String Choice: Ernie Ball or D'addario?

I did a bit of experimenting with D'addario mid-last year (after being a 25 odd year EB user) trying the NYXL's/XT's and in the end I couldn't really say one was any more or less than the other. Maybe, MAYBE the Paradigms retain their 'newness' a bit longer but overall they both lasted well IMO.

I stuck with EB since I've used them for so long and didn't see an advantage to switching, the only time I get D'addario now is if they're on sale. I do have a set of DR Veritas to try, out of curiosity so interested to see how they are.

In regards to gauges for C tunning, I've happily used 10-52's since around '99/2000 for Drop C. However, recently I started feeling the need to change the gauge because I'm finding the bottom strings especially feel too tight these days so I'm going to try some 10-46 next change. Not sure if hand strength is decreasing with age or something but the 10-52's just dont bend and wobble like they used to, I'm a massive pinch harmonic, wide-ass bending player and they dont seem to bend as quickly and easily. (Now that I think about it, maybe its the Paradigms specifically and should try Slinky's again).

For C standard tunning I use 11-54 to keep the top strings from getting floppy but the 54 lets me dip to drop B without issue.
 
When I, in my misguided quixotic quest, was obsessed with Kahlers years ago, I found that Paradigms were by far the most pitch stable, and able better than any other brand to withstand the ball end stress a Kahler exerts. And during that miserable time I ordered several sets of every reinforced ball end string. SITs, based on the offers of better ball end twist, were breaking left and right, and it was a similar story with the D’Addario reinforced, and all the others that I’ve tried to forget. But the Paradigms held.

But now that I’m happily using a Floyd, my balanced tension XL 9s work just great, and last plenty long with my hands.
 
Stratoblaster said:
I'm not going to gig this weekend with the Ernie Balls I just put on today; I'm going to the store tomorrow, buying a regular D'Addario .042 -> .009 set and swapping out the G and high E with singles .014 and .008.
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So I did just that and instantly got 'the mojo' I was missing back. IMO the D'Adddarios sound fatter, with more meat in the lower mids, have higher overall output and an improved high end...just far better sounding and richer harmonic detail vs the Ernie Balls. They have a very sweet kerrang/attack and greater ring, even acoustically, over the EB's.

Not to mention they feel so much better and playable to me; way less stiff, and I feel I can grab them better for some reason for bends...definitely has been an eye/ear opener. Will be getting D'Addarios exclusively from here on.
 
State of Epicicity said:
When I, in my misguided quixotic quest, was obsessed with Kahlers years ago, I found that Paradigms were by far the most pitch stable, and able better than any other brand to withstand the ball end stress a Kahler exerts. And during that miserable time I ordered several sets of every reinforced ball end string. SITs, based on the offers of better ball end twist, were breaking left and right, and it was a similar story with the D’Addario reinforced, and all the others that I’ve tried to forget. But the Paradigms held.

But now that I’m happily using a Floyd, my balanced tension XL 9s work just great, and last plenty long with my hands.
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“quixotic quest” … I call dibs on that for a band name!

I ruined a good Ibanez Artist SG by having a Kahler installed, around ‘85. Bummer.
 
State of Epicicity said:
Quixotic Quest, a Queensryche tribute band, will quench your thirst for quintessential quandary of the greatness of stripped down prog.

My condolences on your SG.
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I’d never heard that term before. I must be more sheltered than I’d like to think. ;-]

Thanks. That was just one of many guitar mod mistakes, but most of them were at least reversible. Not so for that Ibanez.

I looked it up, it was actually an AR500. It looked like the pic below before I paid my hard-earned money to have all the tone removed.

1651813012471.jpeg
 
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mr_fender said:
Not on any of the standard nickel plated or Rock N Roll pure nickel wrap Power, Regular, or Super Slinky's that I've used for decades.
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I could've swore I had used up all my D'addarios, and was back to using Ernie Ball strings. But I'm still finishing up several packs of opened D'addarios (cuz I had to steal the high e when my guitar was breaking them), so that's why I thought those colored ends were Slinkys, if that makes any sense. My bad!!
 
