Hey Amos,

Thanks for writing (even more thanks for hanging in for the entire story.)May I ask what guitar(s) you play?

Well, I did try d'Addario, in fact, I had been using them for years on recommendation from professionals at the store. I'm not sure if I got the EP strings but I think I did. Here's what the problem has been, as explained to me by other musicians ..I'd been playing with strings that have a 'bright' sound. Which is fine for a big guitar I suppose, which is able to project a fuller sound from the bigger body. But I was looking for a 'warm' sound. Now I myself am not totally sure what these phrases mean, but I think the warm sounding strings have more bass and sustain. Or at least they do on my guitar. The D-addarios, ironically, sound great on the Martins. But on my Gibson, the Martins make it sound like a Martin. Or perhaps a Gib-Mar, you know like one of those new breeds of dogs like Cockapoos- that supposedly retain the best characteristic of each breed.

At any rate, I'm very happy now.