Coated strings

[mandolirius]

I tried a set of Elixers and liked them quite a bit. But I notice the D'Addario coated strings are a fair bit cheaper and wonder if people have tried them both and if there's much of a difference.

[Bradley]

Yes, i have tried them and love them !!Also use them on my guitars. Great tone, volume and Life. I think they give a better tone than the Elixers...but thats for my ear

I will go out on a limb and say that most players that use coated strings use the D'addario EXP74's...I have no proof of this but think I am right.

[John Flynn]

The "coated" comparison is apples and oranges. Elixers have wrapped on "plastic" (for lack of a better term) coating, that you can feel. EXPs are electrostatically plated. They fell like plain metal strings, the just don't corrode as quickly. Both may be fine, but they are completely different animals. I tried the Elixers years ago, didn't like them, but I imagine they have improved. I can't comment on the new ones. The EXPs are my standard string now. They are very lively, with a lot of overtones, which is good, but takes some getting used to. IMHO, they take about a week's break in before the sound good to me, but they last a long time.

[Big Joe]

On some mandolins the Elixer Nanowebs will cause a rattle on the G string that you cannot get rid of. It is not the instrument, but rather the strings. I used to use Elixer exclusively until I discovered what the rattle was. I switched to D'Addario EXP 74's and the problem was solved. The EXP's last as long and sound great. I do continue to use Elixer's on my Acoustic Guitar with no problems.

[mandolirius]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't noticed any problem on the G string with the Elixers. So far I really like them - they feel nice to play and they seemed to require almost no break-in period. I have a set of GHS Silk & Bronze to try next and then I'll throw on a set of the D'Addarios, but I have a feeling the Elixers are going to be the ones. I think I've tried just about everything else in the guages I like (.11 .15/16 .25/26 39/30).

[EdH]

For those of you that use the "coated" strings, either EXP's or Elixir's, do you find the cost of these strings "cost effective" as compared to something like the D'Addario J-74 that you can get for as little as $4.00 a set? Ed

[Steven Stone]

Short answer - YES!

I love the fact that my mandos sound right for a L-O-N-G time. I get three months easy out of every set or EXP 74 and EXP 77's. And during those three months the mandos sound the same - no short sweet spot of a couple of weeks and then the big dive soundwise.

When EXPs begin to lose it they do so very slowly. I usually judge changing time by physical wear to the picking area and the divits cuased by the frets on the strings, not by the sound changing.

[John Flynn]

Steven:

Could you give us an idea of the difference in sound between the 74's and 77's? Have you had a chance to A/B them on the same instrument?

[sachmo]

IMO it depends on the tone of your instrument. If you have a very woofy, tonally deap instrument I would use the Elixer's because they're brighter. The EXP's are have a deeper tone to my ear. I've had mandolins that were already very deep sounding and the EXP's didn't help, I used the Elixers. It seemed to even things out.

On my guitar (Huss and Dalton TDR) the EXP's make it explode, the Elixers don't do it for me at all.

JM

[bradeinhorn]

my new voight is coming with nano-webs. dan likes them so i will give them a shot. never tried coated strings on any mandolin i have ever owned after not liking them on my guitars....i don't mind changning strings every month, so long life isn't really a main desire for me. the daley gets j75s and likes them.

[Steven Stone]

[Could you give us an idea of the difference in sound between the 74's and 77's]

77's are 80/20 instead of phosphor bronze. Both are the same gauge.

77's have more upper frequency harmonics and a bit more bite but have the same amount of bass and sustain. I like them better on my 2002 Gibson Fern and 2006 Hilburn #38.

Both of these mandos are a wee bit dark with 74's. And yes' I've A/B'd them: that's how I came to use 77's. Now these mandos cut better in an ensemble and I don 't have to lean on them to be heard.

[John Flynn]

Steven:

Thanks, I will definitely be trying a set or two. That is the direction I need to go also.

[EdH]

Just learned allot from you guys. As a novice player, I'm still experimenting with my Rose #29. Thanks for the feedback. It sounds as if the cost is better in the long-run. I'll go through at least 4-6 sets of J-74s in 3 months easily

[Mandolusional]

For some reason, compared to regular J74s, EXPs give my mandolin a bright, almost tinny sound. Thankfully it improves a little once I break them in but that can take a while. Another player I know mentioned the same thing about them on his Collings. Elixirs sound more consistent on my mando and sometimes I like their coating, I haven't played any that are as slick. Both last a long time though, and it's fun to try new strings so I recommend giving each a go. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Big Joe]

EdH...The cost is far less with the coated strings than the uncoated for two reasons. First, they last much longer. They may cost twice as much but will last four to six times as long. Second, I don't like changing strings. There are many other things I would rather do. I've changed thousands of sets of strings in my life in the music industry in repair and retail, let alone my own instruments. The labor savings would be worth it for me.

I like the feel of Elixers better than EXP, though there is not much difference. I do like playing my mandolins without the rattle though http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif . I'm funny about things like that!

[EdH]

Big Joe - Thanks once again. It sounds like it's a win-win situation here for me. And I do have to agree, there are allot of things I'd rather do than sit around changing strings all the time.

[tterral]

Very interesting comments. Sounds like the age old answer of try them on your instrument and see if you like them. I use the Phosphur Bronze Nanowebs on my guitar (Santa Cruz). I have tried EXPs on several occasions and I really did not like the way they sounded on my guitar (dull, lifeless). I am going to try both Elixers and EXPs on my mandolin and see how they sound.

