Elixir Strings Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings w NANOWEB Coating
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': "To make it quick and short, check your strings to make sure you received the real Elixir Nanoweb strings, even if it's sold by Amazon (mine were both shipped AND sold by Amazon).\n\nInteresting observations: Either these aren't official Elixir strings or Elixir is cutting corners on their Nanoweb coating. The glossy and cheap feeling box raised my eyebrow which caused me to conduct these tests.\n\n1. Nanoweb coating should insulate electric current. These strings are clearly conducting and not coated with Nanoweb. I took the old strings currently on my D-35 for comparison, results were clear.\n\n2. There should be obvious signs of Nanoweb coating on the strings starting from the base where the little metal o-ring is. Comparing my current authentic strings to the one I just received, there's a clear distinction on which has the coating. The coating also makes the strings look rose gold."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Elixir strings are fantastic when you actually receive authentic Elixir strings. There are a lot of counterfeits out there, for good reason. Buyer beware. Most often people will buy Elixir strings, change the strings in the package with a lower quality string and return the package. Other MAJOR internet sites sell Elixir strings as pictured that are FAKE. They use the old packaging graphics and envelopes and sell an inferior strings. One can tell immediately by the feel of the strings. Elixir strings feel smooth and DO NOT turn your fingers black with oxidation. Elixir strings use a tamper resistant foil seal. If the seal is broken or missing, they are counterfeit. As for actual Elixir strings, you get what you pay for. A quality product, smooth playing and endure the rigors of time. I have used Elixir strings for over 20 years.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'There\'s no shortage of traditionalists who don\'t like coated strings for whatever reason. But they\'re buying strings every month or so if they play regular. A lot of folks say they don\'t like them because they sound like uncoated strings, and other guitarists say they only play THIS brand or THAT brand because "I can tell the difference. and I don\'t like it", yada, yada, yada.\n\nLuckily, I was apparently not born with a \'picky ear\'. I can\'t tell the difference between one brand of string and another. They all pretty much sound the same to me. To me, the guitar itself seems to have a much larger influence on the tone than the strings do.\n\nThat said, the Elixirs have one thing going for them that uncoated strings don\'t. THE COATING!!! LOL\n\nI have several guitars. Enough that if I tried to keep new strings on all of them, all the time, I\'d be buying strings by the case, on a monthly basis. Sorry, but I\'d rather spend that money on MORE GUITARS!\n\nSo instead of paying 6 or 7 bucks for uncoated strings (if that\'s still how much they are, I don\'t buy them anymore so I don\'t know), I pay 12 bucks, and instead of having to change them every month, I only have to change them once every couple of years.\n\nThe REALLY nice thing about them is, of course, the LACK of rust! I picked up a guitar at a friend\'s house not long ago and UGH!!! GOD THAT\'S GROSS! Nothing worse than rusty guitar strings! It\'s been REALLY nice not having to deal with that for the last 10 years or so! It\'s nice to pick up any guitar in the house and it feels like the strings are still brand new.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-1 review-rating', 'review_body': "Guys, if you're buying the phosphor bronze nanoweb strings as of March 30, 2018. Please refrain from buying this for a while, you're better off buying just the regular bronze nanoweb strings (NOT PHOSPHOR BRONZE). I just bought them and the phosphor bronze has no coating, doesn't feel sleek like, and sounds very dull. The packaging was unprofessional, it was already opened and looks poorly made.\n\nIf you're sketchy that your strings are fake, look closely for a coating. Or feel the strings, if they don't feel smooth or your fingers don't easily slide, it's most likely fake."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I have not played like i played after i got these stringed up in years. Just WOW. They sound beautiful. I payed for like 45 minutes straight, and i was in the zone like it i was on cocaine. They sounded THAT good.\n\nI prefer the lighter strings and the ease of playing them, but you loose a bit of the fullness of the sound with a lighter gauge. These 11-52\'s are pretty comfortable to play, and the nanoweb coating makes them very smooth and easier to play. They are bright, full, round, great sustain, and loud. Awesome Strings. Period. I am VERY Happy with them.\n\nI just can not get over the sound. I had a set of Martin 12-56\'s Phosphor Bronze on my Yamaha Acoustic before and i thought they sounded pretty darn good, but a little stiff and hard to play after playing my electrics most of the time. But these blow them away in sound and play-ability. I\'m not saying Martin\'s are the best, but they\'re pretty good sounding, especially for the price. These are 3 times the price, but in my opinion, they just about sound 3 times as good.\n\nI read that a few people received sets that they believed to be fake. I grabbed my multi-meter and checked them when they arrived and the set i received did not cause the meter to read as "open". They do if you press really hard with the meter leads, but i don\'t think that is a totally accurate measure of legitimacy. If these are fakes, they are still worth the price, lol.\n\nI was hopeful because of the hype behind these, and since they are pretty dang spendy for a single set of strings. I hope that they last as long as they claim to last with the nanoweb coating. I just put them on like 2 hours ago. I had to write a review, just to share.\n\nI will totally buy these again, and i will be ordering a set for a buddy of mine. They are so nice that i have to share the beauty.\n\nI will update my review if anything changes.\n\nI really hope they last 3 times as long as a typically set, being 3 times the price. That is my only complaint.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I had a buddy tell me that I had to try these. He said that they easily last twice as long as normal strings, and they sound better the longer you play them.