good way to put it. They are a godsend for people with acidic hand sweat that tends to kill normal strings quickly. Also highly regarded by shop owners whose customers can waste a perfectly good set of strings in no time. The EXPs are coated to fend off the chemical attack, and that coating takes a bit of edge off them tonally at first, but that loss out front is compensated by the longevity. And the coating does make them a bit slippery, which some folks really like. I prefer the uncoated strings, but I don't have the string-killing hand chemistry. The D'Addario coated strings seem to have the nicest, cleanest response of all that I see on the market - some of the others are really subdued by the coating.

[PhilGE]

I'm enjoying having J74's under my fingers again after a long time with JM11's (LaBella Flatwound) or TI mittels. It's a very different sound and feel, but one I'm enjoying.

I tried Elixer strings a long time ago and my strong distate to their feel was such that I've never tried them again.

[GBG]

I almost always use J74's, but my experience is that after changing strings: 1st week I can't stand the way they sound
# # # # # # # # #2nd week they start to sound good
# # # # # # # # #3rd week they sound great
# # # # # # # # #4th week they start to die

Does this sound like the life cycle of the J74's ?

[Paul Hostetter]

Sounds like a typical version of the life cycle of any strings! Some folks' acid sweat and brute force chew them up quicker, some can make them sing longer, but it's a common trajectory with variable time frames!

Personally, the first phase you describe lasts, for me, about fifteen minutes on the typical Gibson. The trajectory to the btrash varies considerably. I have one of those wacky Vietnamese eBay mandolins that's had a set of J-74s on it for a year and they still don't seem to be tired.

[Darryl Wolfe]

I've used J74's for years. I opted for a box of EXP74's a while back and tried them on Lloyd. I did not notice much difference other than smooth feel, which seemed to go away quickly.

I have however experienced some set-up problems with the nut slots and/or bridge slots lately that have never been there. I cannot attribute it to the strings for sure, but I need to take it down and touch everything up. It might be that there are some deposits or something from the coating. The basic A and E string tuning, pinching, moving around stuff going on.

[timothy.c.hicks]

For people with acidic hands that quickly kill strings (like me) I HIGHLY recommend trying the product String Life by DR. The stuff works amazingly well as long as you use it before and after each time you play. I have had a set of J74s (not EXP) for well over two months on my mando and they still play and feel great after playing a good bit every day and playing several long gigs. It seems like String Life keeps the strings in that sweet period where they sound smooth but not dead for a very long time. They do loose the initial super bright sound after 2-3 weeks though. It is important that you use it diligently and wipe the strings down thoroughly with the product and then use a cleaning cloth to remove oxidation (black stuff on the steel strings and greenish/blue stuff on the bronze wound) every day or so.

[Perry]

But the real plus (for me anyway) is that they sound great right out of the package. Not as bright and "tinny" as new J-75's.

I totally agree with this. The EXP's sound good right outta da box and do last longer.

[GeoMandoAlex]

For me, I would probably go through 3 sets of J74's before I go through 1 set of EXP's. I agree with the EXP's having a darker tone to them. I have never noticed the difference in the "slickness" between the J74 and the EXP74. I find the EXP "settle" in better. I have also noticed that the EXP strings die off slowly where the J74's die almost overnight.

IMHO, the EXP74 are the way to go.

[acousticphd]

.....for people with acidic hand sweat.....

Yes, I have this gift.

Only the bronze wrapping wire (ie, only the wound strings) is coated on the EXPs, according to D'Addario - the A and E steel strings are identical, and so should sound, behave, and wear the same. #It seems weird if the E and A strings seem to bind up or tune differently.

Coated doesn't give me an advantage worth the cost, since I find that it's the plain steel strings that get eaten up quickly by skin acid - not tonally, but the metal begins coloring within a few minutes, and then before long begin to get rough, which is the real pain - it's comfort and feel, not so much sound. #Hand washing and frequent Stringlife application does help slow this for awhile - maybe several sessions worth. #The wound strings are more resistant to this. #I'll often change out the plain steels once before a full set change, but can't imagine going more than a couple weeks before I need that "aahhh" #of fresh, smooth playing strings.

Hey, Tom - what exactly is on that "cleaning cloth" you use?? Do I understand you to be scouring your strings with something?

[mandopete]

Only the bronze wrapping wire (ie, only the wound strings) is coated on the EXPs, according to D'Addario - the A and E steel strings are identical, and so should sound, behave, and wear the same.

Huh? The E and A are sorta bronze colored in the EXP set. Unlike the J series which are silver.

Am I outta my mind?

[Paul Hostetter]

I don't think Pete's out of his mind. The EXP trebles I see are coated which makes them yellowish, although the coating rubs off rather quickly. Coated or not, plain strings succumb to playing wear and malevolent hand chemistry at about 20% the rate of wound strings.

Here's a very easy experiment you can try: next time you need to change strings, check the sound of the plain ones before, and change only the wound strings and listen again to the trebles.

