D'Addario String Issues

[tenoratlarge]

So am I the only person out there that's had consistent issues with D'Addario Strings? I tried them out years ago, and had them go dead in a day. I had tuning issues with the unwound ones only to find out later on that it had started to unwind at the ball end tie.

I recently received a 314ce in trade, and I unboxed it and brought it up to standard. The B string was sluggish to tune up, and the G string snapped after 5 minutes of strumming. I went and bought a set of Elixir Mediums and restrung it... upon removing the bridge pins, there were the tell-tale rainbow colors of D'Addario ball ends.

I stopped buying D'Addarios almost a decade ago, but I'm curious to know if anyone else has come across this problem. They're the only brand I've ever had this happen to:



I'd venture to say they're the worst strings I've dealt with on average... am I alone in this?

[CodeBlueEMT]

 I've used D'Addario strings in the past, but don't recall any issues other than my color blindness. I've been using Elixir strings for the past 3 1/2 years and love 'em. Keeps everything feeling consistent among the herd. How do you like playing the Elixir medium strings on your 314ce? I've always used lights.     

[guitarsrsoawesome]

The funny thing about those d'addarios is that there's a luthier in my city considered the best...he is very precise in getting your guitar's intonation right....he will ONLY use d'addarios in setting up guitars because he feels they "intone" most correctly.  Like you, I've never really liked the strings and prefer Elixir 80/20 lights polyweb (no squeaks! LOL) and I also really like Martin FX 80/20 Lights (lots of squeaks but I love their feel and gritty sound.)

If I go to him for work, upon returning home with my guitar I'll immediately pull the d'addarios off and put one of my favorites on because I don't like their tone either, they seem really bright to me.  Anyway, that's my two cents on these strings...I'm with you on their tone but my luthier thinks they tune up best...he's handled about a a cajillion guitars so I guess I'll have to trust him on that...LOL

[tedtan]

I've never had issues with D'Addario strings, though I tend to prefer a "warmer", less bright sounding strings on most Taylor guitars (John Pearse PB, Thomastik-Infeld, etc.).

[tenoratlarge]

It must just be my luck... I've had the strings unwind at the ball end on multiple occasions for me with D'Addarios. Including once at a guitar store on a used Taylor! Now I can't attest to their tuning stability simply because I use a different, weird tuning once every other song, but they snap and unwind on me... two things that are fundamental flaws. I'll stick with Elixirs for my acoustics, thank you very much!

As for playing mediums, I've never had an issue on a Taylor... It's an absolute breeze playing them because of the action and neck. I just really like a little extra tension to give the tone a more "piano-like" quality. Truth be told, I'd custom order a Taylor with a longer scale length than 25.5" if they offered it just to get better tension on the strings when tuned up!

[guitarsrsoawesome]

That's really interesting about you wanting more tension for the piano-like quality.  What style to you enjoy playing?

[tenoratlarge]

I play pop-acoustic stuff, heh. I rarely play a lead line, occasionally will arpeggiate, but mostly I strum heavily. But I also use all kinds of tunings going both up and down in pitch all over the peg-head... I've found that having better tension in standard allows me to drop strings lower without sounding floppy. I also really just like the sound of a string at higher tension... if your action is relatively low, try out a set of mediums some time... your fingers probably won't feel noticeably fatigued, and you'll notice a tighter, brighter, boomier tone.

[Gutch]

D'Addario EJ16 and EJ17 have been my go-to brand for years.  Have never had a problem with dead or unraveled strings.  The deadness issue is often related to body chemistry -- I like the tone of John Pearse strings but I kill a set after only a couple hours of play.  For the D'Addarios, I can keep them on for 3-4 weeks before I notice a serious degradation in tone.  As for the unravelling, I can't offer any suggestions.  The constant tension changes of different tunings might have something to do with it, but that's pure speculation on my part.


Good luck!

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

I just put some D'Addario's on my Mini, lights....those mediums were killing my fingers.

I'll let you know if there's any issues, these strings are about a year and a half old, I won them somewhere and tonight I was looking for some lights and they're all I had.

[Strumming Fool]

I've used D'Addario EXP16s (coated light phosphor bronze) for years with no issues. I also like the Elixir PB lights. Which D'Addario sets were you having issues with?

[tenoratlarge]

I have no idea which set they were... I haven't voluntarily played D'Addario's for years. The just come in by chance on guitars I buy used. But it's an issue that's cropped up more than once over many years, and it's always been D'Addario's. I've used Elixirs since about the time they came out and have had exactly one string snap on me out of the box... and that's out of hundreds of strings over that time. I've had that happen three times over maybe two dozen strings with D'Addario. Maybe it's the luck of the draw and I'm just having a bad run, but on top of that they go dead in a day thanks to my acid sweat... So I avoid them at all cost.

[Strumming Fool]

EXP16s are coated strings. If the D'Addarios that you played were uncoated, that would explain them going dead so quickly, especially if your sweat is acidic. Coated strings should provide better performance for you. I wish you the best in finding the strings that work for you....

[Jersey tuning]

Usually play uncoated strings, but prefer EXP's over Elixirs -- just like the feel better.

[tenoratlarge]

Coated strings all the way, ha! I won't be buying D'Addario's (coated or uncoated) any time soon, heh. I just wanted to know if it was a widespread problem or if my luck with this company is just plain rotten.

I'll basically always play Elixirs on acoustics- they stay bright, last long, and there's no squeak. But I'll also throw this out there: I had an endorsement deal with Curt Mangan Strings for a while, and while I couldn't get into their acoustic strings, I still use their electric strings quite a bit. If you're looking for a some new strings to try, I'd point you towards them. Solid tone, they do a non-sleeve coated offering, and they can keep up with the rigors of my constant retuning. Oh, and they're relatively inexpensive. Just my two cents, heh.

[ronmcc4]

My little Traveler and my Voyage-Air love the D'Addario's but I us Elixer's on my Taylors as they recommend.  I may branch out and experiment a bit.  I haven't had any performance issues with the D'Addario's though.  As expected, they don't last as long as the Elixer's do.