Help please (Elixir Strings)

[Airhostess.]

Hello all,

well as my hands are getting better although i still have hard lumps that have arrived on the base of my fingers in my palms,I am starting to get to grips with the strats again, but seeing all this info on Elixir strings i wondered which seem to be the best, I have pretty much always used D'Addario 10/46 but what type seems to give the best tone all these web stuff....   spiders web etc  ?? any help would be appreciated

thanks again

 best wishes Kay

[jetblack69]

Hi Kay,

Elixir strings are the strings that Paul Rossiter use's on his strat and in the "THAT SOUND" videos on youtube.
They are relatively cheap and sound great.

I have two Strats and have 12-52's on one and 13-54's on the other. Obviously it would be harder to bend the thicker gauge strings so you may decide to stick to 10 gauge...either way they are great sounding strings.

Regards

Steph.

[garystrat]

Hi Kay,

Pleased to hear you’re making progress and posting again!

The Elixir are coated strings and should last longer, albeit generally more expensive, after use you can wipe them lightly with a damp cloth and then dry them. You may find them slightly less expressive initially, but they tend to maintain this state over a longer period. Some felt that because of the coating they are also slightly smoother and less prone string noise, if you are easing back in having had trouble with your hands they may be worth trying?

At the club I used to run both brands were favoured amongst the players, I would say D’Addario are probably a bit brighter!

Best regards

Gary


Hi Steph,

Sorry, I didn't see your post before as I started replying earlier, but had to break away and come back to it.


Gary

[Airhostess.]

Hi Steph and Gary,
Thank you both for your replys I know that 12/52s and 13/54s would be, i think, really hard for me to play especially now, with all this arthritis in my hands/fingers but of course the main thing also is whats the differance in usability and tone between nanoweb and optiweb as i know they are coated but there must be a differance,I know a lot of you guys seem to favour Elixirs or have at least tried then.

But thank you both for your replies abd yes i have taken it in I just need to know this nano/opti thing now

Best wishes to you both

Kay

[Hendrickx]

www.elixirstrings.com/support/polyweb-nanoweb-optiweb-coatings

[gusstrat]

Hi Kay,

I use 11/49 Elixer Optiweb strings and they sound great, Phil Mcgarric also uses the same, you can still bend the string okay.

Regards, Garry.

[garystrat]

Hi Kay,

Perhaps we were lightweights, most club members used Nanoweb 10/46s Elixirs, I did a bit of work for a local HBM tribute artist on his two NOS 56s and I know he always used these!

If you read through the notes they are easier to bend, so if you have hand problems these may be more suited:

guitarspace.org/electric-guitars/nanoweb-guitar-strings-vs-polyweb-guitar-strings/

If you're used to heavier strings they are going to seem a bit strange at first, but will probably quickly adapt.

Regards

Gary

[timryland]

Hi Kay,

Have to add I always use 10/46 Nanowebs. I tend to go through ordinary non-coated strings quite quickly, but find Elixirs last for ages.

Tim.

[Airhostess.]

Hi Hendrickx,
Thanks for that, I did look at all your other stuff on elixir aswell very interesting ..........

Best wishes

Kay

[Airhostess.]

Hi Garry,
Seems that a great deal of you swear by these, and after all your input i think i must have a go

Best wishes

Kay

[Airhostess.]

Hi Gary,
Again thanks for taking the time to send me all this stuff and the link........ i have looked around and it seems that they can be brought as multi packs ,somewhat cheaper than singles, but i think i would be best off buying just  one pack to try....just incase i dont like them and get stuck with strings i cant use

Best wishes

Kay

[Airhostess.]