[MWM]

The plains are coated with a brass looking plating and are not the same as J-74's. After a couple months heavy playing I've usually worn it off the entire length of the strings. EXP's sound like J-74's that have been played in a couple good sessions. They keep that sound for a long time. If you're a string breaker, you can buy individual EXP plains with the brass coating from JustStrings. I keep them on for months of heavy playing. I clean them after every session.

[acousticphd]

Well... #OK. #I hereby stand corrected. #

The thing is, D'Addario mentions/describes EXP only in reference to the bronze or phosphor bronze wrap wire:

"An ultra-fine layer of our exclusive EXP Coating is bonded to the Phosphor Bronze wrap wire, which is then wound onto the hex-shaped core wire, resulting in a built-in barrier against corrosion and wear. EXP's sound bright and clear with "new string tone" that lasts 3-4 times longer than traditional strings."

and,

"What gives EXP strings the winning edge over other coated strings is the fact that an 'exclusive micro-coating' is applied to the wrap wire before it's wound onto D'Addario's custom-designed hex core, which gives the strings a much more natural feeling, without sacrificing the tonal qualities of "normal" strings.#

The E and B strings in the EXP guitar sets, which I have tried, are (really) plain old plain steel, and have the identical product # as in non-EXP sets. #That's what I based my statement on above. #I don't think the bronze-colored plating on the treble mandolin strings is the "exclusive EXP coating, but it may prolong your string wear all the same. #People should stand on their own personal mileage. #My own plain steels start to succumb, visibly and tactile-y, within minutes, much faster than my wound strings. #So maybe I have really exclusive chemistry.

[Paul Hostetter]

I just got an email back from D'Addario and they say:

> Hello, the plain strings are not coated. Our traditional plain steel
> strings have proven to be corrosion resistant for the life of the EXP
> coated wound strings.

But I am looking at some right here that are obviously coated plain trebles. Perhaps they're old stock? I wrote him back about that possibility, we shall see.

[Darryl Wolfe]

Mine look goldish. The box is over a year old though

[Paul Hostetter]

Da latest:

Brian Vance wrote:
> Hey Paul, they used to be brass plated for a short time (maybe for two
> years). Where this might sound like a technology advancement, it turns
> out that the brass strings actually corroded faster than our traditional
> plain strings, so we went back to the regular ones. I'm sure it's
> possible that there are some brass versions of EXP out there.

So I'm (probably) not going nuts. Whew.

[Darryl Wolfe]

So Paul, #would you expect or possibly attribute my mandolin going out of whack to using EXP coppered/brass for the first time after having 20 dozen regular sets on it

[danb]

My A & E pairs are also gold/copper in color.. those are the older ones eh?

[Philip Halcomb]

Ok, I spent a lot of time and money trying to find a way that my acidic hand chemistry could be resolved by string brands or cured. Things I found, I quit smoking that helped a lot right off the bat. Then I stopped eating so much animal fat, that helped as well. Although I still would go through a set of J74s in one hard night of playing or a week of just playing around the house. I switched to the JS74s which helped tremendously. I found on my mandolin atleast there is almost no significant tonal difference. Also, another thing I found, if you wipe a brand new bronze J74 string with a white t-shirt you'll find some blue residue left on the t-shirt. Not so with the stainless steels. So I suspect (only a speculation) that might be why the plain steel strings die so fast because perhaps there's some sort of chemical reaction with the residue and the acidity on the fingers. Like I said, anyone's guess is as good as mine, but that's my observation. The JS74s last a good month the wound and steels for me without much trouble. This is going from 3 days on a set of J74s.

[Paul Hostetter]

Darryl - I found the comment from Brian at D'Addario, about the brass-plated trebles self-rusting, quite interesting. The bimetal phenomenon makes sense, and in the hands of someone with acid hand sweat seems unavoidable.

Anyway, I just refretted a lovely Nugget whose owner had used those yaller strings for a long time, and the nut slots under the Es and As were a brownish rusty mess. That was in a pearl nut, so it was deposits of rusty corrosion clogging the slots, which isn't a completely unfamiliar occurrence, but not very common either. Now that it's been refretted and the nut redone, it's back to Square One and the nut slots work great again. And the new sets of J-75 EXPs he prefers now have trebles that aren't yellow. We'll see what happens with it.

[mandopete]

Okay, I'm still a little confused...but I really like the A and E strings on the EXP sets I'v used. #All have been sort of bronze colored, so I assume they older sets (puchased from FQMS). #What I especially like is that the plain strings (A & E) stay slippery and don't get as "gunky" as the the J-75's.

Now if d'Addario has gone back to the normal A and E formulation (ala the J-75's) for the EXP strings, I'm gonna be bummed!

[Paul Hostetter]

I posted above exactly what they just said. Prepare to be bummed, I guess. It's interesting that you thought they were good, as they had obviously been trouble to so many others.