Guitar String Close Up For Sale (Jan 2023 Update)

I've been playing/collecting new and vintage guitars for 26 years, and regularly try new strings. I noticed that if these strings contact the bridge when re-stringing, the color will chip off immediately. Secondly, they feel like dull plastic. This feels like your fingers are dragging, and seems "cheap". Thirdly, I had to adjust all the pickup heights on the low-E, as the heavier strings sound completely dull and lifeless. I also received a damaged string, and contacted DR customer service. I haven't even received a response in two weeks, which demonstrates how unimportant we are. In this day and age, where online retail is more important then ever, this is unacceptable. This is NOT a reflection on Guitar Center, which always takes good care of me. Ultimately, these strings are a cheesy gimmick that will hopefully fade out. If you want quality coated-strings, try Elixir.DS

I decided to pick up guitar after a 15 year break and found Rocksmith to be a pretty useful tool. I put these on my guitar to help with getting familiar with the fretboard and neck. Because it's been awhile. The first couple of days, the strings sounded great with no issues, but a couple of weeks in, some of the strings sound muted a little bit and are just not as crisp as non-coated strings. i'll probably take these off sooner than later. I would recommend these for RockSmith but if you're looking to just dress up your guitar, I would caution against them.Citiznkain

I'm a beginner and I never learned to read music. I bought these strings specifically to play along with the game Rocksmith 2014. For those who are just starting out, these strings make it easier to learn to play because of the individual colors of each string. I have bought multiple packs of these strings. I've recently bought a electric guitar, acoustic/electric, and a bass. I have put these strings on all three. Love them. As an added bonus, these strings really light up underneath a black light.Mark just starting out

When I first recieved care of this guitar, it had no strings at all. One local guitar shop said tie-on nylon strings are all that will work. I couldn't keep 'em tied. So, tried these as an experiment. So far, so good!Shannon

Never knew Fender would sell nylon strings, well, just like everything else Fender sells, these are great and sound very nice in my Australian classical acoustic. Will keep buying these, thank you.pitymd

I've used Thomastik Flats on several guitars and basses (in appropriate gauges for different ones) for decades now. They are expensive, but also last a very long time with reasonable care so still deserve 'value-for-money' rating. Superb feel when playing, and to my ears and taste (bit of a jazzer) very good sound too. Once bridge saddles appropriately adjusted (they seem to need less end-correction than others) intonation is great. Highly recommended.JHS, C. i. S.

In 20 years of playing, I've broken plenty of strings right out of the package. The other reviewer must not change his strings much. I discovered flat wound strings several years ago, and I will never go back. Thomasik flat wounds are infinitely more comfortable on the fingers than standard strings. The first time I played them, I got a perfect vintage 60s sound that I had been trying to get out of other strings for a lifetime. Use them on a Strat and my SG. Highly recommend this brand of flat wound strings. You the man, Thomasik Infeld.Jeff

I tried these last year to see if they were worth the extra price. They are!!! I have had three sets now and I am about to order another for a new Jazz guitar I just got. One set went to my Son who plays a vintage ES-175. The feel, sound and the durability are better than anything else I have tried. And they say their special material at the top of the strings helps them stay in tune longer. They are the only flats I will be buying in the future and I recommend them.wscott336

BB King famously convinced Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top to switch to lighter strings and Billy never looked back. Tone can be shaped so much by the amp so the primary function of strings is feel and playability. Lighter strings like these mean you can play harder for longer. I also find I'm playing more accurately because my movements needs to be more delicate.Jack C.

