In Praise of D'Addario XS coated strings

[burntfrijoles]

I have really never cared for Elixir strings or thought much of coated "extended life" strings. However I decided to give the D'Addario X series a try based on a TDPRI thread some time back.
I bought the XS (Maximum Life) Phosphor Bronze for my 000-28 and XT series (extended life) strings for my Southern Jumbo. That was two months ago. I've been playing a lot of acoustic lately as I decided to learn some Travis picking patterns plus, I've been in an acoustic mood.
The verdict is in: The XS still look relatively new and still sound great, with excellent clarity. The XT set hasn't fared as well and doesn't look much different than regular strings but, more importantly, they've already lost their definition.
I plan on sticking with the XS in the future. In fact, I'm going to change the strings on the Gibson on Monday after I pick up a set from GC or Sam Ash.

 

[Linderflomann]

Interesting! Very cool that you did that comparison between XS and XT. I'm sticking with Elixers for now because of the price difference... they are nearly half what the XS cost here and 2/3rds of the XT.

 

[NoTeleBob]

Wow. An upscale product that actually matched the hype!

Good to know. Maybe I’ll try and set up the XS on my traveling acoustic next time. It gets a lot of outdoor heat and humidity. Strings don’t seem to last very long.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I have really never cared for Elixir strings or thought much of coated "extended life" strings. However I decided to give the D'Addario X series a try based on a TDPRI thread some time back.
I bought the XS (Maximum Life) Phosphor Bronze for my 000-28 and XT series (extended life) strings for my Southern Jumbo. That was two months ago. I've been playing a lot of acoustic lately as I decided to learn some Travis picking patterns plus, I've been in an acoustic mood.
The verdict is in: The XS still look relatively new and still sound great, with excellent clarity. The XT set hasn't fared as well and doesn't look much different than regular strings but, more importantly, they've already lost their definition.
I plan on sticking with the XS in the future. In fact, I'm going to change the strings on the Gibson on Monday after I pick up a set from GC or Sam Ash.

I'm not really a coated strings liker
- it's not a tone thing with me ( and of course, they really do last!), so much as I can't deal with slippery wound strings.

My heavily callused fingertips slide off the strings when making chords- I just need that grip/ friction.
(It's probably mental with me- I get like that with especially, acoustic guitar strings, 50 years...)

I tried to bond with Elixir Nanoweb PB lights when they first came out ( sound great), but never happened.
I may have tried Martin and the first D'Addario coated too, but nope!

But last year I did buy one set of $20 D'Addario XS strings, just because they came with a free capo! (I use capos, so, good to have a few)

So I gotta say, these XS strings, without a doubt were the best-sounding ( loud too) and best feeling treated strings I've ever played. They were maybe the best sound strings, period.

I was using my Blueridge OM-28 style ( which thinks it's a dread, bold guitar) in our Bluegrass/blues group, and we all noticed how clear and full these strings were. I bet I used them for 5-6 gigs, which is long for me.

I still prefer my fave regular ( and cheaper) PB lights, but the D'Addario XS's were fantastic.

Will try again soon

 

[Freeman Keller]

I have been using Elixers for a long time now on all of my acoustics. Last year I built a carved archtop acoustic and spent the better part of a year trying to find the right strings for it. I tried PB Nanowebs on it very early but the guitar was still brighter than I really wanted.

D'Addario had a string promotion when the XS's first came out and they sent me a couple of sets of light gauge PB's. I put one on the archtop and while they are very similar to the Nanos the did seem a little warmer - in retrospect I think it was more the new guitar starting to open up with a year of playing and the fact that the strings were new. Anyway I like the XS's at least as much as the Nanowebs and I really appreciate what D'Addario does for the lutherie community (both their on line help and information and their seminars for those of use who build).

The XS have been on the guitar for close to six months, they still sound good. They have less finger noise than any non coated string, they are as warm and mellow as anything else I've tried and as I said, my way of thanking D'A is to buy their products. I am in the process of changing all my acoustics to the XS's and when I worked on a friend's archtop thats what I put on it

edit to add, like Elixers they are expensive and you have to decide if the extended life is worth the price.

 

[telepraise]

Over on the acoustic forums, reports are much the same. What impresses me is the consistency of the tone over the life of the strings. They start out sounding lightly played in when new and maintain that tone for their whole life. When they do wear out, it's not the tone that degrades, it's the volume and/or intonation that falters.

For gigging musicians or those who log a lot of acoustic hours, they're probably worth the extra $$. They don't feel like Elixers, nor do they shed as they age.

On electric, NYXLs have been my go to strings for a long time. They hold they're intonation way longer thab any other string I've tried.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Over on the acoustic forums, reports are much the same. What impresses me is the consistency of the tone over the life of the strings. They start out sounding lightly played in when new and maintain that tone for their whole life. When they do wear out, it's not the tone that degrades, it's the volume and/or intonation that falters.