Hi Tim,
Thanks for the info, as all these coating seem a bit strange to me but i think i have sorted out what i will at least "try" and as ime used to 10/46 i may stick with this gauge

Best wishes

 Kay

[Stu's Dad]

Hi Kay,

I've been wondering where you were. Personally I've tried everybody's recommendations and eventually settled right back where I started - with D'Addarios. I get regular emails from Strings Direct, usually about a guitarist who's making waves (I've never heard of most of them, but I am a bit of a dinosaur), but occasionally about stringing techniques. One of the techniques recently was to emulate Stevie Ray Vaughan, who used to make up oddball sets of thick and thin strings and then tune his guitar in E flat. I've recently acquired a cheap Harley Benton Strat copy that I can mess around with as much as I like, and I put a set of Tomastik flat wounds in 10-44 on, then followed their suggestion. It feels a bit strange at first, but they are a lot easier to play, and any thing you record can easily be transposed back up to pitch.

Why don't you give it a try? It may just help.

Welcome back,

Len

[Airhostess.]

Hi Len,
Thanks for the information,but ime now more confused.com than i was before,but not quite, as i was when i was a blonde..(now a redhead).........no hair just a red head

I have had flats on my Ibanez AS 153 jazz guitar, and that worked wonderful,but its taking time to get my hands to work,so i dont want to do anything drastic butI have taken note of what you suggest

and hopefull as thing get better maybe worth a try.

Thanks so much for your input and the welcome back really appreciated to all for the welcome

Best wishes

Kay

[Hendrickx]

Hi Kay,
Sorry for too much info ….
But as you have some problems with your hands , keep the 10/46 strings , then you don’t have to re setup your guitar .
Then your only problem is to choose between Optiweb or Nanoweb .
I have ordered the Optiweb. ( Phil Mc Garrick info) .

Optiweb : crisp tone and natural playing
Nanoweb: bright tone and smooth feeling

I think both are very good strings , you can’t go wrong IMHO…… 😉

[derekdelboy]

Hi Kay

It's so good to see your postings and to hear that your hand problems are improving … I am sure I am not alone in having missed your great contributions ( both playing and written !! ).

I went through a period when recovering my own hand problems with regard to which strings would be best for me but I stuck with my Elexir 11/49 nanowebs for their tonal and long lasting quality. ( If anything I would only consider trying 10s Nanowebs )

D'Addarios are also good tonally but do not maintain that quality and life for very long.( IMHO )

I would stay with what you were using and set that as a goal !! ..... don't give in to the arthritis. But don't overdo the playing  !!

I am really looking forward to a playing post from you when the time is right. I am sure you will be a better player than ever !!

Take care .


Derek

[Airhostess.]

Hi Hendrickx,

Many thanks for all the infomation,most all of you that have replied seem to think i should stay with my 10/46s which i pretty much have always used,

 so thats the guage ill stay with,....... its just a case of getting my hands or rather fingers to work properly before i decide which coating, as i have 5 strats in my collection it might be useful to put a different set on each of my best ones  and try out the difference ............just a thought

thanks again for your help and advice

Best wishes

Kay

[Airhostess.]

Hi Derek,

Thanks so much for your advice, and especially your kindness with relation to my contributions to this great site, and of course the lovely members, most humbling, at the moment playing is about 10 mins a day ,and sometimes could be over a week before i pick it up again,i have lots of broken crockery that i have dropped,so i am probably down to a plastic beaker and a jam jar with string on left in the cup cupboard  i will do my best to get something done soon with or without the Elixirs.

Best wishes

Kay

[barryjh]

Hi kay,

Better late than never i hope but, after years of of looking for those "magic" strings the Nanoweb Elixirs are now my goto strings and have been for over 20 years. I use 11's-49's mostly (10's-46's occasionally on the Burns Marvin and a Strat fitted with Kinman's). I do find their tone easier to work with when recording because they are a little less toppy.... If you are still breaking the the crockery then some Melamine might do it for you😉.

Nice to know you are playing again.

regards,

Barry

[Airhostess.]

