Recommendation an electric guitar string brand for recording a Prog/Metal Album ?

The guitar shop I use always puts on D'Addario's. They are consistent from set to set. This lets me replace strings and the intonation remains spot on.

I personally prefer Ernie Balls but not enough to get all my guitars setup with them.

I'm not a big fan of Elixir strings. I would rather change strings often than use coated strings.

Ernie Ball Earthwood strings are my favorite on my Takamine acoustic. For some reason, those strings just work on that guitar. If I am playing outdoor shows, I need to change them after every show though.
 
I have been using D'Addario XL for many years. Very happy with them. Since your OP indicated you are recording with them, I suggest you narrow your choices down to a few, and try them. You are going to be listening to that album for the rest of your life. You want to be happy with what you recorded. Just my $0.02.
 
Hyper Planet said:
well actually, it was the first time that I had experienced them and absolutely loved em... why ?, because on the one hand it's sound, color and feel hadn't changed at all during the recording in one of our songs, it's almost 15 mins !, on the other hand the most important thing for me was about my recording waves... as for the waves there were no difference between the waves in 11 mins and 1 or 2 mins, it didn't get slim at all, so I'm curious about the reason you don't liked the Elixir strings ?
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I didn't say I didn't like Elixir strings. Just that I thought Ernie Balls are better for what I do. Obviously no one can tell you what you will prefer and what you're asking for is just an opinion in that sense. I've used Ernie Ball for over 10 years so anything that doesn't feel/sound just like Ernie Ball strings will sound worse for me. Sure Ernie Ball strings feel a lot better right after changing the strings but those long lasting strings never felt that good to begin with for me. Almost like the starting point for those strings was that they were already worn in a bit. Cobalt strings had some weird artifacts to me personally. Almost like a distorted telecaster type rattle or something. It's hard to explain but once again everything from the way I pick and play the guitar etc. has been learned using Ernie Ball strings so that's why I will always use those strings.

You shouldn't over-think it. :) If you want a consistant sound then wear those strings in properly before recording.
 
I agree that Elixer or any coated strings should not be used if you are doing serious recordings. I look at it just like using amps in the studio vs modeling. If you want pure tone the only way to get it is with pure gear.

My main reason for using Elixer strings is I am a floyd rose lover and the longer I can go without having to change strings the better... especially when you have 13 of them and you gig 6 of them with no tech... I am a weekend warrior cover band hack so I have to do it all myself.
 
Severed said:
I agree that Elixer or any coated strings should not be used if you are doing serious recordings. I look at it just like using amps in the studio vs modeling. If you want pure tone the only way to get it is with pure gear.

My main reason for using Elixer strings is I am a floyd rose lover and the longer I can go without having to change strings the better... especially when you have 13 of them and you gig 6 of them with no tech... I am a weekend warrior cover band hack so I have to do it all myself.
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Floyds are a pain in rear end!

My guitars with Floyds atrophy one by one, lol, until I have to start taking them back to the shop for setup.

When they are setup right though, I love to play em'. I have mine setup for full floating.
 
well I don't play metal, so I hope it's OK I post......Play lots of R&R-for a zillion years, Never liked coated electric guitar strings.

I use the elixirs on my acoustic guitar that sits in my living room an gets a lot of play during football games, etc.

But electric, Ernie ball strings have always been good to me.

But I may have to try the D addarrio EXPS and the DR's just to see what it's all about.

Good Luck with the album
 
I used Ernie Ball Super and Regular Slinkys for years both stainless steel ones and nickel ones.... then about 4 or 5 years back they suddenly started to squeak badly with finger noise on the wound strings. I also always found their lifespan to be about a week ..... and were still settling in a day after I changed them and had given them a good stretching at the time.

No idea what EB did to them but they sure as hell were not the same quality of strings I'd played through the 90's and most of the noughties.

I switched to D'Addario XL (10s) and love them. I have refretted my main gigging guitar with stainless steel frets and hadn't changed strings during a 5 week layoff from gigging/rehearsing - I had no tuning/intonation issues that whole time and I was playing the guitar a couple of hours a night. When I did change them, the strings all had a noticable divot in them where the ss frets had eaten away at them - yet they still played true and no breakages. Reasonably priced too.

Don't know about any other brands sorry.
 
When I'm touring, I change the strings on my primary guitar (a stratocaster) for every performance. I use pure nickel strings, and they have a workable lifespan of one sweaty 3-hour show before they oxidize and turn black. They're noticeably deadened after just one show. I keep all my old strings in a zip lock bag, and when I get back home, I drop them off at a local recycling place that melts them down to reuse the nickel.
 
