D’Addario Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2016', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'First off, reviewing guitar strings objectively is extremely difficult. Any new set of strings will generally sound, feel, and play better than any old set of strings. Moreover, changing strings, tuning them, and breaking them in takes enough time that it is practically impossible to get an exact AB comparison across different brands in real-time. You need two otherwise identical guitars with otherwise identical wood, setup, electronics, fret age, etc, and you need to fit them both with new strings of the exact same gauge and type but different brands, in order to really assess the differences between two brands objectively. Which is close to impossible.\n\nThat said, I personally own four electric guitars, and the studio I work at has about a dozen more. Over the past 15+ years as a musician, sound engineer, and stage hand, I have almost certainly played or recorded well over a hundred. So while I cannot personally swear to have done a scientific head-to-head double-blind test between every brand of strings, I can say a few things pretty categorically. And I have tried a ton of different makes of string, from Ernie Ball to GHS to La Bella to mail-order to store-brand, etc etc. (For bass, I prefer other brands than D\'Addario, but that\'s a seperate review).\n\nSound-wise and playability-wise, these D\'Addario Nickel Wounds are great. They have a high-quality, "as-expected" sound for a new guitar string, straight down the middle of how a roundwound nickel string should sound.\n\nLongevity is a more-complicated story, and widely misunderstood. First off, here are the things that compromise metal guitar strings, in approximate order or importance:\n\n1. Metal fatigue. Over time, bending and vibrating a piece of metal causes it to become more brittle and to develop microscopic cracks. Tension, stretching, and deformation exacerbate this condition, which is why even coated strings that are never played become dull and dead-sounding after a couple months of sitting on a guitar, compared to an identical set sitting in its package. This wears out strings faster if you play them, but also even if you just leave them sitting on your guitar. In my experience, D\'Addario strings are among the best, if not the best, in terms of mainstream commercial guitar strings when it comes to staying supple, soft, and flexible.\n\n2. Surface oxidization/corrosion. This is where coatings can help. Exposure to air, moisture, skin oils, perspiration, etc has a corroding effect on metal strings. Those black, coppery-smelling stripes that you get on your fretting hand are the product of some kind of chemical breakdown in the alloy your strings are made from, releasing certain minerals from the metal onto your fingers. These effects are often over-stated in the marketing materials of coated-strings: they are real, but they are not usually anywhere close to the first thing that kills a set of strings. The conspicuousness of the symptom (black, dull-looking old strings) is often confused with the effects of metal fatigue, and people sometimes think that if they can keep their strings shiny, they will sound and play like new. Not so. Coatings only help the specific problem of surface corrosion, which can be a real one, but is a minor one for most players who keep their guitars in conditioned spaces and who play with clean hands. After a couple weeks of being installed at tension, even coated strings start to succumb to metal fatigue, and need to be changed even if they have never been played or taken out of the case.\n\n3. Physical deformation is the final and most unavoidable symptom. Unless your frets are made of softer metal than your strings (and we should hope that they are not), then playing your guitar inevitably creates "flat spots" on the strings, where they contact the frets. Probably similar at the bridge and nut. These become physical deformities in the string\'s resonant characteristics, as well as exacerbating metal fatigue and compromising surface integrity at those points, affecting both of the above.\n\nTaking all of the above into consideration, and assuming that you want soft, supple nickel strings that won\'t chew up your frets, I think these are your best overall choice. My one exception might be if you have serious problems related to surface corrosion, due to bodily PH imbalances or outdoor gigs, etc, in which case you might benefit from coated strings. But for most players, the strings are going to wear out from metal fatigue long before corrosion has a real effect on the sound or playability.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Originally (waaay back in the day), I had learned on these D’Addario 10-46s! ..but my guitar teacher at that time told me try EB Super Slinky 9’s, as he was having a hard time bending the 10’s.. So I did, and for 35 years I played those lighter, slinkier strings.\n\nA few years ago, I woke up one day not happy with my strings, so I started looking for strings which provided a more aggressive, tighter, and better defined sound. I play all kinds of music so any strings I use need to cover a really wide range of tones, and do that well.