For gigging musicians or those who log a lot of acoustic hours, they're probably worth the extra $$. They don't feel like Elixers, nor do they shed as they age.

On electric, NYXLs have been my go to strings for a long time. They hold they're intonation way longer thab any other string I've tried.

Good info!

I felt the same way about XT's not feeling like Elixir Nanos- just feel more natural, or something.

As for the $$, I spend $17 on a set of D'Addario Pro Arte/Carbon for my cheapo Classical- money well spent. Love these strings- when you sound good, it makes you feel good and you play longer!

So the great tone and longevity of the XT's ( and the feel) is a value

 

[staxman]

I switched from Elixirs to D’Addario XS on my Taylor about 6 months ago and never looked back. Subjective for sure, but they sound far better to my tastes. I play several hours a day and I can get three months out of a set. I could easily go longer, but I just can’t resist changing out strings sometimes.

 

[chezdeluxe]

On my acoustic guitars I have been using D’Addario PB strings for about 30 years . I tried Elixirs when they first came out but didn’t like the extra slippery feel or the fiber shedding. A good luthier, Gary Albrecht, put me onto D’Addario EXP strings which had a coating put on the PB winding before it was wound around the steel core. I have used the 11-52 set for about 20 years and stocked up in bulk when I found they were being discontinued.

I decided I needed a set of 12-53s on my 2005 Gibson 1934 L5 reissue so after reading the positive comments on this thread about the XS strings I bought a couple of sets yesterday and put a set on the L5 this morning. They feel and sound great and if they last as long as the EXPs I am sure I will be a happy camper.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I posted about these earlier ( in this thread),

and though I bought just the one set of XS light PB's (for my gigging, Blueridge OM-28), last year, I definitely remember thinking during Bluegrass gigs,
" Jeez, this guitar* has never sounded this loud and full! It was really noticeable.
I think I stayed away from them, because of the high price.

So, after a busy gig weekend ( finally!- Winters suck!), today seemed like a good day to order new bridge pins for one acoustic, and XS strings for the Blueridge.

Revisit these, and see if I'm remembering correctly. Think so!

* edit- I gotta point out, this Blueridge, a 000-size, already 'thinks it's a dreadnought!' It is a bold, cutting guitar ( with midrange) if I hit it hard, with any my fave strings. But the XS strings were like steroids.

 

[imwjl]

@burntfrijoles @Freeman Keller @Chiogtr4x @staxman and all... Any insights on tone differences with XS? I've definitely noticed the steel temper being superior with the newer era D'Addario NYXL and XT I've tried.

I have some aging XT still surprisingly good with intonation but it they seem less balanced across all strings or get some sharper ring standing out. I don't want the flat wounds or burnished again but wondered if XS might be more jazzy in that sense, and maybe the some strings (the aging XT) ringing more is aging bad hearing too LOL.

I used to dislike coated strings but I tried Santa Cruz acoustic strings I understand as coated in addition to an alternative tension and liked them enough to spend big again.

Truly first world problems going on here. It used to be I was glad local music stores had anything more than 1 choice.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Good info!

I felt the same way about XT's not feeling like Elixir Nanos- just feel more natural, or something.

As for the $$, I spend $17 on a set of D'Addario Pro Arte/Carbon for my cheapo Classical- money well spent. Love these strings- when you sound good, it makes you feel good and you play longer!

So the great tone and longevity of the XT's ( and the feel) is a value

I think I am getting my D'Addario string models mixed up, (reading my above post)

I DON'T really like the ( slightly cheaper) XT Phosphor Bronze - they did not seem to have any advantage over my fave ( non-coated) non-treated PB lights. They just cost more.

But the coated/treated D'Addario XS strings ( the expensive ones, right?) seem to last forever ( 5-6 gigs for me), have fantastic volume and tone, and not a super-slipoery feel on the wound strings-

Still an expensive option vs. my usual John Pearse PB lights- buy the best treated string I've tried.

 

[staxman]

@burntfrijoles @Freeman Keller @Chiogtr4x @staxman and all... Any insights on tone differences with XS? I've definitely noticed the steel temper being superior with the newer era D'Addario NYXL and XT I've tried.

I have some aging XT still surprisingly good with intonation but it they seem less balanced across all strings or get some sharper ring standing out. I don't want the flat wounds or burnished again but wondered if XS might be more jazzy in that sense, and maybe the some strings (the aging XT) ringing more is aging bad hearing too LOL.

I used to dislike coated strings but I tried Santa Cruz acoustic strings I understand as coated in addition to an alternative tension and liked them enough to spend big again.

Truly first world problems going on here. It used to be I was glad local music stores had anything more than 1 choice.