You have to try these strings for yourself. No matter what anyone reviews or says, this is a matter of preference. So I say spend the money and try them. I will relate my personal review now. First off Ernie Ball strings are very good strings. I would say that about Curt Magnum, DR, GHS pure Nickels and Fender pure Nickels also. I play pure Nickel strings which are mellow strings btw. I normally use .10s and .11s. This was an experiment for me because I went down a rathole one night on the internet reading about what strings "the stars" use. I read what people said and honestly it is entertainment in itself!!! If you use 10s or heavier, you will have to adjust your neck, action and intonation. These no getting around that. The tension is very different. If you re-adjust your tone settings on your pedals and amplifiers, you'll get a usable tone with these strings. You'll have to play with your pickups also since they respond differently. Don't use these strings if you have a heavy picking hand like SRV. If you have a light hand or can switch it up and play softly, try them. DON'T go out and play a gig if you haven't spent some time with them, especially if you are dropping down from 10s or 11s. If you use 9s, you'll probably be ok. I am all for playing without tiring and playing without hurting my tendons. Maybe I will stick with these OR NOT. I have them on a PRS Custom 22 SE. I use 2mm V-picks. You had better use light picks with these strings. I switched to a Fender medium. So I use 11s when tuned down a half step. 10s up to pitch. If you have tendonitis from playing guitar 3 or 4 hours a day for 50 something years, these will be a refreshing change and you may not have any pain whatsoever. These are certainly the strings to use on a guitar that has a neck issue where the truss rod won't handle 11s or 10s. Nowadays, necks don't seem to be made to handle the medium or heavy gauge strings that I grew up with. Whatever I say doesn't matter. When it comes to strings, you will have to try them yourself and decide if they work for you or not. I purchased four sets to try on numerous guitars. I may get up enough nerve to use them at a gig. These may be strings to put on student guitars so they don't get discouraged.Rick

Ernie Ball has always been a high quality guitar string. Used by beginners, every day pickers, and professional musicians. They provide great sound and a great feel when played on a cheap guitar, or high dollar instrument. Im no professional guitarist , but I do know The Ernie Ball Slinky series string should be your number one choice when looking for a great all around string. There on all my guitars. And let me tell you, they really make my Strat talk like SRV s # 1uskev-xeu3yty9

(Guitar there were placed on is a Tom Murphy Painted and Aged Gibson Custom Shop 1959 Les Paul Standard w/ Brazilian Fretboard) Back in the day, Ernie Ball strings weren't packaged well; they weren't even sealed. If you haven't tried them since their packaging was reinvented, they're definitely worth a look now. Tried D'Addario pure nickel strings, found the wound three to be too low output. I swear the core wire looked like it belonged in acoustic strings. Maybe I got a factory defect, who knows. Gibson strings sound great initially but the 'G' starts to sound dead after a week and the wound strings sound dead and filthy in three weeks. These on the other hand sound marvelous. They sound great out of the package, stay balanced, and sound good for longer than I thought possible.MidnightRiderInTX

I have recently come back to playing the guitar, Sax is my primary instrument but I have had my Gibson RD Standard since 1978. I have since increased my heard of guitars to 10 electric guitars and 3 bass guitars. I have come to favor the Ernie Ball lights and super lights on almost all my guitars. I play the 9's on all of my Stratocaster copies and the super lights on the 3/4 size guitars. I love the feel as far as tone, intonation, flexibility ease of bends and how the strings hold up as a whole. I would definitely recommend to a friend or buy this produce again.Antonio

I have been using the Power Slinkys (11s) for a few years now. I had switched from another brand because the Slinkys made my Strat sound more Straty. After watching a few videos on YouTube about string gauge, I thought I would buy the Regular Slinkys (10s) and see what difference that would make. When I got online to buy I saw that Guitar Center had a sale on 12 packs and since there is a pandemic, I thought it prudent to hoard strings. My logic was that while I may run out of TP, I would never run out of strings for my guitars. Long story short, you cannot go wrong with the tone of 10s. I do like them better than the 11s. They are much clearer in the low end and you get more definition. I have to do less EQing when recording and they just seem to pop better in a mix. The only downside is that they are taking me time to get used to, I play very heavy handed and these are much easier to bend. But I can already see that I have less hand fatigue.Richard

Definitely the best strings at the price point lately. They have a thinner or smoother wind than Ernie Ball slinkys or Daddarrio exl and this results in less finger noise and a zingier tone IMO. I'm into clean and classic rock, and I doubt you would like these over the former two names if you were into more modern and metal sounds. It depends on the guitar for me, on my strat I could use just about any strings. My guitars with humbuckers seem more picky, at least to my ears. I prefer these over the other two as far as cheap strings go, and these are often cheaper. Win win. Used to be I would never have preferred Fender strings so either my tastes are changing or these strings have changed over the years.Joelish