Hi Barry,

Surprisingly,I have some melamine cups in a picnic set i brought some years ago,what a good idea!.........I have a Masterbuilt with Kinman FV-HMS PU's, and a CS with 57/62s both with 7 position switching which form part of my collection.

So these will get the new strings once i get the fingers working correctly (or as best as i can) unfortunatly i don't have a Marvin,......(jealous looks at Barry) .............but its nice to know that all you guys that have tried them seem to swear by them so they have got to be on the shopping list.

I don't think playing again is strictly correct,more like trying to play again seems the way to go. 

Many thanks Barry

best wishes

Kay

[laplandguitarist]

Hi Kay

I use Pyramid Gold Chrome Nickel Flat Wound Strings 11-48 (wounded G).

I like this set.

[glyderslead]

Hello Kay

I'm pleased to hear you getting better and playing again.

I expect you are a bit overwhelmed with all these suggestions, so while you are snowed under here is another.

Just in case you are finding your 10's a bit difficult and would like a bit more slack try Namoweb 9 - 46 gauge. I find these to be easy on the fingers and have been my choice for a number of years.

Best wishes

Mick

[Airhostess.]

Hi Juha,

thanks so much for your contribution,thats another to check out

Best wishes  Kay

[Airhostess.]

Hi Mick,

Thanks so much for the information, its not that i am finding 10/46 difficult  i think the heavier guages might be,but more as to what is the difference between nanoweb optiweb etc,   so as to snowing me under even more......... I think Ill stick with what i have got until the fingers hopefully get a bit more supple and then make up my mind on what from offer from all the help i have got on here

best wishes  Kay

[Stu's Dad]

Have you tried the Elixir website Kay? I'm sure I saw an article there discussing the differences in the three types of strings.

Just a thought that I've just now thunk.

Good luck,

Len

[Hendrickx]

Compare here the sound ! ( slow loading web page )
Now it’s up to you Kay ….👍

www.elixirstrings.com/experience

Choose from : Individual  string mode /chord mode / solo mode .  Try it please 🎸

[Airhostess.]

Hi Len,

Yes i have, and there is a lot of good stuff which (or in my case "witch") i have read,  although it not as good as someone who actually uses the Elixir strings and is able to give  genuine feedback

but definatly a good way to get information......thanks Len

Best wishes

Kay

[Airhostess.]

Hi Hendrickx,

I tried all 3 settings with my best headphones and to be honest I really didn't hear too much difference between all of the Elixirs  with each other,discounting the uncoated strings,  unless I need ear transplant                 apart from Optiweb vs Nanoweb on solo,they were markedly different, and from that i prefer the nanowebs, of course the difference between Elixir and uncoated strings was very very marked, thanks for the link, really most useful

Best wishes 

Kay

[musketeer58]

How`s it going Kay.

Isn`t it amazing that, when the subject of strings comes up regardless of the context, it always generates a lot of discussion. I can remember I posted a question about strings a few years ago and I was astounded at the amount of replies to that question, that`s what I love about this forum.

Just to add my little bit, I`ve tried a number of different brands and I ended up with 10-46 Nanowebs a long time ago which I would have no hesitation in recommending. They feel and sound great and they last much longer than the other brands that I tried. Recently, I put a set of 9-46`s on my other Strat just to experiment but I found that the treble strings are just a bit too light so, when the time comes I`ll go back to the 10-46`s.

All the best with it Kay let us know how you get on, it`s great that you`re back posting hopefully it won`t be too long before we hear some of your sound files again.

Regards

Adrian

[Airhostess.]

Hi Adrian,

yeah its a great place to be

Thanks so much for your contribution, I think from all the information that i have recieved so far, and of course the advice, and being able to listen to the differences I will go with the last post ( no not that one .....ime still breathing) and go with my usual 10/46......... but nanoweb...... I will give it a bit longer till hopefully the fingers get somewhat looser

best wishes  Kay

(i have been lining up some sound files to post when all systems work correctly   )