I play my acoustic exclusively
these days and play at least 4 hours a day. I love the tone and “chime” of the D’Addario XS strings—the longevity is an added bonus. I’m sticking with them. To be fair, I’ve heard positive reviews about Stringjoy and Santa Cruz, but haven’t yet tried them myself.

 

[Freeman Keller]

@burntfrijoles @Freeman Keller @Chiogtr4x @staxman and all... Any insights on tone differences with XS? I've definitely noticed the steel temper being superior with the newer era D'Addario NYXL and XT I've tried.

What I think I am hearing is a warm sounding string very much like uncoated PB's, not overly bright but I have to admit that I have not done a side by comparison with any other strings. They definitely are not 80/20 brightness however.

My archtop is a very bright guitar regardless of what string it has on it. It is particularly susceptible to string squeak and fingering noise. The XS's diminish that a lot without seeming to deaden the overall sound of the string. I'm also getting fairly long life out of them. A couple of guitars have had them for 5 or 6 months, I haven't felt the need to replace them.

Yes, I should do a side by side comparison but right now I'm pretty lazy. The XS sound good, they are expensive but I'll be slowly converting my little closet full of guitars over to them. My suggestion is to try and see what you think.

 

[imwjl]

I play my acoustic exclusively
these days and play at least 4 hours a day. I love the tone and “chime” of the D’Addario XS strings—the longevity is an added bonus. I’m sticking with them. To be fair, I’ve heard positive reviews about Stringjoy and Santa Cruz, but haven’t yet tried them myself.

What I think I am hearing is a warm sounding string very much like uncoated PB's, not overly bright but I have to admit that I have not done a side by comparison with any other strings. They definitely are not 80/20 brightness however.

My archtop is a very bright guitar regardless of what string it has on it. It is particularly susceptible to string squeak and fingering noise. The XS's diminish that a lot without seeming to deaden the overall sound of the string. I'm also getting fairly long life out of them. A couple of guitars have had them for 5 or 6 months, I haven't felt the need to replace them.

Yes, I should do a side by side comparison but right now I'm pretty lazy. The XS sound good, they are expensive but I'll be slowly converting my little closet full of guitars over to them. My suggestion is to try and see what you think.

I'll likely do my first XS trial with my semi-hollow electric so my bad here in also bringing up behavior of flat wound and burnished.

For acoustic I tried the new era DR (still round core) Veritas, and have another pack of the Santa Cruz waiting. For the money the Veritas are seeming good.

 

[Freeman Keller]

I'll likely do my first XS trial with my semi-hollow electric so my bad here in also bringing up behavior of flat wound and burnished.

For acoustic I tried the new era DR (still round core) Veritas, and have another pack of the Santa Cruz waiting. For the money the Veritas are seeming good.

I use flat wounds (Tomastics) on my electric archtop and all my jazz playing friends us them on whatever they play - they are brutally expensive, but seem to last forever (and are completely silent). I don't think they are the right string for an acoustic (but I've never tried).

I used to use round core DR's on my acoustics but they are hard to get where I live so I've gone with either D'A;s or Elixers. So many options.....

 

[imwjl]

I use flat wounds (Tomastics) on my electric archtop and all my jazz playing friends us them on whatever they play - they are brutally expensive, but seem to last forever (and are completely silent). I don't think they are the right string for an acoustic (but I've never tried).

I used to use round core DR's on my acoustics but they are hard to get where I live so I've gone with either D'A;s or Elixers. So many options.....

You reminded me I have an unused pack of double wound phosphor bronze acoustic strings from England, and I was thrilled when a local store had all their Thomastic on sale.

I think I'll for sure try XS on my semi-hollow electric a big 16" bout Collings much like ES-335 but not the double cut shape. The obsession is it is an extremely versatile or different personalities guitar so maybe it will be like flat wounds but not. Then it seems like XS for acoustics might still be $ few than the Santa Cruz strings. It seems like those Santa Cruz acoustic strings have the same great heat or extrusion treatment like the newer D'Addario. That not losing the intonation and stay tuned part.

What I REALLY want to avoid is any more guitars.

 

[Holy smokes]

Love the longevity, thanks for review I will give em a try. Wish they coated 12 strings

 

[burntfrijoles]

Any insights on tone differences with XS?

The tone is great. I think they’re the best sounding strings I’ve ever used. In fact, I’m restringing my Southern Jumbo with them today. The set I put on the 000-28 over a month ago still look and sound great. Queue the Monkees because “I’m a believer”.

 

[haggardfan1]

I'll have to try these. I use D'Addario strings on my Teles, but for several years I've put Elixir Nanoweb on my acoustics.

I used to play several hours a week at church, and Elixirs saved me a lot of money for a while. The XS strings sound well worth trying out.