Overall: Don't pay any attention to the low price these are great strings. Have used Fender 7250's on all kinds of bass guitars they always sound great and feel good. Years of use have proved quality. I put them on my Jazz bass, my PJ, and my Squire, have used them on Samick, Music man, OLP, and Epiphone basses, all good.Scott

According to a Fender rep, these are what came on the Fender PJ bass I ordered from Musician's Friend. They produce the classic Fender tone I wanted. I eventually replaced them with a set of Fender 7250L (.040, .060, .080, .100) to make it easier to play on the guitar's 9.5" fingerboard radius. I stayed with Fender because of the tone that the 7250M strings produce. The Light's have slightly less oomph on the low end, yet all the tone while the lighter gauge makes for nice melodic work on the high end of things. If you have a Fender bass and want Fender tone…Vice

I've tried DR strings with the recommendation of others and found them to be my absolute favorite for my old Yamaha acoustic. The Black Beauties, which these replaced, played great but had premature coating wear. I like the feel of them, especially on pull offs, where the strings stay put until you say go. The Neons are coated much better and everyone wows them and wants to know if they are real (or plastic). I like them a lot, they have that good feel and less finger pain, but the rainbow effect may wear off in months to come. Then I'll get another set of DR Black Beauties.Gregg

Nothing wrong with these strings. Not the best sounding strings I have ever used, but they sound good enough for live gigs.Judson Prof

Can't stand Elixir strings. Always hated the way they feel. These strings give a clean, bright sound and the longevity you expect from coated strings. A friend at the music store challenged me to try them. Once I did, there was no going back. Love them. Honestly get a little bummed when I have to use something else.Doug

I do not understand all the reviews that describe these strings as sounding bright. They are the warmest, smoothest sounding PBs I've ever played. They are also much less loud than other sets I've used, which is a good thing IMO. If you have a deep, warm sounding guitar or want to warm up your tone, these strings are definitely the way to go. They also stay in tune much better than Martin SP PBs, in my experience (though the Martins have a great tone as well… but a little bit bright for my taste), and are much easier on your fingers.Shaun

These strings really made a big difference ( In my opinion) in the sound of my Epiphone ES335, very pleased with the results.oldriv58

I love the feel of these strings. The tone is exactly how I like. My sound is more dynamic than before. Contrary to other reviews, they DO stay in tune (check your intonation and guitar setup in general) and they DO last a long time. I'm not a fan of strings that have windings that work against you. These strings have just the right amount of smoothness and brightness. Bright, but not annoying.JDub

Got these just sampling a few string sets and stuck them on my 2005 Tele Deluxe, they have a fairly decent tone & output compared to my Slinkies and seem to be good quality but my major complaint is the G B and E to me are under much more tension tuned at 440, kinda mixed feelings since some of my guitars are strung with 10's so for me these are 10 feeling 9's ! Strings are the easiest swap for tone chasers so just try a set, you just might like them 🎼Dr.LaRrY

These are my favorite roundwound strings and i use them on a broad range of guitar types: Gretsch w/ Surf 90s (single coil DeArmond-type), Gretsch with Filtertrons, and various acoustic archtops. I find they have a very long life because of the coating, but also the alloys they use seem to maintain tone for a long time. The strings are coated, but they use an enamel on the wrap wire before they wrap them, so they feel just like normal strings, but a little more slick. I really love the texture that the coating adds. The coating immediately gives you a "2 day played in" feel and sound which i LOVE for a few reasons: 1. I hate fresh string sound. 2. It gives you consistent tone from day 1 to day 45. It is great to be able to open a new pack, and have you guitar sound like it did with strings that were a month old. The strings seem to have a good deal of mass which makes them really nice on acoustic archtops, especially when you have a floating pickup. They have the tension to drive the top, and have a slightly darker sound that makes them more like acoustic strings. Awesome. The one big problem with these specific strings is that the 24 G is plain. That is a very thick solid wire. It makes the G really stick out tonally and it huts to play. I throw it out and replace it with a wound 26 coated that i buy in bulk from a string vendor. If Ernie Ball would fix this issue they would be perfect strings.polishbroadcast

