Strings………..simple question

[Maguchi]

D’Addario and Ernie Ball are now 9 quid a set at my local shop. Three sets are £24. Fender are £6. Are they as good, can’t be too bad if Fender fit them?

Simple answer: you won't know until you try them.

^^^It'll only cost you 6 quid to try them.

Honestly I change strings often and switch around between D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Fender, GHS, Rotosound and some other brands. I think I do hear and feel small differences between them. However after about 5 minutes of playing, and adjusting my knobs for the amp and song that I'm playing, I don't notice the differences anymore. I usually just wait for 10 pack and 12 pack sales on the string brands I mentioned above.

 

[Wrighty]

They bought Squier when it was a string company, I wonder if they carried on making strings from back then?

 

[Wrighty]

Beware of the posts where it's obvious they are shilling for a brand...

I’m bored now, to coin a phrase.

 

[Dik Ellis]

Was a Fender 150's (.10-.38) guy till they quit making them. GHS Boomers makes a LXL set that i use on all my guitars. Fender has since come out with the "Hendrix" strings, so I have tried them, as well.

 

[2HBStrat]

D’Addario and Ernie Ball are now 9 quid a set at my local shop. Three sets are £24. Fender are £6. Are they as good, can’t be too bad if Fender fit them?

I use 10-38, either Fender or GHS and it seems to me that the GHS last a little bit longer. FWIW

 

[Supertwang]

I'd agree with northernguitar. Rotosounds are good strings. I am pretty sure that they are also manufactured just next door to you, in Kent. About £6.00 a pack in these parts (although I suppose they might be a tad pricier Dahn Saaf) and you get an extra top E thrown in. Decent, economical strings and you are buying local. What's not to like?

I have not tried Rotosound guitar strings but I’m in love with Rotosound bass strings. Rotosound 66, and 77, and 88 put a smile on my face

 

[Happy Enchilada]

On my electrics, I generally use D'Addario XL 10-46s.
I find that set to be a good match for all my electrics.
They're on sale in packs of a dozen sets once in a while.
Electrics are different from acoustics in that electric strings age more gracefully.
Some guys actually prefer old lifeless electric strings.
So I don't get all that jacked about electric strings.
I change 'em out of necessity when they get crusty.

Acoustic strings, OTOH, make a HUGE difference.
Fresh strings breathe life into most acoustics guaranteed.
I also use GraphTech nuts, saddles, and bridge pins. Always.
It's an affordable and somewhat simple upgrade that works wonders.
I'm moving toward coated acoustic strings these days.
They have the coating process down now so they feel natural.
And they stay frosty much longer.
I like the ones from D'Addario and also from DR.
Yeah, they cost more ... but I'd rather spend what time I have left playing than changing strings. Besides, I save a FORTUNE on haircuts and shampoo!

On both acoustic and electric, I keep a soft flannel rag (formerly an arm of a shirt) that has Dr. Duck's Ax Wax oil on it on the table in my guitar room.
After a playing session, I wipe the strings down lightly.
Gets rid of all the oil and salt and other smegma that we humans have on our booger hooks and makes the string sound and play better longer.
And a bottle lasts forever. Works on fretboards and to get out smudges too.

PS - Dr. Duck also sells decent strings in bulk @ great prices!
He's online at Ducksdeluxe.com.

 

[Sparky2]

One of the local band supply shops carries the Fender electric guitar strings.
"Original 150's, Vintage Nickel, .010 to .046"

I like them, and mount them on my Les Paul type guitars, strangely enough.

Primo Slinky's go on my Fenders.


PS: The Fender strings are made in the USA, and I have never, ever broken one.

 

[Diytelecaster]

I doled out 20 quid for some Olympic stainless flatwounds and thought it was a bit steep until my dad told that a pack of strings in the early 60s would cost him a weeks wages. 3 guineas.
By the way the olympia strings are very good

 

[MisterZ]

I’m bored now, to coin a phrase.

What a bunch of loonies...

(disclaimer: I am not Canadian. If my use of a Canadian thing has insulted any actual Canadians here, I apologize.)

 

[Flaneur]

I'm using Rotos on my electrics and Newtones, on Resos, at the moment. I must have tried pretty much everything, over the years and the only stuff I never buy, is coated strings, of any brand. I don't like the greasy feel, when they are new.

I could probably get all the consumables at a discount, by shopping online- but I prefer to buy from the bricks and mortar stores in town, on the 'use it or lose it' principle.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Fender Super 250s are my only electric guitar strings.

It's great to see some Super 250s love here.

I'm a bit surprised, as other electric brands seem to dominate here- including my own faves, but i like the 250's.

But these Fenders have some zinger and 'life' to them!

 

[bumnote]

D’Addario and Ernie Ball are now 9 quid a set at my local shop. Three sets are £24. Fender are £6. Are they as good, can’t be too bad if Fender fit them?

I'd verify this info, but according to Google D'Addario makes them for Fender.

 

[BelindasShadow]

It's great to see some Super 250s love here.

I'm a bit surprised, as other electric brands seem to dominate here- including my own faves, but i like the 250's.

But these Fenders have some zinger and 'life' to them!

For a while I had access to guitar strings at wholesale pricing, so I tried every brand available. Nothing sounded or felt quite like the Fender Super 250s my Telecaster shipped with. I was surprised too tbh.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

For a while I had access to guitar strings at wholesale pricing, so I tried every brand available. Nothing sounded or felt quite like the Fender Super 250s my Telecaster shipped with. I was surprised too tbh.

It took decades of trying (home play, & gigs), buying, selling & even keeping all kinds of guitars, amps, and all the 'stuff' ( pedals, accessories, strings, etc.,),

And at some point you just learn to, 'trust your ears!'
Especially when something actually sounds GOOD!

All that trial and error comes around, and you come to believe in yourself- the playing, and the gear.

 

[bowman]

I’m not loyal to any one brand, but I usually end up with D’Addarios. But I’ve tried, and liked, almost every brand. I find that buying the cheaper brands that are on sale is not usually an issue. On acoustics I’ve started using D’Addario XS. They are a step above most and last forever.

 

[LOSTVENTURE]

Does anybody remember "Snarling Dogs" strings? I think their secret was the high nickel content. They sounded great, even when new, lasted forever, and I bought them up whenever I found them. But that might have been ten years age.
Back to the OP's concern:
I've used Fender's strings occasionally, usually on new Fenders when they arrive. Since those are generally 9's, the gauge is the problem rather than the brand. I replace those with either 9.5's or 10's (D'Addario EXL). That would apply to both Strats and Tele.
My Gibson scale guitars get 10-46, again the EXL but with the Pure Nickle.

 

[Buck Lightyear]

Last two packs of fenders I bought were trash. One set never settled, the other had two 4ths and no 3rd.

 

[Wrighty]

I'd verify this info, but according to Google D'Addario makes them for Fender.

View attachment 1398259

Yep, heard that before.

 

[srblue5]

I've generally used D'Addario 90% of the time since I started playing but I have experimented with others. I used the Fender pure nickel 150s for a while on a couple of guitars and didn't have any issues with them -- maybe they didn't last as long but I was also new to using pure nickel strings on certain guitars so .

I probably went back to D'Addario because price-wise they're not that far off from the Fenders locally and they're also much easier to find regardless of what store you go to. But if I couldn't find D'Addarios, I wouldn't hesitate to use Fenders in a pinch.

I have certain "specialty" strings that certain guitars get -- Martin Retro Monel strings for my Gibson J-160E, GHS Nickel Rockers on my Strat -- but otherwise it's nickel-plated or pure nickel strings for me.