Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore

Subject: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: nosluap57
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 05:42 PM

Stopped by my local music shop yesterday to get some new strings. I've been using Gore Elixirs, but they were out of stock.

They did have another line of coated strings by D'Addario. I haven't put them on yet - has anybody tired them? Can anybody make any comparisons to Elixirs?

Thanks.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 06:15 PM

Martin Simpson uses the new coated D'Addario's, and swears by them. But they are phenomenally expensive, are they not?

Murray

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: 53
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 07:02 PM

I've tried Elixirs, but not the D'adarios, but I imagine they're pretty much like the Elixirs.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: kendall
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 07:18 PM

I tried Elixirs, didn't like them, went back to D'Addario phosphor bronze. The Elizirs twanged wicked, and according to Midchuck's standard, my action is exactly right. Sure the Elixirs last a long time, but,if you dont like them, it's like a bad marriage.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: michaelr
Date: 13 Feb 02 - 07:31 PM

My last set of new strings was a set of the new D'addarios. With them, the outer winding is coated before being wound onto the core, resulting in a more "natural" feel than Elixirs which are coated in toto.
I never liked Elixirs, both feel and sound-wise, plus the coating comes off in shreds and tatters after a while - NAPS (not a pretty sight). I've been playing the d'As for a month now and they sound fine when regular strings would be dead by now.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: Dharmabum
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 08:06 AM

I 've tried Elixers. They keep their tone a long time,but I didn't personally like the tone that much.

I put a set of D'addario's on last September. They still sound pretty darn good! And they've been played every day.

If I remember correctly,they were a buck or two less than the Elixers.

DB.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 08:09 AM

michaelr.........Can you compare the "feel" compared to Elixir?

Spaw

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: kendall
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 08:29 AM

Elixirs felt "greasy" to me.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 08:36 AM

Yeah Kendall, and some thing they feel a bit "flexy" too, but since michaelr has tried both, I was hoping he might be able to compare that particular quality.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: Lane
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 09:53 AM

I'm a fan of Elixirs now.... actually, I like the feel, easy to slide, etc. and they sound great on my guitars and last forever. I did try another coated string by Washburne - terrible - I dumped them after a couple of days. Will look for D'Ad coated strings, I've always liked their phosphor bronze

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: Dharmabum
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 10:46 AM

The D'addario's aren't as "slick" feeling as the Elixers. You may get a bit more of a squeak out of the D's,depending on your style of playing. They've got a feel that's closer to a standard set of phosphor bronze. I had tried many different brands of strings over the years,but had always seemed to find Martin phosphor bronze,light guage to be my favorite. I'm pretty much sold on the D's at this point. They really seem to have held their tone quite well for six month old strings.

Haven't seen any signs of the coating peeling on them yet.

These are the first and only set of coated D'addario's I've used. I hope I can give the next set as favorable a review.

IMNSHO, DB.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 01:27 PM

What's the point of the coating? To make it comfier for the fingers or quieter on the frets when you slide? Is it worth it?

How does it compare with using that gunk they sell for lubricating strings? I've never tried that either, but I get curious.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: catspaw49
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 01:34 PM

Goretex coating keeps the strings clean and is pretty impervious to the acids and dirt imparted from your fingers. It may deaden the initial sound a bit but the advantage, even with the cost, is that ideally they last a LONG time.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: GUEST,iceboy
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 05:19 PM

I used D'Addarios for years. Tried Elixirs for the first time last fall because I heard they were supposed to last for months and I was coming to Antarctica where I couldn't get strings easily. I wore out a set of mediums in about 7 weeks, fuzzy goretex hanging off the windings, etc. I liked the sound of the mediums OK, not earthshaking, but definitely didn't suck. The lights I replaced them with sounded a bit translucent and twangy, especially for the first 10 hours. They've mellowed now but don't compare to the mediums, which I tune down a whole step to keep from pulling the top up on my Martin. I'm anxious to check out the D'Addarios when I get home

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 05:32 PM

I'm glad to see this thread, because I was about to buy a set of Elixirs for my new Martin 000-X1. The other reason to buy coated strings is if you live here in the rainiest town in the US (avg. 120-something inches) where EVERYTHING rusts, molds, or corrodes in a matter of days. And living 50 yards from the ocean accelerates even that. But I've used D'Addario phosphor bronze for years (after hearing Stefan Grossman recommend them in 1978, when I was so young and impressionable), so I'll definitely try the new D'Addario's. I'm a mediocre guitarist, but have a pretty good ear, so it'll be interesting to hear what they sound like.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: C-flat
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 05:40 PM

Has anyone tried a squirt of WD40? I use it regularly on my electric guitars,usually because they don't come out to play much between gigs, and I get twice the life out of my strings than I used to.

Subject: RE: Coated strings - D'Addario vs Gore
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 14 Feb 02 - 06:01 PM

GUEST Iceboy, as I have a uncanny knack for sniffing out celebrity postings on Mudcat, I am going to go out on a limb here and hazard a guess that you are in fact Henry Kaiser.

Am I correct, and if I am, how is Rick Turner's guitar bearing up, and did you ever do that slide thing using the pole that marks the actual South Pole ?

Murray