I put these on my 27" 7 string (with a low .074 on the bottom), and I must say that tuned to Bb standard, they still felt very good and tight. Normally I would opt to use at least a .058 for this, but the store was out! They feel fantastic – not too slippery like some other coated strings that I've tried. I do have two gripes with these strings. Firstly, they are INSANELY bright sounding. I play mostly post-metal/grungy/sludgy stuff, and the definition is simply too much for my tastes. However, if you're looking for a lot of string definition, these guys are great. They would be amazing for drop-C (maybe even drop B) metal. For my style, though, they're just too bright. Personal taste. Also, the plain/unwound .024 is just stupid. Not sure what EB was doing here. Make it a wound .024 and you're going to make everyone a lot happier. All in all, great strings. Great definition (if that's your thing), super solid feeling, and I have a hunch that they're going to last a long while!7_Stringer

Eenie ball everlast strings are amazing for 3 weeks than they start going dead very rapidly and the treatment they put on them starts getting your fingers and turn them green. I prefer the earthwood strings from ernie ball because honestly they last just as long but cost half as much.tyrw21

I'm obsessed with archtops but am simultaneously cheap when it comes to strings. I hate buying them like i hate paying for parking or a bottle of water. It just seems like one of those recurring costs i am not happy about. So the cheap side of me loves the longevity of coated strings. The OCD musician in me loves the sound of coated strings because they sound consistent from when you put them on until when they die. I've tried probably ever brand of coated string for 10+ years and Ernie Ball makes the best ones. The Everlast specifically sound fantastic right out of the package. The enamel they use makes the strings really smooth and slightly slick (in a good way). Since i play archtops string choice can really be make or break with a guitar. Bronze can start to sound really clangy. It used to be that i would have a certain brand with a certain guitar. The Everlast were the first strings that i can put on all of my acoustic archtops and they all have a sweet sound. So the Everlast don't have that brassy overtone that can be a little too much with archtops. I love picking up each of my guitars for 5 minutes throughout the day because i know they will sound fresh and have a sweet tone. Everlast are totally worth the money and you will be rewarded with tone and longevity.polishbroadcast

I put these .008s on a vintage Telecaster on 3/8/18. Today is 9/16/19 and I still have them on! I read that Billy Gibbon's guitar tech mentioned they never break, so I've been curious to see how long they last. I've been playing over 50 years and do ridiculous bends all the time…like 4 fret bends and beyond with these strings. I just did a gig with this guitar yesterday and it still sounded awesome. Just out of interest, I'm keeping them on until I notice they sound dead or one breaks. I do play other guitars, but this has been an interesting study for me to see how long they sound awesome. These strings give you a very warm sweet midrange just like it says on the box. I also bought the .007s for another guitar just to see how easy it would be to play and hear what they sound like. They are hilariously easy to bend, but by "going up" to these .008s, I felt better with them and they are still easy for doing 4-hour shows. Highly recommend!Mark B.

These strings feel like clothes hangers. Hard and stiff and non responsive. They do not stay in tune after stretching. I feel bad to review this product poorly. I have always played Dean Markley Blue Steels forever…. trying these makes me understand why I would never change what works. ZZ Tops sound is amazing and how Billy G gets there is all his own… just would never work for me. All the Dunlop strings feel stiff and hard to the fingertips…. sorry… not sorrylongwhip

Great guitar strings, Takes a little getting used to, from where the strings are so light, But it makes play so much easier. Bending the strings, and holding a note are a breeze, with these baby's, Its almost to easy, I use to use #8 , So it was not to much of a change to the #7, I love them. They are amazing for blues. If your coming from real heavy strings, you might want to start with a set, a little below those heavy strings, Or these things may feel like spaghetti.la.guil.g4q7czqpia