\n\nI tried a few different brands and gauges over the period of about a year, including the expensive coated strings, etc., Well, long story short, and after burning through thirty sets of these strings, the D’Addario 10-46s are my new go-to strings. They are more balanced sounding across the scale, arpeggios and chords are better defined, they feel tighter, less “slinky”, and that’s okay. I can hit these strings hard and get them to roar and chime or barely brush them and get truly musical nuances from them. Distorted, acoustic/clean, edge of breakup, blues, metal, rock, pop, Satch-stuff,. …They do it all. They are priced right and I’m Happy to spend my money on them.\n\nBack for my 40th set of these strings.. and I’m sure I’ll be back for more.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Hard to judge, I replaced the strings on a new guitar. Would like something a bit brighter. Could be the strings that came on the guitar were the same type as some had mentioned. They're fine, just a little dark.\nEdit: that was my initial review. Not too impressed. But, let me explain.\nI got the strings to see if they would help with a pernicious problem. I got a new guitar, an IYV Les Paul copy, because my style these days was more like acoustic playing than blow the doors out rock n roll. The bullet strat I got a few years ago was way too twangy and didn't sound good doing this, so I was discouraged. Sounding good and right is very important to me. The LP copy was better, but there was still that annoying twang on chords and I couldn't unhear it. So, I thought new strings might help. No, they sounded pretty much the same, hence, the lackluster review. But, I started analyzing just what was going on. It's the G string, it sounded horrible on the LP and even worse on the strat. It doesn't do that on my old Harmony Sovereign acoustic. Then the epiphany !!. Acoustic strings have a wound G string !!. After some looking, I discovered that Daddario makes a set of XL's with a wound G, EXL110W They arrived this morning. Wanting to test ASAP, I removed that cursed G string from the LP and strung the .018 wound G from the new set. A chorus of ahhs, light from above, my new guitar finally sounds like it should. I couldn't be happier. The bare G set is probably fine for different styles and some may _like_ the twang, but for me this made the difference between good and bad, crappy chords or beauty. I may even try a set on the strat. Sorry to combine reviews, but this is where the site takes me to review the new set. I'm gonna go play now. Hope this helps others who have the same problem."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2018', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "This is written from the perspective of a guitarist from a metal band that uses Drop C tuning.\n\nI've gone through a good amount of strings in my 12 years of playing guitar. It has only been within the past 4 years that I really am adamant about changing strings every 3-5 months... I have a Floyd Rose on my main guitar, so as some of you may know, it can be bothersome to restring with that configuration. However, now that I have found these, I absolutely don't dread the process because the payoff is just too great!\n\nI use 11 gauge strings considering the drop tuning, gotta get that proper tension! It's something I can't explain but these strings seem to be perfect each time I put a new pack on. Most guitars were designed to be tuned to standard including mine, with lower gauge strings feeling like rubber bands when downtuned. I absolutely used to play strictly in standard until joining this metalcore band. I never imagined downtuned strings and when I first did it, I was just using improper gauge and hated the way my guitar played. Fast forward to being introduced to 11 gauge and trying all different types of strings.. I kept getting an adequate feeling, but it wasn't until these strings were suggested to me by several different people that I finally found the perfect fit. It feels like I'm playing standard tuning again, but I'm not!\n\nTruly these are special and they just FEEL premium on your fingertips. There's a satisfying, full sound that is produced by these strings and they are smooth, yet textured in a way that glues your fingers when pressure is applied, but are buttery smooth when transitioning to different parts of the neck.\n\nD'Addario have hit the nail on the head with these and I highly suggest everyone to at least try these out! Everyone I know who touches my guitars loves these! Oh, yeah I did forget to mention, I use these strings on each guitar I own! Even at standard, a few quick adjustments and these strings feel great."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2016', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "I spent years trying out different guitar strings from different manufacturers and time after time I kept coming back to these. They stay in tune well, they stay fresh for a long time, they sound well in every guitar I've put them in, and they're competitively priced. I've played better sounding strings (that cost more), and I've played more comfortable strings (that cost *MUCH* more), but these fulfill all of the basic requirements I have for a guitar string, and I buy them bulk to put on all the guitars I set up and have not received a single complaint. Even from people who are used to playing 11s with a wrapped G. It's my personal opinion that 9s are only useful in situations where you don't want to bother setting up the action and intonation, and in every situation I've personally encountered, a guitar set up properly with good fret dressing, good action, and proper pickup height sounds best with 10s on it.