I always keep around 10 high Es and 5 Bs on hand in order not to have to break open new sets for the occasional break, to keep the strings as new as possible with their sealed packaging. For those, I order D’Addario XLs too since they come sealed. I always thought it was strange they didn’t seal individual NYXLs.
 
I use D'Addario EXL110 strings on all of my electric guitars. I have not tried other brands (although some of my guitars were delivered with EB slinkys and they were also good). The D'Addario strings sound good, are consistent, last an acceptable length of time (they go dead pretty quickly, but hold a tune and intonate well long after the sparkle and snap are gone), and are inexpensive. That's good enough for me. I'm sure there are better strings out there, but I'm content with the EXL110s.


For acoustic guitar I have tried many strings and have settled on Elixir phosphor bronze nanoweb. They have a tonal balance that really compliments my Larrivee's voice, they feel really good under the fingers, and they last a LONG time. The downside is that they are expensive. Part of the reason why I've decided not to shop around for electric strings is because I know that good strings will spoil me and I'll end up being addicted to another expensive consumable.
 
State of Epicicity said:
I always keep around 10 high Es and 5 Bs on hand in order not to have to break open new sets for the occasional break, to keep the strings as new as possible with their sealed packaging. For those, I order D’Addario XLs too since they come sealed. I always thought it was strange they didn’t seal individual NYXLs.
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I bought a bunch of singles, so now I'm using up those opened sets. When I first started playing, I had a tendency to break high E's, but never since, until I had a problem with that one saddle.
But since eliminating the cause of that high E regularly breaking, which must have been a burr, since abrasive cord took care of it after a few tries, if I now break a string, I've left them on too long (lazy, hate changing strings.)

I guess my thinking is, if you tend to break a certain string, and are not leaving them on too long, maybe there's something causing it. Once any string doesn't give a clear, even pitch, as in, I can hear weird overtones, that's what tells me it's time to change them.
 
Musikron said:
Sorry I missed this.
I had an issue with LOTS of dead strings, as well as the wrong gauges being put in the sets. And by dead string I mean a string that just thuds and barely gets to pitch. They likely were having trouble with the wrap staying tight to the core, but the fact they were having trouble identifying the issue, as well as struggling with very basic stuff like putti g the right gauge string in a pack, I just couldn't waste any more time with them. 25 years on DRs, but I'm just as happy with the performance of the NYXLS, just don't live the price.
I talked with them for months, sending strings back and forth, and finally threw in the towel and found the NYXLs as an acceptable if expensive alternative.
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I understand. Though I haven't had any problems with my JH-10s I still switched to D'Addario XTs that have a slightly less exaggerated low strings but also the coating they use is perfect for me. I took a guitar to an outdoor show that had month old XTs on it just last night, something I would have never dared do with any other string. Went great.
I don't like paying that much per set but I can prove I'm saving money overall. Thanks for sharing your experience. I was definitely curious.
 
Vhalen50 said:
D"addario. Every now and then ive tried EB and im glad they exist for other people, but they never worked for me.
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I'm still floored how much better sounding and feeling D'Addario's are vs Ernie Balls...I've never really given strings much of a thought for decades but wish I'd have discovered how absolutely superior they are years ago for my purposes.
 
My next order of business is to see if/where I can order D'Addario singles in bulk; I'm totally sold (at the moment anyway heh) of a regular .009 -> .042 set with a thinner G and high E string which isn't a standard set. My local music store charges $2.00/string for singles so a full custom set is more pricey than I'd like. I also don't want to build up a collection of unused .009 and .016 strings that I won't be using if I use a regular guage set and replace the two strings with singles as I'm currently doing.
 
Stratoblaster said:
I'm still floored how much better sounding and feeling D'Addario's are vs Ernie Balls...I've never really given strings much of a thought for decades but wish I'd have discovered how absolutely superior they are years ago for my purposes.
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Yeah i dont know if id say they are better sounding. I think they are both great. Subjectively to me D'addario has more brightness up front that last longer than EB, but i do find they die off quicker than EB. But that initial brightness is what i love.
 
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