SAMS THE GREATEST YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAWWWWWWWWW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE DEEP PURPLE YAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ********************* ************************************* ***************************** IM A HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ********************************************* &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ***************************************** ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ************************************************MICHAEL

I've used many strings over the yrs as most guitarists do. But I always go back to Ernie Ball. They are just simply the best quality and tone wise. I'm mad it took me so long to try these though. I love the slightly heavier bottom while still having the mid gauge on the highs that you normally get from the regular slinky set. They work great for standard tuning but work even better if you tune a half step down (my main tuning). Don't hesitate and get your pack or packs today. You won't be disappointed.Vince, T

Tried this string more for helping out with a slight string buzz on the low E. Thought a heavier low E would help out, which it did. That said, awesome sounds for thumping rhythm playing while leaving a standard 10s on the high end for note bending. Great balance when comparing 9-46 hybrid sets, which seemed more out of whack for me. Can't say yet for longevity but assume similar for Regular Slinky which benefit from a string cleaning after each use.Axel

I began using these strings a few years ago when I began experimenting with extreme low tunings; both standard and drop tunings (anywhere between D standard all the way down to drop-G#). At the time they were the heaviest set of strings I could find in the town where I live so I put them through the paces for a good long while before I tried other gauges/brands. Now, if strung on a good quality 25.5 scale guitar these strings do okay tension-wise all the way down to drop-A# or even drop-A for doomy, drone-type stuff. I found that if I tuned any lower than that they lost all clarity and definition. On a 24.75 scale guitar, however, drop-B was as low as I could get with them and they honestly didn't sound that great. After a few months of experimentation I found that Drop-C on a 24.75 scale guitar was just about right for this set of strings tension-wise. Later, after settling on drop-B as my main tuning, I found that the .56 bottom just wasn't thick enough to provide the string tension and clarity I need for my playing style. I also found, much to my dismay, that the .56 bottom string broke way too often to be such a thick gauge string which makes me think that the quality of these strings is sub-par compared to other brands I've tried since. I even filed down the string saddle to try and reduce the wear on the string but it didn't seem to help. I've also found that these strings rust and corrode much sooner than other brands I've tried even after I started using a string cleaner after playing. The final complaint I have about these strings is that the plain G string they put into this pack of strings sounds ridiculously bad in any tuning and the lower you tune it the worse it sounds. I imagine it would help if they made it a wound string or at least included a wound string in the pack so you could choose between the two. I've since settled on another brand of string in .10-.60 gauge and I am much happier with the tone, tension and definition compared to the EB not even slinky set.ViperDude310

I needed a set of strings to reproduce a heavily Black Sabbath influenced recording (c. Vol 4) that would not thin out in a drop tuning environment, standard for slide playing and standard for thickening the tone and sustain before I got to my amp or effects loop I tried out a set of these when I was informed they are indeed made in the USA. Short answer: Oh yeah, oh hells yeah! The increased tension in the neck might make these strings unsuitable for some players. I'm on a neck though body Gibson SG and have been holding solidly in tune (E=329Hz. A=440Hz, etc).for over a week with no loss. When you put these string on you will need to stretch them with a string stretching tool or by bending the string left to right, right to left with your thumb and finger from the nut to the bridge to keep them in tune, go down the string in 1/2" increments and repeat until you run out of string. Many players put on a set of strings and break as they go, try this and see how much less you have to tune in the overall lifespan of the string, i break in all my strings with this method and it works wonders. I would NOT use these for guitars manufactured with inexpensive components (e.g. knockoffs and starter kit guitars) as you will go out of tune due to the lack of strength on the wood used to build and the tuning pegs which are usually very cheaply produced from inferior metals with shoddy gears and posts and truss rods that are misaligned and/or made form inferior components. Once on these strings sound big, (e.g. yo mama big), the fatter tone and sustain going to these from light and medium gauge .9/.10 – .42/.48 is immediately noticeable and leaving yourself in standard tuning will be much more of a workout on your fret hand, but the payoff is the tone and sustain you can get from the increase in string mass and tension. For the negative reviews I'd be interested to see what kind of guitars these strings are being set up on and what the manufactures recommend. I'm planning on putting the other set of these on a G&L ASAT (AKA Telecaster 2.0) for heavy blues slide and I will observe if that stays in tune as well.as it's a 4 bolt neck, but if your gear is not very good to begin then don't expect adding that much more tension to an inexpensively made guitar to behave like a quality instrument.Sultan of the Six Strings