\n\nIn comparison to boutique options like coated strings I think overall DR still wins in my book, but a quick spray of Fingerease on these does ALMOST just as well as long as you're willing to keep it up regularly. And they stay in tune, properly intoned, and bright sounding for MUCH longer than Elixir strings at half the price. I'm also a fan of the flat- and semi-flatwound strings that D'Addario makes for excessively bright guitars."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I just started using these Extra Heavy (12-60) strings for Standard C tuning on 25.5" scale guitars with great results. I definitely like them better than the EB Not Even Slinky set for low tunings. The 3rd string can still be a little troublesome in pitch and tone, which is common with plain strings this big, but it also came down to the guitar for me. My higher-end guitars don\'t have as much trouble while the lower-end guitars that do don\'t have the issue in standard tunings.\n\nI use the balanced packs (10-46 for 24.5" scale) and (9-40 for 25.5" scale) on my standard tuning guitars for the past 4 years, which I actively gig and am VERY happy with them.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2021', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Been playing guitar for over 15 years. I play all kinds of styles, I like a well balanced set for lead playing and rhythm . I bought the 11-56 set for one of my guitars that's tuned to drop C and I love it. The low strings are tight enough that there is no string rattling or excessice buzzing and the high strings aren't too loose or too tight, great for bends. I greatly prefer these over the Ernie Ball 11-54 set.. I tried them and removed them a few days after. My problem with those is the G string is overly tight and sounds awful, it rings out terribly and has a weird sound to it. Also the low end strings aren't tight enough that I end up getting string buzz on the lowest notes. Not going back to those and sticking to these from now on! Great set!"}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2015', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I am a gigging musician and have been using these strings for years. They are relatively inexpensive, have a pleasing tone (to my ears) and they last a long time without eventually getting a "dead sound." Once installed, I find that these strings stay in tune nicely.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2014', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I regularly play acoustic and electric guitar and so my playing technique is very "heavy handed", which is somewhat necessary for playing an acoustic guitar if you really want good intonation and presence. Unfortunately, electric guitars require more finesse and dexterity if you want to get the most of your vibrato or bends, which is why 0.9 to 0.11 gauge string sets are the de facto preference for every player.\n\nBack in the 50s and early 60s, guitar strings didn\'t come in the lighter gauges that we have them today. 0.12 and 0.13 sets were commonplace. Electric guitar strings were more or less lighter-gauged acoustic guitar strings. This is how the Beatles were able to get those thick clean tones, and how Stevie Ray Vaughan (who also used 13s on his Strat) came to create his legendary tone as well. "Heavier is better" is just a myth though. Dozens of guitar heroes use standard gauge strings, sometimes as light as 0.8. It really just depends on your playing style and the amount of physical response you want from your strings. In this case "heavier is better..." IF you have a strong picking technique and hard attack.\n\nThese days I have been playing a lot of heavy metal and I needed strings that wouldn\'t flap around when playing those tight galloping rhythms and alternate picking runs. I decided to try out this "Baritone" guitar set on my Les Paul, and I\'ve been really impressed with the thickness of the tone. You don\'t necessarily need a Strat-scaled guitar or anything longer to rock these strings, so long as you adjust your bridge accordingly.\n\nAnother benefit of using .13s is that the G-string is WOUND, which means more tension and less tuner slippage while playing. Every guitarist knows what I\'m talking about when I say how frustrating it is when the G-string slides out of tune more so than any other string. On this set, the G-string is a wound 0.26, so literally twice the thickness of the high e-string. While this doesn\'t make it totally immune to tuning slippage, it\'ll get you really close.\n\nThe last benefit of using .13s is that it is like resistance weight training in every respect. After playing a couple months on .13s, if you go back to .9s or .10s you\'ll feel like you can fly across the fretboard with ease.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'As a gigging musician, I have to have reliable strings that deliver great tone. I’ve tried other brands, but I always come back to D’Addario strings and for the past 29 years or so I’ve used them exclusively.\n\nI buy in bulk and use 9-42 on my Teles and Strats and 10s on my Gibsons. I also use the bronze 11s on my only acoustic. I change them regularly, so they don’t have a chance to go dead. Yes, they’ll eventually go dead - I’m the only one who puts new strings on my father’s guitar and I only visit about twice a year, and his strings go dead after about a year but it’s so gradual he doesn’t seem to notice. But on my own guitars I change them out at least every 2 or 3 months, and on my Teles which get the most play, every few weeks.\n\nBut, as already mentioned, I buy in bulk for discounts and it only takes a few minutes to change strings. I’m sure there are other great strings out there, but my search is over. These simply work for me.'}]