I'd been using D'Addario XL strings for a while on my main guitar (others have EB Slinkys or whatever brand I'm checking out.) I recently switched to the NYXL sets and have been really impressed with the tone, consistency and longevity. For me, they are keepers.

I'm also in the camp of coated for my acoustics, but not on my electrics.

TT
 
Obviously this is a completely subjective question and answer

however i've been buying elixir nanowebs 10 to 46 in packs of 10s for a couple of years

Edit

nanowebs coating lasts longer then the ware i give strings, however as soon as i break, ill change the lot regardless
 
When I record, I just change strings every couple of hours and the gear never moves in the studio. That way, we can drop in on anything months later without any changes.
The last couple of tours, I have been using Rotosound. For recording, the last 10 years or so I have been using D'Addario. Before that Dean Markley. I uses them for years and used to love the Dean Markley Magnum string they used to do. I used to have the odd set of Dean Markley that would ever go in tune.
 
DRs, I haven't changed my strings since Feberary. They look a bit ugly, and I probably should change them, but they don't feel or sound bad. I have highly acidic skin too. I can rust out a set of EBs in a couple of hours.


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Bojangles said:
wow

I find it takes a couple of hours for my strings to settle, even with a suhr setup, and locking tuners with half wind max
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I mainly record with my 78 Les Paul. It has Grovers and a TP6 tailpiece. Once the strings are stretched in, it is solid.
 
Bojangles said:
wow

I find it takes a couple of hours for my strings to settle, even with a suhr setup, and locking tuners with half wind max
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I'm with vinnyburns on this: if you properly stretch the strings you are ready to go in minutes. It takes 20 minutes for me to completely restring a tremolo equipped guitar and make it gig-ready.
 
My guitars stay in tune with new strings too.

For me, it's all about how the string winds on the peg. An uneven wind will allow slippage and the strings will take days of playing to hold tune.
 
I usually turn them up a halfstep for a minute or so, then tune them to pitch. Never much of a settling in period. But maybe I'm not as sensitive to tuning... Nah, I am sensitive enough to get irked by the G-string. Play a G chord and a D chord in first position and you know what I mean.
Also it's always shifting. Every guitar I ever had, every set or brand of strings, the G always gives me s#1t. It detunes the easiest, even locked in a Floyd w nut, or even on fixed bridges. Also, it runs down. Hit a string and watch it on a tuner go from sharp to flat, G-string by far the most. I don't get why people tune to Petersons because the strings are walking around way more than usual tuners tolerances.

Anyway, been playing d'Addarios XL forever. I seem to remember from 30 years ago that EB Slinkies were just a tad less "stiff" feeling, somehow they had a slightly more flexible feel, but not enough to make me stick with them. d'Addario's had smaller packaging, less plastic to waste. I tried DR for a while, found them to feel a lot stiffer that d'A's.

I have very good fingers for strings. Usually after playing someone else's guitar my fingers are black and the strings shine and glisten.
So I never felt the need to investigate coated strings.
The great and inimitable Scott Grove swears by Polywebs, though. Says they last much longer than Nanowebs. Polywebs would have thicker coating, which makes them less bright sounding, but also makes the coating tougher. If it's true, I can see the logic in that. About his vids... You really should take them with a healthy helping of grains of salt, but I find them entertaining.
 
With my DR's, I don't do anything special. No stretching, no waiting, or anything like that. They stay in tune forever, but a lot of that is your guitar setup. I don't even have locking tuners.
 
You can't go wrong with Elixirs.

It's basicly the only brand I ever buy for every style of music. Not because of the durability, but because I like their feel (surface feels a little bit more slick than non-coated strings and I play a lot of slides, so that's always a plus).

Plus, they are available in almost any guitar store. You can't say that for most of the "exotic" manufacturers.


Floyd Roses are a pain in the ass. It takes me longer to tune and intonate my FR than to change the damn strings. And don't you dare to change the tuning in the middle of a set...
Whoever invented the Floyd Rose was a sadist.
 
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Zwiebelchen said:
You can't go wrong with Elixirs.
Floyd Roses are a pain in the ass. It takes me longer to tune and intonate my FR than to change the damn strings. And don't you dare to change the tuning in the middle of a set...
Whoever invented the Floyd Rose was a sadist.
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Do you change the strings one at a time? Do you stretch every string a little when you change it? Is your bridge well setup?
 
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