I put a set of Jazz Bebops on my Guild archtop and, wow, what an improvement over flatwounds. More pliable yet very sturdy construction. And they are really quiet to play. Not much of that asthmatic "wheeeezzz!" sound you normally get from round wounds. The Cadillac of guitar strings.Cowboy

These are the perfect strings for a hollow body jazz style guitar. Mellow lows and bright highs. A bit expensive but worth it.exhollowman

The D string was just about long enough for my L4 which is a short scale instrument. Other than than they are OK. Wouldn't buy againDerek M.

I really like these strings. They are warm, and give what I believe to be the best tone on my Stratocaster's and Telecaster. I don't really remember when I first started using Pure Nickel strings (of any brand), but I DO know I have never used anything but Pure Nickel since. The strings got a 4 star rating. I purposely omitted 1 star because, I feel they don't last as long as say a Nickel wound D'Addario would…but then again, I have not found a Pure Nickel D'Addario set of strings. So I forfeit the longevity for the tone. I DID just today order some Fender 150M (medium gauge 11's)…which are also Pure Nickel. I would never order 10 sets of strings if I didn't like them. Once I get to play the 11's, I will give a review on that product page. As far as Fender Pure Nickel strings go…you can't go wrong on the tonal quality. Rock on!!!White Dog

For years I've played flatwound strings, but when I bought my new Fender American Professional Jaguar I was taken by how lively and expressive the strings were! I left them on. There was a learning curve, with me having to learn a lighter touch, but the more I played them the more I liked them, I went on the Fender website, clicked on the "Chat with us" button, and asked what set came on the Jaguar. It was this set – the Fender 250L Super 250 Nickel-Plated Steel Electric Guitar Strings. VERY musical, VERY expressive! I play jazz-inflected folk, fingerstyle or various flatpicks, including Fender 351 Thins and Dunlop 204s. There's a reason Fender puts these on their guitars!RubyTuba

BUY THESE ! I hadn't used Fender strings for 30 years . A friend of mine bought out a music store so to liquidate he sold me all the strings and drum sticks in stock .. there were mostly Fender strings so I started using them . 20 packs of 9's lasted me well over a year . I work at least 3 night a week as a lead guitarists / vocalist . so I use my main Strat a lot . after I ran out of Fender's I used GHS and noticed I was breaking strings .. so I tried the Ernie Ball's .. breaking strings again ! I went to a local music store and bought a pack of Fender's . as an experiment I wasted to see how long before one would break . SIX WEEKS ! .. THEY LASTED 6 WEEKS ! .. That's 18 gigs , 3 hours pr night for a month and a half every Thursday Friday and Saturday . and they still sounded good ! FENDER RULES !horsesass123

I went through several different brands and gauges when I began experimenting with flatwound strings several years ago. I settled on Thomastik Infeld as the best brand and this as the best gauge for my needs. This brand is definitely worth paying more for if you want to play with flats. I have had the same set on my primary guitar for more than 3 years and I really didn't even need to change them yet when I bought these ones. I definitely consider these quality and durable strings.M Shadow

I use them on my ES-175. I have Seth Lover pickups, which are a bit brighter compared with Gibson pickups so I needed really dark sounding strings. These strings do the work very well. The strings are very well balanced. In fact, I don't think I have ever experienced more balanced strings than these. Yes, they are very expensive; however, the touch is fantastic and the sound is amazing. For my ears, they last for a bit more than 2 weeks before the sound goes away… however, if someone is playing a lot solos, one can keep 'em longer. They will actually sound a bit darker when they get old on solos but the sound on chords will lose its definition.Loopio