[mandopete]

I like the feel of Elixers better than EXP, though there is not much difference.
I'm the exact opposite. I like the "feel" of the EXP strings as they don't feel quite as slippery to me. I also like the tone better as they sound a little less bright than a traditional type of string and I getting 2 to 3 months on a set.

I do agree with Joe's assesment on the cost factor!

[mandolirius]

As I said, I didn't experience it but I'm curious now. Have others have had Joe's "G string rattle" problem with Elixers?

[buddyellis]

I'm with mandopete. I find elixers almost impossible to do pulloffs with. The material is too slick, for me. I much prefer EXPs and I like cleartones (on guitar) ok too.

[mandolirius]

Also, I've reached the end of the Elixer's life. I got about four weeks, or roughly twice as long as with the 80/20's I usually use. I kill Phosphor Bronze dead in a matter of hours - apparently my sweat and that alloy don't like each other. Anyway, I'm in Canada. The cost of Elixers is about double a regular set, so I don't think I'll save any money with them, but I do agree with Joe and others that the less string-changing I have to do in life, the better. On the other hand, it's an evil comforting thought to have when I read the lists of mandolins some posters have kicking around the house. I could be jealous, then I remember all those string them poor suckers gotta change:laugh:

[mandolirius]

Another question about coated strings. I'm assuming the unwound strings, the A & E, are no different than in a normal set, or am wrong about that?

[John Flynn]

I can't speak for the Elixers, but the A and E strings on the EXP sets are coated also. Unlike an uncoated set, they are gold in color due to the electrostatic coating. The playable area of the A and E strings very gradually turns silver as the coating wears off. The wound strings stay gold in color, although they will start to darken as they they get older, just like an uncoated set.

[tkdboyd]

Jumping in late, I changed out my strings from EXP75 to the Elixir set. I like how the Elixir's play but they sound "tinny". My wife crinkled her side of her mouth the first time she heard me strum my mandolin after getting it tuned up. Sounds like a totally different instrument, I'll be going back to EXPs...I am cheap..I mean frugal, so I will do my best to wear these out and then I am swapping them out to the EXP's.

[Ted Eschliman]

My wife crinkled her side of her mouth the first time she heard me strum my mandolin after getting it tuned up.
Interesting. My wife STILL does that no matter what strings I use...

[El Greco]

I'm planning on putting Elixir w/ Nanoweb coating on my Breedlove Cascade (medium gauge). I have the Thomastik/Infeld now (stark - heavy), which I really like both on the Cascade and my little Epi MM50. This will be the last experiment with strings.

I'll post my opinion about the Elixirs in the near future.

[JHo]

I'm trying some Elixirs on my Eastman right now. They feel nice to the fingers. The do have their own sound to them being wrapped in plastic (a little rounder perhaps). At first I didn't care for them, but now that they've broken in a bit, I think they sound pretty nice. I've got some EXPs to try next.

[Rocky Top]

I really the EXP74's. That's all I ever use.

[woodwizard]

I like the Elixer's and I also like the EXP74's. They both sound great on my mando and both last so long (both are my favorites). The only things I don't like on each brand is on the Elixers my "D" strings seem to get devits much quicker than the EXP's and on the EXP's I sometimes have a problem on the new "E" string loop breaking as I try to bring it up to tune. I broke 3 in a row one time. I think they might have had a quality problem there. No other brands "E" string loop breaks. I am 100% sure it's not a sharp edge or anything like that breaking them. The Elixers are a little more slippery but I like that. As I said to me it's a flip of the coin. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[El Greco]

Well, I was tempted to try the GHS Silk & Steel instead of the Elixir Nanoweb for now. I'm pleasantly surprised so far. They sound great, a little brighter (metallic, perhaps?) played with Red Bear Tortis or Tortex 1.0 mm picks. I like them.

[otherhobby]

ive put a set of elixers on my gibson worked great then tried exp74s they were horrad switched sets to my eastman and found the opposite id like to try new strings on my collings but not sure what to try first

[Philip Halcomb]

I have to agree with EXP's being a little on the dark side. After reading this thread last week I purchased a set of EXP's and found the bright new string sound (that I personally like, I know most people don't) went away really quickly. For my tastes and the way I like strings to sound I found that the plain J74's last longer. But again, I really like the bright sound of new strings. However the EXP 74's continue to look great and feel great, when the J74's can start looking pretty nasty even after a few hours of hard play, but the sound changes on the EXP 74s pretty quickly after putting them on. I found the Exilir's continue to sound bright for a long, long time. Pretty much the general consensus from the rest of the gang.

[mbruno]

I just switched from regular j74s (not exp) to Exilirs recently and, while i may try the exp j74, I'm not going back to the regular j74s.

I play a lot. Minimum of an hour a day with gigs and lessons scattered through out. I had to change j74s every 2 to 3 weeks to keep them fresh. After 3 weeks, the Exilirs are just starting to show wear. Much smoother and easier to play imo.

I was surprised Honestly bc years ago i tried Exilirs on my guitar and hated them. Maybe they got better, maybe the mandolin strings are better. Idk, but I'm sold.

The price difference is nominal. J74s are about $8/pack on san diego. Exilirs are 12/pack. The 4 dollars is well worth the enhanced tone and longevity.