As I noted in a previous thread, I have mixed feelings about Elixirs. But as for Larrivee, Taylor and other makers choosing to put Elixirs on their new guitars when they ship them out, there's a very practical reason -- the strings last a long time (nobody disputes this). A luthier or manufacturer has no way of ensuring that the folks in the store will change stings regulatrly (or at all), so the Elixirs provide at least some insurance that the instrument hanging on the shop wall will be wearing strings that still have some life left in them. It doesn't necessarily mean that Jean Larrivee or Bob Taylor like Elixirs best -- just that they don't want their instruments to be marketed with months-old strings that DON'T have a protective coating.