Ernie Ball Strings Not What They Were?

Flink_Poyd

Oh I forgot to mention I use EB's and don't have any issues 

rash

I bought 10 packs of slinkys last year and have now changed to rotosound strings as the high e string on the slinkys kept on breaking. So far so good.

Sassafras

bbill335 said:

stratman3142 said:

1) Apply Big Bends Nut Sauce to the nut slots

That stuff is so expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative?

Snake oil is an excellent lubricant.
  

guitardrdock

On a well set up guitar with a properly cut nut - you do not need lubricant. 

As a professional guitar tech - I recommend D'addario more than any other make. 

Ernie balls over the last 5 years in my mind have gotten worse.  They used to be my 'goto' strings but not anymore.

Another brand I dislike are rotosounds - I know they are a UK company but I just do not like the feel.

D'addario NYXL are my current favourite (personally).  I also dislike coated strings on electrics, but do not mind them on acoustics.

But hey - this is just my 2 cents.

The customer is always right - I fit what they ask for

midlifecrisis

i hate the way daddario strings come intertwined in the packet, enough to make me use Ernies

nick79

I've been using EB's for years, but as soon as i started gigging they just weren't lasting very long at all. So i tried other makes and found the same thing. Solved when i bought Dr Kyser string cleaner - A quick wipe over after playing and my strings now last me ages. I must have really corrosive sweat..

HAL9000

midlifecrisis said:

i hate the way daddario strings come intertwined in the packet...

^This. What were they thinking?

Voxman

HAL9000 said:

midlifecrisis said:

i hate the way daddario strings come intertwined in the packet...

^This. What were they thinking?

I asked that very question of D'addario a year or two back. They explained this was to do with how their manufacturing and packaging process recognises string weight and gives improved quality control that avoids packaging mixups eg missing strings or two of the same gauge strings. 

Collings

I know someone who brought a number of packs of Ernie Balls and they looked looked dull when taken out the pack and when fitted were poor sounding and feeling and when he checked with Ernie Ball they were fakes. You need to be careful where you buy from. I believe there were also sets of Elixirs on Ebay being sold that were fake.

richardhomer

Collings said:

I know someone who brought a number of packs of Ernie Balls and they looked looked dull when taken out the pack and when fitted were poor sounding and feeling and when he checked with Ernie Ball they were fakes.

They sound like pretty accurate fakes....

midlifecrisis

Voxman said:

HAL9000 said:

midlifecrisis said:

i hate the way daddario strings come intertwined in the packet...

^This. What were they thinking?

I asked that very question of D'addario a year or two back. They explained this was to do with how their manufacturing and packaging process recognises string weight and gives improved quality control that avoids packaging mixups eg missing strings or two of the same gauge strings. 

that stops me using them. never had a problem with ernie b, and i like individually wrapped, not tangled up with others.

Sassafras

If it cuts down on wasteful packaging, I'm all for that.

Voxman

midlifecrisis said:

Voxman said:

HAL9000 said:

midlifecrisis said:

i hate the way daddario strings come intertwined in the packet...

^This. What were they thinking?

I asked that very question of D'addario a year or two back. They explained this was to do with how their manufacturing and packaging process recognises string weight and gives improved quality control that avoids packaging mixups eg missing strings or two of the same gauge strings. 

that stops me using them. never had a problem with ernie b, and i like individually wrapped, not tangled up with others.

I prefer individually wrapped too, but in truth its only when speed is important.  I keep one pack of seal wrapped EB Pinks that I take to gigs. If I ever had to change a string in a hurry then I have easy access to a single string. Otherwise, when changing strings at home or rehearsal, I use D'Addario's (or sometimes GHS Boomers on my 69 Strat). 

gordiji

I bought a 10 pack of stay fresh from thomman and over the following 2 years was pissed off to find rust on i think the e & b in 2 separate places. They still worked but i was too indifferent to complain knowing thomman would have done the right thing (from experience). I think by the time i'd gone through them all 9 sets where defects & while this doesn't sum up EB generally i've bought other marks since then.

oktorockto

bbill335 said:

stratman3142 said:

1) Apply Big Bends Nut Sauce to the nut slots

That stuff is so expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative?

Molybdenum grease, probably about 5 quid from euro car parts and will probably last you the rest of your life. Apply with a piece of old string snipped off.

Haych

oktorockto said:

bbill335 said:

stratman3142 said:

1) Apply Big Bends Nut Sauce to the nut slots

That stuff is so expensive. Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative?

Molybdenum grease, probably about 5 quid from euro car parts and will probably last you the rest of your life. Apply with a piece of old string snipped off.

I wouldn't personally use Moly grease simply because it's nasty stuff that stains pretty much everything it comes into contact with. 

Ok you're only using tiny amounts but I've had enough mishaps with stuff over the years to know a mishap with moly grease would be a bad one lol. 

rico

I put some EB 11s on a LP today and I can say that they sounded much better than D'addario 10s. The fact that they are individually wrapped is the deal breaker for me - I'll use them for a couple of changes to reach a conclusion. 

Voxman

Just watched 'Classic Albums' - Aja (Steely Dan) and then found a nice vid on Walter Becker's rig - at 1:40 he uses Ernie Balls 11's on his Sadowsky guitars, and EB 10's on others.  The picks he uses are massively thick (details at 16:20)!! 

His tech (creepy looking one at 17:58) arrogantly said that Walter Becker has "every pedal ever made by every manufacturer"... But even if that's only half true, that's one hell of a pedal collection!! 

midlifecrisis

steely dan wellknown perfectionists but all those guitars for one show......c'mon

GuitarZero

I used Ernie Balls exclusively for years, bought them all from my local shop.  I went in there one day, he ran out of my size and offered me D'Addario's instead. I took them, strung up the guitars and never looked back.  I always felt Ernie Balls took a while to bed in but thought that was just the norm, clearly not.