\n\nTurns out, he was right. The reason why is because the coating used to protect the strings does dull the sound a little bit. and you don't truly get a true feel for what they can sound like until they're really broken in. I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Just don't change your strings right before a show. They do last twice as long, though, and even out-of-the-package, they sound better than most other strings I've tried.\n\nI typically used Martin strings before mostly because I felt that if Martin makes such awesome guitars, they must make Martin strings to go with them. The strings I usually purchased where the Martin Authentic Lifespan 2.0.\n\nI personally own two Taylors and a Takamine acoustic, and most folks know that Taylors come stock with Elixir strings. Personally, I think that's because it helps Taylor sell guitars.\n\nWhen I was playing the Martin next to the Taylor at the music store, I preferred the sound of the Taylor. It was strong in the mids, subdued but still bright in the highs, and they had a wonderfully subdued bass sound that you could feel more than you could hear. The Martin seemed more well rounded, but the Taylor stood out because it rang out much longer.\n\nI think it was the strings, and I didn't realize this until knowingly changing from my normal Martin strings to the Elixers on my guitars at home. Three guitars all produced superior results for different reasons. On my old Takamine workhorse, the Elixir strings produced a lot more sustain from a fairly weak sounding guitar. I was used to having to plug it in if I wanted people to be able to hear the guitar over my singing, and that became no longer necessary. On my Taylor Mini, the Elixirs greatly reduced the clinky sound strumming made, which was overwhelming with the Martin strings. This was the most noticeable difference. The Mini sounded really bad with the Martin strings by comparison.\n\nOn my baby, though, that punch from the bass that you can feel more than you can hear has returned.\n\nIt doesn't sound like it produces a very loud sound, but that sound carries a long way. I love singing with it. It's the only guitar of the three where I can actually hear the strings ring out loud enough to harmonize my voice with them, and I am truly in love with that feeling.\n\nI wasn't able to attain that nearly to the same degree with the Martin strings.\n\nThe other thing that I want to point out is that these seem to be easier to tune, and they stay in tune. usually, when I first string a guitar, I like to strum around a little bit and then retune. I've been finding that with these strings, I don't have to. Plus, it's actually kind of strange if I pick it up and it's out of tune. I truly believe the strings have something to do with that."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "These are the best acoustic strings I have ever owned. I have had my Washburn guitar for about 25 years and was starting to hear a decrease in the quality of the sound, especially the resonance. After I slapped these strings on there, the guitar sounds better than it ever has. These things are amazing.\n\nStrings I have used before:\nGryphon - local shop\nD'Addario\nMartin\n\nThe Elixer strings crush them all. And they last a long time.\n\nWill buy over and over again forever!!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2015', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I play guitar a lot, but I've only been playing a few years and I have limited exposure to strings. That said, I have a background in piano/keyboard and I've been playing music all my life. I've been through about a dozen different sets of strings on a few guitars I own. These run the gamut from inexpensive (Ernie Ball Earthwood) to standard (D'Addarios) to high end Elixirs and Cleartones. The Elixir Nanoweb is my second favorite I've used on both my Yamaha and Ovation A/E guitars with the Elixir Polyweb being my favorite thus far. Here's why:\n\nThe coating does affect string sound and I noticed it for the first session or two of playing. After that, what stood out to me was that the strings never lost their tone. For weeks. Ernie Ball Earthwoods sound great when installed, but after a week of playing, I can feel and hear them start to deaden out. The Elixirs take a hit on day one and two, but they don't wear down for weeks at a time. Months even. To me, by the time I am on my fifth session of playing (in one-to-two hour sessions), the Elixirs start to surpass the others and they continue to shine at that level for quite a long time. In fact, degradation of sound was so minuscule on my last set that I never heard it. I changed out the strings when I began to see visible marks at the fret and pick area (assuming where the coating was starting to chip/wear). The change did make them sound better... I could tell after I put the new ones on that the old ones were worn, but it was minor.\n\nIn short, you pay three times more for these strings, but you should get five times more life out of them. To me, choosing a $5-$6 set of strings instead is being penny wise and pound foolish."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I haven't actually played these 12 - 53's, but the 13 - 53's I'm currently using have lasted out approximately 3 months on a regular basis and I play daily. I've also taken these strings beyond the pale, I believe, as I tighten them up to higher than standard tuning then slack them down so that the top and bottom were B tuning and then tightened them back up again all without them complaining very much or causing me to retune too frequently. I've pretty much settled in on these strings as being a comfortable fit for my finger pick style of playing. For me they seem to be less noisy than uncoated strings. After some period of playing, for months, the coating will appear to be raggedy, but this has little or no effect on tone or playability. Right now and or the past couple of years, these are my standard choice."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2019', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Bought a new Martin OMC-15me with the original Martin Lights - sound/tone was bright, beautiful, maybe good as the guitar gets, but being a longtime Elixir user there were 2 things I knew right away - 1) I need coated strings (Nanoweb) and 2) They will sacrifice some tone and volume. So on went these Elixir 11-52 Nanoweb's, adjusted truss for lighter gauge and now my Martin is playable. Fingers slide nicely .. normally play it plugged in rather than mic'd and get great tones into my FX processors. History has proven Elixir's to last longer than most so I gotta give them 5 Stars. For the coating and long life we pay the price - Worth It!"}]