I have always played D'Addario Chromes on my Ibanez AF155 and have always tweaked for the tone that I could never find… hours of tweaking! (I have actually considered selling the guitar for this reason.) After some investigation, I tried a set of these strings and can not believe the difference. Instead of tweaking to find an acceptable tone, I play guitar. Wonderful classic warm jazz tone with your tone pots on the low end to an almost "acoustic guitar full" as you set the tone pot higher. The tone is rich and full. The feel is much smoother than the Chromes, they feel great. The strings are more consistent in output from string to string. I actually have a hard time making the guitar sound bad. Amazing! Buy a set!None

After trying a few different brands and gauges of strings over a five year period I have finally found the perfect brand/set of strings for playing in C# and drop-B tunings. I started out playing Ernie Ball sets on a 25.5 scale guitar in standard tuning but when I began experimenting with down-tuning I found the EB sets to be lacking in tone and definition the lower I tuned my guitar not to mention constantly breaking my low E string. When I switched to playing a 24 3/4 scale guitar in C# and drop-B I had to start looking for a new set of strings because the EB "not even slinky" sets I had been using just were not cutting it. I tried Dean Markley Blue Steel .13's with a wound 3rd string and found the top strings to be cumbersome and the low .56 still not heavy enough for dropping the low E to B. I went to every single music shop in town looking for a light top/extremely heavy bottom set and I finally ran across the GHS .10 – .60 set on sale, two for the price of one. Perfect! These strings last forever. If you use some GHS Fast Fret on them they keep their tone better than any other brand of string I've tried and I have yet to break a string in the year or so I've been using the GHS .10-.60 sets. The tone is fantastic and they sound great on a mahogony/maple body guitar with EMG pickups. It does take some getting used to the difference in string gauge between the low and high strings but it didn't take me long to learn to adjust my pick attack for the lighter strings on the top end. If you know how to set up your guitar for heavy gauge strings get 'em and go to town! If not I would highly recommend you take your guitar to a guitar/music shop and have it set up by a pro. Oh, for you kids out there: these strings are NOT meant for standard tuning and they will not make you sound like Zakk Wylde but they might make you a better guitarist if used as intended. I now use GHS strings on all my electric guitars.ViperDude310

touring in the 80s I used GHS boomers GBCL, I stopped playing in the 90s and somehow ended up using EB hybrid slinkys. I found an old pack of boomers in a guitar case compartment i hadnt opened since 93. Somehow they were still fresh and strung up one of my guitars from the 80s. Wow, the wound strings EAD (or C# G# C# my tuning) are definitely Louder and breakthrough more than the wound EBs… (the plain steel sounded identical). There are soooooooo many fake garbage and laughable opinions on guitar products these days on the tube that I decided to do my own experiment to confirm what I was hearing. I proceeded to purchase 26 packs of these GHS boomers GBCL (which are the wound strings from a 10s set and the plain strings from a 9s set). Using 2 identical guitars (even color), Logic X via a PreSonus FireStudio input, dunlop red acrylic 1.5mm pick and as consistent as possible pick of each strings. The only difference was that each guitar had a new set of strings, one got GHS boomers GBCL and the other ErnieBall HyBrid Slinkys. I averaged the 12 picks of each string by merging the 12 waveforms into a single track for each guitar for each string, the wound strings of the GHS boomers were clearly louder, rang longer by at least 7.2, 5.9, 4.6 seconds respectively (tuned toC#, G#, C#). the Plain Steel string waveforms were virtually Identical between the sets though. If you arent sure what this tuning is, its simply DropD half a step down (aka dropC#). Plugged into a Dual Rectifier, Laney and a Vetta, on a high gain channel you get this Extra Gain that breaks through, so needless to say ill be back to using GHS boomers GBCLs on all my guitars!!!thundercab

These are great strings be not for everyone. They are different in that they aid the upper register of vocals. I've put them on a 00-27 and a J 200; tow very different guitars. The affect is magical for those musicians who want a harp-like tone from their steel strung axe. They have an interesting configuration. From e to E; 12, 16,12,16, 23 W, 30 W. The result is crisp, clear highs and rich lows. These strings are different, but wonderful.goeller2006

I have tried countless strings over the years, and these John Pearse strings are fantastic! You name it, I've tried it. Everything from D'Addario, Elixer, Martin, Gibson, DR, Cleartone and even Dean Markley. Cheap and expensive, I have tried them. All I can say is that these are the best acoustic strings I have tried to date. I just went from a set of Elixers (which I thought were expensive, but good) to these, and these strings won out hands down. As soon as I installed these, my guitar absolutely came ALIVE! It was almost like night and day. Everything was better! Immediately what I noticed was the added volume and projection I was getting, but most of all, it was the tone that absolutely sold me on these. With these strings I heard more woodiness, percussive body, clarity, string to string definition, harmonic overtones, and resonance than any other acoustic strings I have heard to date. The top end also opened up and became even more tactile and transparent. These strings are just more organic, yet highly defined and less sterile than anything else I have heard, and they also have a very balanced output from string to string that is excellent. In no small measure, these strings have been a bit of a revelation. These strings are also very smooth, and I also noticed less finger noise between fretting notes and bar chords as well. However, regarding that smoothness, I also noticed something interesting as well. Just try to follow me with this: These are the first set of John Pearse strings I have ever installed, so I don't know if this is a "one off", but as smooth as they are, I also noticed that the unwound strings have an ever so slightly uneven and wavy finish to them in spots when you shine them in the light. I don't mention this as a negative IN ANY WAY, but just purely as an observation. Besides, I could care less because they sound so darn amazing. Anyway, my point of mentioning this (and this is based purely on conjecture), is I wonder if the barely perceptible finish inconsistencies contribute to the overall tonality of these strings? TBH, I have never seen strings that had this kind of "inconsistency" to their finish before, and I am wondering if this has anything to do with the great tonality of these strings? All the other strings I have bought over the years have been extremely smooth and consistent in their diameter and finish. Again, I don't mention this as a negative in any way because you never feel this while playing in the least. The only time I noticed it was when I looked at them under direct light. These strings sound fantastic, and obviously their specific alloy and construction plays a great part to their sound, but on the other hand, I have never seen strings with this kind of finish before, and yet I have also never been so excited about a set of strings before either. There has to be something to it. The only other thing I can mention is that these strings also have excellent string life as well. I have had these on my acoustic after about a month and a half of use, and they still sound fantastic! Anyway, all I can say is that I have tried A LOT of strings, and these ones are the standouts by far. Buy with confidence. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Peace. 🙂Eywa Dude

Had a pesky b and e string on short scale 000. Solution was it wanted more tension to ring true. The 13 and 18 did it; short scale so they play like lighter strings! The 22w g is awesome, the rest balance nicely. 52 is lite for E but not much of a sacrifice; drop D tuning still do-able. SO HAPPYJohn

I bought my first set of these because of the novelty. I bought many more because these are the only strings I want to use now. If I can't find them I replicate the gauges with single strings- but don't do this, buy the Fender strings. I mean, $5? Buy a case. Keep these available! These strings produce a balanced tone. Which is an incredible sound. Complicated chord voicings ring through with clarity (overdrive). I was immediately reminded of Ty Tabor's beautiful 'wall of tone' sound, filling a wide spectrum with rich, tight timbres. Users of short scale guitars– tired of the low E string flapping around like a rubber band and rattling all over the place? Try these strings. The low E is much thinner than most sets but doesn't lose any beef (IMHO).I'm not old, I'm Vintage.

These strings are awesome, not because of Jimi or the Voodoo thing but because for many years Fender stopped making this gauge. They were called 150 silver bullets back then and were my string of choice that became unavailable. Old sets were usually lightly corroded and unusable. Fender fixed that by finally corrosion proofing the packaging. Originally I bought these to use on my Fender Telecaster but these are now on my Les Paul, Stratocaster and my Epi. the price point made me try them, the feel and sound will keep me using them.warloc_frazmtn